tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30669829016891274022024-03-12T18:41:03.084-07:00TheFairlyUnkemptA personal gaming blog.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.comBlogger177125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-12189938369999279282014-11-22T13:42:00.002-07:002014-11-22T13:42:47.274-07:00Project UpdatesSo to get a few things in order on this blog first. A few project updates.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The 3D Printing Project</b></span><br />
...is dead. That one 3D printer I bought and was getting super excited about turned out to be a completely terrible experience. I was expecting something completely different. I was not expecting ultra-high definition or near invisible print layers, but I was expecting something that would print items and didn't need to be calibrated 10 times between each quasi-passable print. I was expecting something a little more user-friendly and a device that didn't need an degree in engineering to operate properly. I now realize that what I am looking for is way out of my price range.<br />
<br />
So I cut my losses on the printer, and sold it on ebay as-is for about 70% of what I paid for. I may get into 3D printing still in the future, but right now it is out of reach. At least I tried. I really really tried. It was a bitch to work with, but I tried. The technology just has not caught up to the user friendly+quality level I was looking for.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Adventures of a C.P.A.</span></b><br />
That campaign ended its season 1 with a lot of surprises. Flint had been working on a personal project this whole time, a giant clay golem that he bonded to his mind for control. This office worker/wizard was pushing his limits with the project, and thanks to constant help and knowledge from 'Tim', he was able to get a working model. The golem came into play during the season finale. A lot of buttkicking needed to be done, and with the help of the golem, Flint was able to carry himself in a fight. Until the very end.<br />
<br />
It turns out an ancient presence was trying to break through the world, and all the magic use was gearing toward that. A sacrifice must be made every seven years. The 7th son of a 7th son is to be sacrificed to keep the current status quo. There were groups who wanted it to happen, and groups who didn't. With one, things would remain as they always have. With the other a change would occur in the world, we were just not sure what that chance would be. Flint is the 7th son of a 7th son, and knew what he must do. It was either him be sacrificed, or a little boy they had<a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/03/adventures-of-cpa-episode-3-part-1.html" target="_blank"> helped previously</a>. He offered himself as a sacrifice, bled out into the swirling portal below in the Sears Tower, and died.<br />
<br />
He then awoke. However he did not wake in his flesh. The surroundings were familiar to him, but the body was not. He found it was a body of clay. A body sculpted by an amateur sculptor, and runes inscribed allover to give it animation. The runes were his. The body was his golem.<br />
<br />
End season 1.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned for season 2 in a few years... hopefully.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Star*Drive Stuff</b></span><br />
Speaking of seasons; after the modern fantasy campaign, we went back into another fantasy campaign that we started before. Sort of a science fantasy campaign I came in on halfway through before the adventures of Flint Richards. Our groups intention is to finish this campaign up, tie the loose ends, reach the epic conclusion, then it will be my turn to GM.<br />
<br />
I am excited because I will be running a campaign in one of my favorite settings of all time: Star*Drive. Our intention is to use the FATE roleplaying system for some good narrative action. The group so far likes the idea of being a band of outlaws from their patron nations, and trying to survive and make a living in the Verge. I will keep this blog updated when we get to start that campaign with some developments.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Other Projects of Jarom and I</span></b><br />
Jarom and I are still flexing our creative muscles on the various ideas and projects we have rolling around in our heads. He's still sketching and we're still brainstorming. However the Warhammer bug has bit him too. His attention has been focused lately on his Orks, and he has built quite a collection of them. Like me, he's really into conversions, and I will be featuring articles about his works on my <a href="http://bitsaddiction.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">other blog</a>.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-61046241656243111802014-11-21T15:39:00.001-07:002014-11-21T15:39:56.273-07:00Another long hiatus and a New BlogI'm not dead, and neither is my gaming.<br />
<br />
In fact it is alive as ever, but in a different direction, slightly. I have succumbed to an addiction to plastic crack. For about a year or so I have been bitten by the Warhammer bug and most of my attention outside the normal responsibles are directed at that.<br />
<br />
As I have touched upon in <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2012/08/minis-showcase-lizard-kroot.html" target="_blank">another post</a>, I got into 40k before, but due to negative play experiences I never really stuck with it. Then my brother James decided he wants to play and bought a Necron battlebox. At first I was resistant, with 40k not being on my gaming radar. But I wasn't one to quelch his gaming desires and decided to give it another go. I knew my brother in-law, Caleb, is really into the game and its tournament scene, and he was coming down from Washington to visit his parents. I wanted to meet with him and play to get to know it once again. He is a very nice guy and said he would love to bring his Chaos Space Marines to teach me.<br />
<br />
So I dusted off my old Tau, brushed up on the rules (as at this point, 2 editions have come and gone) then built a list. That game with Caleb was amazing, even though it was unremarkable. I really believe in the power of having a good teacher.<br />
<br />
From that point on it was about 2 years of getting back into the hobby, meeting new friends, and enjoying Warhammer again. The game that never truly left me.<br />
<br />
So to commemorate my passion in the hobby, I decided to branch off into another blog:<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://bitsaddiction.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="http://bitsaddiction.blogspot.com/" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-ZXfikaE2AIIOTIbnvo09BQbF70vfKWSbe-R3uoZPRSPcnRdnJz0SDR1Dn6-z6ECOr34_Bdzzu7UrKorp5P1k0KYuCQyQKbE8Io3SEwHRBSy07G3rfV2sL32qjcvPVoMRHdFHrjVieg/s1600/bitsaddictionheader.jpg" height="167" width="400" /></a></div>
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I do plan on coming back to this blog on occasion, but any updates here will be non-warhammer related. I do hope to see you there as I have done a lot of neat work with 28mm wargaming miniatures.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-34479142167040393592013-08-09T23:03:00.000-07:002013-08-09T23:03:00.158-07:00Adventures of a C.P.A. (Interlude 3)(The following events take place after <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/08/adventures-of-cpa-episode-7-part-3_3.html" target="_blank">Episode 7</a>)<br />
<br />
It was an early morning. The events of the night before were exhausting to everyone. They group had gotten word from Hank that the girl, Melody, was safe. Ellen, the mother was relieved, and with everything that happened, she felt safe under protection of Nightfall.<br />
<br />
Flint was tasked with driving her home. The Lewis's were definitely very well off. Their home, or estate, showed that. But as Flint drove her through the gate and leading up to the house, there was a definite emptiness about it all. Her demeanor wasn't indicative of one one coming home from a long day. She reflected the same emptiness and loneliness.<br />
<br />
As Flint let her out of the car, she asked him if he could accompany her inside, she had something to give Nightfall for all their trouble. Flint was lead inside and down into what could only be described as a very large multi-room wine cellar. She explained on their way that a few months ago her husband had taken an obsessive interest in the occult. It consumed his time and a decent chunk of his money.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWayqb23tnNKugbhNTe3kI4ZTb1QnR4BKLp2kyhSS17qsjI8A2uc-3uuonW7p4gV1Op2415n-YEKayMopmXG1pFJt6SirjqBGluPeY9XVleuShRLV5ji1unwZDqhzod-GMOyc56gnBHEs/s1600/hislibrary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWayqb23tnNKugbhNTe3kI4ZTb1QnR4BKLp2kyhSS17qsjI8A2uc-3uuonW7p4gV1Op2415n-YEKayMopmXG1pFJt6SirjqBGluPeY9XVleuShRLV5ji1unwZDqhzod-GMOyc56gnBHEs/s200/hislibrary.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
She led Flint into a room that was different from the rest of the wine cellar. It was a library. Not a gaudy and well decorated library, but a room with shelves and shelves of books. Also a work desk and bench covered in chemistry equipment. Her husband scoured everywhere he could to find as much literature as possible on the supernatural and paranormal. This was his collection, and she was giving it to them. She figured it may help them in solving their mystery.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWJJ8_ivZRY0LK5_OR87FHDw-jebFJrgaBLjiivHyly3jFg9NHPoAaqeseMfejbQyb21Jus8J6M5roXCSiNmZ-NfYkUJIo-1o428w7bm1HAJUMhh2QRAXeagWQ1BUrmQp9kepy0tkM2g/s1600/thecodex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWJJ8_ivZRY0LK5_OR87FHDw-jebFJrgaBLjiivHyly3jFg9NHPoAaqeseMfejbQyb21Jus8J6M5roXCSiNmZ-NfYkUJIo-1o428w7bm1HAJUMhh2QRAXeagWQ1BUrmQp9kepy0tkM2g/s1600/thecodex.jpg" /></a></div>
Flint was fascinated at first, but upon closer inspection many of the books are cheap generic titles you would find in any new age section at a library or bookstore. Then Flint arrived at a group of books together. They were all bound and together similarly, but each with a different title and language type. Chinese, Cyrillic, Nordic, and others. It seemed as though they all belonged to the same set. Then there was the one that appeared to have the most wear. The binding was nearly gone and much was rubbed off around it, exposing the wood interior of the covers. At first the title appeared gibberish, but the letter made sense quickly as Flint focused in on it. It said: "The Codex".<br />
<br />
Ellen was still in the room with him, so in suspicion he asked her if she could read the title. She said she couldn't, but it was as clear as day to Flint. A fascinating book. He opened it. Filled with different notes, handwriting from different people in different inks, pasted in pages. Then it opened to a bright red silky book mark. Initial touch didn't feel like anything Flint knew of. As he lifted the bookmark out, he heard a voice;<br />
<br />
"Hey man! Put me back!"<br />
<br />
He glanced around the room to see if anyone else heard it. Ellen appeared to not notice. Sheepishly Flint replaced the bookmark. He turned his back to her, hoping she wouldn't notice him whispering into a book.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2H9MsVMZzP1cQYsNlwBm2CvcexLbukmxDy07JBSeCz5fGB9wGSfAYj74mMXkCjWg6wuX3xxe6cOc4sWUukGmUQ1QAZARCbEwnS8LaDhHT-HYxuk7zCSvjBwPJ8gQROZlMhWFEhvW-8U/s1600/magic-book-1289047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2H9MsVMZzP1cQYsNlwBm2CvcexLbukmxDy07JBSeCz5fGB9wGSfAYj74mMXkCjWg6wuX3xxe6cOc4sWUukGmUQ1QAZARCbEwnS8LaDhHT-HYxuk7zCSvjBwPJ8gQROZlMhWFEhvW-8U/s200/magic-book-1289047.jpg" width="78" /></a></div>
"Who, who are you?"<br />
<br />
"I'm the bookmark. Don't take me out of here, this is the greatest book I've ever read! This is THE codex. I have everything I could ever want to read in here!"<br />
<br />
Snapping the book close, Flint thanked Ellen for her time. He told her he would like to study the library more. She offered to have it all moved to the guest house and he would be given a key so he could visit it whenever he liked.<br />
<br />
After some other pleasantries, he anxiously tried to leave. She was worried still about her daughter, but what mother wouldn't be. However she definitely felt she could trust the group. They appeared capable in her eyes, and some distance between the two of them may be necessary at the time. He gave her his contact information should she ever need anything.<br />
<br />
Flint got back to his car and carefully laid the book on the passenger seat. He car speakers came through with the voice.<br />
<br />
"Thanks for keeping me in here. I'm telling you, you would love what I'm reading."<br />
<br />
"What are you reading?"<br />
<br />
"The codex! This is the index for all magical tomes and writings ever written. I have it all, all I could ever want to know about any spell, enchantment, magical effect, anomaly, everything. You are gonna love this, man!"<br />
<br />
"That's great to hear! How are you getting all this?"<br />
<br />
"I'm a bookmark. I can read anything I'm placed inside. I can help you! I'm taking you for a wizard-type. Someone who is studying the arts. I can help you! Need to know anything? Just ask."<br />
<br />
Flint could hardly believe what was happening, but again, a lot of unbelievable stuff had happened over the last several months "I really could use something like you."<br />
<br />
"That's great, man. Hey, you need my name. That will allow you to call on me when I'm near for help and questions."<br />
<br />
"Sure, what is your name?"<br />
<br />
"My name is Timothy Jarald. But you can call me Tim, the Enchanter."<br />
<br />
This was invaluable. Such a tool would be extremely important and helpful for the group. This bookmark was sentient, but not creative. It was like a magical smart phone with Google. It couldn't create or cast anything on its own, but it had a perfect knowledge of anything it could read. This would become Flint's, and the rest of Nightfall's, for that matter, knowledge repository.<br />
<br />
"Tim, you and I are going to become good friends."<br />
<br />
"Great to hear! So what would you like to know about first?"<br />
<br />
"Tell me about.... flesh to stone."M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-52732739125793985432013-08-03T16:35:00.000-07:002013-08-07T23:42:44.070-07:00Adventures of a C.P.A. (Episode 7, Part 3)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxxuldBkhBL2LPVt6_WJKtycqeQGnM0FcWBA4MYqbrcxfQIo5ifrHg8hdAzJjD3MFc1LM4M4UxH5USsogpUvDtL2CuZ_pyvm6_fR3xmt_mwNceuxclwhpsOFEwdritsqZ4PpPTRKX9rgs/s1600/catholichospital.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxxuldBkhBL2LPVt6_WJKtycqeQGnM0FcWBA4MYqbrcxfQIo5ifrHg8hdAzJjD3MFc1LM4M4UxH5USsogpUvDtL2CuZ_pyvm6_fR3xmt_mwNceuxclwhpsOFEwdritsqZ4PpPTRKX9rgs/s200/catholichospital.jpg" width="200" /></a>There was a little banter in the party, but the decision to find the two women in case they were in danger won out. The team rushed in their vehicle heading toward where the hospital or chapel was.On the way Kent called the hospital to see if 2 women, a mother and daughter were checked in early in the morning. It was confirmed that the mother was in ICU and her girl was with her. Having the information they needed, the group knew where to go.<br />
<br />
When they arrived they did a quick scan for the gargoyle. They couldn't pinpoint any specific magical creature because the entire building was magical. It was literally soaked in magical residue and enchantments that it drowned out any attempts to narrow something down.<br />
<br />
The whole group got to the ICU. They saw the room with the mother on a hospital bed being monitored, while the girl was asleep on a chair. Kent and Kody tried to enter the room but were stopped at the doorway. Like some invisible barrier would not allow them to go further. It was definitely a magic barrier.<br />
<br />
Flint and Hank were able to go inside, though. The mother was unconscious on the bed. Hank went in and woke the girl up. He and Kent wanted to question her about what happened. So they took her out of ICU and into the chapel down the hall. Kody stood guard outside of ICU while Flint started to inspect the room. He noticed the mother was definitely enchanted with something, but he wasn't sure what. He inspected the enchantment on the room. From it he gleaned a lot about permanent enchantments and got an idea how they are made. This one appeared to be as old as the hospital itself, and made to keep magical creatures out. Scarred like Hank and Flint were able to enter inside because technically they are just human.<br />
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In the chapel, Hank and Kent began to question the girl about what happened, but through the questioning strange things began to happen. The room resonated with a power and light. The girl began to levitate inside the room and spoke with an otherworldly voice that was not her own:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Many have spoken </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The end of the world is nigh</blockquote>
<blockquote>
The Old One seeks his release </blockquote>
<blockquote>
For it the young one must die</blockquote>
<br />
As she finished, things began to calm, but they wouldn't remain so for long.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsCLgIGxxzpqyGZrA-q9ASxbvjm6JNqOAi0DkIkupi8vcrCYteiSr7fX1JoNgPVN5E7Lh-s3GdzI9_sRnoKGJfOwjW3xP85xjRvTyU9ZK8p4bZK1k4D4y7H6MR42exH65_1Dd1Ql6zhI/s1600/martha-Jefferson2-940x400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsCLgIGxxzpqyGZrA-q9ASxbvjm6JNqOAi0DkIkupi8vcrCYteiSr7fX1JoNgPVN5E7Lh-s3GdzI9_sRnoKGJfOwjW3xP85xjRvTyU9ZK8p4bZK1k4D4y7H6MR42exH65_1Dd1Ql6zhI/s200/martha-Jefferson2-940x400.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Back in the ICU, as Flint was analyzing the room, the hairs on his skin began to stand up. He felt something dark began to enter in the room. At first he couldn't see from where, and the enchantment should have prevented anything. Then he realized, some of the equipment and furnishings were not as old as the building. Like the mirrors. Mirrors work as windows in many aspects, this one was working as a window to whatever was trying to get inside. Black smoke was seeping through the reflection. Thinking fast, Flint quickly grabbed a stool and slammed it into the mirror. It shattered, and naturally startled the staff outside. Kody quickly realized what was happening, and tried to prevent anyone else from entering.<br />
<br />
The smoke or shadow that did enter morphed into small vile goblin-like creatures. They dodged Flint's attacks and started trying to smash the window in the room that lead to the outside. Flint gathered the energies he could sense in the room, and using some Force magic, lightning tore from the walls and hit the shadow creatures. It appeared to take care of some of them, but he was too late. The window was smashed. Flint feared this may have broken the room's enchantment, and provided a bigger window.<br />
<br />
A massive arm reached into the room. It was an arm of decay, of smoke, and of shadow. Light was negated by its form. Flint knew what it was after, so he gathered the hospital bed with the mother and tried to make it out of the room.<br />
<br />
Kody was assaulted by more of the small goblins. Using his own weapons of shadow and power he fought them off. Their puny forms were no match for the sheer strength he exuded both physically and mystically. The giant decaying shadow creature had made it inside and was fighting Kody. Against this foe, however, Kody seemed outclassed. It summoned thick smoke that paralyzed people unlucky enough to get a good lungfull. Luckily Kody and Flint were able to avoid most of it.<br />
<br />
By now Kent and Hank heard the commotion. Hank adopted a protective stance to keep the girl safe. Kent rushed to join the fight. Weapons seemed to have little effect on it, even some of Kent's more unorthodox bullets. The large creature of death was obviously after the girl. Hank wanted to grab the girl and teleport outside the building, but something was preventing that. In an instant is teleporation spell seemed normal, but instead of outside the building, he found himself in the morgue. The creature may be altering his spells. He found himself in one of the empty body drawers.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile the creature still fought, but since the girl wasn't there anymore, it teleported away. Kody was bruised and nearly broken from his fight with the creature and the 2goblins. Hank went to heal him and found that the ambient magic in the hospital helped him tremendously.<br />
<br />
Flint was making his way around panicked normals to an elevator. He wanted to get the mother to safety. The elevator doors began to open, but instead of the elevator cart, it was the hulking mass of one of the giants <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/01/adventures-of-cpa-episode-1.html" target="_blank">from much earlier</a>. "YOU BROKE MY CROSSBOW!" It yelled as it's massive fist reached in and grabbed the mother right off the bed. Out of a desperation, Flint cried out: "Wait! I will make you a new croosbow! A better one." The creature only paused for a second. "The shadowmaster wants the women."<br />
<br />
Flint felt helpless in the whole situation. Luckily Kent had already come looking for him and let out enough rounds to drop the giant. Again. They recovered the woman and Kody and made their way to the bottom floor.<br />
<br />
Feeling safe for a minute, Hank inspected the girl he held. She was unconscious. He felt the eerie cold from earlier, and the drawer was pulled out of the wall. The giant shadow creature laughed and reached for her. Hank had to strain hard enough, but he teleported away again, this time to the roof of the building. There just had to be a way out. A way to get outside the barrier of the hospital's enchantment and go somewhere far and safe with the girl.<br />
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There was a helicopter. Luckily Hank had some experience flying one. He got in an started the engines. Shadows gathered on the roof and the creature emerged. Hank feared there wouldn't be enough time to take off. Suddenly the cloaked gargoyle, the theologian, leaped onto the roof, and assaulted the creature. They were fiercely battling. Each time the creature landed a blow, a glowing magical rune on the gargoyle disappeared. He was handling the fight well, but it didn't look like it would happen indefinitely. The chopper began to lift off.<br />
<br />
As the vehicle lifted off the roof, it lurched backwards. The creature had grabbed onto it and was preventing it from flying away. It reached up with its black arm and tore off the rear rotor. The chopper began to spin wildly. The gargoyle attached himself to the creature, holding it's attacks. The gargoyle looked into Hanks eyes for a brief moment, and he could be heard yelling "Save the girl!" It threw an attack which caused the creature to let go, and they both fell.<br />
<br />
The chopper was spinning faster. Alarms blared in the cockpit. It descended quickly. Hank was barely able to get to the girl and hug her when he felt the veil lift. The barrier which was restricting his teleportation was now gone. As they fell, they left it behind. With only a split second, and the feel of the paradox painfully wash through him, he pushed for a final grand teleport. The helicopter crashed to the ground in an exploding ball of flame.<br />
<br />
In pain, but elated with relief, the view of Hank's home came to focus. The girl was going to be alright. The rest of the group took the mother somewhere safe as well.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-83183183454184354802013-07-26T08:00:00.000-07:002013-08-03T16:40:57.369-07:00Adventures of a C.P.A. (Episode 7, Part 2)Upon returning to the scene, this time at night, they met the three investigators. It was a tense meeting at first because one of the investigators was a larger hairy man who they had already met, <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/05/adventures-of-cpa-episode-5.html" target="_blank">under bad circumstances</a>. He was the pack leader of the biker gang. His name was Cyrus Blackmoor. He protested Nightfall's arrival, but another investigator held him back.<br />
<br />
She was Cynthia Towne. Her features looked feminine, and was shrouded completely by a cloak the entire time. Again, she looked and spoke as an adult woman, but with the voice of a child. She was the leader of this little group. Another accompanies them, Elisa Anne Shadows. A beutiful brunette, but a fierce gaze, had a shotgun slung under her arm.<br />
<br />
These were investigators sent by the Fraternal Order of Hermes. A coalition of magical houses. Luckily diplomacy got the better of both groups, as they all realized that they may have a common enemy. Albeit an unknown one. They grilled Nightfall on what they knew of the case, which unfortunately wasn't much.<br />
<br />
Hank had the confidence to try a spell of postcognition. One in which he could see the events of the past in this room. One of the investigators, Elisa, girl with the shotgun, offered to help him. Luckily Hank was adept enough to gather a detailed vision of the murder, and all that happened. It was surprising.<br />
<br />
The vision was still garbled, unclear in certain parts. Like looking at cheap surveillance video at a convenience store. It showed John working in his office during late hours, which was normal for his practice. Elaine and Melody Lewis showed up for an appointment. John seemed anxious for this because this would be Nightfall's first unsolved mystery he would be getting back to. They had seeked him out because of Melody's visions. She spoke with John:<br />
<br />
Mentions of her father missing. <br />
Mentions of The Apocalypse.<br />
Mentions of 'the tower', known to mundanes as Willis, or previously Sears Tower.<br />
Mentions of 'the old one'<br />
Mentions of Nightfall.<br />
<br />
Hank couln't make sense of most of it because of how garbled it was. The girl knew her father was captured and alive, but feared his death soon.<br />
<br />
Just as the vision started to clear up, it got grim. Two giants and a woman who looked like Kate entered the room. They wanted the girl, Melody, but John got in the way. Shots were fired, having no effect, and they picked him up and slammed him into the wall.<br />
<br />
A strange figure broke through the outside window, a creature. Resembling a gargoyle in a black cowl and cape. It rushed in and grabbed Melody and her mother. One of the giants tried to grab the creature, but it adeptly dodged. It looked at John in the eyes, and there was a brief eye-to-eye communication. The giant with it's mighty fist slammed into the creature, but just in time it held its hand up, a protection spell glowing and inscribed in the palm. The spell protected it and the girls from damage, but the force still threw them through the window and outside. They disappeared into the night.<br />
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Back in the office, a helpless John was still pinned to the wall. The girl asked him what house he belonged to. He said none. She debated with the giant holding John. She considered recruiting him because he was not yet a Tremere puppet, he could be useful.<br />
<br />
"Well, he is still a hollow, he cannot be trusted." the giant said.<br />
<br />
She agreed and approached John. Coldly and effortlessly, she proceeded to kill a hollow the best way she knew. The giant slammed John against the wall, while she dug her fingers into his chest. He cried out in pain as she tore the rib cage open in a gory scene of violence. John's expression was to haunt Hank. The woman then gripped the exposed heart, and yanked it out as tendons and veins snapped free. In an instant John was lifeless, his corpse slumped to the floor.<br />
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With the heart still in hand, the three assailants left the room.<br />
<br />
Hank awoke, head reeling with what he had seen. Elisa saw it all too.<br />
<br />
They recounted it to the others. From Nightfalls proceeding conversations with the three investigators, many questions were answered. The powerful mage they had all met at warehouse 77 was the leader of house Tremere, and master of Cynthia towne. Once she had found out that it was they who attacked him that night, she advised the group to keep their distance from Tremere a while, and left the room. The rest of the group continued a conversation getting some more details of the various houses. Apparently Nightfall has been on the radar of the houses for a while now. Their actions have not been going unnoticed.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile outside, Kody was still hanging out by the van. The shrouded lady visited with him. She told him that the creature that took the girls, Theo, the theologian, was not to be trusted, and he should be hunted down. She advised Kody to honor the memory of John, and find and protect the girls.<br />
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The rest of the group met up with Kody. They had one decision to make, two choices:<br />
<br />
Find the girls and this theologian. They got a lead from the investigators that he roosts at a catholic building. But there were 2 buildings with the name that was given: an old hospital, and a cathedral.<br />
<br />
The other choice was to find and hunt the two giants and the homunculus Kate-look-a-like as soon as possible. They had found that assassinations of this type were happening allover. All victim were hollow. When they caught up with the killer homunculus, they were too late, it would always reboot and forget its past. They had little time.<br />
<br />
The group debated on which action to take. Much rested on this decision.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-73517376954397573442013-07-16T08:00:00.000-07:002013-07-16T08:00:04.096-07:00Good news, and bad news.<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Good News</b></span></div>
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My 3D printer arrived! After a very long anxious wait, I received this package today.<br />
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I can now finally begin my grand experiment to see what personal affordable home 3D printers can do for the hobby. I have a ton of personal projects and other things, this is expected to be very busy.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Bad News</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOViY_d2Ze6cuUyfFsJDY-s6CJ79TSazWOcXXe7RUG1T6s13tlaxcCwL2BviuKnDop6rstPZX3TEYhOJpEcWclLKNeHC_qcSb_QopByts2zxP4PHYepauX-HWSOBSqGONZyh8gBoOhZE/s1600/blunder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOViY_d2Ze6cuUyfFsJDY-s6CJ79TSazWOcXXe7RUG1T6s13tlaxcCwL2BviuKnDop6rstPZX3TEYhOJpEcWclLKNeHC_qcSb_QopByts2zxP4PHYepauX-HWSOBSqGONZyh8gBoOhZE/s320/blunder.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Well this sucks. The printer I ordered was supposed to have a heated build platform. It's a part that keeps the platform hot so when you print with ABS plastic they don't warp. This unit does not have such a part. I emailed customer service about it.<br />
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No printing yet. What a cruel fate. I finally have my cake, but I can't eat it.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-82799572736877761062013-07-12T08:00:00.000-07:002013-07-12T08:36:24.848-07:00Adventures of a C.P.A. (Episode 7, Part 1)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VGu_bb785l3TF9Jc805CMHne9mFuyfqgrKpf8pETx-UtjPSRe_RPjGN1hZ3mxNanZQXIDynyyHD9r6oouuIQ5TZbteLbuyQmTyBLLuXbDnfmbvNlFpfCle6jhtEIFHhivgPeoi0o-Zw/s1600/tumblr_miudqsB7Tj1rjcapzo1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="61" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VGu_bb785l3TF9Jc805CMHne9mFuyfqgrKpf8pETx-UtjPSRe_RPjGN1hZ3mxNanZQXIDynyyHD9r6oouuIQ5TZbteLbuyQmTyBLLuXbDnfmbvNlFpfCle6jhtEIFHhivgPeoi0o-Zw/s200/tumblr_miudqsB7Tj1rjcapzo1_1280.jpg" width="200" /></a>Kody doesn't often get sick. The man (or astral really) has the constitution of a bear. But this night, he woke up with a searing pain in his chest. One so excruciating that he leaped from his bed and straight to the toilet, wherein he vomited all meals from the day before. Something was wrong, very wrong. There was nothing celestial out of the ordinary. The moon wasn't a trouble phase for him. So what was it? He looked up into the mirror and saw one of his eyes had changed. One of them was off-color. John's eyes were 2 different colors. Kody passed out.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile Kent was woken up by the phone. Upon answering it he heard Johns voice, a little disturbed: "Kent, I need you to come by my office as soon as you can in the morning. I have some new information about the Lewis family case." (NOTE: The Lewis' are the family that they rescued in <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/01/adventures-of-cpa-episode-1.html" target="_blank">episode 1</a>) The message was abrupt yet disturbing.<br />
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The morning came and Kent went to John's office. John was a man of psycho-empathic abilities that gave him a knack at getting to issues with people, which made him an excellent therapist. His night job when not working for Nightfall was running a small clinic. It was at this clinic that Kent found covered in police vehicles from both the local and federal government. Kent showed his badge and talked to an officer. There was a homicide. His heart sank. He asked to go inside and see. He was lead into John's office, and even with a homunculi's constitution, he had to pause from the gruesome sight. There was obvious sign of struggle and shooting, and there against the wall was the body of John Smith, with his chest torn completely open, and his heart missing, like it was ripped out of its cavity. Kent knew what this would mean to Kody.<br />
<br />
Kody had found through divinations from certain individuals, that his current calling in life was to protect John. After a few call attempts, Kody finally awoke to answer. In no time he rushed to the scene. Barely showing etiquette for the rest of the law enforcement, who nearly treated him like a hostile, but Kent was able to talk them down. He stormed into the office. Kody stared silently at the body. He demanded everyone leave the room. The FBI was reluctant to go, but Kent was able to talk them out. When the coast was clear, Kody shifted into his wolf form.<br />
<br />
The great beast nuzzled up to John, slight whimpers escaped his muzzle. He was looking for scents. Kody smelled John, of course, a few other individuals he did not recognize, but also a couple he did. That of Elaine and Melody Lewis, the mother and daughter from <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/01/adventures-of-cpa-episode-1.html" target="_blank">episode 1</a>. He shifted out and relayed his findings to Kent. They let everyone back in. Special FBI agent Reznik asked to speak with Kent about it.<br />
<br />
He was suspicious of the whole situation, especially after seeing Kody having such a strong response to it. He suspected they knew eachother, but when he confronted Kent about it, he bluffed his way out of it. Special Agent Reznik is part of the FBI's special crimes division, tasked with taking care of cases with "unusual circumstances". Things didn't add up, but he seemed to trust Kent, for now. Through talks Kent found they had called in another outside group to look at it later that night. They were like Nightfall, in that they looked for supernatural elements in scenes for more clues.<br />
<br />
Kent thanked him for his help, and took an extremely angered Kody to Nightfall, where they called an emergency meeting.<br />
<br />
Flint and Hank arrived and noticed Kody barely able to contain his anger. Luckily Kent was still in charge. He relayed the news to the others which came as a shock. A very sad development. John was well loved and an extremely valuable asset to the group. The group unanimously decided to try going back to the scene at night and find out what they could from this other supernatural group that was to be there.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-85282400537766144702013-07-09T08:00:00.000-07:002013-07-09T08:00:00.397-07:00Star*Drive Extra MaterialA reader of this blog emailed me and told me he had joined a d20 game where the GM was using the Star*Drive campaign setting. It was one of those "thought you'd like to know" things. It appeared to be a <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2012/10/stardrive-saturday-galactic-concord.html" target="_blank">Concord</a> centered campaign, as players were encouraged to be either Concord military or <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2012/11/stardrive-saturday-tsa.html" target="_blank">t'sa</a>. Pretty cool.<br />
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He also informed me of a neat little note about the t'sa race that he invented for his character. I thought it sounded cool, so consider the following a little extra material tied to my <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2012/11/stardrive-saturday-tsa.html" target="_blank">entry on the t'sa</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>T'sa Head Fins</b></span></div>
While not quite like antlers or fingernails, the fin's sensitivity could best be described as having the sensitivity of a human's callous. It looks as if the original purpose of the fin is to get rid of heat. It also looks as if the fin might have provided natural camouflage from predators. A t'sa would squat down, pull in arms and legs, leaving only head and fin visible and exposed to attacks from above.<br /><br />Fin styling is a thriving business within T'sa space. Styles would vary by planet, clan, haut-society, political faction, and cliques. T'sa entering military service would have to have the fin trimmed down to a minimum crest (like hair).</blockquote>
Things like this, along with <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2012/12/stardrive-saturday-weren.html" target="_blank">weren</a> hairstyling, could be ways players make their characters a little more personal.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-44101871753804382382013-07-04T08:00:00.000-07:002013-07-04T08:00:06.916-07:00Happy Independence Day!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Fourth of July everyone!</span></div>
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Once again, for the 31st time, I am celebrating my own birthday alongside the nation. I look forward to it and hope you all get together as well and light off some fireworks.<br />
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<br />M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-7428818922927383872013-06-28T08:00:00.000-07:002013-06-28T08:46:00.798-07:00Wartech Campaign: Experimental Rules (Part 5)<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Dynamic Gear System </b></span></div>
<br />
This is something that Jarom and I have been brainstorming for a while, and something we want to implement in our own game. It's a dynamic gear creation system. Where making the gear for your character is as involved as making your character. We wont be providing a huge list of weapons and armor in a core book and countless sourcebooks, rather a system where you can make your own gear. It allows you to customize it however you need, and keep you updated on pricing, which is the balancing factor. You could potentially create something very devastating, but when it's price starts to get higher than your credits you are given, you begin to think twice about buying it over a decent set of armor or rations and supplies. Our justification in this system is there are countless arms and weapons manufacturing companies and nations in the galaxy, at least one of them is bound to make the thing you are thinking of.<br />
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Jarom even ingeniously developed a way that price will go up or down depending on where you get the item from (to show rarity) or what your nation of origin is (to show racism in unfair business practices). For example: My brother, James, who played Gra', the cardoon, was once a shocktrooper for the Hezakian Combine. The Combine garners a lot of discrimination and racism toward the cardoon, but they also make the type of gear he likes and has grown accustomed to. So when James was creating his awesome weapons, he found them to be extremely expensive, because in order to get the features he wanted, they were only available if the weapon was declared to be of Combine make. It even amounted to something like each grenade costing some amount of 1/4th of his monthly salary. However, they were ideal for his character, and on more than one occasion the weapons showed their potency and worth with his fighting style. It will definitely be one thing some players will have to deal with.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-52433483465199962642013-06-25T08:00:00.000-07:002013-06-25T08:00:02.234-07:00BIG NEWS: 3D Printer UpdateThat's right. An update on my long awaited 3D printer projects. I got the money needed and was able to put in an order for one. This is really exciting for me because I will finally be able to get started on all my projects I have been planning. A few things:<br />
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My printer wont be here for about 2-4 weeks. They have to assemble it before they can send it.<br />
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It won't be a Makerbot. The Makerbot, while a very good machine, has been getting increasingly expensive. As new editions came out, the price kept going up significantly. The cheapest version of their latest model is $2,200. So I am opting for a <a href="http://store.solidoodle.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=79" target="_blank">Solidoodle 3</a>. It is capable of the same printing resolution and is only $800.<br />
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My little thermometer image to the right of this page has been removed. I may put something there again related to printing, like an image that links to what I am currently printing.<br />
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Once it gets here you can be assured that I will keep you all updated on the process for getting it setup and running my first print. I have no shortage of things I want to try printing, so you can expect this thing to be in use a lot.<br />
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This picture is a screenshot of only a portion of the things I want to print. Most all of them are links from <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/" target="_blank">Thingiverse</a>. M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-55563220540785770042013-06-21T08:00:00.000-07:002013-06-21T08:00:05.941-07:00Wartech Campaign: Experimental Rules (Part 4)<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Broad Psionic Skills</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
One of the things I wanted about psionics in our Wartech setting, was that they did not have definite powers. They worked more like skills. You do your best to describe what all that psionic skill type encompasses and then you let the player use it however they interpret it. There are 3 categories of psionics: mind psionics, body psionics, and spirit psionics: and within each category there are 5 skills. These are meant to broadly cover any sort of power that is available in this setting.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately we didn't get to try the new psionics rules as much as we would have liked. It just didn't come up that often. My brother, James, rolled and extra character which was purely psionic so we could get a taste of them. We really liked what we were able to try. It just felt right keeping the skills broad and the GM created TN's based on the difficulty of our actions.<br />
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<b>MIND Psionic Skills</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Mind Attack = Mental assault on a target, causing damage. Bursting through defenses on a targets mind to make them more vulnerable to other mind psionics. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Mind Blast: Assault a mind with thought. Strain determines damage. The damage is unmitigated by armor. Tn7=L(stun), tn9=L, tn11=M, tn13=V</li>
<li>Weaken Mind: Distract or weaken the mind’s defenses. Strain determines bonus to Mind class psionics used against target. Tn7=+1 bonus, tn9=+2 bonus, tn11-+3 bonus, tn13=+4 bonus. Lasts for 2 rounds.</li>
<li>Weaken Resolve: Demoralize or depress the target. Strain determines penalty target takes whenever it attempts a resolve check. Tn7=-1 penalty, tn9=-2 penalty, tn11=-3 penalty, tn13=-4 penalty. Lasts for 2 rounds.</li>
</ul>
<li>Mind Drain = Draws energy from the target, causing fatigue, or remove ideas, thoughts, and even memories; like a mind wipe. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Cause Fatigue: Get the brain to think it is tired and fatigued. Strain determines stun damage inflicted on target. The damage is unmitigated by armor. Tn7=L(stun), tn9=M(stun), tn11=V(stun), tn13=X(stun)</li>
<li>Memory Wipe: Remove targeted memories. Strain determines detail of information you erase from target’s memory. <i>Example: tn7=character doesn’t remember meeting you in passing. Tn13=character has no memory at all of any of your parties actions over the past month.</i></li>
</ul>
<li>Mind Projection = Sending or suggesting messages, pictures, thoughts or emotions. Also can be used for establishing a simple message link with a non-psionic character. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Suggestion: Put thoughts into a mind, making it think they are its own. Strain determines the difficulty of the idea suggested to a character. <i>Example: tn7=suggest an action that the character would normally do, like go to the bathroom while he is working. Tn13=suggest an action that goes against everything the character believes in, like placing the gun to his temple and pulling the trigger.</i> Lasts until you use another psionic power or lose concentration.</li>
<li>Illusion: Fool the target’s mind into thinking it is seeing or hearing something. Strain is determined by the complexity and believability of the illusion. <i>Example: tn7=fools the guard into thinking you are wearing a company uniform. Tn13=fools the person into thinking that the room is full of ghosts.</i> Lasts until you attempt another psionic power or you lose concentration.</li>
<li>Message Link: Allow you to trade messages with a non-psionic character. Strain determines difficulty and complexity of the message. <i>Example: tn7=2 or 3 word messages to another within the same building. Tn13=Discuss your attack plan to another on the other side of the planet.</i> Trading messages with another psionic character is easier, so the strain difficulty is reduced 1 step. Lasts until you attempt another psionic power or you lose concentration.</li>
</ul>
<li>Mind Reading = Sensing or reading thoughts, pictures, or emotions. Also can be used for establishing a simple message link with a non-psionic character. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Probe: Used on someone unaware of your probing or resistant to you. Strain determines complexity or details of your search. <i>Example: tn7=basic mood or emotion of the subject. Tn13=his entire plan including times and names. </i></li>
<li>Share Sense: Allows you to see things through the target’s own eyes, or hear through their own ears remotely. Strain is determined by the familiarity with the target and distance away. <i>Example: tn7=a fellow teammate in the next room. Tn13=someone you don’t know in the next building over. Lasts until you attempt another psionic power or you lose concentration.</i></li>
<li>Message Link: Allow you to trade messages with a non-psionic character. Strain determines difficulty and complexity of the message. <i>Example: tn7=2 or 3 word messages to another within the same building. Tn13=Discuss your attack plan to another on the other side of the planet.</i> Trading messages with another psionic character is easier, so the strain difficulty is reduced 1 step. Lasts until you attempt another psionic power or you lose concentration.</li>
</ul>
<li>Mind Shield = Protect against mind attacks or increasing resolve against situations. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Mind Armor: Creates a mental barrier which shields your mind against attacks and intrusions. Strain determines the armor rating it has against Mind Blasts and Cause Fatigue, and the penalties they suffer when using other Mind class psionics against you. Tn7=L armor/-1 penalty, tn9=M armor/-2 penalty, tn11=V armor/-3 penalty, tn13=X armor/-4 penalty. Lasts until you attempt another psionic power or you lose concentration.</li>
<li>Strengthen Resolve: Reinforce your mental faculties and strengthen them. Strain determines bonus granted to resolve checks. Tn7=+1 bonus, tn9=+2 bonus, tn11=+3 bonus, tn13=+4 bonus. Lasts until you attempt another psionic power or you lose concentration.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<b>BODY Psionic Skills</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Psi-alteration = The psionic can alter its physical features so as to disguise itself or accomplish something it wouldn’t be able to do in its normal form. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Squeeze: Change your shape to be thinner or just on your limbs to squeeze through tight spaces or small areas. How much you are needing to squeeze determines the strain. <i>Example: tn7=shift your arms to slip out of arm-cuffs. Tn13=flatten your whole body to squeeze through prison bars.</i> Lasts until you use another psionic power or lose concentration.</li>
<li>Stretch: Extend limbs or fingers to increase your reach. Length extending and which extremity determines the strain. <i>Example: tn7=use your whole body to reach higher to get the item from the top shelf. Tn13=stretch your finger longer to reach around inside a lock and pick it manually.</i> Lasts until you use another psionic power or lose concentration.</li>
<li>Disguise: Alter your own facial and body features enough to hide your identity. This cannot change skin or hair color, or alter hair lengths. How drastic of a change you wish to accomplish determines the strain. <i>Example: tn7=droop your body and features to make you appear much older. Tn13=alter facial features slightly to copy another person’s so you appear to be like them in passing.</i> Lasts until you use another psionic power or lose concentration.</li>
</ul>
<li>Psi-metabolism = Allows the psionic to alter his/her metabolism to survive with little sustenance and in extreme environmental conditions. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Adapt: Regulate your metabolic processes to survive in hostile environments. Severity of the conditions determines the strain. <i>Example: tn7=function after 3 days with no food or water. Tn13=function in a toxic atmosphere with little oxygen.</i></li>
<li>Feign Death: Slows your metabolic rate to a degree that makes it appear you are dead to scans and inspection. Strain determines the duration of the effect before you awake, and damage you take upon awaking. The damage is unmitigated. Tn7=a few hours, L(stun) damage. Tn9=half a day, M(stun) damage. Tn11=a full day, L damage. Tn13=2-3 days, M damage.</li>
</ul>
<li>Psi-emission = Transfer of biokinetic energy from within the body. Used a lot with devices to make things like psychic shields or blades. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Empower Psi-device: The device used will determine the strains and damage/armor they provide. Using the device lasts until you use another psionic power or lose concentration.</li>
<li>Energy Transfer: You can use some of your stun points to heal another character, through touch, of stun damage. The strain is determined by the amount of stun damage you heal on the target. Tn7=1 stun healed, you take no stun damage. Tn9=2 stun healed, you take 1 stun damage. Tn11=3 stun healed, you take 2 stun damage. Tn13=4 stun healed, you take 3 stun damage. You still take the stun damage whether or not you succeed in your roll. You cannot attempt a heal if you do not have enough remaining stun points. If this uses up your remaining stun, the action is resolved as normal, then you pass out upon completion. You can attempt this at short range, but it increases the difficulty of the strain 1 step.</li>
</ul>
<li>Psi-enhancement = Boosting your characters’ own abilities. Such as concentration, speed, and strength. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Boost Strength: Increases your strength temporarily, granting you a +2 bonus to athletics and acrobatics checks and a +1 to melee damage. Strain determines how many rounds the effect lasts. Tn7=1 round, tn9=2 rounds, tn11=3 rounds, tn13=4 rounds</li>
<li>Boost Speed: Increases your movement speed and initiative by +2 temporarily. Strain determines how many rounds the effect lasts. Tn7=1 round, tn9=2 rounds, tn11=3 rounds, tn13=4 rounds</li>
<li>Boost Concentration: Temporarily grants a bonus to all non-attack rolls. Strain determines how many rounds the effect lasts. Tn7=1 round, tn9=2 rounds, tn11=3 rounds, tn13=4 rounds</li>
</ul>
<li>Psi-rejuvination = Heal yourself of wounds, even others through touch. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Heal Self: Strain determines the amount of hit points or stun points you heal yourself. Tn7=L stun points, tn9=M stun points, tn11=L hit points, tn13=M hit points</li>
<li>Heal Other: Strain determines the amount of hit points you heal another through touch. Tn7=1 hit point, tn9=2 hit points, tn11=3 hit points, tn13=4 hit points</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<b>SPIRIT Psionic Skills</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Cryokinesis = Slowing down molecules to reach freezing temperatures. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Freezing Touch: Causes something you touch to begin to freeze or cool. Size of the object and intensity of the cold determines the strain. <i>Example: tn7=cool an overheating gun. Tn13=completely freeze a body.</i></li>
<li>Cold Blast: Creates a blast of chilling air by dropping the temperature suddenly at a space surrounding a targeted point in medium range. Tn7=L(en) damage, tn9=M(en) damage, tn11=V(en) damage, tn13=X(en) damage.</li>
</ul>
<li>Electrokinesis = Control of electricity. Different from Psi-emission. Can power equipment, charge batteries, even make limited range energy attacks. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Electric Charge: Creates a stable and steady flow of power that can be used to power or charge devices. Must be able to touch the power or charging elements to charge the device properly. Size of the machine and familiarity with its electronics determines the strain. <i>Example: Tn7=light a small lamp. Tn13=power an electric car on the move.</i></li>
<li>Electric Shock: Emits a violent bolt of electricity that can arc distances or short out electronics. The shock can be delivered through touch, or arc at Short range. To make it arc at a Medium range, the difficulty of the strain is increased 1 step. Tn7=M(en)(stun) damage, tn9=L(en) damage, tn11=M(en) damage, tn13=V(en) damage.</li>
</ul>
<li>Pyrokinesis = Speeding up molecules to reach burning temperatures. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Heating Touch: Something you touch begins to heat up. Size of the object and intensity of heat determines the strain. <i>Example: tn7=warm up someone’s cold drink. Tn13=bring a large vat of water to boiling.</i></li>
<li>Ignite: Causes something that is flammable to ignite on fire. Severity of the fire determines the strain. Tn7=minor fire, deals L(en) damage. Tn9=moderate fire, deals M(en) damage. Tn11=stable fire, deals V(en) damage. Tn13=severe fire, deals X(en) damage. You can attempt to ignite the air in a specific area within medium range. This creates an effect similar to a flash fire and works like an incendiary grenade. This can only be attempted on a Tn11 and deals V(en) damage, or a Tn13 and deals X(en) damage.</li>
<li>Illuminate: Excites the molecules in something solid that is normally inflammable. This makes it provide illumination through touch, enough to emit a moderate amount of light for a room. The strain determines the amount of rounds it will last. Tn7=1 round, tn9=2 rounds, tn11=3 rounds, tn13=4 rounds</li>
</ul>
<li>Technokinesis = Control machines and interfacing with them without cybertech. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Control Device: Control the actions of a computer or electronic device. Once linked, you control it with skill checks like normal. Familiarity, complexity, and distance determines the strain. <i>Example: tn7=a computer you are touching. Tn13=An AI across the room.</i></li>
<li>Scramble Device: Can send static or jumbled information to a machine that scrambles it and confuses it, often necessitating a reboot or power down. Distance away and familiarity with the device determines strain. <i>Example: tn7=a computer you are touching. Tn13=An AI across the room.</i></li>
<li>Datalink: Establishes a wireless link with a computer or electronic device. Once linked, you receive information with skills checks like normal. Familiarity, complexity, and distance determines the strain.<i> Example: tn7=a computer you are touching. Tn13=An AI across the room.</i></li>
</ul>
<li>Telekinesis = Moving objects. Self levitation. Example uses:</li>
<ul>
<li>Move Object: Can lift, push, or pull an object remotely. Distance away of the object and weight determines the strain. <i>Example: tn7=move a tablet across the room. Tn13=slam an enemy into a wall.</i></li>
<li>Levitate: Causes yourself to float in the air. Height, distance, and how burdened you are determines the strain. <i>Example: tn7=float silently across the floor unburdened. Tn13=soar quickly a few flights carrying something heavy.</i></li>
</ul>
</ul>
While the
sample applications listed don’t cover all possible uses of the skills, it
samples the most common and works as guidelines for making your own. If a
player thinks of a use for a power that is not described, determine if it’s
believable with that power or another, and come up with your own strain outcomes.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-4222337661214576482013-06-18T08:00:00.001-07:002013-06-18T08:00:06.509-07:00Adventures of a C.P.A. (Episode 6, Part 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was nightfall as the group arrived at the place of John's vision. They counted the warehouses which were clearly labeled: Warehouse 5, Warehouse 6, Warehouse 77, Warehouse 8. It was odd. There wasn't enough buildings to count up to 77, but there it lay. When they arrived on location, vehicles were already there.<br />
<br />
Kody, with his military training, recognized it as armed men piling out of unmarked vehicles. They had armor and automatic weapons, and worked in unison as though well trained. But there was no indications as to which government body they were from. Several piled into the warehouse, leaving a few on watch outside.<br />
<br />
A plan to sneak up to the building and find a way in was quickly made. As the group tried their hand at stealth, unfortunately some were not as adept at it. Flint tripped and made enough noise to alarm the guards. "Witches! In the brush!" Arms fire erupted, from both sides. Kody was able to summon enough shadow cover to get everyone. They were able to take out and explode a few of the vehicles to help.<br />
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Once to the side of the warehouse building, Flint used some matter magic to open a hole big enough for others to peek through. Kent provided cover, so John looked inside. He saw a man laughing uproariously and with a wand, flinging magic missiles at the armed men all hiding in cover. The bullets seemed to have no effect on him. He also held with him some sort of glowing orb.<br />
<br />
It was apparent that there were 2 sides to this fight, and the group needed to decide which side they were on. Hank had finally arrived from his investigation, then they snuck around to the other side of the warehouse and were able to capture one of the guards and question him, with the help of Kody's intimidating threats. The guard revealed they were a religious organization, The Fists of God. They had intel that within the warehouse were vampires trading slaves.<br />
<br />
Kody does not like slavery. He thought that was reason enough for picking sides, but he needed the other story. The group took the guy hostage and went into where the battle was going on, ordering the fists of god to stop the fighting and lower their weapons. Kody confronted the hollow that was invulnerable to guns, and asked if it was true that there were slaves in the crates. "There are no humans here."<br />
<br />
The fists of god opened a crate and it revealed a woman standing straight, completely still in a cage, one that looks strikingly similar to Kate. The one that Flint had met <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/05/adventures-of-cpa-interlude-2.html" target="_blank">last</a>. Kody enraged and turned into a bear. The fight erupted again. The hollow leaped away from the bear's onslought, and 2 other hollow joined in. With a wave of his wand, the cage broke open, and the woman awoke. She walked with no emotion up to Kody and threw him across the room, all 1,200 pounds of him, with little effort.<br />
<br />
Hank had teleported up to the hollow, attempting to get a surprise attack, but he was being protected with some sort of field that slowed incoming objects, which kept all bullets from being lethal. Kody was able to get a heavy attack back on the woman, which threw her into the warehouse wall. Kent's gunfire had no effect on the other hollow in the room. They seemed to get shot, then get back up again. Flint went to rescue the woman who seemed momentarily unconscious.<br />
<br />
Hank saw the hollow's power with his wand. So he teleported again, grabbed the wand, and teleported away, with the wand in hand. The fight was not looking good. They had to flee this one. Flint had to leave the woman behind. Something about her drew him to her, and he wasn't sure what.<br />
<br />
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They left the building with haste, and Hank didn't want to keep the wand or it would have become a serious liability to the group. Using some magic, he threw it into the middle of Lake Michigan.<br />
<br />
They had left the conflict alive, but it seemed to be just the beginning of something greater. There was a war that was about to go down, and just as was warned to Flint, they needed to pick their side carefully.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-38648903660193142812013-06-14T08:00:00.000-07:002013-06-14T08:00:07.092-07:00My wife's first game of D&D (Part 4)The campaign continues. The party copied down the crude map found in the structure, then ventured outside. Hogel, the orc tracker, noticed a lightly worn trail that lead toward the shores. There was enough foot traffic that suggested more than one trip was made on it by a group of people.<br />
<br />
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Following the trail they noticed an islander fishing village, still active. They were met with no hostility, only looks of suspicion, and sometimes derision. Attempts at communication were met with shuns and gibberish none recognized. Luckily they noticed a ship off shore, with a small rowboat. The ship was definitely more of the civilized sort, and so was the owner. A gaudily dressed seafaring man named Ferrus. He spoke common, and the native Bu'atu langage as well. He was a trader, and this village was one of many on his route he comes for fish and other island delicacies. He agreed to translate for the party in exchange for something. Luckily Galazbryn, the dwarf warrior, picked up an unknown trinket in the structure, it looked interesting enough to Ferrus that he agreed to help. They were lead to the village's leader, a larger tent and guarded by able bodied tribal men. Inside they were met with a welcome, and after some coaxing, they got the village elder to tell the story of this place, and the structure.<br />
<br />
About a year ago, a giant ball of fire fell from the sky, and landed. After the fires cooled, all that remained was the strange structure. Inside were the strange mutated creatures. They were bothersome to the village, but only a nuisance. Thievery mostly. Then came a tribe of warrior woman from far away, they came seeking signs which they believed were the structure. The women emerged from it with a great orb of power. Then the warriors turned on the Bu'atu village and stole supplies and some men, and left to the caves to the north, there they remained. The elder was able to notice the features of Maevik and believed she was of them.<br />
<br />
The group wished to go to the marauders and perhaps free the men slaves, and retrieve the golden orb. The elder was kind enough to impart one man who would guide them.<br />
<br />
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The next day began a 2 day long journey north through the thick jungles. Avoiding dangers along the way thanks to their guide. Once they arrived at the ravine which housed the caves, they noticed the activity. It was definitely inhabited. Their Bu'atu guide refused to go further. The group waited for nightfall before proceeding. Hogel of course scouted it out, gathering intelligence. There were tents outside the cave entrance, and they seemed to be mostly empty. The group decided it would be the best time to attack, so they assaulted the warriors. Maevik recognized some, but there was something off about them. They were paler of skin, slightly rotted flesh similar to the creatures in the structure, and a strange look behind their eyes, almost as if they were mad. The survivors refused to talk. Having silenced them, they cautiously approached the cave entrance, hearing the chanting and pyres inside. Nobody seemed to be alerted to what just happened. <br />
<br />
As they got in deeper, they found themselves snuck up on by an entire hunting party that came back, a dozen arrows trained in on them. They dropped there weapons and were lead deep into the caves, into the source of the chanting. Verital, the tiefling warlock, could feel a power emanating from within, one he has only felt since starting this quest, but stronger now than ever. Then in the room there were many more women chanting around a pedestal which carried the golden orb, the one they seeked, and Khyos.<br />
<br />
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Khyos laughed at the sight of Maevik. Gloating to her younger sister of the new power their tribe achieved. Soon after Maevik was banished, and took the widowmaker, the sign of the right to rule, Khyos had a vision of a new source of power, a new heirloom. Following signs and portents, they were lead here to this place, and this orb. They have been worshiping it and it has granted them power.<br />
<br />
Seeing her friends under the spears of the tribeswomen, Maevik saw and opportunity. She challenged her sister for combat over the right to rule. If this new power was true, it would further testify why she was queen. Khyos could not ignore such a challenge, and the 2 were given a rink.<br />
<br />
A brave fight ensued. Verital thought of a way to incite fear on the side of Maevik. He subtly ignited her sword in flames. It garnered gasps from the audience, but Maevik was still struggling in her fight. Khyos indeed had a new power. Sometimes her strikes would generate a shock, at times it seemed to be arcing from her. Luckily her cloak given to her by Hogel helped in protection.<br />
<br />
Fearing the loss of Maevik, the rest of the group decided to fight against their captors while they were distracted by the melee. The tribeswomen too were gifted with this electric power.<br />
<br />
Maevik was still holding out against Khyos, but barely. She tried to speak to her tribeswoman that the sword was still the rightful symbol of power, not the evil corrupting energies of the orb. The women seemed to contemplate it a little, but Khyos reminded them again why she ruled, and her sister ran.<br />
<br />
In the fight Maevik was knocked down and hurt terribly. Khyos gloated. But in a last ditch hit, which was sapping the life from Maevik, she delivered a fatal blow. The sword still aflame and brighter than ever shone throughout the room like a beacon. Maevik continued to plead with her tribe that this wasn't the way. Taking unknown and little understood power only worked to damage the pure ways of the amazon warriors. That they needed to return to their homeland, and leave the slaves. The tribeswoman were beginning to see reason as soon as Verital took the orb and covered it up. Like a cloud has been lifted from their minds. They began chanting for Maevik, their queen.<br />
<br />
This was where the group parted. Maevik had found her calling with her tribe, to lead them back to their traditional ways, and the path to healing. She said her goodbyes to Galazbryn, who was undoubtedly brave throughout the entire adventure. To Hogel who time and time again proved his skills, and that full-blooded orcs were more than mindless brutes. And to Verital, the extremely handsome, and powerful adept, who had saved them on many occasions.<br />
<br />
Having the orb now, they waved goodbye, and activated their homing rings given to them by Sydrick, and found themselves back in the room they once left.<br />
<br />
But this was different. All furniture, tapestries, and books were gone. It was empty. In the center was merely a pedestal and a pillow on top, and Sydrick standing beside it. He asked them if they now had the orb, greedily. Verital asked for proof of the reward. With the wave of his hand a chest appeared in the corner, full of gold and shiny trinkets. Sydrick seemed anxious, and impatient, asking abruptly to place the orb on the pedestal. Verital could sense that something was off. Hogel didn't smell Sydrick either, it seemed like there was nothing there.<br />
<br />
Verital cautiously set it down, ready for anything. Sydrick laughed, a raucous cackle. Then he disappeared. It was an illusion. The chest of gold was an illusion as well. The group may never know what they had just done, or what may transpire because of it, but things would be set in motion that may change the land of Adyan forever.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The End</b></span></div>
M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-83928776229986594402013-06-11T08:00:00.001-07:002013-06-11T08:00:07.025-07:00Adventures of a C.P.A. (Episode 6, Part 1)There was a lot of questions about the history of our companion, John, the hollow. He was of a magical species that only ages during the day, and feeds off of psychic energies. Many of these hollows roam the night and terrorize man. Some find a way of controlling their urges, like John. All that is known of his life is that at one point he did something with his power, something big, and in front of enough normals to cause a paradoxical backlash that nearly brought him to oblivion. He lost his identity and all records, even lost his name. No normal would ever know him for the rest of his life.<br />
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<br />
That very incident is what brought Kent to the police department evidence locker this day. He was searching for answers, and being the only one with actual police clearance, he could go to the right places. Kent was looking into the fateful night, the last John remembered after his paradoxical backlash. There were records detailing a giant mob war, but a suspicious one. This russian mafia had been a close family, but mysteriously they all killed each other, brutally, thus ending the entire family. The cops could only explain it as a power struggle, but it ended too horribly. There was no record of John there, even though he remembered waking up among the carnage. There wouldn't be, not with the paradox keeping him out of notice. But there was a woman who was shot. The only person shot in the incident, besides John. Everyone else was killed with knives. Kent asked to see the records and studied them. The bullet from the decease woman was what stood out. Kent asked to see it. The very unusual thing about it, was it was made of iron. Nobody carries iron bullets, nobody uses iron bullets. This would be weird, except to the perspective of Kent, who has a few himself, along with silver bullets. What do you use cold iron against? Fey. Fairies and other magical creatures weak to it's properties. Something about it being a manmade material, or unnatural to the natural.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH62r-JUosIxkIkYzj39eFDKgRYOCoMq-YFR7sVoHSluVoeu-IkaDYDTNZOgbttRvk5p5q0mbkFzwiZARUcO_op4Q45FOZVubnuvVLK8nJSuXykPaU454uywDISmG85AuQb3xpaXEa-GM/s1600/ironbullet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH62r-JUosIxkIkYzj39eFDKgRYOCoMq-YFR7sVoHSluVoeu-IkaDYDTNZOgbttRvk5p5q0mbkFzwiZARUcO_op4Q45FOZVubnuvVLK8nJSuXykPaU454uywDISmG85AuQb3xpaXEa-GM/s200/ironbullet.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Kent knew he needed the bullet to take back to John, to use some psychometry and find who shot it, or loaded it into the gun. With a little slight of hand, he was able to smuggle it out of evidence.<br />
<br />
Back at Nightfall, John was interested in the bullet indeed. By working some of his mind magic, he was immediately entrapped in a vision. He saw a warehouse. Warehouse 77. As his mind-self approached it, he was soon surrounded by corpsified, or skeletal creatures. Ones who captured him, and set him on fire. He woke up screaming like he was on fire. He had to only say Warehouse 77.<br />
<br />
The rest of the group decided to go investigate the place. Get some answers. Hank had a different idea. He wanted to do some detective work on his own: the place of the mass killing of the Russian mob family.<br />
<br />
While everyone else, John, Flint, Kent, and Kody, piled into the suburban to investigate warehouse 77, Hank took a drive to his.<br />
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The building was now condemned. Old police tape still cordoned off the area, and found it locked. It appeared to be a restaurant, or hotel. It was unclear since everything was boarded off. Hank found a small hole in a window he could peak through. He shined his flashlight and lit a clear area in the floor. This would help him teleport inside. He gathered his wits, and concentrated on the power. He felt the familiar flash of him zipping through space, but found his nose smashed against the outside wall. He could only assume some magical barrier prevented teleportation. He looked at the lock and chain barring the door. It too had a magical aura around it, something more powerful than he could manage. He couldn't even break it open physically with his cane.<br />
<br />
If he were to get inside, it would need a great deal of effort, but someone didn't want any meddling. Someone didn't want secrets to be found. Hank decided to head over to meet up with the others at warehouse 77.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-73939065368540860272013-06-07T08:00:00.000-07:002013-06-07T08:00:03.725-07:00My wife's first game of D&D (Part 3)So we gathered around the table, and their adventure began... in a tavern. (Hey, I did say I wanted my wife to experience D&D.)<br />
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The party finds themselves in a tavern looking for work. Verital, the tiefling warlock, goes about asking the barkeep for any leads. He points them to a skittish gnome drinking alone. Maevik, the amazoness, immediately put to work some of her seductive appeal, but the gnome was all too willing to talk about a job by his great and powerful and illustrious master, Sydrick the wizard. Galazbryn, the dwarf warrior maiden, had heard the name before, but couldn't put her finger on what exactly. Something bothered her about it.<br />
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Having no other lead for work, they followed the excited gnome to a wizard's tower, where they were lead into the lobby and met with Sydrick the wizard. He looked all the part. He explained to them that he needed a powerful artifact recovered for him. It was lost in the jungles in the tropical regions of the continent. A golden orb. Sydrick had use of it as any wizard would have of any such trinket. He promised ample rewards to the heroes. There wasn't much more convincing needed.<br />
<br />
He gave them each magic rings that would teleport them back to the tower, but warned them to only ever use them once they had possession of the orb. As he left the room, a circle in the floor lit up and they found themselves amidst a teleportation ritual. It was meant to bring them close to where the orb should be.<br />
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In a brilliant flash, the party suddenly found themselves surrounded by humidity, heat, and jungle noises. Hogel, the orc tracker, immediately began to take stock of his surroundings. Silently he disappeared into the woods. It didn't take him long to find the obvious out of place. A large structure was planted in the forest. It had left a long deep groove in the dirt, as if it had moved. The whole thing seemed eschewed with strange markings painted on the sides. No other entrance seemed apparent but the glass dome that was shattered and half buried. By the look of the vegetation growing up the side of it, it appears to have been here for only about a year.<br />
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The party explored the structure. Strange indeed. No craftsmanship or materials were recognizable. Verital the warlock could sense some energies, but no strange magics. Within they explored and found many unsettling things. Half rotten, and half eaten corpses laid about. All wearing strange gray clothing. Crude daemonic shrines and strange shaped artifacts laid about. Once they found a giant electrical shocker lizard nesting in what could closest be described as an alchemist's lab. Maevik made quick work of the beast with her tribal sword. Hogel had skinned the corpse and made small cloaks for him and Maevik. Assuming it's electric properties may prove useful later.<br />
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It was a standard dungeon crawl, encountering mutated ugly 'humans' who were mad beyond interrogation. Hogel continued to keep trophies of his kills in the manner of scalping their rotted heads. Verital came in use finding some manner of fire traps which he was able to control with his mysterious tome, the Fire Lord's Edict, and in dispatching the final mutant lord of the place.<br />
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Alas they believe they had found it, or at least the pedestal. Verital could sense the residual power that had once existed there, and there was no doubt that this once held the golden orb. Painted among the walls it chronicled the arrival of a people who raided the place, and took the orb, and left to a cave not far off, as illustrated on a map. But Maevik was enraged. She recognized the style of drawings. And the lead figure who had claimed the orb as it's own was wearing the signature headdress of queen of her tribe, the amazons: Khyos, her sister. The one who defeated Maevik, and the one she had stolen the sword from. This had suddenly become very personal for her.<br />
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To be continued...M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-70514016647804280012013-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:002013-06-04T08:00:00.024-07:00Wartech Campaign: Experimental Rules (Part 3)Last post I expounded upon a couple rules that didn't work very well. This week is a couple that we thought fit nicely with the game.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Different Archetypes</b></span></div>
In our system we are designing for Wartech, we liked the idea of a few broad character classes. I condensed the list down to moderator, combatant, technician, and operative.<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Combatant (COM):</b> Career fighter or combat specialist. Characters start with 1d6+6 HP, and +1 Fighting.</li>
<li><b>Moderator (MOD):</b> Leaders or commanders. Characters start with 1d6+3 HP, and +1 Empathy.</li>
<li><b>Operative (OPS):</b> Special agent or freelancer. Characters start with 1d6+4 HP, and +1 Acquiring.</li>
<li><b>Technician (TEK):</b> Technology specialist or science officer. Characters start with 1d6+2 HP, and +1 Scientific or +1 Repairing.</li>
</ul>
Combatant was essentially a fighter and technicians stayed the same. But we chose to split up the rogue into moderator and operative. We felt there needed to be distinction.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>New Character Sheet</b></span></div>
Having a unique character sheet helps to get into the feel of a new game, even if it's just an experimental one. The following sheet is a little more detail oriented and I built it to cover more rules for Rogue Space. Like the [+Initiative] and [+Movement] boxes next to the [Hit Points] box. These were to include special rules that gave you a modifier to your initiative and movement for calculating those from your current hit points.<br />
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The boxes below the FASER stats are meant for filling in your purchased skills for easy reference during play.<br />
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I really enjoy making character sheets. Getting all the pieces to fit.<br />
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More to come next week.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-41230043772078797172013-05-24T08:00:00.000-07:002013-05-24T08:00:02.810-07:00My wife's first game of D&D (Part 2)<a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-wifes-first-game-of-d-part-1.html" target="_blank">Last week</a> I touched on the first RPG I ran for my wife. So the first big step was creating her character. Naturally I didn't want to bore her with different feats, the nuances of character creation, or all the different classes, so I wanted to keep it simple. I asked her what type of character she would like to play. Thinking of all the books you've read, the movies you've seen, what type of heroin would you like to be?<br />
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After bouncing some ideas back and forth, she fixated on a strong female warrior type reminiscent of some of the girls in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Frazetta" target="_blank">Frank Frazetta's</a> artwork. An artist we are both fans of. She also had the idea of an amazoness type warrior woman. So I figured the best character archetype would be a barbarian.<br />
<br />
Now, True20 doesn't have character classes, which is what I like about it. Basically you can choose either the Expert, Adept, or Warrior character types. Warrior was the obvious one, but the choice of gear, skills, and feats are what separates her from a soldier. Giving her the quintessential 'Rage' feat, which would temporarily boost her stats seemed appropriate.<br />
<br />
There was another key thing about RPG's that I wanted to drive home with my wife, and that was the RP part of RPG. I wanted her to create a backstory for her character that helped define her actions and decisions. One that gave her character a goal and demeanor instead of a sheet full of numbers you roll on. After some more lively brainstorming, we settled on the following:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Maevik was the daughter of the tribal queen of the Amazon forest tribe. This matriarchal society believes in strength and prowess of their leader. The tribal queen is required to have several daughters to determine who will be the next queen. There was Khyos, the first daughter, and then there was Maevik, the second. Khyos and Maevik never quite got along, mainly because they both knew that they would have to fight one day for the crowning headress. It didn't matter who was born first, it only mattered who would win in mortal combat.<br />
<br />
Then came the fight for succession, and Maevik was beaten by her older sister. Unwilling to accept defeat, but having no choice, she ran away from her tribe, and absconded with the queen's sword, the Widowmaker, which was the symbol of the queen's power and authority. She also took one of the tribe's young dire wolves with her.<br />
<br />
Maevik has been an outcast and hunted by her tribe for a year. She took work where she could get it, and has been living as an adventurer since. For a few months she has been traveling with the others of the party: the orc, Hogel Leftshooter, the dwarf Galazbryn, and the leader of the group, the tiefling named Verital.</blockquote>
You could imagine my pride when we came up with an actual interesting female character, one with flaws, strengths, and an interesting past that may provide an issue in her future. Beth seemed excited about the concept of Maevik, and her animal companion, the young dire wolf named Fang.<br />
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Soon we gathered around the table to start her first adventure. More on that next week.<br />
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<br />M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-52936554350924409802013-05-21T08:00:00.000-07:002013-05-21T08:00:08.361-07:00Wartech Campaign: Experimental Rules (Part 2)This is a continuation of reporting what experimental rules worked and what didn't for our Rogue Space Wartech campaign. <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/05/wartech-campaign-experimental-rules.html" target="_blank">Last week</a> I explained the Skill system which worked really well.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Stun Points</span></b></div>
We had given characters a second set of health points called Stun points. These were meant to represent your character's non-lethal damage. Losing all your stun points knocked you out cold. They were also easy to recover. Your character's stun points is just his/her health points divided by 2 (rounded down). Some weapons did stun damage only, and it would work well for psionics. Using and pushing psionics didn't eat up your health points, instead it did your stun points. This allowed for more liberal use of psionics without making them so deadly to the user.<br />
<br />
Well this rule looked good on paper, but it really didn't effect play all that much. It only served to convolute the rules where they probably didn't need to be. Few things did stun damage and few times did we use our psionics and noticed any difference when using stun points instead of health points. So in short this rule really didn't add anything to game's experience.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Two Damage Types</span></b></div>
The idea here was weapons do either Physical or Energy damage. Why? Because armor. Some armor would be more effective against energy weapons than physical weapons, and visa versa. So a weapon would be listed as something like M(ph) meaning Medium Physical damage, and some armor would have 2 defense values: M(ph)/L(en), meaning you roll Medium defense vs physical damage, and Light defense vs energy attacks.<br />
<br />
Well this didn't really work out either. For simplicity most of the time the GM would stick with one damage type and then at some point you would forget there were 2 different damage types. Most armors too would just have the 1 defense die which did equal defense vs. both damage types. So this really didn't come into play much either, and only seemed to clutter up the character sheet.<br />
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Next week I will get into a few rules that actually worked really well.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-4752241989526506752013-05-17T08:00:00.000-07:002013-05-17T08:00:07.282-07:00My wife's first game of D&D (Part 1)When my wife, Beth, first learned that I played super nerdy role-playing games like D&D, she had to rationalize dating me a little bit. It turned to one of those things where she didn't have to embrace it, or act on it, just support me loving it. I would occasionally regale her with tales on how awesome it is, but her eyes would glaze over like mine when she talked about shoes.<br />
<br />
She is also an avid book reader, and we struck a deal that I would read one of her favorite books if she would read one of mine. So I couldn't think of a better book to get her to understand RPGs than <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Part-time-Sorceress-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786947268/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368684240&sr=8-1&keywords=confessions+of+a+part-time+sorceress" target="_blank">this one</a>. In case you are not familiar with this book, here is a brief synopsis:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress</i> is a smart, humorous examination of the <b>Dungeons & Dragons</b>
roleplaying game from a female gamer's point of view. The book delves
into the myths and realities of gamer stereotypes. It explains how to
build a character for a <b>D&D</b> game, how to shop for gear, how
to play, and how to find the perfect gaming group, all the while
exploring the things that make the <b>D&D</b> game a rewarding and recurring social experience for both men and women.</blockquote>
It's a great intro to D&D book for non-nerds because it is written by one who knew nothing of it going in. It was written for people exactly like my wife. She enjoyed the book, and then when she was done, she surprised me with the following words:<br />
<blockquote>
"You know, I would be up for the notion of trying a game of D&D."</blockquote>
I was excited and anxious. I had the opportunity give someone their first RPG experience. I haven't had that thrill since my <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2009/09/alternity-reality.html" target="_blank">first game</a> ever. So I immediately began working on the game.<br />
<br />
There were so many options for what game to play, but I decided to try something traditional. A fantasy game with some crawls and mystery. Standard fare. Also for the game system, I wanted to go with a simple lighter version of D&D. I found <a href="http://true20.com/" target="_blank">True20</a>. Beth had a small fascination with the d20, so finding a simple d20 system worked great for that. I'm really not a fan of the d20 games and systems, but I find True20 to be the more tolerable. It's open ended enough to not be rigidly class-based and I like the narrative aspect of it. I wanted to avoid a game that focused on miniatures use. Luckily too the book came with an adventure module, one which would be the perfect little standalone adventure. I did want to make sure it was more than just a dungeon crawl grind-fest.<br />
<br />
With that, we made characters. I got my brothers and sister in on the game. People that Beth would be comfortable playing with.<br />
<br />
The party list consisted of the following:<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Hogel Leftshooter</b><br />
<i>Jarom Swenson</i><br />
<i>Orc Scout - Male</i><br />
A reclusive orc tracker who has definitely spent more time outside of civilization than within. He wields his bow with deadly precision, as well as a skinning knife which saw much use scalping the heads of his kills. He's also missing several fingers on his right hand. Nobody knows how.<br />
<br />
<b>Galazbryn</b><br />
<i>Julia Swenson</i><br />
<i>Dwarf Warrior - Female</i><br />
A headstrong but thoughtful dwarf fed-up with life amidst the hearth, seeking some thrill. She wields dual-swords and is always found on the front line protecting her companions.<br />
<br />
<b>Verital</b><br />
<i>James Swenson</i><br />
<i>Tiefling Fire Adept - Male</i><br />
The manipulative and disgustingly handsome tiefling has been seeking to increase his power through experience. He has on himself some very rare tomes, of which no one knows how he came upon them. Fera te Fatar (Flame Lord's Edict - in demonic) and Anat DuForal (Anatomy of Us and Others - in elven)<br />
<br />
<b>Maevik</b><br />
<i>Beth Swenson</i><br />
<i>Human Barbarian - Female</i><br />
Then there's my wife's first character ever made. I will get more into her in next week's post, but for now here is a beautiful art piece Jarom made for her to commemorate this significant event in Beth's life.<br />
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<br />M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-3030723983786692322013-05-14T07:53:00.000-07:002013-05-14T07:53:45.693-07:00Wartech Campaign: Experimental Rules (Part 1)My brothers and I, and one of Jarom's friends (who's first experience roleplaying this was) ran a game set in our <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/search/label/wartech" target="_blank">Wartech</a> setting. We plan on making our own RPG system for it, but for now we just wanted to run a game that explored and developed the setting and events more than anything. And it worked quite well. Jarom's story arc he ran for us we can see as being a great Intro-to-Wartech module we would release for the game, and it would do well of establishing the setting, and the players therein.<br />
<br />
So I thought I would write a couple small articles on what game and experimental rules we played it in. Again, this didn't use our planned game system, but instead we used <a href="http://roguespacerpg.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rogue Space</a>. A quick and dirty simple system that would get the work done. But we wanted to go ahead and throw in a few hacks to try to emulate the feel of Wartech. I gave a brief description of those new rules in this post <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/02/wartech-campaign-introduction.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I will extrapolate on them in a few posts on which ones worked and which ones didn't.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Skill System</b></span></div>
This was to be done in lieu of Backgrounds found in the Rogue Space rulebook. Once you got your FASER attributes distributed, you had some points to spend on skills. We did something like 10 points. We felt that worked for starting heroes that had some experience under their belt. (Younger upstart heroes could have something like 6 points, while seasoned veteran heroes had upwards of 16) Using a point, you could buy a skill and have a +1 in that skill. Then if you wanted to spend another point, you could raise that skill to a +2. Starting heroes could not have more than a +2 in a skill. Skills were grouped under the different FASER scores, so when it came time to do an action, you checked if you had a skill that covered that action, and for the roll you add the appropriate FASER score + that skill score. If you do not have a skill for the action, then you just roll the appropriate FASER score.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Example: Gra' was going to fire his gun on the pirates of the ship he was invading. This action would normally add just your Fighting score (+2), but since Gra' is skilled in Range Weapons (+2), he adds that as well. So he gets to add a+4 to his active test.</i></blockquote>
The idea behind this system was to be a little more specific than defining your character's career. So instead of just being a 'Ship Pilot' for the GM to decide what exactly that encompassed, you could specify what kind of Ship Pilot he was, and what other little things he was good at. Here is the list of skills we used for Wartech, and a brief description of what they covered:<br />
<br />
<b>FIGHTING Skills</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Strategy = Understanding and executing tactics and tactical situations.</li>
<li>Athletics = Physical strength and prowess. Also deals with sports and throwing objects.</li>
<li>Acrobatics = Physical nimbility. Gymnastics and balance.</li>
<li>Endurance = Resisting pain and fatigue. Enduring punishment and damage.</li>
<li>Heavy Weapons = Use of large mounted or held weapons. Indirect fire weapons.</li>
<li>Range Weapons = Use of most firearms and portable ballistic weapons.</li>
<li>Melee Weapons = Use of bladed or bludgeoning weapons.</li>
<li>Martial Arts * = Skilled hand to hand fighting styles. Highly disciplined. (Your unarmed attacks can deal L(ph) damage and you gain a +1 to defense roll vs. melee attacks when in a fighting stance)</li>
<li>Brawling = Brutal hand to hand fighting. Unarmed fighting. Grappling. (Your unarmed attacks deal L(ph) damage or M(ph) stun damage)</li>
<li>Intimidate = Threatening and striking fear into the target for cooperation.</li>
</ul>
<b>ACQUIRING Skills</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Survival = Ability to survive with low food and water and hostile conditions.</li>
<li>Manipulation = Manual dexterity and control. Sleight of hand.</li>
<li>Stealth = Art of sneaking, hiding, and moving unheard and unseen.</li>
<li>Vehicles = Standard surface or low altitude vehicle piloting/driving.</li>
<li>Aircraft * = High altitude or low orbit vehicle piloting.</li>
<li>Spacecraft * = High orbit or interplanetary vehicle piloting.</li>
<li>Perception = Alertness, awareness, observation, and intuition.</li>
<li>Investigation = Searching, tracking, interrogation, and noticing details.</li>
</ul>
<b>SCIENTIFIC Skills</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Business = Knowledge of existing businesses and business protocols and operations.</li>
<li>Archaeology * = Any history dealing with pre-known time. Usually before the existing calendar.</li>
<li>History = Recorded history of the factions and recent planetary records.</li>
<li>Law = General galactic law knowledge, and protocols.</li>
<li>Biology * = Knowledge of life science. Botany, genetics, zoology, etc.</li>
<li>Physics * = Knowledge of physical science. Chemistry, astronomy, planetology, etc.</li>
<li>Medicine * = Diagnosing and treating medical issues. Surgery and advanced first aid.</li>
<li>Navigation * = Procedure of navigating on the surface and in a star system.</li>
<li>Subspace * = Anything dealing with Tourin lanes or subspace knowledge and navigation. (Note: Tourin lanes are the Wartech setting's form of FTL, more on that in a later post.)</li>
</ul>
<b>EMPATHY Skills</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Religion = Knowledge of current religions and their beliefs and practices.</li>
<li>Streetwise = Know-how and protocols of underground or street culture.</li>
<li>Charm = Interacting with others to change attitudes and even seduction.</li>
<li>Bluff = Lying or convincing of falsehoods or avoiding information leaks.</li>
<li>Diplomacy = Reaching agreements or understandings with same or different cultures.</li>
<li>Command = Leading others and inspiring courage and communicating in combat.</li>
<li>Insight = Reading mannerisms or sensing moods or motives in someone.</li>
<li>Resolve = Inner strength to deal with mental attacks or stress. Used in keeping yourself from dying when at 0 hit points, and to keep yourself from getting knocked out when at 0 stun points.</li>
<li>Entertainment = Performing arts. Singing, dancing, comedy, drama, etc.</li>
<li>Meditation * = Enhance focus and concentration for healing and checks. Used for negative effects from psionics and for recovering stun points.</li>
</ul>
<b>REPAIRING Skills</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Technology = Repairing and technical use checks. Deals with mechanics and electronics.</li>
<li>Computers = Computer operation and advanced use. Deals with hacking.</li>
<li>Demolitions = Setting explosives and creating them.</li>
<li>Security = Knowledge of security systems and protocols.</li>
<li>Systems = Knowledge of ship and large vehicle systems and operation.</li>
<li>Creativity = Talent or aptitude in creating anything convincing or immersive.</li>
<li>Armor = Operating features of advanced power armor. Such as CAFs.</li>
</ul>
Note 1: Any skill listed with an asterisk* cannot be used untrained. Meaning someone not trained in Physics cannot attempt any checks that Physics may cover.<br />
Note 2: You really do not have to list all the above skills on your character sheet, or memorize them all. Only the ones that you purchased for your character. With the exception of the * skills, you are assumed to have a +0 score in the ones you did not buy.<br />
Note 3: In some cases, just having the skill may not require a check. If a character is trained in Vehicles, he can drive the car casually to their destination without any issue, but if a character were not so trained, then he would probably need to do Acquiring attribute checks to make sure he doesn't make a mistake!<br />
<br />
This system worked very well, and we loved the feel of it. The list of skills can be easily altered to fit the feel of any campaign.<br />
<br />
More experimental rules in a later post next week.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-49422864454273873822013-05-10T08:00:00.000-07:002013-05-10T08:00:03.423-07:00Adventures of a C.P.A. (Interlude 2)(The following events take place a few days after the events of <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/02/adventures-of-cpa-episode-2-pt-2.html" target="_blank">Episode 2</a> and before the events of <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/03/adventures-of-cpa-episode-3-part-1.html" target="_blank">Episode 3</a>. It also deals with new information found in the last <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/03/adventures-of-cpa-interlude.html" target="_blank">Interlude</a>.)<br />
<br />
Flint was nervous about giving her the book. He knew she was a homunculus, a magical creature entirely humanoid and built for a purpose. He knew she also killed herself, and when they die, the don't really die, but (for lack of a better term) reboot. Things about them change. Their physical appearance, identity, and even memories. He knew all this from his fellow companion, Kent. Kent too was a homunculus. He had his change a long time ago, and has been searching for answers since.<br />
<br />
The dilemma was should he let her start a new life and figure things out on her own, even if it meant confusion or her past? Or did he give her the book, the planner she had kept all her notes and pictures in, to piece history together, even if it meant it could lead her to the same place she was before, and her suicide. Flint decided for the latter. He himself had questions of his past, particularly that of his father whom he never met, and would do anything for answers.<br />
<br />
The doctor lead him to the hospital room with "the girl that fell in the lake a few nights ago, and with amnesia." At least that was the only description he could give them. Luckily they were agreeable in letting him visit, even though he had no name to give. Flint must have been one of those guys that seemed harmless enough.<br />
<br />
She was sitting up, looking out the window. It was Cathryn alright, but different. The beautiful features and shape of her face were unmistakable, but instead of the long straight blond, she was a readhead, with changed skin complexion and faint dots of freckles. Flint nervously approached.<br />
<br />
"Cathryn?"<br />
<br />
"It's Kate." It's an odd thing, paradox is. The universe fights what it can't rationalize. When a homunculus undergoes its 'reboot', it knows its new name, and most of its records disappear, except a few which identify it with its new name. They must have found a driver's licence on her with the changed picture and name, hence why she wasn't a Jane Doe at the hospital.<br />
<br />
"Sorry, my name is Flint Richards, C.P.A."<br />
<br />
"Hello, Flint. Are you my accountant?" The question caught him off guard a little bit. He did not expect it for some reason.<br />
<br />
"Uh...yeah." It was a lie, but he at least had an 'in' to her life. The group did want to keep tabs on her, because it could lead to insight about that mysterious case of which they had no answers to.<br />
<br />
"Well, at least I know two things: I fell in the lake, and I have an accountant."<br />
<br />
"I have something for you, it's a book that belonged to you. Hopefully it has some answers to your questions, and even about, your father."<br />
<br />
"My father?"<br />
<br />
"Yes. I'm sorry to tell you he passed away shortly before you fell in the lake." He reached to hand her the book. Just as their hands got close, their fingers touched briefly. A faint spark jumped. At first to anyone it would seem like static, but the expression on her face, and the feeling Flint got told different. Flint could feel like his life was a sudden open book to her, as though he knew she could 'read' him.<br />
<br />
"You're a wizard." She said absently. Flint was in stunned silence. It seemed like hours passed between them, without a word, but it was only half a minute.<br />
<br />
"Uh... yeah..."<br />
<br />
She took the book, and flipped through the pages, pausing on the ones filled with crammed words and phrases that made no sense when Flint first perused the book. "But you are not with any of the houses."<br />
<br />
The truth was the magical houses remained a mystery to Flint. He knew they existed, but didn't know much about them. "Are you of any of the houses." He asked her, assuming her in a trance, like she could answer any question. "Your father?"<br />
<br />
She flipped through a few more pages of scribbles, and said "Bonisagus. I don't know him, but he must be Bonisagus." She runs her fingers accross the photo of him, and her from a past life. "It's sad. I don't recognize him, but it makes me sad."<br />
<br />
Her sad eyes looked up at Flint, then turned to puzzlement. "Why aren't you of any of the houses?"<br />
<br />
Flint had no answer.<br />
<br />
"They're coming for you, Flint. They are coming for you because of who your father is. The Fraternal Order of Hermes will be contacting you soon." Her words didn't seem to come from her, more like coming from a machine, which Flint found even more unsettling than the news. "But different houses within the Order may contend for your membership and loyalty."<br />
<br />
By this time Flint had already begun to back away. He didn't want to appear rude or insensitive, but it was too much for him to take in. "Uh, well, ok. Um. Here" He fumbled in his suit pocket for a card "Here is my card. If you have any questions, or need any help, uh, call me."<br />
<br />
Just as he turned to leave, heart racing, she called to him. "Flint!" His head turned back only far enough to see her out of the corner of his eye. He didn't want her to see his panic. "Pick your associations carefully." She returned to the book, flipping through the pages like a speed reader.<br />
<br />
He barely made it to the parking lot before he dropped to his knees, wheezing heavily. Instinctively he began reaching for his inhaler. What did she mean? What about the houses? His father? Who was he? Was he a wizard too? Was Hermes coming for him because his father was a Hermes as well? Or were they enemies?<br />
<br />
The familiar touch of the cold inhaler met his lips and he sucked the spurt of medicine, bringing immediate relief. If they came for him, what then?M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-22080857931290679162013-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:002013-05-07T08:00:09.479-07:00Kickstarter: Engine HeartIf I were to suggest to someone the idea of playing Wall-E the RPG, they may laugh it off as a joke. But then they would think about it for a while, and actually start to consider it.<br />
<br />
Not necessarily playing as one of the main characters from the movie, but imagine the same world that Wall-E survived in. Now imagine you are a different robot somewhere else, who has miraculously survived just as Wall-E has, and built up your own quirky binary personality. Maybe you survived because you adapted, adopting new directives for survival. Maybe you survived by keeping with your original programming, even if it means danger to others around you.<br />
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<br />
So I present to you, <a href="http://viralgamespublishing.com/" target="_blank">Engine Heart</a>, the RPG about playing simple helpful bots in a post apocalyptic world. Nobody knows what happened to the humans, not even the bots. They just endure.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This was a game that was created on my forum I like to frequent, and I had a small part in its creation (very small, more like encouragement and surface feedback) like the other RPG I presented <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2013/02/kickstarter-busty-barbarian-bimbos.html" target="_blank">here</a>. It's made by a talented game designer known on my forum only as Viral. He has made other little quirky titles, but Engine Heart is the one that is lauded as his greatest creation.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ted-wPZmJd8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
The game is already published, and you can buy a print, but he is doing a Kickstarter campaign to get copies made so they can be shipped to local game stores. I talked with my store owner here in Idaho and got him to volunteer to be on the list for stores that will receive copies when the Kickstarter finishes. He has already reached his funding goal, so this isn't a call for support. But <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/viralgames/engine-heart-is-coming-to-a-store-near-you" target="_blank">check it out</a>. You can download it for free <a href="http://viralgamespublishing.com/resources/Engine+Heart+Deluxe+form-fillable.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. Read the book and tell me you don't want to run a game of friendly robots in a harsh world.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-28863315559433843462013-05-03T08:00:00.000-07:002013-05-03T08:00:09.734-07:00Adventures of a C.P.A. (Episode 5)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was just supposed to be a quick trip. They don't remember anymore why they were out on an errand. They just know what it turned into. The day was beginning to end, and the sun was about to set to a new full moon. John was still back at Nightfall headquarters because he doesn't do well during day trips. Kody noticed the fuel getting low on the suburban, so he pulled into a gas station for a fill-up. It had been a long drive, and the rest of the group saw this as an opportunity to stretch their legs.<br />
<br />
Flint needed to pee pretty bad, and went straight for the bathrooms. Kent and Hank went inside to see what snacks fancied them. Kody began to fill the tank when he heard a biker gang pull in. Six heavy bikes with burley, leather clad, bearded men pulled into the station. Kody couldn't help but notice the beads of sweat they were all dripping, and the crazed and panicked look on their faces. He assumed they were meth-heads by their demeanor, then he overheard their conversation:<br />
<br />
"Man I miscalculated that trip. I didn't realize there would be so much construction on the freeway."<br />
"It's almost nightfall, what are we gonna do?"<br />
"It's ok, we just gotta find a place to hole up for the night."<br />
"Wait, anyone see Kevin?"<br />
"Shit! Where's Kevin? Fan out, find Kevin!"<br />
<br />
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Flint was finishing up in the bathroom when a huge biker stormed inside the room. At first glance something seemed off about him. His leathers were barely fit over his body, stretched tight, and his helmet looked like a child's size compared to his head. Then the man started grunting in pain, and got bigger. The jacket and pants began to rip from the strain, and his helmet popped off. Flint backed off and looked looked into the mirror. No reflection. Weirder still while he looked in the mirror, he heard nothing. He glanced back at the changing biker and heard the painful cracking, tearing, and now growling. Then back at the mirror; no reflection still and silence. He would have to ponder that later because he then faced a giant silver haired werewolf. Flint cried out for help.<br />
<br />
The other bikers now knew where Kevin was. Two of them rushed in the store toward the yelling. They piled into the door, but the beast held its massive arm out and kept it closed. They began pounding on it; "KEVIN!" Kody reacted to the commotion as well, following the 2 bikers to the door.<br />
<br />
Flint quickly pulled out his sticky pad and pen/wand and scribbled down a quick protection spell, then slapped the note on his shirt, but it was too late. The beast had bent down to bite him on the shoulder. Luckily his scrawny frame and response made it only a flesh wound.<br />
<br />
Kody was joining the bikers and couldn't get the door open. Seeing a necessity to help his friend, he shifted into his Kodiak bear form. Hank saw this and immediately turned to the attendant behind the counter. "Believe me when I say this, but we are not here to rob you. Is there anyone else working here?"<br />
<br />
In a stuttered foreign accent, he said "Hajim is working in the back."<br />
<br />
"Good, get down behind the counter and don't come up for anything." The man drops to the floor.<br />
<br />
"Wait!" interrupts Hank, "Can I get a quick pick?" A shaking hand reaches up and presses the button on the register, printing the lotto ticket.<br />
<br />
Kent, never without a sidearm, pulls it out and rushes to one of the bikers at the door. He pulls the man back and slams him against the wall, demanding an explanation. The man goes from a panicked visage, to a completely straight calm look, and says: "It's a full moon. Crazy things happen during a full moon." In almost an instant the man transformed into a black haired werewolf, as well as the other at the door. It threw Kent off and across the room.<br />
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Flint had reeled from the bite, and scrambled under a bathroom stall. He pressed his hands against the stall door and quickly chanted a Matter spell. The stall's material shifted from its cheap graffiti'd painted aluminum, to a solid wall. He felt his chest begin to tighten and the shortness of breath. Instinctively he reached for his inhaler and took a hit.<br />
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The bear called Kody was able to pile into the bathroom now that the wolf was distracted. Without skipping a beat he slammed into the giant beast and up against the bathroom wall. Slamming repeatedly the two created a massive hole in the cinder-block wall and rolled outside.<br />
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Kent was already back on his feet. He knew he had to get to the suburban because his bag of weapons were in the back, as well as the silver bullets. He had to dodge a few of the other now-werewolves on his way there. Finally getting to the bag, he grabbed his B.A.R. and the clip of silver tipped rounds.<br />
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Hank was facing one of the werewolves now, but he noticed it struggling. Almost as if it was trying to control its own actions. Finally instinct got the better of it and lunged at Hank with its claws. A deep gash came in on his chest, knocking him down. Then the creature's head splattered open, and it fell limp. Hank saw the standing figure of Kent, rifle aimed. The body fell to the floor, back in human form. There were more still. Hank teleported himself behind the counter. The attendant was no longer there. He must have run off. Underneath the counter he noticed a shotgun hanging up. He quickly grabbed it and aimed up, ready to shoot the next thing that looked over.<br />
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While Flint had calmed down, a wolf's head with yellow eyes peaked under the stall. In a deep growl and in the best audible voice it could muster, it said "Are...you....okay?"<br />
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"Uh.." said stunned Flint "Yeah?"<br />
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"Stay...here...puny...man."<br />
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Meanwhile outside the hole of the bathroom, the silver werewolf had made it back on top from the melee with Kody, and it bit into his neck. Blood poured from the wound, but luckily got mostly flank. Kody began smacking back with his giant bear paws. He also saw a new set of black werewolf hands reach around the silver wolf's neck, chocking it. Kody had the presence of mind to see it was trying to get the big one off of him. The large silver werewolf couldn't take the beating much more and fell unconscious. Another black werewolf arrived and joined his peer. Police sirens were heard in the distance. They both shifted into regular wolves, nuzzled the body of the silver werewolf, then ran off into the night distance.<br />
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Kent had made quick work of the rest of them, leaving the remaining 3 as corpses in the station. He was changing his clip when he too heard the sirens. He joined Kody, who was human again, as they stood over the body of the silver werewolf. They both looked at each other, having the same thought. They couldn't let a dangerous and out of control creature such as this loose. Two of the others seemed to be able to keep control, but the rest did not. Especially this one. Kent fired a round into its head.<br />
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The group was able to quickly get to the suburban and drive off. Except Kody. He took one of the bikes. They rode off before the police arrived. The next day they all saw the report in the paper of a biker gang vandalizing and shootout of a gas station.M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066982901689127402.post-50912185288808010432013-04-30T08:00:00.000-07:002013-04-30T08:00:01.233-07:00Mobile Frame Zero ReleasedMy book finally came! I covered this game as a Kickstarter post back in 2012 <a href="http://thefairlyunkempt.blogspot.com/2012/04/mobile-frame-zero.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Now that the book from that campaign came in I have been extremely stoked to play. The book is beautiful.<br />
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First off the game itself has improved significantly from its old version, called Mechaton. They changed some rules and added a few extra things for the better. The rulebook was a pleasure to read because they put a lot of thought into the wording and explanations.<br />
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It is also has no lack of story and setting elements. It starts off with a decent piece of fiction set in the Mobile Frame Zero universe, with some excellent artwork. Then it goes into the rules, which takes up a major portion, and finally it has lego building instructions.<br />
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That's right. Simple instructions for getting you up and running fast with your own force of Lego mecha. Instructions like this:<br />
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I can't promote this game enough. It is fun, fast, and deadly. No unit sheets, cards, record sheet, etc are needed to play. It is all based on how you build your units and using dice. A definite recommend to anyone who has a passion for Lego, and loves a good simple and fast game about mecha warfare.<br />
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You can buy a copy <a href="http://mobileframezero.com/mfz/" target="_blank">here</a>, also he gives away the PDF for free <a href="http://mobileframezero.com/downloads/MobileFrameZero-RapidAttack.d1.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. Check it out!M. Jared Swensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08675126659478194641noreply@blogger.com0