How I Run Games-

I don't claim to understand the Old School v. New School war's central division, and when I read posts about The Forge v. DIY OSR v. Indie, or Prog Rock v. Improv Jazz v. Garage Rock, I just wonder where my games fall along the spectrum.

If any of you have played an orthodox game of The Morrow Project, I think that will go a long way to describe where Urutsk is coming from. It is about military, scientific, and back-woodsy folk joining together to work towards pulling society back from the post-apocalyptic world that Ed Marrow foresaw as an inescapable inevitability of the future. These folks weren't paid oodles and gobs of money; why would they be? The cash would be worthless. Instead, they all followed the dream that putting together what good was fallen and broken was more important than fame or fortune. That's not the picaresque ideal of Adventurers. It may not even be Old School. Furthermore, these folks have no mechanical skill set as part of the game system. No list of d% chances to fix a bicycle or build an engine. All of that comes from the Player. That is Old School. The rest of the time one is standing around in their combat overalls not shooting giant wolverines, deadly flies, or radiant blue undead, one is expected to be chatting-up the locals -- descendants of the PCs and the era from whence they came. That sounds kinda New School to me.

If you've played a game of Skyrealms of Jorune, you feel where I'm coming from. You're not from here, but your people have been here for so long that the place you came from is just a myth, and if you were to make the trip there, it'd be a lifeless ball of slag. So, you live among the genetically engineered animals of that other place, among the world-altered fellow humans who now see and can weave the Chi of the planet Jorune due to their ability to conduct it masterfully, or others who can dull its effects through their sheer grounding ability. Aliens, too, have long been stranded on this crazy world, and haven't had as fine a time of it because they don't savvy teamwork and diplomacy; instead, they have slaver empires, are murderers who hide their blood madness with dyed forehead nodes, or are capitulators working only to save their twin-eye-stalked heads. The place will kill you dead in no time flat. Tech is super scarce. The few remaining indigenous Humanoids rightly fear your kind and sequester themselves away in mountaintop monasteries or deep jungle temples, gazing at the many colourful moons that dictate which Chi powers are in ascendancy. Going forward means making a go of it here, using native means, with non-Humans as allies and the occasional Human as a political enemy. OId School? New School?

If you've played Metamorphosis Alpha or Gamma World, you feel the burn of the past in your bones and blood. The changes that have been wrought are irrevocable, but not incapable of being overcome. New civilisations have arisen. Ruins may be abandoned and scavenged through, but new trade towns are growing in population behind walls. Merchants ply the trackless wastes to make contact with distant population centres, and dumb-ass adventurers are hired by barons to scout out distant dangers and bring back Ancient loot. Alignment Factions live their crazy creeds and kill to protect their secret languages and codes, either despising the former world or the new civilisations; the blight come upon humanity and the animals/plants, or embracing the chaotic radiance; hearing the voice of mad computer gods, or recognising the superiority of the android, the cyborg, the robot. Scavenging like cockroaches, or building something new; demolishing or wandering. New School or Old School?

I am a Simulationist GM with Narrativist sensibilities. Folks talk about their dreams and regrets, and then get their leg blown off. Everything is too real and surreal. The long term goals versus the immediate goals of survival. The diplomatic bungles and the limited ammo count. The utterly depraved, and the commonalities of intelligent aliens. Life and death.

This is how I define my games, and Urutsk in particular.

*{Ramble}*[RPG] Hard Limits, Starting Characters & Background in Context--

I realise the following contains references you folks don't yet have available, but I occasionally write these, 'for the record', as it were. I hope it is at least moderately interesting.

After 'refreshing' the Spectral Index to make it more intuitive, I rolled up a 'long-form' character and spotted a tweak or two in the order of tables, or a formatting glitch that needed correcting.
--I then decided to see if the background skills (Environmental Activities, and Training points) could be abused RaW, and when I saw that it could, I then placed a hard limit on the letter code (skill level in common parlance) that could be purchased. Now (although 'levelled' figures can increase Training through Adventure Points), starting folk (such as NPCs and the Base PC), cannot be more than an average of 75% proficient in any given Activity. When I upload the Spectral Index this will all make good sense.

I must make certain that even casual readers of the Players' Manual will not be able to confuse the 'long form' character generation routine with the 'roll-and-go' (ostensibly 'old school') method which allows for importation of many/most other 3d6-based characters.
--That EPT thread on Dragonsfoot sent shivers down my spine. I don't want to deal with anything of the sort.

My decision to switch over to a Gamma World scale for a figure's 'HPs' and weapons damage makes me very happy, and opens up a lot of great official and fan-based GW material for cross-pollination, so to speak.
--Since I've always favoured GW over D&D, this is a sort of 'homecoming' for me in a similar way to many OS bloggers'/gamers' re-discovery of 'the old ways.' That Mutant Future is enjoying the fan-success that it is only bolsters my confidence in my decision.

Now, parallel to that change, the implementation of many of the ideas/principles found in Ward's MA articles in The Dragon, and a general memory of Jorune chargen, 'long form' PCs are very playable without one drop of Point Design prior to game-start, which was one of my goals that hadn't been made clear in the beta .pdf, to my chagrin.

Since UWoM is another creature altogether, and I am not in the Orthodox Old School church, ;) I strongly believe in games that have official settings:

* Tekumel
* Greyhawk (don't kid yourselves, you know 1e was keyed to reflect Greyhawk)
* The Vilani Imperium
* Glorantha
* The Warden
* Gamma Earth/Terra via its series of adventures literally expanding the known world's map
* The Morrow Project's earth
* The world of Palladium
* Car Wars' earth
* Jorune, among others.

--Having a strong setting in no way diminishes one's ability to 'sandbox', and some of the above required one to do so if only due to the grandeur of the setting.

With a strong setting comes the knowledge of the world's baseline and the origins from whence a character arose. The parents/guardians, the local environs, pastimes and home-education in familial trades/crafts and culture-ways, as well as years of hearing of the daily goings-on 'at work', if not actually apprenticing in that field. Then the local society and its concerns, diversions, interests, mores and standards of conduct, pastimes, philosophies, religious thoughts and ideals (if any), sexual congress rites, and burial practises, etc.
--In game terms, even if a young (teens) character is rolled, these things are already resident within the person, and figure into their ability to navigate the considerable dangers upon Urutsk, while the player is still the one in charge, and the one challenged. The details of a character's background are a goldmine for gaming possibilities.

So, for gamers who enjoy Urutsk as a backdrop, but want to roll 3d6 six times in order and optionally pick a class, it'll work fine, as will it for folks who'll find rolling up a native in their full glory to be rather nifty.

[RPG] Updates Notification: 9th, December-

I am busy describing life in all of the Imperial Castes based upon the ancestral traditions of former starship crew positions (Astrogator, Medical, Survival Instructor, etc.), and their applicability to contemporary Urutskan life.
--Mechanically, this works with both the Spectral Index, and traditional d100 rolls equally well, so both camps are accommodated without diluting the system.

Likewise, the micromanagement of Skill % has been eliminated through the introduction of the Spectral Index, which itself, eliminates the use of d100 while still maintaining as great a range through the addition of PC bonuses for Ethnicity, etc.

I have also updated the Dynamic Pool rules to align more precisely with Gamma World's (nd6) HP, where n is equal to the figure's Constitution score. Although, Urutskans are generally of a lighter build overall than inhabitants of a full G world, rather than .95 G or so of that smaller, watery world.
--Now, commoners and non-Fight-die gaining persons are still as durable as an average GW character, and any gained DP from Fight Dice are simply added to the total.
---The effect this has upon the Combat System is that Critical Strikes will conform more closely to the established 'Double Damage' sort of operation than my, 'straight into the negatives' method. Concurrent with that, however is a 'Wound Level' mechanism which emulates similar effects I find desirable in my games; namely that folks really ought to go unconscious before kicking the bucket more often than not.

Also Combat-related, Critical Strikes now occur only on iterative '5+ what was needed' results, and taken off of the raw die (dice) results of a '20', etc.

With all of the talk of Mass Combat and the Deendee End Game in the blogs, I brushed-off my work from earlier in the year and combined it with the Spectral Index to provide a standard wargamey matrix with the added granularity of a subjective, colour-logic system.
--I'm letting all of that simmer, but have taken efforts to support a seamless integration with the PCs so that 'on-the-fly' change of focus 'zoom' can be used to affect both the Strategic and PC scales of action.
---The results of 'heroes' are then stepped-down one level for the aligned warriors around them, but also, poor troop rolls can drag-down the heroes' efforts. It is the most synergistic and compact mechanism that I have seen in a system tailored to such high degree of integration with an RPG, so I hope I succeed in my lofty goal.

My entirely random character, Eresenkh Elik, using the CharGen tables, and before expending any 'PC' currency, is pretty interesting and serves to illustrate the sorts of folks who surround and support/undermine the PCs in their efforts/exploits, and from whence PCs are derived.
--This makes UWoM PCs somewhere on the order of magnitude between D&D and GW starting characters, which is where I intended.
---This ought to further facilitate the use of GW and UWoM materials back and forth between the two games, and a few of the tables are based on concepts put forth by James M. Ward in early Dragon articles for Metamorphosis Alpha.

I'm certain other bits are escaping me at present, but that's the gist of the changes.

[RPG] A Work in Progress-

Copyright (c) 2009 Kyrinn S. Eis

Mastery-

24+ : Alumeth - 'Infallible Perfection' - The very best possible outcome, no matter the odds against - Miraculous

23-22 : Eiryqos - 'Harmonious Emanations' - Sublime quality - A strike that knocks-sense into the victim - Virtuous

21-19 : Ienen - 'Cyclonic Pillars' - Awesome power, well restrained - Double Maximum Effect - Nullifying

18-16 : Oluniin - 'Incorporeality' - Move and Attack as a ghost - Lesser values pose no threat - Escape and Evasion

15-11 : Qelym - 'I, the Hermit' - Deep thought, examination, and investigation - Solving riddles/puzzles - Practise

10-08 : Uruden - 'Mountains of Contemplation' - Perfecting the art of observation - Present and Aware - Selfless

07-05 : Werenyn - 'Infinitesimal Substrate' - Stable for now - Temporal Success - True aim but windy day - Sandcastles

04-03 : Zaey - 'Little One of Great Potential' - Rough going, with setbacks and blood, but finally successful - Raw

02- : Y' - 'Cessation' - No influence - Enough knowledge to know one knows nothing - Base d24 roll

The preliminary work on a Descriptor-based task resolution system on d24 (or 2d12) for Technical Skills (Track, Scale, Repair, etc.).
--I'm one of those folks who actually admire the aim of the ACT chart mechanism of 3rd Ed. Gamma World, and have been tinkering with a colour-chart of my own which potentially may tie-in with this stuff.
---It looks spiffy in any case. ;)

The Isle of Slavers; 2e Gamma World Boxed Set; Play-by-Post Urutsk Game-

I am working on the island, fortress, and hidden sectors maps, descriptions, and general module-ness for The Isle of Slavers.
--When the adventure is played-out, I intend to reveal it here as a .pdf for your enjoyment. If it meets with your approval, I may submit it to Fight On!

My second edition Gamma World boxed set from an eBay purchase arrived today, as advertised, minus the map, but no sweat, as I still had my map. It also included 7 transparent green Gamescience dice (minus the 10's-die, plus a second d6), that I have Crayola'd white.
--Although 2e has less of an OS-feel than 1e, it is a fine and solid game-platform, and I especially like a lot of the changes and expansions to Mutations.

If I receive enough interest, I would like to run an Urutsk play-by-post game.
--I am most familiar with www.playbyweb.com, but would be open to other venues if heartily suggested.
---If interested, please leave a comment on this post to that effect.

[General][Gaming] "But You're Wrong, Steve. You See, It's Only Solitare"-

It is confirmed that Wojo/Vysh' s player is moving upstate for better employment. :)
--I hope to have his last session, this Friday, be memorable for him.

Part of my Classic-Play years were spent listening to a LOT of Jethro Tull, and as I type this, Chequred Flag, off of the Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll, Too Young to Die album, is just ending, and Warchild is beginning.
--Not only do certain albums/songs remind me of certain times and games, but they seem to re-activate centres in my brain with the same sort of creative energies present then.

My mother, of all people, reminded me that I ran a lot of Call of Cthulhu (two or more years of 36-hour sessions each weekend), far removed from the 'right way' of dealing with the Mythos, but a method that kept even the more jaded GMs and picky players coming back.
--What was I doing then that worked so well, and had I lost it in the meanwhile?
---Happily, no, I still have the mental film projector playing in my mind, and am able to articulate it in 'real-time' keeping the PCs on their toes as much as Indy was forced to be back in Raiders, while keeping them totally off-kilter as regards what's around the next turn.

It's not in the holy writ of mouldering and soft-drink stained folio sized booklets, kids. Rather, it is in your noggin and in your heart. Loving the scenes you are describing. It seems to me, that unless you love the game you are running, you cannot expect your players to give much of a good golly about it, either.
--Formulae, charts, and reconstituting a 'lost art' through philosophising the perceived intent of other, now departed, game-players turned 'pros' is a deathtrap, in my worthless opinion.

So, what do I have planned for Friday? I can't tell you that, because now a few of my play group have the URL to this blog, but I can tell you that I am already thinking of the to-be-published Adventure Locations and how they are going to be set up, and even what they'll look like, whether I digi-paint the covers myself, or I continue to utilise Peter Mullen's excellent artistic tallents, or grab the talents of other great artists available in the Classic-Play community and elseswhere.
--To that end, I have made a contact of a local printer and wargamer, and need to discuss the technomantic page layout-look I am seeking for in Autumn Garden Vol. I. I'll need to get my Wacom digital tablet to communicate with my PC again, and then give this guy my roughs rendered in the various art programmes I've fiddled with for over a decade.

Furthermore, I have found a means of securing an actual boxed game release venue ready for brick and mortar stores, as well as selling them out of my home. This prospect, filling a boxed set with custom dice and up to date catalogue and other bit-inserts, thrills me with the same sort of giddiness that I felt when a really cool game caught my eye on The Compleat Strategist, Davie, Florida store when I was a wee cur in my tender teens.
--Likewise, cardboard figures have now progressed to the point where custom artwork can result in game-specific runs, Print on Demand, so that's pretty toe-curling (except my freshly broken one, that is).

Time for chocolate! :D