Chronica Feudalis: Aspect Cards

In the past I've used index cards for FATE 3.x based games to help everyone keep known aspects straight. Write the aspect on a card and put it out onto the table. Anything that keeps the GM and players from repeating themselves is a good thing.

With Chronica Feudalis the blanket term Aspect is not precise enough so I made cards for Aspects, Injuries, Conditions, and Tools. Each card has a number of ranked checkboxes for indicating rank/severity. The photos are from our first game using the cards.

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Mecha Game Requirements

Introduction:

Off and on (mostly off) for the last year I've been working on a FATE based mecha (Macross) game. Each attempt mostly ended in frustration mostly because I didn't have a clear vision. Instead of continuing to flounder I decided to put together a formal requirements and evaluation document. This is a live Google Docs document so as it evolves the changes will be published to the Platonic Solid blog. Comments and suggestions are very much welcomed.

Requirements:

1. Provide bonus for transforming/changing modes.
2. Provide differentiation between mecha modes i.e. Jet, Battroid, Valkyrie.
3. Support fluid combat in the game space. (freewheeling action)
4. Support massive missile clouds with light keeping.
1. Support evading/fighting way out of massive missile clouds.
5. Provide support for mooks in combat.
6. Support scaling between personal/mecha/ship levels.
7. Explicitly support tactical dogfighting.
1. None of the systems will support this. Instead of a nitty-gritty tactical system I am developing in parallel a "Gs System" where a player voluntarily takes on extra Gs for positioning/bonus. The defender will have the option to also pull more Gs in order to offset the opponent's advantage or to gain advantage for themself. A Gs system requirements doc has not yet been written.
2. Initial positioning and distance must be determined by the game system's initiative system a la original Traveller. This way Fighter mode is not given short shrift.
8. Support character development and growth.
1. Sounds obvious but the system should support growing into a leadership position, etc.

Existing Game System Candidates

1. PDQ
• Requirements
1. PASS
1. Flat +2 bonus for narrating a mode change
2. PASS
3. PASS
1. The system allows open narration and does not enforce quantizing time/action.
4. PASS
1. HOLD
5. PASS
• Has outstanding support for mooks
• Will test damage "overflow" for mooks a la FATE 3.x.
6. PASS
7. FAIL
• Out of the box PDQ does not provide a tactical framework for dogfighting.
8. PASS
1. HOLD
• Pros
1. Very light
2. Very fun
3. A lot of good system material to base the conversion on.
1. Jaws of the Six Serpents
2. Truth & Justice
1. Scaling when limited to weapons, armor, speeds worked without a hitch.
• Cons
1. At this time (6/29/2009) explicit character growth seems to be the most difficult problem.
• Test Notes
• Tactical game play emerged through the damage system.
• Mecha felt as if they were whittled away.
• Game play was high speed.
• Mecha creation was straight forward.
2. PDQ#
• Pros
1. Very light
2. Very fun
3. The swashbuckling rules look like they could be very useful for dogfighting.
4. The minion rules look like they could be useful for character growth into leadership.
• Cons
• Same as PDQ
• Test Notes
• Has not been tested.
3. OVA
• Requirements
1. PASS
2. PASS
3. PASS
4. HOLD
1. HOLD
5. PASS
6. HOLD
7. FAIL
• Out of the box OVA does not provide a tactical framework for dogfighting.
8. PASS
1. HOLD
• Pros
• Creating mecha was straight forward.
• The Ricochet system is fun in of itself.
• The book provides a list of abilities that can be used for "building" mecha.
• Handles power armor exceptionally well.
• Cons
• At this time explicit character growth seems to be the most difficult problem.
• Test Notes
• Played as usual, very well.
• Resolution system "felt right".
• Out of the box was not as engaging as PDQ.
4. Cortex
• Requirements
1. PASS
• Next action after transforming gets +1 die step.
2. PASS
3. PASS
4. HOLD
1. HOLD
5. PASS
6. PASS
• Provides outstanding support for handling scale
7. FAIL
• Out of the box Cortex does not provide a tactical framework for dogfighting.
8. PASS
1. HOLD
• Pros
• Excellent support for scale.
• Excellent support for ships.
• Cons
• It simply comes down to me not being sure that I like the feel of the game. May not feel evocative enough.
• Test Notes
• Combat was a bit bland out of the box but the experimental "Gs System" could easily be added.
• Mecha creation was very straight forward
• Character creation felt good.
5. Starblazer Adventures
• Requirements
1. PASS
• +2 to next action. Must be tagged with FATE point.
2. HOLD
• This has been a point of frustration regardless of the system.
3. PASS
4. HOLD
1. HOLD
5. PASS
• Provides outstanding support for mooks
6. PASS
• Provides outstanding support for scaling
7. FAIL
• Does not provide a tactical framework for dogfighting.
• Provides a framework for capitol ships.
8. PASS
1. HOLD
• Pros
• Strong support for scale
• Strong Organizations support
• Fun
• Provides a vast amount of "generic" sci-fi material that can be adapted for the game.
• Cons
• Handling mecha modes has proven cumbersome.
6. ORE
• Requirements
1. PASS
2. HOLD
3. PASS
4. PASS
1. PASS
5. PASS
6. HOLD
7. FAIL
8. PASS
1. HOLD
7. N-System

1. Pros
• Not yet fully prototyped and is open to fundamental change.
2. Cons
• Not yet fully prototyped and needs a lot of work.

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Chroncia Feudalis Fantasy Hack: Magic

Last night I ran a mini test session where Jip the gnome goblin slayer and his human friend Siggurd are tracked down a party of goblins that were led by a goblin shaman.

We approached magic the way we did when playing Middle Earth with Spirit of the Century but with some CF specific tweaking.

A magic user's potential casting pool:

• Skill: (Command or Perform depending on the spell)
• Tool: (i.e. Magic staff)
• Aspect: (i.e. Dark Arts D8)

Casting a spell costs a point of Ardor and includes invoking the Aspect: Dark Arts D8.

Casting was handled much like maneuvers and inflicting conditions. Spells are also able to create tools on the fly. A single success creates a D6 tool, double D8 tool, triple D10 pool just like conditions.

As Siggurd's arrows were killing goblins, on the fly the shaman created a magical camouflage cloak D6 that would be crucial for his eventual escape. All the while Jip was sneaking on a flanking maneuver hoping to get close enough to launch an attack on the goblin magic user. The shaman caught Jip's movement out of the corner of his eye and subsequently won initiative for the round. He cast a Disorientation (D8) spell on the gnome that as it turns out would be endured for the entire scene.

As Jip swayed and while Siggurd became bogged down in melee the shaman shot a blast of eldritch energy at Siggurd causing a point of Vigor loss.

Now the shaman is out of Ardor so he turns to run. Jip manages to make chase while Siggurd mops up.

During the chase Jip endures the Disorientation (D8) and the shaman endures his aspect Decrepit D8. Little by little the shaman puts more ground between him and his pursuer. Eventually Jip runs out of Vigor and the old goblin slips behind a massive tree, casts a small spell and flies up out of the forest on a gust of wind.

Magic was resisted by Will or Reflex depending if the magic condition attacked the mind or the body.

We have a conversation going on over at RPG.net on the subject where the CF author mentions the concept of Dark Ardor that can be used to invoke the Dark Arts aspect at its heightened rank.

As of now my intention is to keep the concept of magic as freeform as possible with the guideline of the effect being ranked. This way magic is powerful but not earth shatteringly so. But it would be cool to get a small spell list put together for inspiration.

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Caught By Surprise

I ran a short session of White Box Swords & Wizardry the other night and was caught by surprise.

The oldest and best serving hireling, the map maker was killed during an attack that seemed to be out of the blue. Now the party is wondering how to approach his family about it because they feel terrible. Three or four sessions ago after a bad wilderness encounter the party made their way back to the map maker's house to recover. Once there, while the PCs were strategizing a new approach to the ruins on the hill the map maker himself was out working his connections to plug the gaps in the party's skill set. Now he's gone.

I'm caught by surprise because "the game" is even better than I had remembered it.

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Chronica Feudalis: The Print Ready PDF

Last night I received the the ready for print Chronica Feudalis PDF from its author, Jeremy Keller. Immediately I was struck by the cover.

The first thing that caught my eye was the worn leather look. My eyes then snapped to the mounted knight set off by the red tint of the background. I'd buy it.

The interior art and layout are on par with the cover. The chapter head artwork is by Miguel Santos and the spot illustrations are by the author. There's a peek at the artwork over at the Chronica Feudalis web site.

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Mouse Guard: Everything From Small Stuff To Warfare

Last night I ran the most excellent Mouse Guard hack called Realm Guard and it was incredible. There was only one player so she was running both a recruit and the recruit's mentor. There was also a captain character that both of us played when required.

So much ground was covered and so much story told in such a short amount of time (about 2.5 hours) that it was stunning.

Here's the ground that we covered:

Recruit Gayle is on a simple mission to deliver a sealed letter to a hermit who is known for his eclectic wisdom. It was part of her endeavor to prove herself to the guard. A pathfinder roll is unexpectedly failed so a twist is introduced. A bandit ambushes the recruit within sight of the hermit's abode and demands her cloak. As well as some loot the bandit is out for blood while the recruit simply wants to drive him off.

With the stakes set we enter into a conflict. The recruit successfully drives off the bandit (losing only 1 die from her disposition) and immediately heads toward the hermit's home. She knocks and gets no answer. She looks through a window and sees someone lying on the floor. The cottage has been ransacked. So she rushes in with tender foot abandon. Luckily there was no immediate danger lurking inside.

Gayle kneels to perform aid the best aid she can but it is obvious that her abilities are inadequate. The hermit points and whispers "The lamp." Under the lamp is a hidden compartment with a map and other intel including a list of names some of which are known rangers. She packs the intel and carries through a wicked spring thunderstorm to the her mentor Merrick who was busy resolving a livestock dispute between not two but three farmers.

Merrick looks at the map and list of names and locations and correctly deduces that a war host is on its way into ranger territory, most likely led by current and former rangers. The closest ranger group that could possibly deal with this is less than a day away on a construction/repair project. Luckily.

Merrick and his recruit Gayle dodge enemy outriders. The encounter reinforces the imperative nature of their mission but luckily for them they don't run into any other potential trouble on the way and in time they find Captain Ulfric's group. Immediately they make their way to the captain and present the evidence of danger.

Ulfric takes one look at the list of names and denies that it could be a possibility. This is our second conflict of the session. Both sides roll for disposition. While Captain Ulfric is more geared for this kind of conflict he only rolls one higher than Merrick for disposition. Back and forth they argue. Verbal feint and maneuver. Gayle steps in and declares on her ranger oath that what she saw was real. At the same time Merrick thrusts forth the map and the list as evidence.

Reality sets in and cracks Ulfric's denial. His eyes well up with tears as he calls for his men to break camp and to prepare for war.

Merrick lost a disposition die but gained it back during the conflict while Ulfric went all the way to zero.

Ulfric and his command look over the intelligence delivered by Merrick and Gayle and form a battle plan. Ulfric will ride in the front while Merrick organizes the archers. Gayle runs as messenger.

Using foreknowledge of the enemy's intent Ulfric positions his forces. He uses the map to prepare so the rangers' disposition was quite high. I as GM rolled for the enemy, an ad-hoc bunch of hillmen tribes with rangers acting as unit commanders. At the head of the enemy host riding in black armor is Ulfric's best friend. The enemy's disposition is also as high but falls a few dice short.

Battle is met and the sides clash like two tides smashing into the other. The impact of the Rangers of the North causes a bulge in the enemy's lines and the momentum surges through to the enemy's rear units causing confusion. The man in the black armor raises his sword and works to rally his men into order. Just as he begins to regain control, waves of arrows from the high ground flurry into hillmen flank. They begin to break.

Ulfric calls his men forward for victory.

The peal of battle is replaced with the soft cacophny of the dying. Ulfric walks over to the man in the black armor who is now lying dead crushed beneath his own horse and orders the body to be burned.

Merrick is happy to survive another one. Gayle rejoices in surviving her first.

The dice rolling for the rangers was incredibly good. I was rolling poorly for the enemy. I also have to note that timing is everything. Just as I was getting the bad guys back into order and ready to deliver a giant blow I got out maneuvered and on the next action got utterly annihilated as I tried to feint.

All in all, I am highly impressed by both the Ranger Guard hack and Mouse Guard itself. I ran 3 conflicts all of differing types with the same resolution system. I must declare Mouse Guard to be elegant gaming genius.

Oh, I almost forgot. This was the first session where I used the Mouse Guard conflict cards. They are a great addition to the game.

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