HOLLOWPOINT: Those Angels and Rebels and Aliens Aren't Going to Kill Themselves

Many thanks to Sarah for this awesome drawing.

I volunteered to run a roleplaying game called Hollowpoint for our Monday Night Game Lab. I'd never run anything for the group, but this game sounded like a low-prep, fun one-shot and that was exactly what I was looking for.

"No one in this game is innocent.
You're an Agent. No one ever messes with you, because you are that far above the common herd of men that sleepwalk through their lives. You get things done, and that usually means blood. Or pain. Or, when you are feeling generous, death."

Character creation is fast and easy, which is good because you are expected to die or "move on" in some way at least once during the session.  The game is set up as a series of Conflicts that become progressively harder for the characters to beat.  The conflicts themselves are resolved by rolling big handfuls of dice and using the sets that appear--pairs or more--to narrate the action.  I'm told by a reliable source that the mechanics have similarities to The Pool and InSpectres. At any rate, you'll need a lot of d6 dice for this game. I used every d6 I had in the house, and only had enough because another player brought a bunch of her own.

I got a test-run in with someone who is only an occasional player of roleplaying games and it was very successful. In that game my partner played three characters and I ran a modified version of an example scenario provided in the rule book.

In the test-run, the Agents were highly trained and skilled humans that worked for Heaven, doing a lot of dirty work for the angels who were few and far between on Earth. There were rogue angels and demons roaming our planet and they needed to be kept in check. The Mission this time was to find and destroy a Construct, a kind of Frankenstein's monster that had been created by rogues or demons for some hideous purpose.

The Objectives in this case were clear-cut, as they should always be in a game of Hollowpoint: find out where the creature was being kept, and destroy it. Don't talk to it, don't think about it, just kill it.

The action was fast as the player described their interactions and investigations in Las Vegas, which led to a raid on a warehouse in the desert guarded by a rogue angel and his human minions.  One Agent moved on. The game is not made to be played by one player and a Narrator, but I have to say, we both enjoyed our test game a great deal.

Two days later I ran a scenario of my own design for three veteran RPG players.  Walking around the south wing of my palatial mansion, I noticed one of my favorite books: Altered Carbon, by Richard Morgan. That was my inspiration. I quickly sketched out the nature of the player's Agency, the location of the story (Mars in this case), the Enemy, and the two Objectives. Each Objective has at least two conflicts. Then I decided on two Principals, important NPCs who would generate retaliations when messed with.

The players seemed to enjoy character generation, and we ended up with a hard-core group of Protectorate Agents who would be arriving at the end of a planetary rebellion to find and secure an alien artifact, a ship in this case.

I feel like I was less-clear than I should have been when I explained the first Objective to the players: were the Agents primarily concerned with finding the location of the rebel base that housed the alien artifact, or were they to focus on killing the Generalisimo who led the colonial rebellion and was still alive?  It's important to be clear about the difference between Objectives and Conflicts, and I muddily combined the two. 

Example character from the book

We also ran into a problem at one point that wasn't covered in the rules, or that I perhaps missed: is this a Story Game, where the players are creating their own reality and dictating the environment, or is it a More Regular Game, where the Narrator prepares the world and the players react to it? The particular situation came up in the last act, as the players approached a large white tent with an airlock, with researchers and rebel guards around it. I had envisioned this scene as leading to a deep shaft, which would in turn lead to the alien ship once the players were underground.  One of the players, however, declared that the ship was in the tent. So which one is true? We decided in this case to play it out the way I had planned it, but I'm still wondering if that was correct. On the plus side, the Epic Final Battle was epic.

Hollowpoint is written by Brad Murray and C.W. Marshall, published by VCSA Publishing:  http://www.vsca.ca/Hollowpoint/

DROP

So we played DROP as a kind of warm-up game the other night. I think it took us an hour max.

"DROP is a high-level story-telling, roleplaying game of survival horror that plays in about 2 hours. While you will control your character's individual actions, DROP plays more like a group of writers weaving a movie plot around a table.

This is a game about building a story, one that will go very badly, all in a couple of hours. It's Fiasco crossed with...a heavy dose of Alien.

In DROP, the players are all crewmembers on a starship that arrives at a planet in trouble, and must drop to the surface, explore some large structure, then run like hell. The rules provide a simple framework for defining the characters and coming up with challenges for them to face."

I probably should have read these Session Logs before playing the game, but it was fun all the same:

http://brentnewhall.com/games/doku.php?id=games:drop

DROP

SESSION LOG

The Preparation: Crew

1. Tycho.  Navigator and experienced veteran, but oddly afraid of the dark.

2. Tynd.  Brave xeno-biologist, beautiful to behold, but extremely clumsy.

3. Liam.  Self-confident engineer who thinks he can fix anything but is mad at the world.

4. Mia.  Happy-go-lucky Imperial assassin but also a skilled geologist.

Risk Factor: Our destination, the planet Crucis Q-8. The planet has a breathable atmosphere but is subject to destructive acid rain storms.

The Arrival: Here We Go

1. Tycho arms himself from the ship’s locker but forgets to check the oxygen valve on his environmental suit.

2. Tynd picks up sampling gear but forgets to bring his morphine.

3. Liam equips his ablative armor like the professional he is.

4. Mia always has her knives and fixes her hair before a drop, but her hair product is highly flammable when combined with acid rain.

The drop will be accomplished using personal flight suits in order to arrive on planet quickly. Ship will descend slowly through the atmosphere on auto-pilot, arriving in time for crew departure.

Risk Factors: Environmental hazards and the presence of other humans—our enemies, the Carcossans.

The Drop: SNAFU

1. Tycho lands perfectly and rolls up with his sidearm drawn, like the professional he is.

2. Tynd lands face-first in a mushroom, breaking his fall but damaging the fungus and sending spores into the air!

3. Liam lands in a large, soft mud pit but still manages to break his arm!

4. Mia lands with knives in hand but accidentally slices into her environmental suit!

Risk Factors: Intelligent, indigenous enemies and continuing environmental hazards.

Exploration: What’s In Here

1. Tycho will explore the well-lit Central Archives.

2. Tynd will explore the Chapel of Mushroom Worship but when she sits down on a stone bench to contemplate the grandeur, realizes it’s not a chair at all—but a sacrificial altar…

3. Liam begins examining the glyphs that cover the walls.

4. Mia encounters a tribe of Mushroom Worshipers in the temple annex and slaughters them all but is pierced by a poison dart through the hole in her suit.

Risk Factors: Who will cause problems for the crew during their escape? The Carcossans!

ESCAPE:

1. Tycho runs very fast and shoots at pursuing Carcossans!

2. Tynd jumps up and flees very gracefully!

3. Liam realizes the glyphs point to dripping blood on the altar and discovers that a secret door will open once blood covers the plate. He cuts his own hand to produce blood but in his anger he cuts off his entire hand!

4. Mia is already on the run after assassinating the tribe and flees using an athletic system of sprinting and jumping.

Monster of the Week and Conspiracy of Shadows: Apprentice

Haven't gamed much in a while, as I concentrate on Important Things. But I did recently have a chance to play Monster of the Week at my FLGS and Conspiracy of Shadows: Apprentice at Chicago Game Day.

Monster of the Week is a fun, easy game to play based on the Apocalypse World system, but much simplified. I recommend it if you are looking for a low-prep, easy-to-explain, insta-fun game that can be played at home, at a store, or at a bar.

Here's a link to the short campaign we played using MotW a while back:

https://something-wicked-this-way-comes-let-s-kill-it.obsidianportal.com/adventure-log

It also has a fantastic price point:

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/108308/Monster-of-the-Week


For Chicago Game Day yesterday, held at the venerable and always-awesome Games Plus in Mount Prospect, Illinois, I had the chance to play something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.  The game is called Conspiracy of Shadows: Apprentice and although heavy on narrative it is not mechanically light. Taking place in a mythical Nordic setting of Viking heroes, gods and magic it uses rune stones instead of dice and pits two teams of players against each other in a series of challenges culminating in a Final Trial.

This is not an easy game to understand quickly. The map, character sheets and rules, although beautiful and evocative, are challenging to read and understand. It took us a couple hours to really get into the swing of things, but we all worked together to decipher locations on the map and understand the rules as written. It was a great group of players, all very much into games and their mechanics, and pretty soon we were both rocking and rolling.

I played an ancient Viking warrior, Minion of a Master who ruled with a just but iron hand, seeking to preserve the ways of our people. There were two other Minions, great Vikings in their own right, and the Master himself. Our chief weakness was a disdain for teamwork, believing in individual rights, glory, and accomplishments.

Against us was the upstart Apprentice, a woman from the distant North who had broken away from the Master and tried to replace him. She had been punished and sent to her death, but had refused to die, instead allying herself with a warband of heroes on their way to defeat the Master. Although younger than the Master and his Minions, they had strength in numbers and worked as a team.  The Minion wanted to destroy the status quo and probably had a motto like, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" or something equally disturbing.

The unique and beautiful character sheet was unique and beautiful, but took a while to figure out.

Both sides started by moving around the beautiful map, exploring different locations and undertaking challenges in an effort to locate magical artifacts to help them in the Final Trial. The Master and his Minions sought the unbreakable Shield of Eternity which shone with the light of eternal fire.  The Apprentice and her warband sought the Dwarven Spear of the Northern Lights which could pierce anything and was generally made of Pure Awesome.

The Challenges that you face are described by the opposing team. You narrate how you plan to defeat this challenge, trying to bring in story elements that allow you to use your strengths and resources, possibly even twisting Destiny itself to generate the most rune stones that you can. The opposing team then narrates your obstacles in detail and generates an opposing number of rune stones. It's a fun process and gives you a mental workout, as well as making you very thirsty for mead and dark beer.

The Final Trial was truly epic and came down to a vicious battle between the Master and his former Apprentice, while we Minions fought the Warband outside the Master's Lair. Now that I've played it, I want to play it again.

Conspiracy of Shadows: Apprentice is available for purchase here:

http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/413729

World of Dungeons Meets Warhammer Fantasy: Streets of Marienburg

Streets of Marienburg is a very well-done, good-looking Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay hack of World of Dungeons. Not to be confused with Dungeon World. I know it will be though, so here's the difference:

Dungeon World is a fully detailed game that sells for money. World of Dungeons is an extremely simplified, free version that will leave you filling in a lot of blanks.  Streets of Marienburg fills in some of the crucial info missing in World of Dungeons and somehow manages to capture the Old World feel of Warhammer Fantasy.  It has art, color, and a proper font.  You can download Streets of Marienburg here:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5K_Bqfr0dqcVUFZeWpsa0E5T0k/edit?pli=1

*For a character example, see my Wizard (Wolfgang) at the bottom of this entry.*

In our first adventure, before Hank the Fighter joined us, I was out celebrating the Festival of St. Rudolph with Urgrim the Dwarf and Behjet the Gypsy when we stumbled on to a Skaven and human Cult plot to kill and enslave the entire population of Marienburg. Because Skaven make no small plans. Through a combination of luck, violence, and detective work we were able to defeat the Skaven and come out ahead. Nobody believes us about the Skaven though.

They enjoy curved swords and firearms. And they are mean. 

In our second adventure, Hank the Fighter joined us but we lost Behjet the Gypsy. Hank, Urgrim the Dwarf Shaman and me were given an actual job to do for money, by the Signaler's Guild. On the way to the job we found out the hard way that the evil cultists had put a price on the heads of Urgrim and Wolfgang because of our previous plot-foiling. We escaped and made a mental note to come back and kill them all.

I'm in a hurry, but I'll come back to kill you, Skaven scum.

Oakwood Cross Tower, a signal tower that used light, had stopped signaling. We ran into a band of Gypsies who finally provided some useful knowledge after Hank and Urgrim applied good cop/bad cop techniques, and investigated the tower. The entire thing--and everything in it--had turned into wood. Including the Signaler Technician. With a massive use of magic, Wolfgang was able to reverse the effects and free the Signaler from his wooden prison. Which he'd caused by his attempt to transmit the contents of a page from a mysterious book which had magnified and executed the spell written on that page.

Like this, but made entirely of wood.

Rushing downstairs because the building was in imminent danger of collapse, we were attacked by nature spirits or elementals from the forest nearby. Hank and Urgrim fought them off with blades and fire, until the spirits disappeared after some help from a mysterious old lady we had encountered earlier on the road. She was much more than what she appeared, like many things in the Old World.

The Signal tower lost but the Signaler saved, we returned to Marienburg and a nice payment for services rendered. We all went drinking, but while Hank and Wolfgang kept things under control, Urgrim drank and told tales of his forefathers deep into the night. At which point he was attacked and robbed! Opportunistic thieves? Or evidence of anti-Dwarf sentiment in Marienburg?

A new and hungover day has dawned for our adventurers and we shall see what is in store for them down the road.


CHARACTER CREATION IS EASY AND FUN.  Here is my 3rd Level Wizard:

Wolfgang, Imperial Human. Wolfgang is pale as the driven snow from a lifetime of studying indoors, and has a tendency to mutter to himself constantly. He is a knowledge and events addict, keeping track of events both within the Empire and without. Over time he's decided that he should not be constrained in his use of magic, as he's sure he can control it and will not suffer the effects of touching the Warp. So far he's been right... Wolfgang seeks to grown in power and find, buy, or steal whatever he needs to that end, preferably without killing others, but whatever.

Str: 0, Dex: 0, Const: 0, Int: +3, Wis: +2, Char: 0

Level  3, Current Health: 10

Stamina 2d6

Power Score: 4 (2 Stamina plus Wis)

Career: Arcanist

Skills: Mysteries, Academics, Awareness

Abilities: Wizardry, Sorcery (Sorcery Spells: Righteous Fury, Ghostly Candle, Deception-Charm)

Money: 96 Crowns 

Armaments and Trappings:

Knife

Whip

Skaven Jazail (long flintlock rifle), d6+2 

Urban clothing, a handful of coins in a purse, lantern on a pole

2 vials Quicksilver

Apocalypse World: Braceburg Leans into the Psychic Maelstrom

I've played Monster of the Week but didn't have a chance to play the game that the system is based on--Apocalypse World--until recently.  The characters in the game are Niles (the Savvyhead), Brother Bat (the Hocus) and Candy Grip (the Angel).

The labels in parenthesis indicate the type of character they are.

Niles is more than just gifted with machines, he can communicate with them, modify them and make them do things that should be impossible.

Brother Bat is a charismatic, spiritual leader; physically and mentally strong with a large contingent of followers in the settlement.

Candy Grip is the settlement's doctor, concerned with everyone's well-being but often aggravated by people in general and worried that something is trying to kill her. Him. Whatever.

They live in Braceburg, so named after the leader of the settlement, Brace Win.

Green square by river is Nile's van. Two long sheds belong to Brother Bat and his people. Infirmary in the middle with a cross on it for Candy Grip. Building of Danger in foreground.

Brace started off as a big, abusive drunk with a small harem of sister-wives.  Thanks to a highly-motivating speech by Brother Bat, he is still big and abusive but also clear-headed and focused on control of the settlement.  Despite this, Brother Bat's power and influence over the people of the settlement continues to grow at an alarming rate.

Niles has had an unfortunate string of contacts with the Psychic Maelstrom, and is barely holding it together as everything from his toaster to his AK talk to him in distracting and sometimes demanding ways.

Candy was attacked twice by large mutant snakes, increasing Candy's paranoia and general irritation.  Later, Candy had a close encounter of the Postman kind which led to an increase in hospital stock. This came in handy when it was necessary to install a hallucinogen drip in Niles to keep him from going completely nuts. 

Highlights from last session:

Wisher, a waste of a human who had stolen a chicken from Fuze the Chicken Farmer, learned just how much Fuze loved his chickens when Fuze blew his brains out at the communal dinner. Candy narrowly escaped death upon attempting to calm Fuze down, but was rewarded with a new pistol when Brace took it away from Fuze.  Candy and minions recovered Wisher's body and spent the rest of the night chopping it up into medical supplies and spare organs.

Brace confronted Brother Bat about who was in charge, but Brother Bat (as usual) pulled out an epic speech and defused the situation. The effect of the speech was so profound that everyone started confessing to everyone else, intimate details of past transgressions. 

The evening devolved into drunkenness and debauchery. Candy passed on the debauchery but indulged in drunkenness, stupidly using a machine Niles had created to maximize exposure to the Psychic Maelstrom. It did allow Candy to see what Niles was seeing, which was useful. The machine told Niles that Candy smells like black licorice, which thankfully Niles kept to himself.

A persistent threat in the basement of a building left over from before The Apocalypse was dealt with, up to a point. Brother Bat was injured when mutant snakes attacked him, and Candy did a crappy job of patching him up. Niles killed the snakes with his AK, and Brother Bat communicated with a powerful entity that does not seem friendly, but seems to have left the town alone, for now, leaving nothing but prophetic warnings and a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

The Beastmen Cometh: A Session of Dungeon Crawl Classics

I've been running a Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign for several months now, and I look forward to every session. The three players each bring something unique to the game and have all contributed player backgrounds and adventure logs to our Obsidian Portal page.

At the last session, one of the players showed us the awesome spell-book cover that he had printed up for his growing list of spells:

He claims that's how you spell Benny the Magnificent in Ukrainian.

As a GM, it's a fantastic feeling when the players contribute to background histories, adventure logs, and game details--it means that somehow, I've managed to do something right.

Here's an excerpt from our most recent session, as recounted by Benny, the Magnificent!

"In the middle of the night, Brume alerted me that more of the Beastmen were approaching. I roused Ming and then realized that Floyd was on guard duty so I called for the others to awake and arm themselves. Star was already warned by one of his runes proving him quite the capable Runecaster.

As the Beastmen approached, I conjured a few large dogs right in their midst to distract them and buy us some time to prepare. Star followed suit and then Daphne and her apprentice sought out the blessings of Amun-Tur. I could easily see that they are favored by their God, because they were wreathed in a Holy light and I swore I could hear angelic singing*. Even so, I moved closer to protect Daphne and her Deity blessed me with additional magical power for protecting His chosen.

I used this extra power and channeled a harrowing volley of Fire Arrows of Fate laying the enemy low and breaking their morale. They fled in haste and we thought better than rush after them into the dark forest and a possible ambush. A few of the Beastmen had fallen because of the dogs Star and I had conjured so we went over to investigate.

Floyd was closest and he quickly pulled out his cleaver to perform another dissection. This time, the focus of his research was less Beast and more man which made it all the more disturbing. I heard Daphne gasp as he quickly reduced the creature to its component pieces. It could be that he is a Blade of Fate, but I fear that Floyd may be descending towards madness. I will need to seek direction from my patron before deciding how to handle him."

And It Came From Vietnam: Miniatures Battles Using Roll20

Sometimes I can't find people near me to play the games I want, or I don't have what I need to play a game.  That's when using Roll20 to play over the wire can fill that void.  I've played three games of Crossfire now; normally a miniatures game set in WW2, we are using the Incoming variant rules to set the game during the Vietnam War.  This is Dale's account of the first battle we fought.  If you'd like to read more of Dale's excellent battle narratives, and see the maps and counters we're using, check out his blog:

http://olivedrabandricepaddies.blogspot.com/

You can also join us in the Vietnam Crossfire Community on Google+, if you'd like to play.

Mission: Raid with AirMobile Insertion for Intelligence Gathering.

This operation began with an insertion and a movement onto the map in line with 1st platoon on the right and 2nd platoon on the left. M-60's were placed between the 1st and 2nd and the 3rd and 4th squads in both platoon and the company headquarters group moved about 20-25 meters to the rear of the company line. Advancing through the woods, the company line stopped and took cover at the tree line. They had reached the indicated Brown line on the map (dirt road). 

Steamboat 6, the company CO, advanced 1-1 and 1-2, the first and second squad of first platoon across the road to a copse of trees that offered cover and the platoon commander of 1st platoon, Steamboat 1, crossed with them, covering the west of the road. The 1st platoon's M-60 and it's two remaining fire teams set up covering positions to cover the elevated roadway. The roadway rose about 2 feet above the surrounding fields covered with grasses and shrubs dotting the landscape. Steamboat 2 waited about 5 minutes and then advanced with his 1st squad across the field while the other three and his heavy weapon held back.

I came in from the north. He was waiting for me south of the road.

The 2nd platoon's 1st squad had just started to climb up and over the berm when automatic weapons fire opened from directly in front of them and then intensified as another well-directed fire team also opened fire, immediately causing American casualties. From another location, a second fire team opened fire on 1st platoon's advanced troops, pinning one of the fire teams. Continued fire from enemy forces continued to pin the 1st platoon's fire team and unfortunately suppressed the other, despite the efforts of Steamboat 2, the platoon CO.

The concentrated forces of 2nd platoon made a sweeping move around to the left and crossed the road, assaulting with grenades while covered with machine gun fire, attacking the enemy position that had hit the first squad. All the enemy forces had tried to withdraw; the combined US forces had caused several casualties and captured three EPW's (Enemy Prisoner of War). A medevac helo was locally sited and was already inbound at the time on the violet smoke thrown by 2nd platoon and it landed on the road berm, away from enemy fire and took off with both the EPW's and the American casualties that had been picked up by one of the US fire teams.

As the medevac helo lifted and returned to base, it was taken under fire by additional enemy units that had appeared near the western edge of the tree line but other than incidental damage, the helo returned without incident. Meanwhile, 1st platoon elements used this opportunity to withdraw back across the road under overnight fire from the combined machine guns and the River Rats returned to their LZ on the other side of the tree lines, mission accomplished.