Armchair Review: The Zalozhniy Quartet

I posted my review of this Night's Black Agents adventure earlier in the year on RPGNow, but forgot to put it here:

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Once you've settled in to your regularly Night's Black Agents sessions, I highly recommend The Zalozhniy Quartet.

Set in post-Cold War Europe, agents must unearth the nature of the conspiracy from clues, and a tangled web of allies, foils, and enemies.

I liken it to a shorter Masks of Nyarlathotep, wherein the campaign is best run when the Director (GM) has read through all the materials, has prepared and understood where all the events, clues, NPCs, and linkages are in advance so as to maximize the enjoyment and reward of the players when (if?) they overcome this slew of antagonists and difficulties.

Unlike Masks, the author has gone out of his way to enable running the four segments of the campaign in any order! This means that there are options for each segment to be modified if it is played 2nd, 3rd or last (and therefore a climactic ending) in the campaign.

As a resource for a supernaturally touched post-Cold War Europe, it also has a lot of material to mine and reuse in future campaigns.

I'm a bit daunted by the modern day espionage campaign; perhaps I always was. But when I remind myself that a campaign can be grounded in cinematic versions of espionage, then I can probably try my hand at it.

There is a certain level of commitment to this type of campaign, certainly. And my old GM muscles want me to actually insert it into an ongoing campaign. But I think it actually might work as is, sort of a tip of the hat to British TV series -- a complete season in one go.

A Collection of Aspects

Here's my collection of aspects from the Echoes campaign so far.

My original aspects start with the middle row:

Anima: Emotion -- somehow tied to the sense of emotion, or perhaps control over it; has been successfully used to make someone flee from me in fear.

Anima: Thought -- my birth aspect, and therefor cannot be taken from me; seems to be tied to refinement of thought, but I may be able to push it into the realm of telepathy or even mental control. Not sure yet, though it has been used successfully on certain elemental creatures with that particular effect.

Metal: Blade -- no successful use at this time.

Wood: Tree -- was used in combat defensively, when facing down a lightning elemental; in conjunction with other attributes, was able to absorb lightning attacks and channel them into the ground like a tree.

The bottom aspect is also thought, but in an unfamiliar world and an unfamiliar element structure.

The top aspect is an 'angelic aspect' whose provenance is still unknown; it has, however, driven (in concert with three other angelic aspects) what seemed to be a demonic aspect from reality.

Echoes S01E01: introduction of Mikael, Almira, Vassily, and Nikolai (part 01)

as recorded by archivist Nikki

This is done in script format, as were the latter documents for the The Court Adamantine game sessions.

PC Speakers in Bold
NPC Speakers in Bold + Italics

CITY OF VESPER, WESTERN GANYM

THE FOUNDRY

MAGANOV
Some of the seniors-- including myself-- have been observing your work, and as a result of our evaluation, I am prepared to offer you a full fellowship. You would be a junior; you would have tenure. Is this something that would interest you?

MIKAEL
Of-- course, Senior. I would be honored. But I have not yet presented my--

MAGANOV
The prince of Vesper spoke to me a fortnight ago, and he brought up the need of Vesper's military to improve its steam weaponry-- so I thought of you. Once you are a junior under my guidance, you see, we can turn you away from these little dynamos to improve wheat production and the plight of the poor and whatnot, toward creating turbines that will make steam shots faster and more fatal...
Senior Maganov continues rattling on about the military technology they will develop.

MAGANOV
... Vesper, rising to be the city among cities, with the Foundry in prominent--

MIKAEL
But also-- if you will allow me, Senior-- the efficiencies I am proposing on the civilian side would uplift the entire city. A well-fed army is, of course--

MAGANOV
That may be, but that is not at all what the prince is requesting. In fact, in one month, he requires a demonstration, to which I agreed. Your mind is brilliant.

MIKAEL
I-- I would not really-- It is not really--

MAGANOV
Your mind is brilliant, like mine. And with my guidance, our brilliance will shine, and the prince will look upon this brilliance and give the Foundry its due, and it will be because of you and because of me. Hmm? All you have to do is sign here.

MIKAEL
This is such an honor, Senior. May I have an evening to consider it?

MAGANOV
(laughing)
What is there to consider? This is a fellowship, with me as your mentor. The last junior I mentored went on to win the Zenith award... You will be grateful as well.

MIKAEL
(seeing no way out of it)
Where do I sign, Senior?

Everything goes black.

THE OPERA

ANYA
Just what did you think you were doing?!

ALMIRA
I was singing... because you forgot the line.

ANYA
I did not forget! And even if I did, a simple cue would have sufficed. You sang. The entire. Fucking. Aria!

ALMIRA
Did we not get a standing ovation?

ANYA
That was my part! And if you want to stay in the company, you will remember that your part is in the chorus, Chorus Girl!

ALMIRA
Excuse me, but when was the last time you had a standing ovation?

ANYA
We had standing ovations in all the last three cities!

ALMIRA
Excuse me, but those were never for this aria, always after a chorale.

ANYA
Are you actually so delusional as to think that everything-- that you-- that--?
(shouting)
Get out!
The Hallway Outside Anya's Dressing Room - immediately

CHORUS LEADER
Don't worry, I'll defend you, but I hope the lesson has been learned, all right?

ALMIRA
Oh, I'm sure she did.

In the very next performance, The Incident recurs, only more stunningly than before. Anya, glaring at the chorus girl, is so incensed that she forgets the very same line. Almira graciously allows her a chance to recover before singing the line, the aria, the lead in the succeeding counterpoint, the alto role in the next verse, and, finally, the mezzo-soprano crescendo, since Anya, utterly discombobulated, flounders off-key. Anya stops singing-- and physically attacks!

ANYA
(shrieking)
Stop iiiiittt!

Everything goes black.

THE HOUSE OF IRINOVITCH

After receiving most alarming news from her brother Vassily, Vassily has run to get support from their brothers Vassily, Vassily, Vassily, and Vassily. Drama, naturally, follows.

ENTREMETIER VASSILY
She is not worth it! Kalvada is not even among the Five Houses; they are only after you for your skills. What makes you imagine this girl loves you?

ROTISSEUR VASSILY
She gave herself to me! You would have to kill me to keep me from her side.

POISSONIER VASSILY
Fine, then!

FOUR VASSILYS
(separating the two and wresting knives out of hands)
Vassily!

PATISSIER VASSILY
You see, she commits one of the worst of sins, turning brother against brother!

GARD-MANGER VASSILY
And that Sonja has a face like spilled paprika!

SAUCIER VASSILY
And they are going to make you work with third-grade beef!

Despite these dire imprecations, Vassily is not to be swayed, and soon makes his regretful but determined last goodbyes. The remaining siblings curse, grumble, and/or sulk, UNTIL:

ENTREMETIER VASSILY
Enough. We are cooking for the second prince tomorrow night. We need to plan, and decide who is going to take over the meat station. I propose myself.

Patissier Vassily appears to redouble the fervor of his constant praying.

ENTREMETIER VASSILY
Nothing less than the best for the prince, and it is known that he prefers meat.

POISSONIER VASSILY
Yes, so perhaps we might prepare a cold meat course! I'm sure Vassily could--

GARD-MANGER VASSILY
I certainly could, or Vassily could do a braise, or a stew, maybe a borscht--

ENTREMETIER VASSILY
No. Listen to me-- stop that praying!-- this is a prince of the land, and so we are going to prepare the roast that all know is his preference, and I will do it, and no one is going to mention the name of Vassily again! Are we clear? This is our--

SAUCIER VASSILY
You cannot make a roast!
(into the dead silence that follows)
I am sorry, Vassily, but you cannot make a roast, not to the standards you, yourself, have set for our house... None of us can, not in just one day.

ENTREMETIER VASSILY
I. Can do. A roast. Can I not, Vassily? Vassily? Vassily?

SAUCIER VASSILY
(after another silence)
Am I the only one with balls in this kitchen?!

PATISSIER VASSILY
She's right.

Vassily stomps off, but later comes back. Non-apologies are exchanged, harmony is restored, and the menu is revised. All seems to proceed swimmingly, even when it is discovered that the prince's dinner is in fact a sort of contest-- against, of course, the House of Kalvada.
 
Things become even more fraught when the eldest Vassily is revealed to have been poisoned, and his course-- the soup-- happens to be the one requested for tasting by the prince. Vassily takes over the soup, bitterly informs the estranged Vassily what she believes his new family has done, and flounces off to present the soup for comparison with that of their rivals.
 
Everything goes black.

THE ROYAL RESIDENCE

ROYAL NIECE
If one applies the critique of reason, on a point-per-point basis, the differences in philosophy are not so extreme as to merit such a response. This entire war-- Perhaps it was an error of the Patriarch to declare the other Church heretic.

NIKOLAI
You must bear in mind that not all-- sadly, in fact, not many-- are often governed by reason. Some differences, however minor, may never be resolved.

ROYAL NIECE
Then it would seem our Church must go.

NIKOLAI
(after a brief pause)
I would not stifle the questions of youth-- and intellect-- and these are questions I struggle with myself. But I would not repeat such a statement, outside this room.

ROYAL NIECE
Is it a wrong path of thinking, Tutor?

NIKOLAI
Is there such a thing as a wrong path of thinking? But it is a dangerous path.
Nikolai's discussion with the smarter of his two pupils is interrupted by Vesper's elder prince, her uncle. The niece respectfully excuses herself, giving the men privacy to converse.

ELDER PRINCE
I think-- this is between us-- that even if my impending marital arrangements push through, I will beget no issue. And my brother Anatole-- well, let us just say that his interests lie elsewhere, which makes my niece our heir. Your responsibility is thus magnified, and to that end-- though my niece and nephew's progress has been more than satisfactory-- I have retained a second tutor.

NIKOLAI
That is wise. I would welcome such support.

The new tutor is summoned and introduced, and the prince departs, leaving them to become acquainted. The woman closes the doors and windows-- following which, they kiss!

MAGDA

Congratulate me; it took a year to secure your position; it took me three weeks.

NIKOLAI
I see your competitive spirit is as fiery as ever.

MAGDA
I've instructions: the younger prince is to be the lone prince-- in two nights' time.

NIKOLAI
She is friendly to our cause. This may change things.

MAGDA
Out of deference, I concede the lead.

AT NIGHT, the tutors make their way to the girl's chamber, easily avoiding the already-known guard patrols. While Magda stands watch, Nikolai approaches the sleeping target.

Everything goes black.

THE FOUNDRY

MIKAEL finds himself-- literally, he does not recall how he came to this position-- in front of an audience, delivering a lecture on a new steam-powered rifle, which he finds brilliantly innovative, notwithstanding the fact that he apparently designed it himself.
 
Everything goes black.

THE OPERA

Almira finds herself in a locked room, brandishing a knife over a bound, gagged, and wounded Anya. Horrified, she drops the knife and backs away. There is a pounding at the door.

ALMIRA
This is not what I would do. I don't-- I don't need to-- I am bigger than this!

Everything goes black.

A ROAD

Vassily finds herself on horseback, riding madly through the night.

VASSILY
Where is the prince? Why am I here? Hello? Hello!

Nikolai rides toward her, bleeding. Almira and MIKAEL also ride up. Everything goes black.

A HOVEL

Almira finds herself gently touching Nikolai's bandaged arm, while Vassily makes soup, and MIKAEL checks on the four horses tethered outside. There is a table with some notes on it. Nikolai picks up a paper, which reads: 1) Find Idhira, 2) accounting of acquired Components.

MIKAEL
Excuse me, do you know how we got here?

NIKOLAI
Do I know you?

MIKAEL
No, I don't recall meeting any of you. Have any of you had--?

Everything goes black.

Crests in the Multiverse of Echoes

Our Echoes campaign is shaping up to be unusual, with our characters only really revealed at the end of the 3rd session, and the players learning a lot more about the three echoes (worlds in the multiverse) that we'll find ourselves jumping to :

Ganym -- the Easter European-inspired steampunk setting;
Gaoshu -- the China-inspired steampunk setting;
Amitava -- the Persia/India-inspired steampunk setting.

And we'll be learning a lot about Crests, those things that allow us to bend the rules of reality and do astounding things!

But here's what we know so far about them:

On Crests, Their Acquisition, and Their Expression

definition of Aspects

In the various Milieus of Echoes, everyone is born under the Aspect of a certain Element, which grants them certain gifts. For the common run of people, these are simple things, such as being born under the Rain Aspect of Water, and thus not getting sick from being caught in the rain, or perhaps feeling particularly happy when it rains.

It’s important to note that no one is born under the Element of, say, Water, but only under an Aspect thereof—Rain or Dew or Frost, like that. In a sense, it may be said that the Elements do not exist in and of themselves, but only as collective terms for their Aspects, in the same way that the word ‘rice’ does not really exist in Filipino, but can be perceived as a collective term for its concrete aspects of palay (plants that the rice comes from), bigas (uncooked rice), kanin (cooked rice), and so on.

It seems that people can only be born under Aspects of Elements which are considered ‘common’ to their place of birth. More elevated Aspects—as well as Attributes, which will be covered shortly—are typically acquired in the course of study as a Crest-wielder.

universal versus local

There are universal rules governing Crests; these, recorded herein, are some of them. Some Echoes also have local rules, including but far from limited to which Aspects are considered common in a given locale. Whenever there is a conflict between universal and local rules, local rules take precedence; otherwise, universal rules are in play.

definition of Crests and their Components

All that an Aspect does by itself is to allow an involuntary expression of magic, as mentioned previously. In order to actively cause a desired effect, one needs a Crest.

Think of Aspects as nouns, and Crests as sentences. You may possess the noun ‘Rain’, but you need a whole sentence to tell the universe you want to ‘Deluge my enemies in Rain!’ So Crests are composed of both Aspects and Attributes, which are modifiers we can equate to verbs, adjectives, etc., which define things like range and area of effect.

A Crest, therefore, is a linkage of at least one Aspect and a flexible number of Attributes—we call these Aspects and Attributes, collectively, Crest Components—the effect of which depends on (among other variables) what Aspects are incorporated, how they are structured, the intent of the Crest-wielder, and the manner of deployment.

Crest deployment

There are two types, one of which has two subtypes.

1. Empowering – The Crest-wielder channels the power of Crest Components to fuel physical combat. There is no associated cost, other than time spent.
2. Expressed – The Crest-wielder assembles Crest Components to achieve a magical effect, in one of two ways:
1. Invoked – A Crest is drawn on the spot, typically manifested as an intricate, branching halo surrounding the Crest-wielder’s upraised index and middle fingers. This is costly in terms of both Mana and Hit Points.
2. Inscribed – A Crest is inscribed beforehand on some surface, and activated when needed, for either single or multiple use. Inscribing a Crest costs Mana and materials, but activating an Inscribed Crest costs only 1 Mana.

Echoes: More Attributes from the RPG

Lords of Pandius 05 - MIGHT and FORTITUDE

Having done the quick & dirty conversion approach, plus the ability score conversion approach, the time has come to see how these would translate Mystaran Immortal stats into the Primary Ability class rankings.

Lords of Olympus specifically states that there are no equivalents of Intelligence or Charisma (as those are to be role-played), so we can drop those from ability score conversion. That leaves four ability scores to four Primary Abilities. Simple, right?

Not quite. Let's see why:

MIGHT and Immortals

Might is clearly described as physical strength in Lords of Olympus, so that means Strength in Wrath of the Immortals (WOTI). I have some minor doubts, as WOTI also has a table that shows that damage from bare-handed attacks is based on Immortal rank.

A stunning range of 2d6 to 4d6 damage! Well, I think I'll stick to the conversion of WOTI STR to Lords of Olympus MIGHT. However, if your Immortal level is from the Empyreal to Hierarch range, you are definitely among the top in your class; those below that range are considered Tied in their class ranking.

So: MIGHT is based on the Ability Score conversion table.

FORTITUDE and Immortals

We don't follow the same rule with Constitution. According to the table above, and other text in WOTI, hit points are determined by your Immortal level WITHOUT any influence by Constitution! Therefore, an immortal's level determines the FORTITUDE class ranking in Lords of Olympus.

Constitution only impacts an Immortal's ability to resist Immortal poisons. Regular poisons, as you might guess, don't affect immortals. Therefore, we ignore the Constitution ability score as negligible for the purposes of this conversion and use the table that I created for translating Immortal power levels into Lords of Olympus class rankings (which I thought was a mistake).

I Was A Geek At Heart

My very first RPG purchase, when
TSR was the entire gaming universe.

I attended my first convention in July of 1986. I was a month shy of my fifteenth birthday, and didn't quite know what to expect when my cousins brought me down from the SF Bay Area to Los Angeles for this strange event.

Not yet a year in the U.S., still unaccustomed to the local slang and patois (though I could speak English quite well -- it was Math that gave me difficulty), and not yet aware that trusting complete strangers could be a dangerous thing -- I attended the Origins Game Fair with my cousins.

My geek cred could have been considered quirky at best and laughable at worst.

I had read the entire Lord of the Rings series of books, had enjoyed The Hobbit, and had been stymied by The Silmarillion. Dune was not a mystery to me, nor were some of the other works of Herbert (like Hellstrom's Hive and The White Plague). But due to the ordering policies of Philippine bookstore chains, there were gaps in my collections -- there were nagging holes in my Eternal Champions books by Moorcock, and I'd never been able to the existence some of the books listed in the D&D Appendix N acknowledged in the school libraries that I'd scoured. Authors were just names to me, their histories limited to the short bibliographies found on their hardcover dust jackets or just before / after their short stories in SF/Fantasy anthologies.

You don't think B.J. and the Bear was
Science Fiction or Fantasy? Maybe
it was horror.

Exposure to Fantasy & SF via TV was even more challenged. Growing up, everyone in Grade School watched the same thing at night or on weekends, because there was usually only one channel showing anything worthwhile to growing kids at any given time. And what a mix of shows we got. We knew Space: 1999, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rodgers as well as we knew B.J. and the Bear. We watched The A-Team and Sealab 2020 and The Herculoids and Knight Rider. On Sundays, we'd try to sneak in the shows my grandfather watched: The Wild Wild West, Star Trek, Green Hornet. We also got a healthy dose of Japanese animation, and -- amid a slew of U.S. detective shows and sitcoms -- managed to sneak in rare episodes of Sapphire & Steel (which we didn't even know were rare) when the parents were away and unable to enforce our slumber curfews.

Movies were delayed, but we soaked them up in the movie houses and via BetaMax. That's right, BetaMax was the go-to standard in the Philippines when I was growing up. By the time I was in Los Angeles, I was familiar with Star Wars, based on the movies and the toys and the occasional compilation of Marvel Comics hardcover annuals that came to the Philippines by way of the U.K. I knew Mad Max and The Road Warrior from the BetaMax rental stores (apprently, outright piracy) that were everywhere at the time. Yes, even the Star Wars Christmas Special was well known to us, because of these stores.

My gaming exposure came from the two local hobby shops, which also sold toys and games and models (cars, planes, tanks) to growing boys and girls. And one out-of-the-way hobby store that was more focused on martial arts gear, I think. They never had the main rulebooks (when I went there -- I had to get those from the bookstores, when they finally started carrying the rulesets), but it had D&D modules and other TSR stuff like Top Secret and Star Frontiers. No Champions or Traveller.

It was with that rough mindset that I attended Origins, and was blown away. Thousands of people interested in the same weird things that I liked. A huge selection of SF/Fantasy/Horror paraphernalia in the Dealer's Room. A panel discussion where George Takei spoke about his experiences in acting, and promoted Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. RPGs and modules made by TSR, and RPGs and modules made by non-TSR companies!

He was dressed kinda like this guy, but older.

I was so aware of the gaps in my knowledge when walking around -- I remember asking who a guy dressed in a very long, multi-colored scarf was supposed to be... and why someone greeted him as a doctor. References to Silent Running and Darkstar eluded me, but I was able to offer plot and character answers to discussions with absolute strangers about Planet of the Apes, Conan the Barbarian, Westworld and Soylent Green.

My memories, possibly softened by nostalgia and definitely blurred by time, tell me that people were generally eager to share their knowledge about their respective fandoms. I felt like I could admit absolute ignorance about certain things, indicate interest, and I would be enlightened by people happy to add a potential fan to their ranks. I can remember vague surprise at my ignorance in some areas, despite my knowledge of other things, and helpful people pointing my this way and that way to find out more. I can remember no negative memories, similar to the ribbing that I got later in High School for not being a jock or for excelling in academics or for not being part of the cool crowd.

By standards of the time & certainly by modern standards, I may not have been a true geek. But I was a geek at heart, and was happy I was welcomed into their ranks at that time. This is why it saddens me immensely when I hear about excluding people who are deemed to be Fake Geeks (male or female).

Lords of Pandius 04 -- Immortal Ability Score Range Conversion

After all my thoughts on the prior posts in mind,  I've created the following conversion approach for the individual ability scores of Mystaran Immortals into the Lords of Olympus rankings.

There's still some fine-tuning necessary, since:

• D&D hit points figure heavily into the durability of a given immortal
• there are four 'ability scores' in Lords of Olympus, while there are the classic six ability scores in D&D
• there are a lot of Mystaran Immortal abilities that may or may not have Lords of Olympus equivalents (like the Aura ability)
• quite a number of Mystaran Immortals will devolve into Heroic and sometimes even Mortal range!

That last bit can be addressed by reiterating that Immortals of Mystara are not quite 'gods' either. That and the fact that these Immortals are NPCs anyway, and not likely to get into the scrapes that PC Immortals will get into. And possibly that they have other secrets (like powerful Olympian artifacts hidden from the sight of other Immortals) that compensate for this arguably 'fatal' level of ability.

Lords of Pandius 03 -- Olympians and Equivalents

The reason that I'm spending time of the Olympians is because they're the default characters statted out in the Lord of Olympus RPG.

From their D&D stats, I was going to gauge relative power levels with the other Immortals. But their absence makes things tricky.

Now I have a different approach. If I can establish them as being part of the Mystaran Universe, with the rest of the Immortals as a huge group of PCs, then all the stats that talk about ranks being First + 1 or First + 2 (in other words a rank or two above the highest ranking PC in that stat), then I just have to deal with the stats of the Immortals as a batch.

Consequence: the Olympians are top dog in terms of power, and thankfully missing (or pursuing other projects in the multiverse).

Fortunately there is much out there that I can already use to support such a theory:

• this list of Mystaran Immortals identifies (among many things) existing Immortals who are worshipped as the Olympian deities in the Milenian culture (found in the Hollow World)
• here's a theory about the IM2 module and the false Olympians found there, and introduces the Mandala of Myth artifact
• this article expands on that false Olympian theory, and further rationalizes the events in IM2 in terms of Olympian gods from the Plane of Myth
• this Mystaran Cosmology post establishes where the Plane of Myth (Laterre) might fit into the overall cosmology and the other playgrounds of the Olympians
• this post shares a bit more about Laterre, and other cornerstones of the Mystaran Universe that came from that plane -- like a couple of families in Glantri, and one of the Immortals (Rad)!

Lords of Pandius 02 -- Research and Ideas

After my realization in the prior post, I begin reading up on the mechanical side of the ability scores for Immortals in Mystara. As per Wrath of the Immortals, the ability scores actually extend the normal range of scores from human to beyond. Here's the table:

I suppose this means that some Immortals may actually be in the Mortal Class or Hero Class in Lords of Olympus terms. And a quick look at some Immortals' stats actually confirms that. So it's a matter of coming to an arbitrary definition of those two classes, which effectively establishes the rest of the ratings as Olympian Class or better.

Speaking of Olympians

They're not in Mystara. As per a Vaults of Pandius article, the Olympian pantheon does not exist (visibly) in the Mystaran universe. It does make me want to research the Milennian culture and the Immortals they worshipped, though.

But this does open the gateway to playing -- in the vein of Lords of Olympus -- true children of the gods. If the Paths of Immortality are therefore ways of welcoming people who might secretly have the blood of the gods in their veins, or transform them into god-like beings through mastery of the magics.

Lords of Pandius 01 -- Translating Power Levels (Initial Mistake)

This being an ongoing attempt to convert Mystaran Immortals into the Lords of Olympus ruleset. Woohoo!

So the first thing I look at is translating the Mystaran Immortal 'levels' into equivalent Lords of Olympus classes. Mystara has the following Immortal power level names:

• Initiate
• Temporal
• Celestial
• Empyreal
• Eternal
• Hierarch

Lords of Olympus has the following power level classes:

• Mortal Class
• Heroic Class
• Olympian Class
• Numbered Class (extensible)

Olympian class is actually a mediocre level of power for the gods, so we can set that as the Initiate power level, making all subsequent classes the equivalent of Numbered Classes. Therefore, our first pass at power level translation would be:

• Initiate => Olympian Class
• Temporal => Fifth Class
• Celestial => Fourth Class
• Empyreal => Third Class
• Eternal => Second Class
• Hierarch => First Class

In Lords of Olympus, these classes are used to rank Principal Abilities (Ego, Might, Fortitude, Prowess). Which reveals our first problem: Principal Abilities are more akin to D&D Ability Scores, not class levels.

Furthermore, looking at some of the stats of the various Mystaran Immortals, some of them have ability scores rated at 50, while others are at the more modest 18 to 20 range.

What to do? Well, according to Wrath of the Immortals, the Immortal Rank actually determines the number of dice to roll OR the number of points to allocate for an Immortal's ability scores.

Therefore, the Immortal Rank is actually more a reflection of how many points are available to build one's character abilities. We'll have to revisit this, therefore, with a more thorough look at Lords of Olympus character creation in the next installment.

Archetype Musings: Beyond Astro City

Way back, I posted about comic book archetypes and remixing them for your supers campaigns.

My inspiration then was Astro City -- which has returned, by the way -- because of the carefully crafted superheroes and villains that seem to have tapped into archetypes from DC, Marvel, and other supers comics but managed to realized them visually and with some measure of seeming historical weight for its unique universe.

I'd still like to continue my tour of the many characters there that have somehow managed some measure of iconic stature without a long history -- but I also realized that there are other sources for remixed archetypes.

One of the most obvious: from the publishers themselves!

DC's Trinity

Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman all have been reinvented throughout their careers, back from the 1940s to the current day. Different looks, different takes and attitudes, slightly different personalities and approaches to crime fighting.

Is there a reason that the central figure is showing her butt
to us, while the more modest outfits are to the sides? Nah.
Couldn't be.

My favorite Wonder Woman to date was the George Perez take on the character, with the wonderful visuals, the mythology of the character strongly tied with the original Greek myth, and the clash of ancient and modern mores.

I'm keeping an eye out on the current Azzarello and Chiang run, as their take on 'gods-in-the-modern-era' is very interesting. The feel is very American Gods meets Scion (the RPG, not the comic), and the dark twists are interesting -- even if I have some grave issues with some of the liberties taken on WW's history and past.

And I really like the take on her in Kingdom Come and in the Injustice video game. True superheroine badassery!

Superman came out as more of a vigilante, or rather, a real pulp-inspired hero. The type that used to say lines like "a fitting end for his kind", and was not above coercing confessions from criminals by hanging them upside down from high places, or taking them on kryptonian roller coaster rides in a single bound. Very different from the 'big blue boy scout' we came to know and respect -- one whose moral indestructibility seems to have become a bit challenged in the modern era (Man of Steel, I'm looking at you as the current culprit, but you were not the first). We'll see if it sticks; we may be seeing a more fundamental change in our views of Superman.

After all, the poster child for 'guns are bad' crimefighting -- Batman -- used to carry a gun in his initial forays.

The trick, apparently, is to somehow retain the core of the character's appeal, while updating it for modern (and sometimes even older) audiences, by bringing some surprising (or perhaps less emphasized) aspect of the character to the fore due to its relevance or impact on our understanding of the character.

Perhaps the archetypes are meant to reflect aspects of humanity that resonate in us; mirrors that need to be shifted once in a while to give us a better view of ourselves and our society.

And perhaps in future posts, I'll be able to deal with those through example instead of via vague theorizing.

Echoes S01E00: A Setting Overview

recorded and written by archivist Nikki

then
The world Ganym is named for its eponymous largest continent, which, in the distant past, was unified from scattered fiefdoms into one realm under the Faith. (Ethnographically, consider it European in derivation, excluding the British Isles.)

While each state in the continent Ganym is functionally run by a prince or similar secular potentate, these ‘heads’ are all answerable to Archbishops—collectively known as the Wise—who are themselves answerable to the Patriarch. (So the princes are like CEOS of various companies, who are answerable to the directors of an encompassing holding company, who are answerable to the chairman of that board of directors.)

Some seventy years ago, there was a great schism, in which a certain young woman asserted her arguably-justifiable claim to the already-occupied Patriarchal throne. She was supported by four vassal states of eastern Ganym, which were promptly pronounced heretical along with her, and war was declared.

The Patriarchy, however, possesses no troops of its own, instead levying the forces required from its vassal states. Thus what actually came to pass was a sort of non-war, since, for reasons of their own, the states occupying the border between Ganym proper and the seceded easternmost states declined to attack, and their geographical position rendered it impracticable for other Ganym states to attack.

Therefore—although skirmishes and assassination attempts abounded for some time—no outright war truly occurred, and this situation persisted for some seventy years.

now
Recently, the former Patriarch expired and was replaced by the first elected male Patriarch after a succession of six females—a circumstance which some may perceive, along with a vague ‘seniority’, as adding legitimacy to the so-called ‘anti-Patriarch’.

Currently, the continent is divided into three:

1. Ganym proper, in the west
2. the Greylands—the border states, still technically part of Ganym despite their perhaps-questionable loyalties. A small city of scholars has also become Grey in the last few years, due to their having raised the question of whether the late Patriarch’s edicts—regarding heresy in particular—might not have died with her.
3. the seceded states, as well as their own vassal states acquired in the interim, principally from neighboring islands. This eastern Patriarchy (which is never to be referred to as such) is called Ogaru [sp?], and its capital is the Cathedral of the Rock, a massive edifice built into the cliffside of one of Ogaru’s islands.

During the decades that have passed, East and West have evolved in very different ways.

Ogaru is the leading edge of technological development—while the West does still have airships and clockwork and the technicians to operate and maintain such, they are decades behind, and have proven unable to even reverse-engineer Eastern technology.

Ganym proper, however, remains the bastion of art and, importantly, religious thought.

the Faith

My character's first batch of crests. Only
Aspects are pictured; Attributes coming soon.

Magic is Faith and Faith is magic—no other form of magic exists. (In other words, as we players understand it, the Faith has pretty much successfully crushed everything else.)

The universe is composed of a discrete number of Elements. The exact number is known only to the Almighty, but what is known is that the more Faith you have, the more Elements—or rather, Aspects of Elements—you have access to, and the more you can do.

Each of the Faithful is born under the Aspect of a certain Element, which grants them certain gifts. For the common run of people, these are simple things, such as being born under the Rain Aspect of Water, and thus not getting sick from being caught in the rain.

In Ganym philosophy, there are seven common Elements, which have myriad Aspects.

1. Fire
2. Water
3. Earth
4. Air
5. Wood
6. Metal
7. Anima

The Anti-Patriarchy, however, has declared that there are five more common Elements!

1. Mineral
2. Ink
3. Sea
4. Star
5. Smoke

These, of course, are not officially recognized by Ganym, although at least three of them are secretly known to the West as very high-level magic.

It’s important to note that no one is born under the Element of, say, Water, but only under an Aspect thereof— Rain or Dew or Frost, like that. In a sense, it may be said that the Elements do not exist in and of themselves, but only as collective terms for their Aspects, in the same way that the word ‘rice’ does not really exist in Filipino, but may be perceived as a collective term for its concrete aspects of palay, bigas, kanin, and so on.

There are levels and levels of Elements above the common, but accessing them requires training, which —whether West or East — is the nigh-exclusive province of the clergy. This is not to say that only the clergy has recourse to actual, usable magic — secular people from princes to guardsmen possess Crests, but only through clerical approval.

Crests?
All that an Aspect does by itself is to allow an involuntary expression of magic, as mentioned previously. In order to actively cause a desired effect, one needs a Crest.

(Think of Aspects as nouns, and Crests as sentences. You may have the noun ‘Rain’, but you need a whole sentence to tell the universe you want to ‘Deluge my enemies in Rain!’ So Crests are composed of both Aspects and Attributes, which are modifiers we can equate to verbs, adjectives, etc., which define things like duration, size, and targeting.)

A Crest is typically deployed by holding together and raising the index and middle fingers, around which will form a small halo depicting the constructed Crest, either:

• physical—inscribed on something tangible, which is then activated by the wielder’s Faith; the wielder must have sufficient knowledge of all Aspects and Attributes relevant to the Crest—or
• manifested—formed of pure Faith and knowledge.

The latter is much trickier than one might think, since Attributes and Aspects—with the sole exception of the one you were born with—tend to fade from the mind in time, and there are only three known ways to acquire new ones.

1. Realization—epiphany achieved through fasting and contemplation of the involved Aspect or Attribute; can be reinforced with successive contemplation
2. Education—being taught a successfully-recorded Aspect or Attribute
3. Recovery—discovering lost Aspects or Attributes, but attempting to comprehend such unidentified powers can be and has been fatal
4. (and I know I said there were only three, but Kate discovered this one, so I think our characters would not know it)
5. Combination—causing multiple Aspects to ‘birth’ new ones

It is also possible to trade—there must be an actual one-to-one exchange, or no trade occurs. This practice is much frowned upon by the Faith, but is nevertheless rampant.

Mahadlika: A Philippine RPG (Kinda Old & Never Released)

I think this was done as a thesis, or something.

Time to read through it, for kicks. :)

Echoes: The New RPG Campaign

Well, the old RPG campaign I was in (Isle: Imperium and The Court Adamantine) wrapped up several months back. I have tons of unpublished write-ups from those, but I wanted to start up with the new campaign we're into -- partially because I need to keep track of all the new magic rules in this pseudo-cyberpunk setting.

But first, a teaser pic of my four starting Aspects (from three elements - Anima, Wood, and Metal).

I've only been able to try Thought, Emotion, and Tree with their related Attributes. Only Thought has been successfully used against a rain elemental trying to kill me.

On the Radar: D&D Cyclopedia

I still have this in hardcopy. Need to find a way to preserve it better -- the perils of living in a tropical clime. And maybe I should pick it up in electronic form already! Fortunately, it's available online already... for $9.99 at the time of this writing.

I remember buying this, even though I still had my B/X rulebooks and could borrow the rest of the BECMI sets, because I wanted to have one solid reference -- with monsters -- in my hand whenever I wanted to run this game.

Once again, the entry's description has tidbits of historical significance, courtesy of Shannon Appelcline. Here's an excerpt:

"The Compilation. The Rules Cyclopedia is a compilation of the D&D Basic Rules Set (1983), the D&D Expert Rules Set (1983), the D&D Companion Rules (1984), and the D&D Master Rules (1985). It contains not only the rules from those boxed sets, but also the monsters, making the Cyclopedia one of two great sources for Basic D&D monsters, the other being the Creature Catalog (1986, 1993). Approximately 150 pages of rules on characters and magic from the "GAZ" Gazetteers (1987-91) are also included, making the Cyclopedia a truly massive compilation of about a decade's worth of Basic D&D rules.

The Immortals Rules (1986) are notably not included in the Cyclopedia, although it does contain seven pages from the Master Rules that include basic information for immortals, including rules on PCs ascending to those lofty ranks.

Rules on jousting in tournaments and on artifacts were also left out of the Cyclopedia.

Not an Introductory Book! Unlike every other iteration of Basic D&D, this one was not intended to be an introductory roleplaying book. It was instead a reference for Basic D&D play, which matched TSR's thinking about the AD&D 2e rules. 

Expanding the Known World. The Cyclopedia doesn't expand the Known World in any notable way, but it does include a rather impressive atlas, featuring 16 full color maps, including the maps from the Gazetteers and the world maps from the Master Rules and the Hollow World Campaign Set (1990)."

What are you waiting for? Pick it up now!

Armchair Review: The War of Horus and Set

Reference books on history, mythology, and warfare hold a special place in the gamer's heart -- they provide inspiration for many a character or game.

How wonderful therefore that Osprey Publishing's The War of Horus and Set delivers on all three!

Here's my review as it appears on RPGNow:

First off, please note that this version is in ePub format and not in PDF.

With that out of the way -- this is a fantastic resource for RPG gamers. The writing has a nice balance between providing succinct summaries of the history and general flow of the myth and history of this particular focus area in Egyptian myth and in providing telling details about the variants and nuances of these conflated stories to provide a lot of game inspiration and adventure hooks for GMs. 

The Chapter titled "Gods and Their Realm" gives a good grounding in the cosmology of Egyptian gods and a list of the major players in the pantheon.
In "The Jealous Brother", there is an sympathetic portrayal of Set before the troubles between him and his brother, Osiris, began the inexorable slide into generational family feuding and tragedy. Of particular interest is the scene where Osiris is tricked into a deadly trap in full view of an audience. 

"The Vengeful Nephew", focuses on the war between Horus and Set from the revelation of what Set had done to Horus's father, through the various clashes overseen by the gods, right up to their final conflict. It is not bits and pieces of myth, but a fully described, flowing narrative. 

The Chapter titled "History and Warfare" peels back the curtain behind the narrative to discuss the often contradictory sources and variants of the myths that have been woven together for this book, to elaborate on real world warfare that paralleled the unfolding myths, and to detail aspects of Egyptian warmaking. 

"Enduring Legacy" talks about how these myths have influenced the modern day, crossing over into other religions or are echoed in other modern stories. 

All in all a rich source of material for a GM and her playing group.

Usage in Mystara

Given the existence of the Nithian culture in Mystara, it's hard not to want to use this resource as a way to twist and fill in the histories there with material from this book. I like the references here to Osiris as the First Mummy and to Geb as the source of the reanimating spell as a basis for that culture's resurrection spell. I love the references to the challenges between the gods Horus and Set (who may also be Seth or Sutek), and the way that the rulers of the land and the gods interact and ally.

I also like how they talked about Osiris's powers as lord of the Underworld and the ability to unleash chaos-spawned beings as a possible source of magics.

Also, given my past posts on the merging of gods (with Pflarr perhaps an echo of Hermanubis), there's no reason why this can't be an ongoing struggle between their allies and offspring.

RPG News: A Pathfinder Sale!

Have you heard about the Pathfinder Sale? It's this week it's on Pathfinder compatible RPG PDFs. Over a thousand PDFs are be marked down 40%!

Been holding off on the purchase of that setting or supplement? Now's the time!

Books of interest include the following:

The Midgard Campaign Setting by Wolfgang Baur and the folks at Open Design has gotten high marks for its production values and its writing.

Maybe it's time to spend on this richly detailed campaign setting?

Lorefinder is a mashup of the GUMSHOE rules with Pathfinder. So for those who've got a hankering for investigation mixed in with their hack & slash, this may be the ruleset for you!

NeoExodus: A House Divided is a high-powered Pathfinder setting with some science fiction genre tropes mixed into its thoroughly fantasy setting. Give it a try at a discounted price this week!

Heroes of the Jade Oath is one of the best Far East-inspired settings for the Pathfinder ruleset. Looking to change up your fantasy adventuring for your gaming group? Look no further!

The Freeport Companion is a lovely resource for the Freeport setting cast in Pathfinder rules. It's one of the two swashbuckling settings I'd recommend for this ruleset -- high seas adventure, abounding treachery, and a touch of cosmic horror!

A Table for a Tropical Clime: Armor in San Lazario

From The Tao of D&D comes a table that will restrict the use of the warmer armors in different temperature ranges. There may be slight adjustments for people native to this area, but even we eschew very heavy armor to avoid heat-related ailments.

Time to strip down to the essentials, unless it's time to fight! Right, Amaya?

Seriously, though, some of it is also a matter of available materials. Perhaps the iron ore is difficult to get at, or at least in quantities that would make chain mail or plate mail likely to be produced (and maintained) on a larger scale. Or perhaps the powers that be don't look kindly on anyone manufacturing large amounts of armor?

Speaking of maintenance, being near the sea (and all that salt water) might make fighting against rust a real pain. How quickly does uncared for metal armor rust? Like those pieces of armor found in dungeons that may or may not have had blood spilled on them?

Another concern is the craftsmanship -- perhaps the skill is there for creating swords and other weapons, but I'm sure that it must be a pain to 'start over' when you've made a mistake with your armor crafting for chain mail or plate mail...

Isle Imperium 1.45 -- A Little Learning

It was either this pic, or the D&D Basic Wizard's Eye. I really
wonder how the eyes of the Watchful Warder
eyes are supposed to look like -- I preferred the stylized
look of Agamotto myself.

After ALECTO’S training with Master AUDEN, the storm hits, immediately following which ARCTURUS has a confrontation with JERENAIS over the latter’s attempt to take a shard from a downed mount in the Undercity. Harsh words are exchanged—Jere accusing Arc of wanting to ‘keep him down’—but Arc is able to dissuade his cousin from any immediate bad decision.

KHIMERE confesses to CATALINA that, in an effort to protect her First Woman, she has been blocking TERENTIUS’S mental and physical attempts to contact Cat, including a letter in which Terry explained the healing eye which he put on her. Having assured Kim that she bears her no ill will, Cat hurries to the hospice, where she learns from Terry’s brother CARDIUS (who claims to have been removed from Diamond after an “altercation” with Auden) that the Watchful Warder shard shattered and became embedded in Terry’s body, leaving the latter in grievous condition, which the healers are at a loss to remedy.

Cat calls for Aly, who calls for MANTIUS, who determines that Terry will die in a matter of seven hours. Aly uses scholarly ability to reveal that they need a harrower in order to even have a chance at reintegrating the shard (25% of which is missing) while sustaining the mount, upon which the entire number is then gathered to scramble for a solution. After finding the Feylight Harrower CRISPIANUS and then losing him to LORD INQUISITIVE’S testing, the assembled team consists of the First, Lady ADRIA as Paladin of Last Chances, and Cardius, who sacrifices an eye in order to don the harrower Cyclopean Nuncio.

With only slightly better than a five percent chance of success, they nevertheless make the attempt, which results in a tremendous backlash that slams Cardius across the room and shatters the Cyclopean Nuncio. Terry dies; Mantius is struggling with the choice of restraining or releasing his spirit when the former Daughter of Passion shard reveals itself to now be accessible to Cat as the Essential Lady of Passion, since she has met the prerequisite by having her heart broken. Cat dons the shard and—through its abilities and the assistance of the shard Fellmind and its confused new mount—is able to revive Terry.

Mantius collects the remains of the shattered Watchful Warder shard while Aly, through the Saint of Consonance, restores the Cyclopean Nuncio. They are then summoned by ISAACUS, along with the rest of the Veiled Cardinals, who are instructed to follow Adria’s direction over the next few days to ensure that no untoward information escapes Peerdin through civilians or the lower numbers, since the dome will soon be coming down. Once Mantius and Aly are returned whence they came, she quickly goes to VARIAN, to guilt him about not telling Auden that Ana is alive, and to remind him that HADRIAN is somewhere around. Ian manages to lure Hadrian to him by playing one of the songs of their childhood, in the process striking a deal with the large blue-infested cat stalking the Undercity. Hadrian appears not to remember Ian, but it is a cordial meeting nevertheless.

Over the next few days, Arc asks LUCIA to officially be his lady and tells Ser ORLANDO of her acceptance, while the now-supernally healthy Terry has really, really lots of sex with Cat, in between which she tells him that he’s been removed as a ruling warder—to his jubilation—and he plots to be reassigned to the Third. Terry and the First are soon summoned to a meeting with the First Tier, in which Terry successfully advances his agenda, and the group discusses options in light of Amber’s fall, such as:

1. Support Copper by replacing Amber as a frontline legion, facing both Amber’s opposing court and the Blight Speakers;
2. Assist Emerald in forming a sub-legion to accomplish same, providing Kenjiro as leader and a huge number of shards;
3. Leave matters as they stand.

Cat suggests a fourth option—forming a new legion by finding or creating a new writ—much to Isaac’s annoyance. This results in the latter’s agreeing to examine the possibility, ordering Cat to assemble the Pearl Court Scholar SHENG YU, the Indentured Scholar RAYNEL, and her unwilling self as the research team at the new Undercity library. She does so, surprising Raynel (who thought his possession of the Indentured Scholar was a secret), notwithstanding the fact that Isaac then summarily dismisses Raynel due to his “incomplete purchase” from said shard, replacing him with Aly.

Meanwhile, LEONTES the Younger alerts Ian to the presence of strangers outside Peerdin. Ian, Arc, Kim, and Mantius investigate, whereupon they meet the expressed legendary shard ALCHESIS, his eight-year-old ‘mount’ MAYA, and their friend, the expressed legendary shard TALIESIN. Before long, Taliesin compels the legendary MIRAJIN to apologize to Kim; Auden realizes that Taliesin is the Renegade Lyric; and all three legendaries agree to pledge fealty to the legion (after Taliesin’s  embarrassment at discovering that the Bejeweled Warder is “THAT Bejeweled”, given the tension between him and Canar). Little Maya (who recognizes and is recognized by Arc as Elect) is housed with Cat’s mother, and Kim introduces her to ALIA.

As ordered by Isaac, Cat attends the First Tier meeting the next morning to report the scholarly findings: that acquiring a new writ has a 30% chance of success, will be very perilous, and will take one number at least three months to accomplish. Isaac recommends that the First be assigned to undertake this endeavor, and the motion is carried over Orlando’s and Kenjiro’s objections, with Cat avoiding a tie by persuading Master Auden to change his initial opinion.

With two days before their departure, among other things: BREGAN is recruited to round the First out to a total of seven; all of the First are signed on as warders; Arc says goodbye to and receives a token from Lucia; Aly gets a tattoo, introduces Kenjiro to her parents, and spends most of the duration “working for the finance office”; Cat introduces Terry to LEPIDA and Alia; Ian tells Auden that he knows about their past; Mantius gives ROGELIO some salient advice; and everyone bids goodbye to Toby.

Sundry Information:
1.    The Phantom Aviator is expressed as a female named LARIAN.
2.    The Lady of Passion is named JELIN.

Solo Play: Memories of Game Books -- Part II

Now, some folks might look askance at this type of gaming. I mean, is it really an RPG if you play by yourself? Can't you just cheat? And where's the flexibility of the player to do whatever he wants, instead of just choosing between option A (turn to page xx) and option B (turn to page yy)?

Well, heck. It ain't perfect, it's probably superceded by the flexibility of modern RPGs, but there's still that wonderful exercise of the imagination here. The words trigger the imagery in your mind, and some handy illustrations help bridge the gap from time to time when your vocabulary fails you.

Just like some memorable face-to-face sessions, I still have memories of the first time I encountered the following stalwart foes in the dungeon of the Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

Let sleeping humanoids lie

The handsome fellow to the right was clearly a sentry. Going alone into a dungeon (with a crappily statted character no less) for the first time, you can bet I opted to sneak past the sucker.

Knowing I was going to go into the mountain fortress of a powerful warlock, what self-respecting hero would want to have everyone on alert that early on in the adventure?

The artwork is absolutely lovely -- the linework and detail, shading techniques and all really sold it to me... and became the palette that my mind followed throughout the rest of the adventure.

Sweet mother of pearl! What is that thing?

This frickin' thing scared the bejeezus outta me when I first saw it. And will not deny a visceral desire to kill it! Kill it dead! With quick but thorough ultraviolence -- dice don't fail me now!

"DM, I kill it with my murder knife! I stab it with my stabby thing! Wait, I'm alone here in my room..."

In retrospect, I'm actually amazed that this kind of reaction took place. But I think the art, plus the writing and the synergy between those two inputs and my imagination really made this thing an opponent to be feared!

Interestingly enough, something about the description and the picture warned me that I didn't want to be hit by this disease-ridden creature -- and I was right! I don't know if I was afraid of paralysis because it might be ghoul-ish in nature, or if I feared George Romero-style zombification, but I was so happy when I dropped this thing without so much as a scratch on me.

So, we meet again -- for the first time!

Yeah, it took me so many tries to find this guy. And I died when I first ran into him -- didn't have a chance to use the *ahem* 'secret way' to defeat the damn Warlock of Firetop Mountain. He's a tough character -- but oh, so cool looking too.

Time to warm up the pencils and the dice, it's time to venture into Firetop Mountain once more!