Issue #14 was the extra-big Gen Con issue, and in its pages you’ll find:

• Exclusive Pathfinder content, including two articles by Paizo staff
• The Ecology of the Tengu—in Golarion and in Zobeck
• An interview with 4th Edition D&D lead designer Rob Heinsoo
• Treasure Trove articles with phat loots to improve your game and bring smiles to players
• Paladins, secret languages, and aasimar PCs
• Secrets of Game Design by Monte Cook
• So much more that it makes us dizzy to even think about it!

All you need to do to get your PDF copy is go to the KQ Store, add issue #14 to your cart, and enter the coupon code KoboldWelcome at checkout. Enjoy!

They’re some handy tables for generating various physical characteristics and behavioural traits of NPCs on the fly or during prep all contained on a single page. Choose results or roll once for each column. She didn’t design it to make coherent NPCs by reading across the rows, but I think you can get some pretty interesting ones by doing that too.

When rolling, for the large table roll a d6 twice and check the results in order, or roll two different coloured d6s. For the d8 tables, if you happen to have only a d6 handy you can just use that, as the results that a 7 or 8 would bring can easily be ignored as they are the least common.

Also, some results have a few choices, sometimes as opposites or alternatives (hairy/hairless) and sometimes to just give a little more choice (bandaged/stitched). When you get a result like this, choose whichever you like best or whatever seems most appropriate.

If you don’t like a result or it doesn’t make sense with something else you’ve already rolled, simply re-roll or choose something else.

I hope you enjoy this gift as much as I have.

Life has run away on me this year, but I have finally managed to complete the fantasy newspaper I promised as my contribution for I Am Your Champion. I had some interest, but few donations, and that’s fine. I had fun making it and I hope those who donated to my charity are happy with the result. This isn’t just for them though, it’s a free download for everyone. I’ve made a parchment version and a print-friendly version. I hope you enjoy this and get some use out of it

Game masters can the newspaper for hooks, NPCs, adventures and worldbuilding or even just as a source of random rumours, information and goings-on. I think the best use for it, though, is for GMs to read it, think about it, then next time the PCs are in a tavern tell them “Someone’s left a newsletter on your table. It looks like this…” and then just give them the handout. I love doing this sort of thing in game and I hope you’ll enjoy my attempt at a fantasy newspaper, inspired by a thoughtful present my wife and friends made for me a few years ago.

If I get enough interest I might just make another issue. Enjoy

This year, I have released a free character pack with three pre-generated zillas for you and your friends to take to town. This is the ‘Classic Character Pack’ and it isn’t hard to see the inspiration behind Thoron, the giant lizard with atomic breath, Leoptra, an enormous psychic moth, and Kapparo, a gargantuan magma-infused tortoise.

Download the classic character pack for free. If you don’t yet have the game itself, download ZILLA! for free too.

Happy Free RPG Day, everyone!

The Pool is explained pretty well here with a few ideas for tweaking the game. I prefer Anti-Pool, myself. Both are dead simple and can be used for any genre. I play Anti-Pool with my wife in the car, it’s so simple.

Risus: The Anything RPG is a short comedic RPG with Aspect-like “clichés” and an easy to learn rule set. If you want to make it more serious, try the Serious Risus supplement.

Wheel of Fate is my new go-to game for on-the-go play. It’s got a bit more to it than The Pool, but it it is still only 8 pages long and does everything I want in a setting-less, genre-less rules-light game. Well, almost everything. There’s no advancement rules, but the ones from Wheel of Exalted Fate (last page of the document) fit perfectly. It’s well worth signing up to the Yahoo! Group to download Wheel of Fate and other FATE tweaks.

Otherkind is a cool game by Vincent Baker (Dogs in the Vineyard, Apocalypse World) about the fey. It has a sleek dice mechanic that has been the basis for other games.

GHOST/ECHO is one of those games based on Otherkind dice. It’s by John Harper, one of the best in the industry. It’s an “oracle game” in that it implies the setting, gives you the tools you need and sets you loose to interpret and create the world and adventures how your group sees fit.

The Wildlings is another John Harper game, this time with a setting and premise inspired by Penny Arcade’s Lookouts. It’s great for kids but I think it’s good for adults too. I wrote a game with rules inspired by The Wildlings and we all had great fun with it. Wildlings is simple but elegant and the PDF itself is very beautiful.

The Shadow of Yesterday is a fascinating fantasy setting with a great rules set, including some great mechanics linked to character and story activities such as your dice pools being refreshed by in-fiction actions, not the end of a session or similar; it links roleplaying and interaction to mechanical benefits in a very clever way. I’ve yet to play it, but it reads very well and makes me very keen to run it. Clinton R. Nixon created this game and it has gained a great deal of popularity.

Lady Blackbird is another game with a great implied setting (in fact, Ryan Macklin recently wrote on the subject) and fans of Firefly should be particularly interested. Lady Blackbird is yet another of John Harper’s game. It won the 2010 RPG Golden Geek award for Best Free Game and also won an Ennie that same year for Best Free Product. The game is beautiful, sleek and a great hybrid of the best bits of several rules sets (including The Pool and The Shadow of Yesterday), all in a beautiful pick-up-and-play package.

The Mustang is a short-form game (by, you guessed it, John Harper) that is about a very specific situation and a handful of characters. It’s an interesting idea and a good focus on character interaction.

44: A Game of Automatic Fear was a nominee for the 2010 RPG Golden Geek award and it’s website describes it as a suspense and horror role-playing game designed for single sessions with very little preparation required. It’s a great game for busy players looking for a one-shot session. Again, I haven’t played this one but it’s right up there on my list.

Nine Worlds: A Game of Cosmic Drama is another one I haven’t played, so I’ll let the text do the talking: “Modern-day fantasy meets Greek myth in this unique role-playing game. Nine Worlds is ideal for players looking to create exciting, magical drama. This game provides players the tools to create incredible stories set in a universe full of magic, myth, tragedy, and redemption. Players portray Archons—mortal humans caught in a cosmic cold war between the Greek Gods and Titans. The game master guides them among the Nine Worlds, testing their loyalties or tempting them towards rebellion. Will your Archon support the immortal rulers of the universe? Or, will your Archon break their laws and help shape a new reality? Features: Innovative playing card mechanics, rich history & survey of the Nine Worlds, quick and easy character creation, advice for players on creating great stories.

Hell for Leather is another I haven’t had a chance to run: a darkly gory game of pursuit and savage violence. In the Standard Setting, play as contestants on the world’s bloodiest gameshow and struggle for gruesome survival! Or customise the game during-play! Features: No GM – all the players are in charge of the story; no prep – like a board game, you set it up together; customisable – create a new setting (like Pulp Explorers, Ancient Rome or the French Wars of Religion) during play!

ZILLA! is my first attempt at game design. I released it last year for Free RPG Day. It’s a game about kaiju, or Godzilla-like monsters. I describe it as a game of destruction, mayhem and love. I was inspired by the idea that these giant monsters, like King Kong, are very destructive, but are prone to falling in love with or developing relationships with humans. Heavily influenced by John Harper’s GHOST/ECHO and The Wildlings, I’ve run a few games of ZILLA! and we all had a blast. It’s a lot of fun and very simple to just play. For Free RPG Day this year, I’m releasing a free character pack for the game. It’s easy to make your own, but these will get you started.

Emergency services are inundated with calls that they terminate because they appear to be pranks or non-emergencies. Stuff about aliens and werewolves. That kind of thing.

That’s where Hang Ups comes in.

They’re an independent (and not technically legal) group that intercepts these abandoned calls and sifts through them for seeds of truth. Armed with their knowledge of the paranormal, they respond to potentially legitimate calls to help those that the authorities ignore.

Getting the Call

GM: “Okay, so it’s Joe’s turn to be the Operator this week”

Joe: “Sweet! Okay, I’m on the couch, kicking back with the headphones on”

GM: “Alright. Montage time. The calls are rolling in. There’s the usually junk, but a few perk your interest…”

[GM looks around the table for anyone with an idea. Clara puts her fingers to the side of her head like she's on a phone.]

GM: “Emergency services. What is your emergency?”

Clara: “Uh… hi. Um… there’s something outside my house making these weird noises”.

GM: “Could you describe the noises?”

Clara: “Yeah… like, um… growls. But they don’t sound right.”

GM: “What do they sound like?”

Clara: “I don’t know… it’s not a dog, I don’t think. Maybe a bear? But it sounds sick or something. I can hear it moving in the bushes! My neighbour, he’s been working late nights on something in his garage. I see smoke and light and stuff coming from there and sometimes I hear animal noises. Wait… there it is again! Please send someone, quick!”

GM: *click* [Hangs up]

Joe: “Ooh, is he making a monster? Hmm…”

GM: “Emergency services. What is your emergency?”

Gavin: “Yo, dude. Dude! They’re, like… everywhere, man! Seriously!”

GM: “Sir, could you please explain the nature of your emergency”

Gavin: “Everywhere, man. All these… like… cocoon things, you know? Some nights they’re there. Some night’s they’re not. They’re there now, though. They glow and stuff. Oh… no way! No way! Some of them are hatching or something! What the hell is that!? Dude, you gotta get someone over here! Hello?”

GM: *click* [Hangs up]

Joe: “Haha, these are great!”

GM: “Emergency services. What is your emergency?”

Beth: “They’re in the computer!”

GM: “Madam, could you please explain the nature of your emergency”

Beth: “Beings… of electricity. I see them, crackling. It’s stormy tonight. That’s when they come out. It’s like… glitches in the computer screen. But also, my lights go on and off. Uncle Mort says it reminds him of something, the way it flickers. He’s been having dreams, he says, in the storms. My phone rings and I hear crackling. I feel like they’re watching me. I just got home and saw my lights flicking on and off. I can’t find Mr. Fluffy… what’s that burning smell?”

GM: *click* [Hangs up]

Joe: “Awesome, guys. I think I’m gonna go with cocoons. I wanna know what’s hatching out of there!”

Gavin: “Yes!”

Clara: “Cool. I liked that one too!”

Beth: “Aww, we’ll have to wait till some other time to find out if Mr. Fluffy is okay. I’m in though. Sounds good!”

GM: “Please hold, you are being transferred to Special Priority Emergency Services Unit”

Joe: “Special Priority Emergency Services Unit. Sir, could you tell us more about these cocoons?”

Gavin: “Yeah, no worries, man. You really gotta see this…”

[Here, we 'fade to black'. It's assumed that the caller keeps explaining what little he knows about the situation, but it's the GM's job to come up with these details on the fly to keep the players excited and guessing. That's half the fun for everyone: players make the seed of the story and the GM improvises as the game progress.]

Answering the Call

After you get the call, you respond. Here is where the real fun begins. Who knows how legitimate the call is? Can it be explained with science? Is it really something supernatural? Will the real authorities end up on the scene too, having never heard of this ‘Special Priority Emergency Services Unit’? Is the threat a physical danger? Can the Hang Ups take it down with whatever weapons and tools they legally (or not) have managed to get their hands on?

Most importantly, how are they going to get paid, this time? Are they going to ask for a ‘call out fee’? Will they take something valuable as ‘evidence’? Will they admit that they’re a group of vigilantes who need to keep food on their table?

Once the mission is done, the Hang Ups head back to base, swap Operators and do it all again.

When I present this to my players, I’ll explain most of this as we go. But to get them excited for, it I made this one-page PDF flyer. Feel free to use it with your own group.

If you know of a system that’d be good for Hang Ups, or if you give it a shot, feel free to chime in below. I’d love to hear any other comments too or potential calls. I think I hear the phone ringing…

Instead, when we went to advance her character again we decided to try ditching Hindrances and Edges and incorporating Aspects, from FATE-based games like Spirit of the Century and The Dresden Files RPG. Now, I know this may be blasphemy to some, but we wanted to give it a shot. I’ve read a lot about SotC and DRPG, but haven’t yet had the chance to run either, so this was also like a test-run for using Aspects.

Below are my house rules for adding Aspects to Savage Worlds. I took a lot of inspiration for these house rules from posts here, here and from Strands of Fate, here.

Savage Aspects

• Remove all hindrances and edges or use the same names, but treat them as aspects.^[1]
• During character creation, every character receives 5-10 Aspects.
• Each session, players start with 5 Bennies, no matter how many they ended last session with.
• Bennies can only be used in the following ways:
  • Gain a Bonus – A benny can be spent to add 1 to any roll of the dice (except damage)
  • Invoke an Aspect – If appropriate, an aspect can be invoked, allowing the player to:
    – Re-roll all the dice just rolled, using the new result, or
    – Add 2 to the final die roll (after any re-rolls have been done).
  • Tag an Aspect – A benny can be spent to invoke an aspect other than the characters’ (this could be an aspect on another character, the environment, a weapon, or other things of dramatic importance)
  • Make a Declaration – A benny can be spent to declare a fact. If the GM accepts it, it will be true.
• Bennies can only be earned through accepting compels. The GM can compel one of the character’s aspects by offering the player a choice: the player can act in accordance with the aspect to gain a benny, or the player can spend a benny to ignore the aspect. The only other way to gain bennies is through the refresh to 5 bennies at the start of each session.
• Persistent Aspects are aspects that are “free-taggable”, are considered “always on” and cover such things as deep darkness and taking cover. Aspects like these impact so heavily on a situation that they are considered always in effect and bennies do not need to be spent to invoke such aspects.^[2]

Notes:

[1]  Alternatively, remove all hindrances and edges that do not give a mechanical benefit or penalty, and those that only give +2 or -2. If you wish to use such hindrances or edges, treat them as aspects. Also treat those hindrances and edges that remain as aspects. For example, someone who is Filthy Rich receives extra funds, but also has Filthy Rich as an aspect. The Lucky aspect should not grant an extra benny.

[2] Persistent aspects in Savage Worlds may add more or less than +2 to a roll depending on the situation. For instance, invoking Dim Light gives a +1 to Stealth checks, while invoking Pitch Darkness gives a +4 to Stealth Checks. Persistent aspects can also be invoked by the GM. For instance, if a PC is attempting stealth while running, the Running persistent aspect should be invoked by the GM to grant +2 to opposing Notice checks (mechanically equal to granting a -2 penalty to the PC’s Stealth checks).

So, those are the rules we’ve started using. It’s only been a few sessions so far, but the aspects have been invoked and compelled a lot more than the hindrances and edges were ever used. Furthermore, the aspects say a lot more about the character and what the player wants from the game and story. It’s working for us so far. She has aspects like “But I’m Pregnant!”, Skin of My Teeth, Black Sheep of the Noble Merricks, and Tough & Sexy. We’re getting a lot out of them, so far.

I want to now talk a little bit about the removal of Hindrances and Edges and give some explanation about the Persistent Aspects. Hindrances and Edges are fairly well linked into Savage Worlds, but I think they are pretty easily ignored, too. I’ve never found a problem with not using them.

I favour stripping out the entire sub-system and replacing it with Aspects, rather than keeping some of the aspects there. If you do that, you get things like the Filthy Rich aspect granting you extra funds and working just like a normal aspect. It’s not game breaking, but it certainly could be seen as a much more advantageous aspect than others.

Persistent Aspects are an idea I only encountered recently, in Strands of Fate. I searched for and discovered the idea after running into a problem early on. In our game, my wife’s character has a shadow demon inside her. It’s powers only work when in the dark. She also sneaks around in shadow a lot now. She asked me whether she had to spend a benny every time she rolled to get the benefit of the darkenss.

Now the answer is, not really. If she rolled high enough, she wouldn’t need to spend a benny. But if she didn’t roll high enough, then, yes, she’d have to spend a benny so that the darkness would shroud her from view. We both found this very jarring, especially for this character.

I like the idea of persistent aspects and feel like it gives you something to play around with. If she’s fighting pirates during the “Darkest Hour of Night” on a “Stormy Sea” then every PC and NPC is going to be able to tag, invoke those aspects, as well as have them compelled against them. To me, that makes a lot more sense for the way we like to game. Rather than the pitch darkness and thrashing sea only impacting on the characters when they spend points to make it so.

That said, I’ve never played a FATE-based game before, so I might be missing something. In our current Savage Worlds game, persistent aspects make the most sense for us, so we’re giving them a shot. So far, so good.

I like the idea, too, of having a pile of bennies in the middle of the table for players to gift each other (like Primetime Adventures’ Fan Mail), but in a one-on-one game that’s irrelevant, so I haven’t done that yet.

We’ll keep playing using this system and I’ll update you on how it works out (or doesn’t) including any tweaks we add to the system.

If you’d like an offline copy of these house rules, you can download a PDF here.

Savage Worlds licensing information can be found here.

• 2121 words left. Tomorrow, I win! #nanowrimo
• I have few words to go but a fair chunk of story left. I feel like this is one I actually care enough about to keep writing after #nanowrimo
• VICTORY!!! I wrote 51,145 words in 30 days. I am a #NaNoWriMo WINNER!
• I’ve participated in #NaNoWriMo for 4 years, enjoyed it and won each time. If you didn’t join us this year I highly recommend you do in 2011
• I’ve neglected my website this month. Now, I want to focus more on it and try to post more regularly. I’ll have some new content up soon.
• Making a note here, HUGE SUCCESS! Jonathan Coulton + Portal + #Nanowrimo = http://bit.ly/hQM8zM
• December’s Fiasco playset is fantasy-based! Play as dragon-slaying adventurers who “saved” a town. So much awesomeness! http://bit.ly/fLctIj
• Order of the Stick is exceptionally good right now. Great story arc.
• Donkey Kong Country Returns is a nostalgic fun-fest. It’s challenging and I’m having lots of fun. Great music, graphics and level design too