Earthdawn: Adventure Log 40 - Welcome to Sanctuary

This is the fortieth Adventure Log in an ongoing series about Earthdawn. Introduction and Index.

Adventure Log – 040 Welcome to Sanctuary

Written By: Bogani Kreskas

Date:  03 Teayu - 22 Teayu, 1508 TH
Group Name: Mismatched Steel

Group Members

Bongani the Scout
Elmod the Nethermancer
Honeysuckle Sunspray the Warrior
Ting the Swordmaster
Uriel the Illusionist

After a brief discussion, we decide to investigate the crashed airship (the one half-buried in the desert sands). Although the promise of riches is enticing, the threat of the brown espagra encourage us to take a long path around. Progress is limited at first, but we push on at a cautious pace. For five days we travel, searching for the site of the strange obelisk, but the Badlands confounds my senses. Uriel makes good use of the time, tying threads to our Pattern, making himself a greater spellcaster. What a useful fellow. At the site of the obelisk, we decide to go due west in an attempt to find the hills on our borrowed map.

Six days later, we reach a valley between two mountain ranges. The cliffs in our map must be very close now! In the mountains, we find a smooth, sheer cliff, with life-sized carvings of man-shaped figures. A peculiar landmark, to say the least. Elmod and I find holes that seem to fit us precisely... We feel drawn to the niches, as if they were made for us(1). I must... must see what is within! However, my armor does not easily come off, so I reconsider. Luckily, Honeysuckle checks on of the other niches and discovers some concerning things(2). The team suggests that we head south, and I reluctantly agree.

We head south, trying to find the river. There is more life to be found in the mountains, but the espagra clearly mark their territory, which makes them easier to avoid. At least we reach the river, which cuts through the mountain valley. We follow the river east, seeking the kaer at its terminus. The river is unhealthy, but alive, with strange creatures breaching the surface. After a few days, we find crops. Actual agriculture, with stuffed effigies to scare away espagra. At last we find the outskirts of a town(3). Ting instructs Wendel to remain out of sight while I scout out the area. I find a town square, a well, a statue... and many people of various Namegivers. We decide to approach.

As we stride into town, we are stopped by the town guard, who are rightly suspicious. Luckily, Uriel is a quite effective diplomat! After the Greeting Ritual, they introduce their town as "Sanctuary" and invite us into their community. We meet with their wise woman, a hooded figure by the well. She sounds young, though her face is hidden. They worship a combined version of Jaspree and Lochost they call "The White Lady". The name clearly means something to Elmod, but he says nothing(4). 80 years ago, kaer "Ular" was opened, and this community was founded. She gives us directions to the kaer, several days to the east. We offer to help them with any tasks that are beyond them. Elmod notes purity and the color white are prominent in their culture, which is odd, but not concerning. The statue is of a motherly woman, robed and hooded, with her arms outstretched and her head tilted back. The village itself is astrally clear, in start contrast to the corrupted Badlands around us(5).

The tavern keeper is very friendly, but laments he cannot accept coin. Instead, we offer a trade of services. Honeysuckle words in the forge, while the rest of us pitch in for our supper. At night, the villagers come to the tavern, where the men find they are quite popular. The food is bland, but filling, and the beer is fine. The company is excellent. We dance and sing and drink long into the night. It is nice to sleep in a real bed!

In the morning we have a filling breakfast and leave town, heading east to find their forgotten kaer. The wise woman warns use of the danger of the place. We are concerned about her implications of the "will" required to maintain this place, but we do not push the issue(6). Perhaps the kaer will make things more clear. We find a well-trod area, as well as a pair of runed pillars. They look new and are marked with runes dedicated to the Passions Jaspree and Lochost. Before us, the entry to a kaer stands open. The door swivels on a pivot, and lays open before us. It is dark within, so we light our way and enter.

The traps sit unsprung, unused, as if the Horrors have never tread here. I am reminded of stories of kaers that survived the Scourge completely untouched thanks to the special attention of a Passion. Perhaps Jaspree and Lochost indeed look after these people(7). We notice an immense amount of spiderwebs. Carved into the walls are arrows guiding the way down(8). Deeper and deeper we go, for hours. Trying to find the ancient shelter. The arrows lead us to another pivoting door. Propped open by iron spikes. The webs are thick here, so we begin our search for the beasts that made them.

Creepy, alien eyes set in groups of eight watch use from the shadows. They cluster up in groups, much unlike spiders I have seen in the past. Each creature is the size of Harka, though not nearly as cute(9). Ting charges into battle, thrusting us into a furious melee.

As we venture towards a marble gallery with softly glowing light, four creatures drop from the ceiling. Part spider and part man, they have an alabaster beauty that mitigates their terrible forms in no way. The monsters descend upon us in a flurry of claws, mandibles, and twisted ivory flesh(10). The ambush survived, we run from the kaer and return to Sanctuary.(11)

*     *     *

(1) Because none of this is incredibly creepy and it doesn't scream "A Horror did this!" at all. This isn't the first we have heard about carvings in a cliff in the Badlands, but it is some of the most detail. 
(2) What concerning things?!? Details! I swear they do things like this just to irritate me.
(3) This is new.
(4) These people really need to work on their sharing. This not saying anything isn't helping anyone. Especially not me.
(5) This is huge. Why haven't we heard anything at all about this before? Part of me says this is all a trap and something is horribly wrong with the village, but I really want it to be real.
(6) Push the damn issue! What does that mean?
(7) I have to be a skeptic, but part of me really wants to believe.
(8) Helpful or ominous?
(9) I hate spiders. At least they're not jehuthra.
(10) Worse than jehuthra.
(11) Received and edited by Ela Pono

In many ways, this session was something of a curve ball for the group by defying many of their expectations to date. It played with wants versus fears and generally increased the weirdness of the Badlands. The final battle was designed to be very difficult and possibly marks the first time Mismatched Steel has retreated. After it is resolved, I will post the stat blocks of what they fought. 

Earthdawn: Adventure Log 39 - Smells Like Victory

This is the thirty-ninth Adventure Log in an ongoing series about Earthdawn. Introduction and Index.

Adventure Log – 039 Smells Like Vicotry

Written By: Ting V'strimmon of Urupa

Date:  25 Riag - 02 Teayu, 1508 TH
Group Name: Mismatched Steel

Group Members

Bongani the Scout
Elmod the Nethermancer
Honeysuckle Sunspray the Warrior
Ting the Swordmaster
Uriel the Illusionist

After going over the stolen map and notes(1), we make our way back into the Badlands(2). The notes are very vague. I don't understand why they won't make a map without making clear notes on it? We've decided to start by going back to the research cube (or where it was) to orient ourselves, as it shows on the map. Probably why there's no treasure inside.

Oh for fucking, fuck's sake, Wendel is back(3). On the plus side, he's covering his brain(4). With a pot. And seems more coherent. On the super bad side, he's wearing a rotting meat suit covered in maggots. It smells atrocious. So, so bad(5). I actually spent time talking to him to try and convince him to take it off so I wouldn't have to touch him to get it off. I know there is no getting rid of him. But since that didn't work, I had to hold him down while we stripped him and burned that shit.

So an odd shaped airship sped overhead. Bongani said it was Thera's Sword(6). A while later three smaller wooden airships came by following the same-ish path, way slow though. After a day or so, they passed overhead and got eaten by a giant tentacle beast. So that exists. One got away. I wanted to check out the wreckage, but was overruled. My party members have no vision sometimes. We ended up giving it a wide berth.

Even still, we ran into some survivors just as they were walking into an espagra nest. We fought off the monsters, but the survivors were still devastated. Of the 40-some folks we first saw, there was maybe a dozen. We spent some days salvaging one of the crashed ships for supplies so that we could send these folks on their way. We made them water skins, gave them one of our mules, and pointed the way out.(7)

*     *     *

(1) Based on the dates of this log, two weeks have gone unrecorded. Based on this statement, I am forced to wonder if this omission wasn't deliberate. If they're saying up front they stole things - what did they deliberately leave out? Also, there seems to be a new member of their group? What happened to Coriolis, he was pretty easy to look at?
(2) That didn't take long. Most people make it a point to never, ever go back to the Badlands once they have been there. I am one of those people. Based on this, it seems they didn't leave Travar, or at least didn't go far. There was quite an event during that time, which corroborates the earlier theft. A local antiquities dealer (aka hoarder) was murdered. His estate was put up for auction and contained a lot of stuff, but his offspring were upset about how it was being divided. Family drama. While being cataloged and held for the auction, a lot of adepts got the idea to steal things, rather than buy them during the auction like chumps. Apparently they pulled it off. I can only assume the new addition had a significant role to play in this because a) Illusionist and b) I have read all of their adventure logs - this is not their wheelhouse. Or they jumped someone who did steal it or purchased it. That would be in their wheelhouse. What I'm saying here is they aren't a whole lot better than thugs. Definitely better, just not a lot.
(3) This is somewhere in the middle of the Venn diagram of horrifying, fascinating, and adorable.
(4) Now more horrifying and less everything else. Why was this not mentioned previously? That seems like a detail which should have come up previously.
(5) Now just horrifying.
(6) We've been collecting reports of Thera's Sword's movements across Barsaive. Admiral Lokrun isn't just patrolling our skies. He seems to be looking for something. This needs to get passed along to the Eye.
(7) Received and edited by Ela Pono

It wasn't specifically mentioned, but this continues their long search for a potential lost citadel within the Badlands. The previous two sessions had some intrigue within Travar that built up to venturing out once more. Also, one of the players moved and was replaced by a somewhat similar character (Uriel). His introduction has changed the dynamic of how the group approaches problems since they don't just have a hammer anymore.

Like so very often, this had some foreshadowing. There was a lot of foreshadowing. 

Earthdawn: Adventure Log 36 - Message in a Bottle

This is the thirty-sixth Adventure Log in an ongoing series about Earthdawn. Introduction and Index.

Adventure Log – 036 Message in a Bottle

Written By: Elmod from the Other Side of the Well of Glenwood Deep

Date:  21 Sollus - 10 Riag, 1508 TH
Group Name: Mismatched Steel

Group Members

Bongani the Scout
Coriolis the Swordmaster
Elmod the Nethermancer
Honeysuckle Sunspray the Warrior
Ting the Swordmaster

What a lovely, horrid place we have wandered into. The strange Horror construct defeated; the gestalt Horror construct body made of obsidiman parts defeated. We don't feel rested when trying to inside the labyrinthine Horror obelisk(1).

We find a path outside and rest. Bongani makes a perimeter of the obelisk and brings back Wendel. We rest, heat food, and sleep.

Entering the obelisk again, we look for the useful things and I befriend the crystal orbs that sprout spindly legs(2). they collect sacks of alchemical materials and lovely things in the labs. We also find 10 sarcophagi made out of living crystal(3). I convince the crystal orbs to reassemble a few and we lug them outside. Spoils of war.

Then suddenly the whole place starts having gravity issues and we decide to leave immediately(4). I fall horribly and the orbs I had collected help me to get out on a spidery throne of living crystal(5).

Then the obelisk disappears completely. Wonder what happened to make it collapse?

Looks like enough living crystal to make a set of full plate.

We travel through the Badlands.

We were surprised by the sudden attack of a spider-tentacled beast hiding below the surface. I am summarily crushed by a tentacle, Honeysuckle nearly too. Bongani takes out several tentacles and Ting finally deals the fatal blow, eviscerating it, exposing many partially digested beings.

Ting and Bongani have a bonding moment over looking through the debris. They find some silvers and pocket change. I made a little camp and slumber party it up with Air Mattress and warm food. We feed the mules well too. Bongani decides it is a rare badlands antlion(6). I nurse my wounds.

We take another three weeks to return to Travar with limited incident(7).

In Travar, we spend time storing and increasing our talents. I research a few of Ting's items and find little. Honeysuckle gets up in the Haggle and looks for living crystal buyers.

We find a wealthy politician of Travar who buys it from us(8).

We train up and stay in Travar, spending lots of money to do so.(9)

*     *     *

(1) My internal research shows this place was not constructed by Horrors. This log is getting buried.
(2) I have heard of these things, but never actually seen one. They seem to be assistants for some of the dwarfs over in R&D.
(3) The statement is rather nonchalant. Am I the only one who feels like this is incredibly ominous? Just me?
(4) Internal research shows this is only going to happen if someone destroys part of the "crystal warding matrix" which maintains the "illusion of an extra-dimensional space". Look, I'm pretty damn smart and this quickly got beyond my ability to even write it down in a way that had all the right parts of speech. The gist: one of these yahoos was probably screwing around, looking for "spoils of war" and broke something important. It was probably pretty, and shining, and glowing, and looked expensive. This is why we can't have nice things!
(5) I'm more worried about the little crystal guys at this point. I hope they all made it out okay.
(6) These things are no joke bad news. They don't generally have anything of interest because they can digest nearly anything, including metal. Just glass will collect in there over time.
(7) With this crew, this could actually mean nothing happens, or they burned something large and important to the ground. I'm half serious. I wish I was less serious.
(8) Names! There are only a few merchants likely to have the resources and interest to make this purchase. Unless they let it go for a song. Which could happen. Unfortunately, all of the council members make this list. Which complicates things.

(9) Received and edited by Ela Pono

This was the denouement of this particular adventure, though also a significant setup for the next leg in their larger goal. Despite being comparatively quiet, there was still some action and a lot of questions. I was fully prepared for them to come back to this place, but they managed to break it.

There were some significant details which were omitted in this log. They were regarding the nature of the obelisk and what was inside of it, some items found (the session title gives a big clue here), and people and events back in Travar. These will all likely be showing back up very soon.

Kickstarter: Part 16 - New Projects!

This is the sixteenth part in an ongoing series about crowdfunding. Overview and Index.

It has been a very long time since I have done one of these posts - over two years - but there may be more interest in these now than there was back then. If this is or is not something you would like to continue seeing the future, let me know in the comments. 

New Projects

Masks: A New Generation

Closes: 25Oct2015
Funded: Yes!

This is a super heroes game with a focus on young characters and their stories, such as you would find in Teen Titans, Young Avengers, and Young Justice. It uses the Powered by the Apocalypse system and incorporates many of the innovations which have been developed over the years by games such as Monsterhearts and Urban Shadows. Playbooks (an archetype system) are used as a template for your character, while layered on top of this are Labels (Danger, Freak, Mundane, Savoir, and Superior) which define how you view yourself. True to the medium which this emulates, your self-perception can change over time and your ratings in the labels will change with it.

Masks' default setting is one where PCs are the fourth generation of heroes and just coming into their own, having yet to define who they are going to be. The previous generations line up with the equivalent comic book ages and how they are presented: gold, silver, and bronze. Halcyon City is the primary locale and has been fleshed out considerably through various stretch goals.

The people of +Magpie Games always do fine work and I expect this to be no exception. If nothing else, a draft of the game is available to download right now.

Protocol Primer: A Complete Guide to GMless Games

Closes: 29Oct2015
Funded: Yes!

The Protocol games by +postworldgames jim pinto are perhaps my favorite GMless games out there. There are a lot of them (over 50 as of right now) and all I have been exposed to have at least been quite good, with some varying to excellent. One of the reasons they work so well for me is how they handle scene framing and get directly to the game, which is particularly helpful when introducing gamers to the concept of a GMless game.

This is about creating a guide to help with this entire process and offer some advice, including pulling back the curtain and showing why things are put together the way they are. There is also at least one unique game offered only through this project. No matter what, you are also going to get at least one game - even at basic $6 pledge, you are walking away with a random protocol in addition to the primer.

Wild Skies: Europa Tempest

Closes: 31Oct2015
Funded: Yes!

Okay, stick with me for this: Wild Skies is a dieselpunk game of sky pirates over 1930's Europe featuring anthropomorphic animals. This should either get very close to selling your right away, or send you running for the hills.

The mechanical heart of the game is the Moral Compass, which allows you to define what is most important to your character by choosing four matched pairs from a list of eight. Each matched pair represents a continuum from opposite poles and your experience is marked by moving along these tracks. There are some nuances to it which indicate it will be interesting at the very least and worth investigating further.


Pulsars

Closes: 01Nov2015
Funded: No

You are a member of the Pulsar Corps in this sci-fi game. An exceptional soldier who is further enhanced by possession of a powerful suit. This rare piece of technology amplify the traits of their wearer and giving them amazing abilities. Those of the Pulsar Corps have many different roles, from investigator to medic and warrior. They stand against the tide in a losing war struggle as this grinding conflict wears at them, represented by Strain.

There are interesting things going on here and the mechanics appear to be derived from the Wager system first introduced in Houses of the Blooded, then refined in World of Dew. Which makes me even more interested.

Part of the premise of this campaign is each backer will receive a fragment of a larger piece of fiction which can then be put back together by intrepid backers who decide to share. Since I'm somewhere between incredibly busy and a reclusive shut in, I have not participated in this endeavor. This seems as good a point as any to rectify the situation. Here is the fragment which was provided to me:

The sector was under the sway of the Baronies, a loose confederation of systems that barely held on as a Great Power compared to the Stellar Republic and the Universal Kollective.

We were in free space, but even then we had not seen any of their patrol ships for weeks and the last one we saw was guzzling fuel at a frightening rate. There was almost no way they could have sent a ship out this far.

It was as we were gearing up for our next stardive that my chief science officer, Lieutenant Sao Sejano, brought something to my attention.

“Captain, I don’t know if we should make the stardive as planned.”

“Lieutenant, I understand we are running our engines a little hot but the chief engineer has signed off on this jump-“


The Ninja Crusade 2nd Edition

Closes: 05Nov2015
Funded: No

I have been excited about this project ever since it was first teased months ago. This is a game of mystical ninja which can vary between high action, political intrigue between the factions, and stealthy missions. The mechanics have been tightened up and refine the first edition considerably, complete with lessons learned from the other +Third Eye Games titles, particularly the skill combo system which has worked very well in games like AMP: Year One. I know I like to have plenty of mechanical toys into which I can sink my teeth, and this game does not disappoint. Nothing complicated, but from +Eloy's recent work the depth and potential interactions should be excellent.

In the setting, the ninja clans are at war with the empire, with a tenuous peace between the clans. Which leads to them occasionally being at war with each other, as they continue to exploit any advantage to gain position over their rivals. The setting is easy to grasp the basic concepts and dive right in, but there is quite a bit of depth for those who are interested to further explore the complex relationships between the factions.

The uniformly excellent quality of the art which has been previewed thus far is also notable. It is evocative of the game and conveys a feeling of action.


Aquelarre

Closes: 16Nov2015
Funded: No

Ever since I first found out about this game decades ago, I wanted it. Now I finally have my chance. This is a dark and moody Spanish game which is gorgeous to behold. The premise is characters are in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages, a very dark and supernatural version of the Middle Ages. Angels, demons, and fairy tales are all a part of the setting, though probably not in a good way.

This isn't a game for everyone and despite how I covet it, I know there are mechanics which are not for me. The basic system uses percentile dice and there are also hit locations - neither of these are for me. However, it is indicated there will be an adaptation to the D6xD6 system, so perhaps this will work out.

Despite my personal issues with these elements, this promises to be a beautiful book and an amazing setting.


Awaken

Closes: 20Nov2015
Funded: No

The first thing which attracted me to this project was the art - it is amazing. It is beautiful and makes me want to explore their world. From there, it may not come as a surprise to know I have this thing for dark fantasy games and this particular game looks like it will scratch the itch nicely. The premise of the setting is one of political machinations in a war-ravaged world. Behind the intrigues of the nobles, the guardians are dying and the ancient adversaries of myth are returning. Some humans Awaken to potentially great powers and possess the ability to lead their fellow man and turn the tide. Though people being people, not all of them are pre-disposed to helping anyone with their new found power.

While nothing here may be ground breaking in concept, all together it is a dark take on a classic formula in a lovely package. The heavy influence Slavic myths play on the whole is something which is an uncommon twist, and a particular selling point as something to set the game apart.

Amp: Year One

AMP: Year One, by +Eloy Lasanta of Third Eye Games, is a lower-powered supers game which evokes many of the best parts of the X-Men and Aberrant.

The world of AMP is our own world, next Sunday. Those with powers, called AMPs (Accelerated Mutant Potential), have only started to emerge and characters are on the ground floor of this brave new world, for better or worse. This is rather novel, since the vast majority of supers games with settings present an established world, full of heroes and villains already. It serves to emphasize the street-level feeling which permeates the book - everyone is still trying to figure things out.

A backstory as to the why and how of AMPs is clearly laid out in the text, but shrouded in secrecy to the populace at large. It involves a secret multi-national project to create super soldiers. Which is fairly pedestrian, however it has some twists which set it apart and is quite effectively told in general. Without giving any of the secrets away, things go catastrophically wrong and the project is ultimately labeled a failure. The subjects are set loose back in the wild, but the scientists involved quietly keep tabs on them. Fast forward a few generations and it turns out the project was more successful than anyone could have hoped. The variety of powers and possible combinations (and limits therein) are due to the various ways the serums were combined.

A timeline of 2015 is presented in AMP as the primary setting material. In Year One it has the introduction of AMPs and the various reactions to their appearance, and closes out the timeline with a bang at the beginning of 2016. Here, it draws heavy inspiration from X-Men and Aberrant (as mentioned above) with the mixed opinions on their existence and what they represent. It contains a variety of events from around the world which showcase the gradual emergence and acknowledgment of AMPs in the world. They range from mysterious hints of why is potentially yet to come, particularly the "conspiracy" sidebars, to major events which significantly shape public opinion. One of these events even appears as a playable scenario in AMP Adventures, "Attack of the Buzz". Even at their most ostentatious (the Battle of Reno comes to mind), the events presented are a much more restrained take than the inspirations, as befitting the personal and low-key scope of the game. 

The supplement, Year Two, takes the timeline further and it gets quite dark. Without giving too much away, the final events presented in Year One have a significant impact on what transpires in 2016, which is also referred to as the year of fear. With good reason. It also includes more setting information, such as how the world as a whole is dealing with the emergence of AMPs and some more details on the ramifications on various events in the timeline.

AMP has some small nods to comic books, such as the trade size and "Law of Attraction" which causes many AMPs to fight when they first meet (see pretty much any cross-over, ever), but on the whole it has a self-awareness of the tropes and meets them in a way entirely consistent with how you would expect people to react. There is a criminal organization, but the leadership is quite secretive and their long-term goals seem to be about securing a place for AMPs in the world at any cost. As well, there is a school for the "gifted", which many parents use as a place to dump the children which they can no longer understand.

The mechanics serve to reinforce the personal nature of the game by asking: what is important to you? This is done by giving some points to assign to various loyalties, each of which provides a small, but meaningful bonus. There is even the loyalty of "perfection" for those who are really in it for the power. As well, each character can have an affiliation to a particular group. Each group provides a bonus which reflects the nature of the group. For example, the Seekers of Enlightenment (they run the school) get a bonus to resist the Law of Attraction.

For any supers game, powers and how they are handed is probably the biggest deal. Good news: AMP handles them quite well for the power level at which it is operating.

The basic system for AMP uses a D20 and adds two skills to the result based on what you are accomplishing. When using a power, it is one of the two skills. This gives a simple, unified resolution mechanic with a surprising amount of nuance by modifying the typical attribute + skill. To be perfectly honest, over the past 15 years, using a single D20 for resolution has become almost groan-worthy; I fully admit I may very well be alone in this. However, this is one of the few games to which it doesn't bother me at all. It could be the simple addition of gaining Juice on a 1 or 20 makes it interesting, though the frequent additional effects for every 5 over the difficulty certainly doesn't hurt.

Which brings me to the beginning of powers in AMP - they are not things which can generally be used all of the time. They cost Juice, of which you have a small supply, but is really gained when your adrenaline starts pumping. In those dangerous, high stress times is when you start to have a ready supply. Even then, it can be quite draining to just cut loose. There is some resource management to the usage of powers, which again reinforces the lower power and street level natures of the game.

Powers are separated into groups called Strains, which are mostly relevant when it comes time to spend XP. Each character can have up to three powers; a primary, secondary, and tertiary. Your strain is determined by your primary power. The other two can come from any strain, but are cheaper to improve if they come from the same strain as you. Each power has a basic function, but allows for various modifiers to be purchased which start to significantly enhance what your power can do. Each power has a limit to how high it can be improved - primary up to 10, secondary to 7, and tertiary to 4.

This can make for some difficult decisions, especially since there are so many great powers available; it is like visiting a candy store. There is a wide variety of powers available and nearly all of them are interesting and can do awesome things - those omitted by the "nearly" are powers I'm not inclined to like in the first place, such as plant powers, but I know people who would strongly disagree with me on this point. Which is to say the problem is with me, not the power. An example is the Darkness power from the Shaper strain. One of the things you can learn to do is form a blade of darkness. Which was exactly the first thing I wanted to know if I could do when I read the name.

It is worth mentioning Year Two brings some new mechanics to the table. This includes some new affiliations which appeared over the year, Saps as characters (non-AMPs), and new powers. The most notable of the powers is Gadgeteer, which is available to anyone, including Saps. AMP Adventures also introduces a number of new extras for existing powers, in addition to having some solid adventures for a genre which is notoriously difficult.

These details in powers tie into the backstory of how powers came to be. Each AMP is the result of a particular serum cocktail, with primary and potentially secondary and tertiary effects. While not particularly important in the grand scheme of things, it does lend itself to the feeling of a coherent vision for the setting and how the various parts fit together.

In the end, AMP: Year One is easily one of my favorite supers games out there for both the new take on a familiar and comfortable setting, and the elegant simplicity of the mechanics. There are numbers to play with and crunch, but they are simple and straight forward - there is nothing daunting about the mechanics of the powers or how they interact. If you are interested in playing street-level supers, this is, imho, the best game on the market for such an endeavor even if you don't use the metaplot. Though the metaplot is interesting and unobtrusive enough to make it worth using for most games.

Earthdawn: Adventure Log 35 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

This is the thirty-fifth Adventure Log in an ongoing series about Earthdawn. Introduction and Index.

The Badlands are, as the Name suggests, a terrible place to visit. A blasted and desolate plain whose very pattern resists all attempts at healing. Easy to describe as lifeless, but my preferences run towards sparsely populating it with twisted versions of Barsaivian wildlife which has either been lovingly crafted by Horrors during the Scourge or adapted to the place - aided by the pattern itself.

It is a place of forgotten kaers because of the terrible destruction wrought there. Given the inhospitable nature, this is a good location to send adepts looking for people, places, things which have been lost. Not many others frequent the Badlands if they can avoid it. This also makes it the perfect location to hide things which you don't want anyone else to find.

Adventure Log – 035 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Written By: Bongani Kreskas

Date:  20 Sollus - 21 Sollus, 1508 TH
Group Name: Mismatched Steel

Group Members

Bongani the Scout
Coriolis the Swordmaster
Elmod the Nethermancer
Honeysuckle Sunspray the Warrior
Ting the Swordmaster

It is hot in the Badlands. The landscape is lifeless and endless, but we must continue on. We camp for a while, preparing threads for the coming battle. We venture northwest, following the Horror's invitation. After hours of traveling, we leave even the pathetic scrub behind. We find a camp much like the others. Many severed heads are formed into a pyramid.

I determine the Horror killed these six men in under a minute. Clearly we are dealing with a dangerous creature. We continue on our way - there is nothing more we can do for these men. Elmod experiences the final moments of the poor souls as they are torn to pieces by the gestalt Horror. I find the tracks, like a thousand turtles moving in a herd(1). 

A large black rock looms in the distance. I leave the party for a time to check the feature, fearing if might be our quarry. Elmod comes with me, in case something unexpected happens. The obelisk is a void in the sky, giving off no heat or light(2). Elmod turns into a creature of the night and scouts the object.

I find out later at the camp, a strange many-jointed creature with large ears and an exposed brain approaches. It has shark-like teeth and a rather friendly disposition. It speaks as well! What a charming fellow. His "mother" has an interest in our safety. He starts to following Ting around the camp, much to her displeasure.

Coriolis helpfully Names him "Wendel", much to the little fellow's excitement.

We return to camp and meet Wendel. Elmod believes it to be a Horror construct of some sort(3). "Wendel feels hungry for FEAR and PAIN." We are not sure what to do with the little fellow, so we set our watch and wait for dawn. During Honeysuckle's watch, Wendel moved over to Ting, but didn't harm her in any way that we see. Ting spoke with Wendel and found that "Father" creates things from hard things. He hates flesh, preferring other things. Mother and Father are trying to discover what life is. Mother has a Name, but she has killed all who knew it. Father's Name is "Robber of Twenty Candles"(4). Mother is angry at Father for stealing her favorite child(5).

Wendel is ever more horrifying in daylight. He tells us it used to be a liferock(6). He sticks to Ting and leads us to the stone. The stone separates, revealing a hallway marked with glowing runes. Elmod identifies the runes as being magical, but far beyond his ability to understand. Wendel leaves us as we continue on. The runes provide plenty of light, but still we are uneasy.

This terrible maze makes no sense! We eventually must follow the maddening droning until we notice the runes turn into circles, then spirals. Elmod turns his hand before the runes, revealing a door. Within we find a laboratory of some sort. There are benches, equipment, well-labeled jars. Elmod identifies the equipment as alchemical gear. The laboratory has been abandoned for at least six months.

We return to the hallways and find more spirals which leads to other rooms. Some are the floors and ceilings. We discover research laboratories, laboratories, and many more rooms, but they are all cleared out - abandoned(7).

Why would he lure us here if there is nothing. The sounds begin to make sense. "Follow the sound of my voice and I will give you answers." We follow. We are not hungry, not tired... How long have we been here?

We come to an audience chamber, well lit by quartz. There is a podium at the end of the room with a small figure performing some sort of operation. Lightning arcs to the creature on the table, bringing it to attention and he responds with a beautiful, haunting melody of his own.

He is bald, wearing a white coat. Tall and thin, I take him for an elf at first. He claims he saw us when he was born. He has no Name, and is not a Namegiver. We ask him to come down and speak with us, and we see that his flesh is marble, like a strange obsidiman. Father told him to come here and clear out the dwarfs(8). He has been here ever since. He claims the dwarfs of Throal used to conduct experiments. He claims to be a liferock, a very living, corrupting thing. He is pleasant and polite, but the reality of his existence cannot be ignored.

He found the obsidimen who lived here, and changed them into other forms. The gestalt Horrors are their new form. There is nothing else to say, so we fight. The fight is a swirling maelstrom of madness. We leap from wall to wall, flying and falling as we battle the Nameless Horror. His obsidiman construct strikes out, following us. I lead him to his doom. The Nameless construct tries to flee, using a magic field of magic to cover his escape, but we give chase.

Floating in mid-air, Ting grapples with the construct, and renders it to its ragged components with a flurry of slashing blows.(9)

*     *     *

(1) The adorableness of this description is a juxtaposition with how horrible the rest of it is.
(2) This is very strange.
(3) Of course they befriended and Named a Horror construct.
(4) This is very bad. From the stories, those "Twenty Candles" are for the twenty kaers this Horror was responsible for snuffing out during the Scourge. Of course, it didn't stop at twenty.
(5) I think this may be our first solid lead regarding what is going on with this group. This entry needs to be "lost" and moved to the Eye.
(6) And it gets even worse.
(7) This is incredibly elaborate to just abandon. Also, who even has the resources to create something like this? Only Iopos, Thera, and Throal are likely. Maybe a dragon?
(8) Now this sounds like a Throalic black project. Someone not involved with this department needs to know about this.

(9) Received and edited by Ela Pono

This could be considered the climax of the arc, but there is still quite a bit going on with some of the reveals in this story. The biggest, which wasn't much of a pressing concern at the time of this entry, is the nature of the obelisk in the Badlands.

In all, the pacing of this session was good and the climactic fight scene was a lot of fun. Characters with Great Leap got to do a lot of cinematic repositioning as they learned to take advantage of the variable gravity in the amphitheater. It was very dynamic and fluid, though not easy by any stretch. At the end, the adepts were victorious, but they worked hard for the win.

Earthdawn: Adventure Log 34 - Journey Through the Badlands

This is the thirty-fourth Adventure Log in an ongoing series about Earthdawn. Introduction and Index.

The Badlands are a strange place and, in this version of Barsaive, very poorly understood. They are terrible and broken, but not just because of the corruption. This is something which will be explored more as this arc continues, but the fundamental wrongness of the Badlands and how it warps everything is important to the events which take place there.

Horrors remain in the Badlands not just because of how they have twisted it, but because of how it continues their work. There is an awareness and malevolence to the very land itself. It has an insidious influence on those who venture into clutches and it is very reluctant to let anyone go. Many will return time and again, never realizing they have fallen into its sway.

Adventure Log – 034 Journey Through the Badlands

Written By: Bongani Kreskas

Date: 17 Sollus – 19 Sollus, 1508 TH
Group Name: Mismatched Steel

Group Members

Bongani the Scout
Elmod the Nethermancer
Honeysuckle Sunspray the Warrior
Ting the Swordmaster

We head into the Badlands, seeking the Hidden City(1). Elmod summoned an earth elemental to help us, but he was not forthcoming with assistance. On the second day we find a lone obsidiman. It is Physt! He is attempting to make a flower grow in this lifeless place(2). How strange he is!

Physt warns of the terrible creatures in the Badlands. We wish him well and continue on our way, leaving to his work of purifying the land. We will meet again, I am sure.

The Badlands stretch endlessly in all directions. It is beautiful in a bleak, desperate sort of way. I would not want to live here, but it has been a fascinating visit.

We come across a site of slaughter. Five men killed by a Horror attack, three days ago(3). They then moved west, the same direction we were headed. We found food, but left it, as it might have been tainted. in the carnage, we find a small green crystal with runes carved into it. A strange curio to say the least. Their equipment is interesting, but the astral pollution prevents us from making a detailed investigation.

We find a different spot to camp, though it is not as distant as we might like. As the night sets in, a creature of swirling wings and fangs fell upon the camp. Ting was on watch and charged to meet the creature. The swarms are devious and relentless, latching onto Ting with ravenous hunger. The creatures are like krilworms, but more vicious and enormous. They also stink intensely(4), so we wisely move camp.

The next day we come across another scene of horror. An ork was gruesomely displayed on a long speak with a flapping pennant. I consulted with Elmod and Honeysuckle and determined that the Horror that killed those men was a gestalt Horror - many small creatures forming into a big, dangerous one(5). After discussion, we decide that Elmod should cast a spell to re-live the final moment of one of the poor wretches' life(6).

The dwarf saw a swarm of horrifying children. They merge together to form a massive beast. He fights bravely with his friends, but is overcome by the creature. The biting faces that cover its body snap and snarled. The Horror grew knives for fingers and tore the dwarf apart(7).

The Horror apparently knows us, as it spoke to us by Name in his vision. The Horror claimed that it would continue to kill travelers until we find and confront him(8). Our duty is clear - we must locate and kill this fiend. I found his tracks and we continued southwest.

At night we made camp.(9)

*     *     *

(1) So this is what they are doing - chasing after a hidden city. Great.
(2) There is something incredibly endearing about this. Foolish, utterly foolish, but endearing.
(3) This doesn't sound like the work of a Horror, though there are enough of them out there.
(4) Reason 587 to never go to the Badlands.
(5) So this sounds more like a Horror, though like nothing even Zamrica has heard of before.
(6) I will never understand why every Nethermancer seems to think this is a good idea.
(7) No sleep for me tonight.
(8) We need to keep an eye on this situation. 

(9) Received and edited by Ela Pono

This session continued the setup from the previous session, increasing the tension and sense of foreboding. There was also some foreshadowing for a few different plots. It's going to get dark and its going to get weird.

Since this plot is still happening, I'm going to leave it there for now.

Earthdawn 4E: Part 4 - Math and Reducing Complexity

This is an ongoing series about Earthdawn Fourth Edition. Introduction and Index.

Everything contained here is the work of a fan and not associated with FASA Games.

A brief warning: this is going to rapidly descend into the realm of letters as numbers, but nothing will be terribly complex. The goal is to explain how some of the changes to Earthdawn Fourth Edition (ED4) were made for the game to be more accessible to players who are not mathematically inclined. Also, by understanding the new, underlying math, there is significantly less need to use the characteristics table during character creation. Except for carrying capacity.

Fans of Earthdawn are likely familiar with the underlying math which has been a part of the system since day one. Use of the Fibonacci sequence for legend point costs creates a natural increase which scales just right. The step number is also the average result of the dice used (don't forget to account for bonus dice if doing this at home). Once multiple dice are used, they also tend to create a normalized distribution, though not all steps were created equal in this regard. Thus the monkeying with D20s and D4s in Third Edition and ED4. Even the result table roughly equates to standard deviations of results.

Towards these ends, the role math plays in the system and how it is used was a factor under significant scrutiny during the development of ED4. The first and perhaps most significant change was to the Result Level Table. It was off-putting to many existing and potential players and GMs to consult a table to determine your degree of success. This step takes just long enough that it can slow the action down. Also, you have to have the table nearby at all times. 

The applied fix was to remove result levels and instead use successes. Making the difficulty number is one success and every 5 above it is another success. The magic number 5 was selected for three primary reasons: 1) It roughly maps to the old result levels, which gives an experience with little noticeable difference, 2) manipulating multiples of 5 in your head is rather simple for everyone, and 3) it feels natural.

Moving from there, the base value provided by additional successes tends to be +2 to something. Not everything, but we wanted a standard number to use for as much as possible to reduce the amount which needs to be looked up. Instead, it is a case of remembering the exceptions - of which there are few and largely relegated to spells. Different standard numbers were playtested with 2 and 3 coming out as the best for gameplay. Ultimately 2 was selected because manipulating multiples of 2 is easier than multiples of 3.

The next table to tackle was the characteristics table. Here it was a case of identifying simple formulas which mostly align with the old results. The goal behind this was to allow people who noticed the underlying math to use derive all of the characteristics without the need to reference the table. Actual formulas weren't provided for space reasons and playtester feedback included the phrase "... and then my eyes glazed over..." more than once. Here are the underlying formulas:  

Step Values: Attribute/3 (round up) + 1 [This was not changed]
Defense Values: Attribute/2 (round up) +1
Unconsciousness Rating: Toughness * 2
Death Rating: Unconsciousness Rating + Toughness Step
Wound Threshold: Toughness/2 (round up) + 2
Recovery Tests: Toughness/6 (round up)
Mystic Armor: Willpower/5 (round down)

There are a lot of different manipulations going taking place and there is no expectation for these to be internalized out of the gate. However, GMs who can become comfortable with these will find it significantly easier to generate accurate NPCs on the fly (for Wound Threshold, treat it like a Toughness Defense +1).

Next on the list is Durability. The way this talent was written in previous editions (e.g. 7/6) was frequently a source of confusion to new players and frustration to those who were not good at math. Familiarity cures the former, but the latter is only exacerbated by taking multiple disciplines. Navigating the treacherous shoals of Durability rules with multiple disciplines if your first discipline is not Warrior (or something else with 9/7) can turn ugly.

Turning it into a function of the discipline solved many of these problems by simply providing the best value available for a given circle. It was a little complex to some players during playtest, but infinitely better than previous executions and ultimately no more difficult than taking the highest defense value of those available.

Using the death rating from durability created a second set of calculations and feedback for this was negative from newer players, particularly when getting involved with multiple disciplines. Instead of basing the boost to death rating off of Durability, it was changed to the highest circle. This is a simple value to determine regardless of the number of disciplines a character possesses and how convoluted their Durability ratings and ranks are.

Final formulas for unconsciousness and death ratings are below:

Unconsciousness Rating: Toughness * 2 + (Durability Rating * Durability Rank)
Death Rating: Unconsciousness Rating + Toughness Step + Highest Circle

Since it essentially comes out The end result is easy for the mathematically inclined to perform in their head and also reduces the complex manipulations (yes, basic multiplication is complex for some people) in favor of simple addition. This is a case where understanding the underlying math and how death rating relates to unconsciousness rating can greatly simplify operations.

The final numbers which were played with are in magic. Dispel, learning, sensing, and thread weaving difficulties were all simplified a great deal. Sensing difficulties (from spells) in particular are much easier since they are always based on the circle of the effect instead of maybe the circle or maybe the effect test from the spell. They are based on Circle and a static modifier, as seen below:

Dispel Difficulty: 10 + Circle
Learning Difficulty: 5 + Circle
Sensing Difficulty: 15 + Circle
Thread Weaving Difficulty: 4 + Circle
Reattuning on the Fly Difficulty: 9 + Circle

It is worth noting reattuning on the fly is specifically one success greater than the basic thread weaving difficulty. The static modifier for thread weaving is 4 instead of 5 based on feedback from playtesting. It was just enough of a difference for a spellcaster to be confident at any given circle of weaving the thread, with karma providing the boost to help with reattuning on the fly or reaching for an additional success on the thread weaving test.