tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89465963666815483152024-03-15T21:10:21.882-04:00Elf Lair GamesOfficial Blog of Elf Lair GamesThe Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-5343988769145175412024-03-14T10:08:00.000-04:002024-03-14T10:08:49.699-04:00Thirteen Parsecs: Starship Rules<p> I recently asked my Friday gaming group what they wanted to see in a sci-fi game that most games they've played don't address. Universally they said they wanted to see some sort of mechanic that reflects just how "f***ing terrifying" traveling in space is. As they put it, it's so much more than just space battles. You can get clobbered by an asteroid that you didn't see coming. You can have an explosive decompression from a hairline fault in the hull that nobody saw. Your computers could blue screen and life support goes out while you're in hypersleep. </p><p>Space travel is, indeed, scary just at its basic concept. Hell, in the space of twenty years, the United States saw two space shuttles explode from random malfunctions or faults that were overlooked on inspections. Now think about what happens when you're out there for years!</p><p>So I started thinking how to mimic that idea in an RPG, and what happened was, I completely overhauled the starship rules in <b>Thirteen Parsecs </b>to be unlike anything I'd really seen in an RPG before. I'm sure there will be folks out there that point out, "Actually, x game did this back in y," but whatever. There's that old saying that everything that can be done, has been done. I feel like these rules are pretty original, and they work utterly seamlessly with the O.G.R.E.S. system. </p><p>Better yet, they also allow for spacecraft of every size and variety from the tiniest one-person snub shuttle to lightning-fast starfighters all the way up to capital ships and gigantic space stations. </p><p>So what do these rules look like in <b><a href="https://tinyurl.com/13psignupblogger" target="_blank">Thirteen Parsecs: Beyond the Solar Frontier</a>?</b></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/13psignupblogger" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2426" data-original-width="3000" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNG_zJ485xnuBke0luWnxq4zeV1YJmZ9V8f8Li5cTIT3ZVCOcyF0iyH942QxcHqOogb1DPrWNte83NZ8I2UEiPTfC-mjBjMH_iNXLrHAKM3qrW2v2MEEPRZVU3baOQDv4PbZfGNE7lC_S5w0-RfJG8JgX9wA4UEV8__I64ifevk8glkWNkaG7tBpChxU/w442-h358/dreamstimefree_5899740%20%C2%A0Patrimonio%20Designs%20Limited%C2%A0-%C2%A0Dreamstime.com.jpg" width="442" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://tinyurl.com/13psignupblogger" target="_blank">dreamstimefree_5899740 Patrimonio Designs Limited - Dreamstime.com</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Starships in Thirteen Parsecs: Beyond the Solar Frontier</b></h2><p style="text-align: left;">Everything about a starship in <b>13P</b> is rooted in eleven systems. I chose eleven as the magic number because it represents the range of results on 2d6 (or, if you want to give your crew a fighting chance, d12-1). In many instances, when something goes wrong with your vessel, the affected system will be determined by a random roll (unless the GM deems that there is a good reason why a specific system is affected - in combat, for example, your defensive systems are always worn down first). </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Basic Systems</h3><p style="text-align: left;">These eleven systems are Communications, Computers (AI), Construction, Defensive Systems, Engineering Systems, Engines, Life Support, Maneuverability, Navigation, Sensors, and Weapons Systems. These systems and what they represent are fully explained in the game, but for now are largely self-explanatory (save Engineering Systems, which basically represents the ressources available to repair or push the ship). .</p><p style="text-align: left;">Each system will have a rating that will generally run from zero to four - some, such as engines and maneuverability, may go higher. At this time (and we're still playtesting, so it could change) there is no upper limit save the point value of your ship. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Sizes</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Ships come in four sizes, with each carrying a point value to spread among the systems. The sizes are your basic small, medium, large, and capital/space station. The latter is not likely to be a vessel owned by player characters - capital ships and space stations tend to be more set pieces or plot devices. Consider <i>Star Trek, </i>for example. The <i>Enterprise</i> certainly counts as a Capital ship with its crew of hundreds of people, but it's more the setting for the series, which the crew usually has to take into battle. The GM would in such a case design the ship themselves, or possibly in conjunction with the player characters. The same goes for <i>Deep Space Nine, </i>or <i>Babylon 5, </i>both miles-long cities in space. These are set pieces whose statistics are built and maintained by the GM. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This is as opposed to, say, the <i>Sulaco </i>from <i>Aliens, </i>which is a large military transport ship with a crew of maybe a few dozen. Such a ship could be designed by the players for their travels. A ship like the <i>Serenity </i>or <i>Millennium Falcon, </i>are medium-sized freighters and would almost certainly be owned and designed by the players (unless the story deems otherwise). </p><p style="text-align: left;">The ship's size grants its point value, but may also limit certain things - Capital ships, for example, are severely limited in their Maneuverability due to their sheer mass. While everything is weightless in space, mass still counts for momentum and it requires much more power and precision to maneuver and thrust a gigantic ship or space station than it does a snub fighter. There's also a bit of genre-emulation here: the vast majority of science fiction properties see space stations as stationary and capital ships as ponderous but heavily armed. </p><p style="text-align: left;">As with anything (and with a cautionary note) GMs are always free to override or add restrictions based on their campaign settings or preferences. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Other Statistics</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Ships have additional statistics as well, including Age, which limits the top value of any system, but opens up access to special features called Quirks that let characters do things like performing Percussive Maintenance, bypassing systems, or even coaxing a given system into performing an explosively outstanding feat one time before breaking down. The older a ship is, the less robust it is compared to newer, sleeker, top-of-the-line models, but the more likely it is to be an "Old reliable" when the crew needs it. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Currently Age runs from 1-10 with every 2 points granting a Quirk and reducing the overall point value of the ship by the Age. Since this results in Age never being purchased in increments of less than a factor of 2, I may simplify this to 1-5, and each point granting a quirk, plus reducing overall point values by 2. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Finally, we have Structure (the ship's Vitality, essentially) and DV (Defense Value). These are derived stats used in combat. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMlBsQBMJYA84jKDVnmjIuQnsoBO8W7vQxcp2DA3nm3Sk8evmdmdUZXcEHd8QR66g-R7f__QeVzaOUK189zDkrqbyWbh-Gx62ZyrPT-KZWQ9RhAqdpGpYQY4w_er2fVzpih9gVtwyTIr-_Ab7qKAQKDqdE-1Km1EJ5qorA_HFkMNuH_mG2VUoFkv6IMbs/s3500/dreamstimefree_4624557%C2%A0-%20Lillia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2475" data-original-width="3500" height="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMlBsQBMJYA84jKDVnmjIuQnsoBO8W7vQxcp2DA3nm3Sk8evmdmdUZXcEHd8QR66g-R7f__QeVzaOUK189zDkrqbyWbh-Gx62ZyrPT-KZWQ9RhAqdpGpYQY4w_er2fVzpih9gVtwyTIr-_Ab7qKAQKDqdE-1Km1EJ5qorA_HFkMNuH_mG2VUoFkv6IMbs/w586-h413/dreamstimefree_4624557%C2%A0-%20Lillia.jpg" width="586" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>dreamstimefree_4624557 - Lillia</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Sample Ship</h3><div>Here's what a sample ship - a basic fighter craft dubbed the Solar Spryte - looks like in <b>Thirteen Parsecs: </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><b>Size: </b>Small (10 points, reduced to 8 for Age)</div><div><b>Age: </b>2 (1 Quirk)</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Structure: </b>20</div><div><b>DV: </b>3</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Communications: </b>1 </div><div><b>Computers (AI): </b>0</div><div><b>Construction: </b>2</div><div><b>Defensive Systems: </b>3 </div><div><b>Engineering Systems: </b>0</div><div><b>Engines (Speed): </b>2</div><div><b>Life Support: </b>0</div><div><b>Maneuverability: </b>4</div><div><b>Navigation: </b>0</div><div><b>Sensors: </b>1</div><div><b>Weapons Systems: </b>4 (Front cannon (1d6) and 1 torpedo launcher – 3d6 keep highest; 3 torpedoes). </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Quirks: </b></div><div>Bypass the Primary Buffer</div></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">How it Works</h3><p style="text-align: left;">For the most part, a given ship's system adds to tests that involve its use, either on a 1:1 basis in d20 checks, or on a 1:5% basis involving class ability or skill checks. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In combat where a ship has multiple crew members (normally medium or larger vessels), each crew member gets to make a check to use their individual system, and if they succeed, they can divide the system's value among various combat tasks by explaining how they are using the system to bolster the ship for the round. For example, the communications officer for a ship with a Communications value of 3 makes her check and succeeds. She mentions that she has managed to tap into the enemy communications as well as implanting a jamming virus into their computer. She opts to grant 2 of the communications points to attack and 1 to defensive systems for the next round. </p><p style="text-align: left;">To simplify things for the GM, NPC and enemy vessels will simply have a Crew Value - the GM makes a single check and if it succeeds, they can split the crew value up among the enemy systems as needed each round. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Dogfighting</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Dogfighting can be handled in one of two ways, depending on how fast or tactical you want to make it. It can be done exactly as any abstracted combat in the O.G.R.E.S. system, with the basic form represented as a series of attack and damage rolls accounting for ship's systems and DV. </p><p style="text-align: left;">For more dynamic and complex combat, dogfights mane use of attack and defense maneuvers, which involve jockeying for position to get the best opportunity to level a shot at your opponent. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Damage to Vessels</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Damage to vessels is represented not only by reducing its Structure points, but potentially by directly damaging the ship's systems. When the situation calls for it, the GM (or players, if the PCs are doling out damage to an enemy) may roll one or more 6-sided dice and apply the results to various systems on the vessel, either randomly or as befits the situation. When any given system reaches zero, something catastrophic happens to that system. For something like communications, it means you simply have no way to call for help or hail other vessels until it's fixed. For things like life support or construction, you could end up suffocating, losing air, or being subject to explosive decompression. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This is also how the risk of space travel is portrayed. The GM can roll a ship's systems check every so often during travel and on a failure, one or more systems suffer damage. In this case, it's possible that the player characters never know a system is damaged until they go to use it, or it fails. That's how we represent the horror of space travel. How often you roll and the severity of the roll depends, as do many things in O.G.R.E.S., on the level of grit you choose in your game. </p><p style="text-align: left;">There you have it! The basics of starship travel, construction, and combat in <b>Thirteen Parsecs: Beyond the Solar Frontier. </b><a href="https://tinyurl.com/13psignupblogger" target="_blank">Be sure to follow our campaign</a> to get notified when we go live! We are planning discounted pledge levels for the first 48 hours, so get in early! I may also work out a raffle of some sort for those who pledge the first 24 hours. I'm considering options. Possibly an early preview printing of the original <b>Amazing Adventures</b> from back in 2010. Only 50 of these were ever printed!</p><p style="text-align: left;">As always, follow us online to stay up to date with all our Elf Lair Happenings!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://linktr.ee/elflairgames">https://linktr.ee/elflairgames</a></p><p></p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-63203650553582036192024-03-13T14:48:00.002-04:002024-03-13T14:48:19.400-04:00Thirteen Parsecs: Adventures Beyond the Solar Frontier<p> The time approaches, folks! With <b>Wasted Lands</b> not only in the bag but now officially in distribution, we at Elf Lair Games are turning towards our next project, hoping to keep some momentum going. This one will be our science fiction RPG and will complete our trilogy of fantasy, modern, and sci-fi games that allow you to play any game you want in any genre and any style, all with a single system. </p><p>Coming in May, all of your games can be <b>Powered by O.G.R.E.S.</b> </p><p>So let's look at what <a href="https://tinyurl.com/13psignup" target="_blank">Thirteen Parsecs: Beyond the Solar Frontier</a> has to offer. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/13psignup" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="500" height="755" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUsvOpMO_-rEhWzogmtQc4Am-_GElWTDNiouWMiTENWBPa2wHzMm6ClnN3YqaSu3SbBNYsLDKDPQbCm_WoKQrEKvMGTjquGsKDTrmFMgdw0o_pfkI2jC2ALFNN3JaWu9YXp052-QVWxZJlWZ-nCCFcsdMIYoP6tc_vnqYR7VujWU3ShaPKpOTdCSYcwE/w432-h755/13%20Parsecs%20mockup_sm.png" width="432" /></a></div><br /><p><b><a href="https://tinyurl.com/13psignup" target="_blank">Thirteen Parsecs: Advetures Beyond the Solar Frontier</a> </b>is a tabletop roleplaying game of adventure and excitement in the wild realms of science fiction. Whether it's a pair of FBI agents battling a clandestine alien invasion in the modern day, a far future war between heroic rebels and evil interstellar empires, a gritty cyberpunk dystopia, or a hard science exploration of the nature of humanity, this came can cover it all! The rules are elegant, simple, and fast-playing, drawn from the earliest days of role playing but infused with modern design.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoHxdmZr1G8lH_hHlD4DnipUCKhaoNroTTPGI8c0EM7lGn-6rNOMqErgAlBlmlFXr_JnCIOYmj0sDN7KJN_FWz-oPVNH5ttpAkPOX-djBLYfegZ8znQP4b6YOlCsENo_nrRmxdHswYJDdE7XcExrVLz04Op4ZrMxgdni3vK6SBPG-rF0oi1rydWJsP_w/s1200/DeanSpencer-spotcol-neurallink.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoHxdmZr1G8lH_hHlD4DnipUCKhaoNroTTPGI8c0EM7lGn-6rNOMqErgAlBlmlFXr_JnCIOYmj0sDN7KJN_FWz-oPVNH5ttpAkPOX-djBLYfegZ8znQP4b6YOlCsENo_nrRmxdHswYJDdE7XcExrVLz04Op4ZrMxgdni3vK6SBPG-rF0oi1rydWJsP_w/w417-h417/DeanSpencer-spotcol-neurallink.png" width="417" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Artwork by Dean Spencer</i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">What Does It Bring to the Table?</h2><p>Within you will find all the rules you need to run any sort of science fiction campaign from gritty cyberpunk to outer space war dramas to science fantasy in the grand planetary romance tradition, to hard sci-fi, isolationist starfaring horror, and beyond! Whether your jam is Asimov, Lucas, Roddenberry, Larson, Bradbury, Clarke, Dick, Gibson, Heinlein, or any other, <b>13P</b> will do the job - fast, fun, intuitive, and easy, without sacrificing customizability or character individuality!</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Simple, intuitive, and fast rules that you can completely customize to your table's style. </li><li>Eight character archetypes, ready to take on the Solar frontier. These include the Augmented, Blaster, Hunter-Soldier, Diplomat, Mystic Warrior, Psychic, and Slicer. </li><li>Starship creation rules that let you build everything from a snub fighter to a space station, and complete rules for starship combat from dogfights to multi-crewed vessels where everyone gets to shine!</li><li>Playable alien and nonhuman species and guidelines for creating your own original species. </li><li>Human Cultural backgrounds to give your characters a history and differentiate them from others.</li><li>Fate Points to give your players some extra agency - escape hits, make saves, and even engage in minor scene edits!</li><li>Complete skills system to customize character abilities</li><li>Secondary traiing to supplement your die rolls</li><li>Rules for creating custom equipment, psionics, and powers</li><li>Heroic Touchstones, an option for those who want to build campagins around heroes with true destinies</li><li>Several mini-settings detailing what lies within and beyond the 13-parsec Solar Frontier. </li><li>A bestiary of alien threats</li><li>and more!</li></ul><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">What's the Format?</h2><p><a href="https://tinyurl.com/13psignup" target="_blank"><b>Thirteen Parsecs </b>(or <b>13P</b>)</a> is envisioned as a softcover book, roughly 288 pages, 7.25" x 9.25", and black and white, but with stretch goals to achieve hardcover binding and even leather binding. Pledge levels will include print and PDF versions of the game, plus the option to buy our other games at discounted rates! With your help we will unlock an upgrade to hardcover binding, a new pledge level for leather binding, GM screens, and much more!</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">What are the Rules?</h2><p>It uses the <b>O.G.R.E.S. </b>rules, the same as our other flagship titles, so it will seamlessly integrate with either of our games. Care to run a game of Lovecraftian horror in the dead of space? Combine it with <b>Night Shift: VSW.</b> Looking to have an elvish imperium battling the orcish empire deep within the stars, with heroes at the helm of spell-slinging starfighters? Combine it with <b>Wasted Lands: TDA</b> and go!</p><p>For those familiar with <b>Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age</b> or <b>Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars</b>, you will be familiar already. If not, head over to <a href="https://www.elflair.com/">https://www.elflair.com/</a> and download the FREE quick starts for those games to learn what it means to be Powered by O.G.R.E.S.! it's an ideal entry point for new players, while being customizable enough to thrill experienced players and rules tinkers!</p><p>I still prefer unified mechanics: No problem! We include guidelines to instantly convert O.G.R.E.S. to run on a unified roll-over system, a unified roll-under percentile system, and even a unified dice pool system, all without changing the characters one iota! That's what we mean when we say "your game, your way when it's Powered by O.G.R.E.S.!"</p><p><b><i><a href="https://tinyurl.com/13psignup" target="_blank">The New Class of Old School Tackles the Solar Frontier...are YOU game??</a></i></b></p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-54758549636723157482024-01-26T12:57:00.001-05:002024-01-26T15:30:30.386-05:00Civilization in the Dreaming Age: Cities, Towns, and Villages<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwl1hWV8ErZBLrx-Zw0WXsqt3jENFCqGI3l66LdZ9_lNA0voGKHpsMx0Q0qKH2XbS4RPFZnufkhbJ7RzEqe7mBqca8ibQOy5D-XKa4F2ofpyORU1i0aoyS44cH9K-a800heB7X5F2cqHdW7uKA5yxg9NQzvaGQM7FmfT3bgXIuWKvkHTZzihFvJkv0T8/s7427/World%20Map%20Final.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4951" data-original-width="7427" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwl1hWV8ErZBLrx-Zw0WXsqt3jENFCqGI3l66LdZ9_lNA0voGKHpsMx0Q0qKH2XbS4RPFZnufkhbJ7RzEqe7mBqca8ibQOy5D-XKa4F2ofpyORU1i0aoyS44cH9K-a800heB7X5F2cqHdW7uKA5yxg9NQzvaGQM7FmfT3bgXIuWKvkHTZzihFvJkv0T8/w619-h412/World%20Map%20Final.jpg" width="619" /></a></div><br /><p></p><h1 style="text-align: center;">Civilization in the Dreaming Age</h1><h2 style="text-align: center;">Cities, Towns, and Villages</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Welcome to what I hope will be a regular series of blogs breaking down the Dreaming Age campaign setting, which may in the future be compiled and expanded to form one or more new sourcebooks for the <a href="https://www.elflair.com/product/wasted-lands-rpg/6" target="_blank">Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age Role Playing Game.</a> This first section will look at the nature of cities, towns, and villages. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It is a mistake to think about civilization in the Dreaming Age as the same as other typical fantasy (and even swords and sorcery) settings. While the descriptions of the regions-cum-kingdoms do mention rulers and major settlements, they are absolutely not true kingdoms or empires in the sense that we think of these things. Nor are there many true cities throughout the world - quite frankly, there are simply not enough proto-humans to support such things as metropolises. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The vast majority of settlements in the Dreaming Age are villages and hamlets with potentially hundreds of miles of untamed wilderness between them. Larger, named settlements tend to be more along the lines of small- to medium-sized towns than true cities. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Of those settlements, those that could be considered true cities include: </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Babyl (population: roughly 50,000)</li><li>Mephit (population: roughly 20,000)</li><li>Mixteca (population: roughly 30,000)</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">Other named settlements, though they may be of major geographic import and could even function as centers of trade, qualify only as tiny to mid-sized towns (though their inhabitants may refer to them as "cities".) Each of these may have anywhere from 600 to 2,000 inhabitants, depending on the importance of the city as a center of trade or its strategic importance. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9Ensbqz1M90-tK-wT4xw4WdUBWEZtWUkK_fOFEImUUSSLaR9gk0U12rn6k5uOtxS4kqwyB-x5uf6TcbF0GV3ei0V5XYduqF-nSy7eTeOd_09l6LrQ3cyUunFB427uZzY4E1uE6Xu-lpspEtxhKQBDxHmzuvN3iJmceI8dF9qbaIrJUZE8E3SIPjYAYg/s2407/LuigiCastellani_FEMMEFATALE.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2407" data-original-width="1443" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9Ensbqz1M90-tK-wT4xw4WdUBWEZtWUkK_fOFEImUUSSLaR9gk0U12rn6k5uOtxS4kqwyB-x5uf6TcbF0GV3ei0V5XYduqF-nSy7eTeOd_09l6LrQ3cyUunFB427uZzY4E1uE6Xu-lpspEtxhKQBDxHmzuvN3iJmceI8dF9qbaIrJUZE8E3SIPjYAYg/w256-h427/LuigiCastellani_FEMMEFATALE.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Artwork by Luigi Castellani. Used under license.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><h3 style="text-align: left;">Royalty (Such as It Is)</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Royalty and aristocracy, such as they are, are quite a different thing in <a href="https://www.elflair.com/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age" target="_blank">the Dreaming Age </a>than we think of when we consider societies based on the Medieval period. A "king" or "queen" may have absolute power over their individual domain, and nominal power to demand fealty for the surrounding areas of a region (kingdom or empire), but their true power is extremely limited. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Quite simply, such "royalty" have no true military power to maintain an empire because the numbers simply aren't there to maintain standing armies. Regions, kingdoms, and the like are divided mostly by means of custom and linguistic groupings and far less by military or political power. This is why no borders are drawn on the world map - hard borders do not exist and where one country bleeds into the next there is considerable melding of peoples and cultures, so that one experiences a far more gradual shift, often marked by hundreds of miles of wasteland, forests, bogs, even mountains and hills before they find themselves in a new region. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Thus, Ashurii, for example, is a region marked by many shared customs, a shared language, and a shared recognition of "how things work" but much less by any sort of true political border or military enforcement. Of these, language is the key factor - those who share a common language tend to develop similar overarching customs simply because of their baseline ability to communicate (and thus agree) on what is best for society. Often, the customs, law and government of individual settlements come from what the <i>Janah </i>(mayor/burgomaster, etc.) has learned from visiting <i>other </i>towns. The <i>Shakh, </i>or the nominal head of state, resides in Babyl, where the majority of the <i>Muqqarah </i>or military are located. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Ashurii is a bit of an exception to this rule as the current <i>Shakh </i>does have aspirations of creating a true empire, particularly in the reclaiming of Minoa and Athenea, but that is beyond the scope of this article. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Similar situations exist across the world and sales permitting I hope to release sourcebooks covering the socio-political breakdowns of the various regions of the world. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Lesser "nobility," such as they are, tend largely to be town mayors (whatever title they use) who either hold their position by the will of the people or by force of arms, sometimes possessing a loyal group of retainer (or mercenary) warriors to enforce their will. Some may take on titles of their own. Some are warlords, some are diplomats, and some are simply respected citizens. Rare are those granted lands and titles by a greater noble (though in regions throughout the Eastern and Western Cradles of Civilization such things are not entirely unheard of).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Far more common are the tribal chieftains one encounters in areas like Kun'ata, Nun'atil, Fortriu, Hyperborea, Fennokarelia, Rossika, and across the northeastern continent, and tribal groupings still form an exremely common means of defining settlements and smaller borders-within-borders. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJRF9D2Ld3nO_G_wEeYLYpEbMsXVaqHRw4pTp75oNIhumvNl_vDufE9w_YOKADP2-Dor5QRjZZkqEkeB4BkUldVPDUOX5sYv4uZl8Xvt294sV-Ggxhc3g22GDTfdO7y8ltLHVHssVBOUhgqUtfC5GgYmukT1Vj8lpsDcFmeR3T142DHjC_oElo3raGqY/s2480/LuigiCastellani_MERCHANT.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1772" data-original-width="2480" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJRF9D2Ld3nO_G_wEeYLYpEbMsXVaqHRw4pTp75oNIhumvNl_vDufE9w_YOKADP2-Dor5QRjZZkqEkeB4BkUldVPDUOX5sYv4uZl8Xvt294sV-Ggxhc3g22GDTfdO7y8ltLHVHssVBOUhgqUtfC5GgYmukT1Vj8lpsDcFmeR3T142DHjC_oElo3raGqY/w494-h353/LuigiCastellani_MERCHANT.jpg" width="494" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Artwork by Luigi Castellani. Used under license.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><h3 style="text-align: left;">Commerce and Trade</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Within a 30- to 50-mile radius of the various villages, towns, and settlements can be found farmsteads which provide the food and animal husbandry required for those who live in the cities. Unlike medieval circumstances, those who work these farms are as yet rarely any sort of serf or servant, but free farmers who maintain their own land with their families and potentially hirelings. Violent confrontations over borders are not uncommon. </p><p style="text-align: left;">While the Dreaming Age does have a "coin" system based on weighted nuggets of ore (mining is another common and viable occupation), barter is still the primary means of commerce across the entire world. The Old Ones, during their reign, would force their protohuman subjects to create and craft items, which the Ancient Masters would simply take at their whim, and secret away in places to be doled out as needed (or even at their whim). No one truly understood the motives or thought patterns of why the Other Gods did what they did. </p><p style="text-align: left;">As such, many who undertake the Calling and adventure through the world seek these hidden caches of items to bring back to cities and redistribute among the now-free people. Meanwhile agriculture and animal husbandry are two of the few skills that proto-humanity has mastered out of a need for survival. Weaving, knitting, and the creation of textiles are not far behind, with other forms of craft such as blacksmithing, leatherworking, carpentry and the like a close third. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Science, engineering, and architecture still elude most of humanity, though some cultures such as Khem and Huitzilopochtitlan are making vast strieds in these areas, and it may not be long before proto-humanity is building their own domains rather than repurposing those created for them by the Other Gods. Currently, however, outside of smaller villages and hamlets where people construct crude homes of adobe, waddle and daub, or even wood and straw, most larger settlements are built around former strongholds of the Other Gods where people already lived and worked before the Cataclysm that freed them.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Between the Settlements</h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7X1y8jNMz-pcISDW0tU_fuoHRl3YSji3U0ey0ZT4-6ildzrAE1mhyphenhyphenjg8TtvOtgHyQzREt_mvrjk2FQrctXIJ1J21qYk5umKpkrZE2L6ZVXMJEMflO6djs0KZIzdMDY3q5PAayoH4ERgt1zAAoT6b-TnKDYkN4Rvo94__Gj_a7w-H_4Rr1rGHNJ-BVYg/s2384/LuigiCastellani_LOOTPILE.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2384" data-original-width="1437" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7X1y8jNMz-pcISDW0tU_fuoHRl3YSji3U0ey0ZT4-6ildzrAE1mhyphenhyphenjg8TtvOtgHyQzREt_mvrjk2FQrctXIJ1J21qYk5umKpkrZE2L6ZVXMJEMflO6djs0KZIzdMDY3q5PAayoH4ERgt1zAAoT6b-TnKDYkN4Rvo94__Gj_a7w-H_4Rr1rGHNJ-BVYg/w266-h441/LuigiCastellani_LOOTPILE.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Artwork by Luigi Castellani. Used under license.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Outside of the 30- to 50-mile radius, as stated above, the world is largely wasteland. Random caches of manufactured goods secreted away by the Other Gods, stolen by Serpentfolk and Deep Ones, or otherwise removed from population centers can be found in strange and seemingly random places, as can caches of ore that will become quite valuable in terms of coin, smithing, metallurgy, and crafts in the future. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">The <a href="https://www.elflair.com/product/wasted-lands-dreaming-age/7" target="_blank">world of the Dreaming Age</a> is temperate to subtropical year round. There are very few hot, dry deserts and even fewer truly frigid climes. Earth's mean temperature is much higher and there is much more water to go around in this era, meaning most places are fertile to some degree, and even desert regions are marked by moderation in temperatures and are simply dry due to a lack of precipitation. Many are covered by scrubgrass and inhabited by hearty creatures who can handle little water. The extreme north and south of the world do get chillingly cold winters that can last for months, but not to the degree with which we associate the poles in the modern era. </p><p style="text-align: left;">While traveling between settlements, almost anything can happen to a group of adventurers, from facing packs of raging wild beasts to encountering apresaurs, lingering minions of the Other Gods, or even the undead remnants of former protohumanity, left to wander the wastes in search of something to sate their ravenous hunger. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The Wastelands are rife with Bleeding Sites, with comparatively fewer sites of Radiance, though the latter are gradually taking a greater hold in some of the more remote regions of the world. It is these wild regions that the heroes in a Wasted Lands game are called to tame, to close the cracks between the worlds, eleiminate the Bleeding and allow the world's own Radiance to spread. </p><p style="text-align: left;">That's all for this brief look at civilization in the Dreaming Age. Stay tuned for more! And don't forget to check out <a href="https://www.elflair.com/" target="_blank">Elf Lair Games</a> to get started with your games that are <a href="https://t.co/kTDvmXcubY" target="_blank">Powered by O.G.R.E.S.</a>!</p><div><br /></div><div><h2 class="null" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 22px; line-height: 27.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Follow us online: <a href="http://linktr.ee/elflairgames" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">linktr.ee/elflairgames</a></span></h2></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p></p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-60328754316385635002023-12-01T08:17:00.003-05:002023-12-01T08:54:10.306-05:00Converting Your Favorite Setting to O.G.R.E.S. <p> So this week on social media, we at Elf Lair have been doing a series of "But How Do I...?" posts regarding some popular settings, things to which we don't have a license and cannot provide official rules, but for which most of what you need is already there. </p><p>The question, then, remains, "how do I take those encyclopedias of text and flavor, and use them with the O.G.R.E.S. rules?"</p><p>It's deceptively simple, and it all starts with the basics. Let's break down how you can turn the flavor text and setting material in your favorite video game, novel, television series, or movie into a swords and sorcery, high fantasy, urban fantasy, or gritty horror game using the Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars or Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age Rules.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Start with the Basics</h2>Starting with the basics means looking at what you've got in front of you. For the most part, you'll need very little <i>new</i> to use your favorite settings. A warrior character, for example, converts pretty straightforwardly to a warrior in <b>Wasted Lands</b> or a Veteran in <b>Night Shift: VSW. </b>You should find that most of the character types you need are covered between the two core games and the <b>Night Companion. </b>For now, science fiction settings may prove a bit of a challenge, but stay tuned because <b>Thirteen Parsecs </b>is coming next year!<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiYDeT-ZJthb0mHGgiQ8TU7xQUG1MYTgCCopcSE65FprR2ZbMGnTbg3l-wQ-6CuDFNhc7OKOmp2M7OTdvB-gkEV-sNoe0sY39G-jptVic1U0j5Uc2SUKpm-ABP9dQFAz6C5VFMDqK3qrMqzwNtylSyQBQRZjvASTcLQJAozypkhd4w-ABQwrK_QUc5r0/s602/ELG-NightShiftCompanion-Driven-F-BKM-lo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image of a demon hunter by Bradley McDevitt for the Night Companion, a D&D alterative modern urban fantasy game." border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="451" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiYDeT-ZJthb0mHGgiQ8TU7xQUG1MYTgCCopcSE65FprR2ZbMGnTbg3l-wQ-6CuDFNhc7OKOmp2M7OTdvB-gkEV-sNoe0sY39G-jptVic1U0j5Uc2SUKpm-ABP9dQFAz6C5VFMDqK3qrMqzwNtylSyQBQRZjvASTcLQJAozypkhd4w-ABQwrK_QUc5r0/w240-h320/ELG-NightShiftCompanion-Driven-F-BKM-lo.jpg" title="Demon Hunter from the Night Companion" width="240" /></a></div>It's also worth stating that this holds true not just for O.G.R.E.S. games, but for almost any game of choice you may choose to convert, whether it's 5e, a d10+stat+skill system, a dice pool system, or whatever. Start with the basics. Take stock of what you have and you will often find that, unless the system and rules are inexorably tied to a house setting, you can find most of the archetypes in the property you're trying to convert will slot in to some degree to one of the rules options you already have. Very little work will need to be done. <p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Don't Re-Invent the Wheel</h3><p style="text-align: left;">I've said this before, and it always holds true: don't re-invent the wheel when you don't have to. People tend to think that to convert or adapt systems and settings you absolutely have to tinker and create subsystems upon subsystems. Not only is this rarely necessary, often it interferes with the playability of the overall game, just to cover some detail that should probably have remained flavor-based to begin with. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Look at the Inventor rules in <b>Night Shift: VSW, </b>for example. I used spells to represent the effects of gadgets. Why? Because spells <i>already cover just about every effect I can think of around which to create a gadget. </i>Need a scanner? Use the "Detect" spells. Need a ray gun? There are countless spells that do that. Need a grenade? Fireball! There was literally no need to build an effects-based system to create gadgets or powers. It's already there, and best of all...<i>it works as it sits. </i>Always keep it simple, and never re-invent the wheel if it's not necessary. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Magic</h2><div>This neatly brings us to magic. Magic can, admittedly, present something of a problem when different properties have different "rules" for magic. O.G.R.E.S. uses a skill-based magic system, which should work with very little tweaking for many systems. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQsauslx2C5lQx48oZDGNUvLuHIOQ7Da3QHnSqAoecshv_dPjFr2nINn28xPA4knsdzQ8lu5FNZ6xpBJjFDkLSyaZXLdn2hus9-bI2iFL1-AOh5-QIQHWE0RvItIQzEr4Emy9Hs7a9Nx303dESGooSUawrckSuga-iiRHaKLaeOhFrb9xnLa_stcgeP0/s2763/ELG-NightShiftCompanion-Infernal-F-BKM.tif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Demonic spellcaster by Bradley McDevitt" border="0" data-original-height="2763" data-original-width="2016" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQsauslx2C5lQx48oZDGNUvLuHIOQ7Da3QHnSqAoecshv_dPjFr2nINn28xPA4knsdzQ8lu5FNZ6xpBJjFDkLSyaZXLdn2hus9-bI2iFL1-AOh5-QIQHWE0RvItIQzEr4Emy9Hs7a9Nx303dESGooSUawrckSuga-iiRHaKLaeOhFrb9xnLa_stcgeP0/w233-h320/ELG-NightShiftCompanion-Infernal-F-BKM.tif" title="Demonic Spellcaster" width="233" /></a></div><br />You can add flavor-based elements to it for fun if you like. Take the series of novels about the boy with the lightning-bolt scar who lived in a closet. The unofficial spell reference for that game gives the wand motions and incantations for every spell. You could require your players to actually say the incantations and make the wand motions to cast spells, again, just for fun. But in the end, magic in that setting is a <i>skill </i>and more powerful spellcasters are those who have more knowledge and training. The O.G.R.E.S. magic system works perfectly. </div><p>Alternately, you could encounter a system where magic is exhausting. In such settings, you can replace the skill with a spell point system. This does require a bit of tweaking, but again, everything you need is there. Spellcasters in O.G.R.E.S. can prepare only a certain number of spells per day. Convert this number of spells into points - level one spells cost one point to cast, level two spells two points, etc. Casters have enough points to cast each prepared spell once, but they can mix and match as they like. Straightforward, simple, and doesn't re-invent the wheel. </p><p>The OGL (which thankfully still exists) and the SRDs for past versions of the World's Most Famous RPG give us "fire and forget" systems - the 3.x SRD found at <a href="http://d20srd.org" target="_blank">d20srd.org</a> can be dropped into O.G.R.E.S. if you need that sort of system. It's a resource for home games that should not be overlooked. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Monsters</h2><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1p7JoG-jQZOTuiAwBC8twghe2MmM1ql8deO5-Fd3QFpDYU4YMXRRn2z2rcKjhLq2sZtZw_dwmHDaRUIFDhrvtFpnJBSR6FZXlZfe0Pj5S19nkOqwEYpHY3T7-QgW4OMXqx41f0nHLzt689Y6sJjKkCsmvRDmNcZR9WUgz7bMv7nIe15FjMy8IhquzE4/s553/ELG-NightShiftCompanion-Lycanthrope-F-BKM-lo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image of a werewolf with nose and lip piercings by Bradley McDevitt" border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="401" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1p7JoG-jQZOTuiAwBC8twghe2MmM1ql8deO5-Fd3QFpDYU4YMXRRn2z2rcKjhLq2sZtZw_dwmHDaRUIFDhrvtFpnJBSR6FZXlZfe0Pj5S19nkOqwEYpHY3T7-QgW4OMXqx41f0nHLzt689Y6sJjKkCsmvRDmNcZR9WUgz7bMv7nIe15FjMy8IhquzE4/w232-h320/ELG-NightShiftCompanion-Lycanthrope-F-BKM-lo.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>Generally speaking, you can find a monster in your game that should match in most ways just about any creature in your setting. A goblin, for example, is a goblin regardless of the system, at least in terms of statistics. Again, the flavor of the creature is largely what changes. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>If you do need to stat up new monsters, creatures in O.G.R.E.S. are very much basic enough that you should be able to do it on the fly. Creatures in our house games are largely defined by their Vitality Dice, with a monster of a given number of ViD roughly equivalent to a player character of the same level, and forming a reasonable challenge for a group of four to six characters of the same level, in terms of basic resource management. </div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Challenging the Party</h3><p style="text-align: left;">This similar rule should stand for almost any game. A single creature whose level or challenge is equal to that of the average level of the party should probably require them to use about 20 to 30% of their resources in a single encounter, and just scale it up or down from there. Most attempts to precisely mathematically model challenge fail because each monster is unique and each party is unique. As the Game Master, you should have an idea of the strengths and weaknesses of your players, and can structure encounters accordingly. If you don't, you will learn as you go. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Genre Emulation</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Right about now a lot of readers are grumbling about or questioning the idea of "genre emulation," and that is, in fairness, what people look for in a licensed tabletop role playing game (TTRPG). The good news is, most genre emulation (aside from flavor, which is on you as the GM to provide) comes down to how the rules treat certain gritty or cinematic situations in play. O.G.R.E.S. gives you <i>everything you need to emulate almost any genre already. </i>The rules provide for a wealth of Gritty, Realistic (Normal), and Cinematic options you can adopt to tailor your game specifically to the style of play you want. Fate Points in particular can be used to varying degrees to add some player agency and mimic a lot of different genre tropes like shrugging off hits and even coming back from the dead! </p><p style="text-align: left;">If you're looking for a game that really can do it all in a way that <i>you </i>tailor specifically for <i>your </i>table, O.G.R.E.S. can do it. We even offer guidelines for chaning the core mechanic to everything from d20 roll-over to percentile roll-under to dice pools to point-buy character creation and advancement, and beyond. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In the end, the vast majority of campaign settings are flavor-based, history-based, and story-based. The rules mechanics? Those are things you can handle with just about any system you like, making little tweaks here and there and building the game as you go. Never think that because there's not an official RPG for your favorite property you can't run a game in it. Licensed games are tons of fun and represent another way to support your favorite publishers and properties, but you don't <i>need one</i> to play in your favorite world. </p><p style="text-align: left;">What's your favorite property without a licensed game? Have you tried to run in the world? Let's hear your stories below! And don't forget to check out <a href="https://www.elflair.com/" target="_blank">Elf Lair Games</a> to get started with your games that are <a href="https://t.co/kTDvmXcubY" target="_blank">Powered by O.G.R.E.S.</a>!</p><div><br /></div><div><h2 class="null" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 22px; line-height: 27.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Follow us online: <a href="http://linktr.ee/elflairgames" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">linktr.ee/elflairgames</a></span></h2></div><div><br /></div>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-76488274151465669952023-07-26T09:46:00.005-04:002023-07-26T09:46:34.124-04:00Wasted Lands - FINAL 24 HOURS<p> </p><p><br /></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="templateContainer" style="background-color: #fafafa; border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: black; max-width: 600px; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 716px;"><tbody><tr><td id="templateHeader" style="background: none 50% 50% / cover no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom: 0px; border-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnImageBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 716px;"><tbody class="mcnImageBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnImageBlockInner" style="padding: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnImageContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 698px;"><tbody><tr><td class="mcnImageContent" style="padding: 0px 9px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><img align="center" alt="" class="mcnImage" src="https://mcusercontent.com/6c73a401cf93305b0ed13976c/images/d7fba1f2-8ad8-9255-6410-5df8afde169a.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 2402px; outline: none; padding-bottom: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="564" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td id="templateBody" style="background: none 50% 50% / cover no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(234, 234, 234); border-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 9px; padding-top: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 716px;"><tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 716px;"><tbody><tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h1 class="null" style="font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=4o5dvv" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank"><img data-file-id="2568062" height="170" src="https://mcusercontent.com/6c73a401cf93305b0ed13976c/images/3dfb4c8c-2eb0-5662-3d4d-8ab170fc475a.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 170px; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></h1><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Good morning, faithful Elf Lair Supporters!</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">We are <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=4o5dvv" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">entering our final 24 Hours</a>. It's crunch time! As always, stick with us - you have nothing to lose by letting your pledge ride, but a fantastic new game to gain when we fund at the end of this thing. If you're already in, please put the word out and get others in! We need a street team to make this happen; it's CROWD funding, after all! Get your gaming groups in. Get your friends in. Hit all your social media channels. If you haven't backed yet, this is a final call for it. We need your help! You're in on our newsletter because you're a fan of Elf Lair Games. Help us to keep producing the quality games you love. </p><figure><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=4o5dvv" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank"><img data-file-id="2612838" height="420" src="https://mcusercontent.com/6c73a401cf93305b0ed13976c/images/abb677a7-0e61-fba0-737c-413f10d03ad2.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 420px; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a><figcaption><a data-airgap-id="63" href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=4o5dvv" rel="noopener" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">Cheers to all our backers! Art by Bradley K. McDevitt</a></figcaption></figure><h1 id="h:why-back-wasted-land" style="font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Why Back Wasted Lands?</h1><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Our first Powered by O.G.R.E.S. game, Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars, is a celebrated take on modern urban fantasy and horror, which is rated 4.7 stars on DriveThruRPG (and sat at 5 stars for over a year). Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age is the next in a trilogy of games which will eventually allow us to cover past, present, and future gaming with the O.G.R.E.S. rules. </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">This game is an exciting alternative to other traditional fantasy games for those looking to try something different, or which can enhance other fantasy games with new ideas and new approaches. It demystifies old school rules, and offers a means to customize everything from the level of grit in your game right down to the core mechanics you choose to use at the table. </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">In the end, I believe in this game. It has the potential to be something special, both in the Elf Lair Games line, and at home gaming tables. I've put my heart and soul into this one and I really want you all to get to play it. You don't have to take my word for it, though: <a data-airgap-id="87" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Pubn0oq8OtsZ3_xu4bgguA7m6aZQ9ER_/view?usp=drive_link" rel="noopener" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">Download the Free Quick Start Kit</a> and see for yourself!<br /><br /><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=4o5dvv" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank"><img data-file-id="2612842" height="420" src="https://mcusercontent.com/6c73a401cf93305b0ed13976c/images/73cd0cdd-4d35-353d-2836-a50e88328891.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 420px; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 600px;" width="600" /></a></p><h1 id="h:support-small-publis" style="font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Support Small Publishers</h1><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Also remember that in the face of big companies doing hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars in Kickstarters, we are by far the little guy... but when you support a SMALL publisher like us, your pledge really matters. It's really making a difference. <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=4o5dvv" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">You are actually MAKING THIS HAPPEN. You're a PART of Wasted Lands</a>. And we appreciate it in a way the big boys don't. When you stick with us, you're making a difference, helping someone use Kickstarter for its intent, and we appreciate each and every one of you. <br /><br />That's about all I've got for you. One last push for backing. If you have supported us in the past, support us now and into the future. Every dollar you spend on Elf Lair games is important. When you're looking at a choice between us and one of the big boys, think of this: the big boys? They never needed a Kickstarter to begin with - it's all pomp and circumstance. Their product is coming out regardless, and you're just more profit to them. Put your money where it's appreciated. </p><h2 class="null" style="font-size: 22px; line-height: 27.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">More Information about Wasted Lands</h2>WWe have been publishing a series of articles looking behind the curtain on <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=4o5dvv" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age</a>. Here are some relevant highlights. <ul><li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/04/wasted-lands-dreaming-age-is-imminent.html" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age is Imminent!</a></li><li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/05/will-wasted-lands-be-retroclone.html" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">Will Wasted Lands be a Retroclone?</a></li><li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-what-are-divine-touchstones.html" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">What Are Divine Touchstones?</a></li><li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/races-species-in-wasted-lands-dreaming.html" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">Races (Species) and Cultural Backgrounds</a></li><li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-how-do-tiered-abilities.html" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">How Do Tiered Abilities Work?</a> </li><li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><a href="https://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-dreaming-age-class.html" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">Class Abilities in Wasted Lands</a></li><li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><a href="https://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-completely-customizable-rpg.html" style="color: #007c89; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">A Completely Customizable RPG</a></li></ul><h2 class="null" style="font-size: 22px; line-height: 27.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Follow us online: <a href="http://linktr.ee/elflairgames" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank">linktr.ee/elflairgames</a></span></h2></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-2559442906317127322023-07-19T07:39:00.002-04:002023-07-19T07:39:50.854-04:00Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age FINAL WEEK<p>Good morning, faithful Elf Lair Supporters!</p><p>We are <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">entering our final week</a> and still moving forward. As always, stick with us - you have nothing to lose by letting your pledge ride, but a fantastic new game to gain when we fund at the end of this thing. Always remember the last few days of a Kickstarter pledges fly in, and we have a lot of watchers waiting for that 48-hour notice! </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="2100" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkuei3HR_2tzatlZAowZitoQLmTcv5T3xtrMqxskmVV22OhN_8Vs8hs7dG1KQFZiSS7ssVuQSbGWQmqMZNOf9F5SUKhEChtbjuKxTzb4r5CvAWwhb7UIuWAoxcSafTfaZb5soNhSYNkmJ889uXoVIKBtrcFBtkt4NTlMyzS5C3nj7JMsIn7I-8IeZXmMg=w557-h358" width="557" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">Cheers to all our backers! Art by Bradley K. McDevitt</a></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">New Updates</h2><p></p><p>This week, in case you missed it, we released TWO previews for backers (one for everyone who stops by). Everyone got a PDF of the full early text of Chapter 8: An Overview of the Dreaming Age posted in the campaignn for direct download. Backers got a preview of the rules for demihuman races for traditional fantasy, via direct message on Kickstarter. If you didn't get it, check your messages! It was sent last Thursday (the 13th), but I'm happy to send to current backers who backed after that if you drop me a message here. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Support Small Publishers</h2><p>Also remember that in the face of big companies doing hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars in Kickstarters, we are by far the little guy... but when you support a SMALL publisher like us, your pledge really matters. It's really making a difference. You are actually MAKING THIS HAPPEN. You're a PART of Wasted Lands. And we appreciate it in a way the big boys don't. When you stick with us, you're making a difference, helping someone use Kickstarter for its intent, and we appreciate each and every one of you. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">A Funding Challenge</h2><p>We still need your help, though. Get the word out. To that end I'll put out a challenge. If we can manage to <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">fund by MONDAY the 24th</a>, every backer at any PRINT level when we fund will also receive a free PDF of both the Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars RPG AND the Night Companion RPG. These PDFs will be sent out IMMEDIATELY upon funding. </p><p>So if you're at a digital level, consider increasing to a print level. If you're already at a print level, get out there and spread the word. Hit facebook groups. Hit Twitter. Hit Instagram. Hit Tik Tok. Hit Reddit. Hit every social media site and message board you can hit. Let's make this thing happen! Also don't forget we have those gorgeous LEATHERS at the bottom, where you're all-in for standard AND leather editions of the game. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">More Information on Our Blog</h2><p>In case you are not following our blog - which is admittedly more irregular than it should be - we have been publishing a series of articles looking behind the curtain on Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age. Here are some relevant highlights. </p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/05/will-wasted-lands-be-retroclone.html" target="_blank">Will Wasted Lands be a Retroclone?</a><br /><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-what-are-divine-touchstones.html" target="_blank">What Are Divine Touchstones?</a><br /><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/races-species-in-wasted-lands-dreaming.html" target="_blank">Races (Species) and Cultural Backgrounds</a><br /><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-how-do-tiered-abilities.html" target="_blank">How Do Tiered Abilities Work? </a><br /><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-dreaming-age-class.html" target="_blank">Class Abilities in Wasted Lands</a><br /><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-completely-customizable.html" target="_blank">A Completely Customizable RPG</a><br /><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/07/wasted-lands-dreaming-age-levels-of-grit.html" target="_blank">Levels of Grit in O.G.R.E.S.</a><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Follow us online: <a href="linktr.ee/elflairgames " target="_blank">linktr.ee/elflairgames</a></div>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-48368893000198609222023-07-05T09:44:00.004-04:002023-07-05T09:48:01.358-04:00Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age - Levels of Grit<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=2pnuk6" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="3300" data-original-width="9999" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtpLlL0MlSJ-utLTdgBFXZTJLx_fH4xOv1gQY0DVnD2Mt4Rcm9XNMymfIO_e6-OewraPuO0ktU5V9ZHr8OctaGQDMHGUMS4C8gsXUzEPxtEzmtMZKK69DDr4zDghPKreV-uSxC7uF0wOocr19rfFfjXxlsweXF4En7PUewAoxG4jhxMy1stA7WL8c3kA/w812-h268/GM%20Screen%20Moclup%20(rough%20with%20logo).jpg" width="812" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=2pnuk6" target="_blank">Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>With so much attention on the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><b>Wasted Lands Kickstarter</b></a> it's been a minute since we've touched on a behind the curtain for the O.G.R.E.S. System. Fear not, though; we're not done with these behind-the-curtain peeks at how the game works and the design decisions herein. This time we're going to look at the ways you can customize the levels of grit in your game. </p><p>Before we move forward, however, here are the prior blogs in the series: </p><ul><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/04/wasted-lands-dreaming-age-is-imminent.html" target="_blank">Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age is Imminent!</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/05/will-wasted-lands-be-retroclone.html" target="_blank">Will Wasted Lands be a Retroclone?</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-what-are-divine-touchstones.html" target="_blank">What Are Divine Touchstones?</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/races-species-in-wasted-lands-dreaming.html" target="_blank">Races (Species) and Cultural Backgrounds</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-how-do-tiered-abilities.html" target="_blank">How Do Tiered Abilities Work?</a> </li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-dreaming-age-class.html" target="_blank">Class Abilities in Wasted Lands</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-completely-customizable.html" target="_blank">A Completely Customizable System</a></li></ul><h2 style="text-align: left;">Levels of Grit in O.G.R.E.S.</h2><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/search/label/O.G.R.E.S." target="_blank">The O.G.R.E.S. system</a> has three different "levels of grit," that you can mix and match to build exactly the style of play you like. These three levels are "Realistic", the standard or normal assumption for play; Gritty, the deadliest version of the rules; and Cinematic, or the rules options for over-the-top heroics. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Here is a complete breakdown of some of the most important rules options, taken from the reference panels on our forthcoming Game Master Screens. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihr0PI5GDBqq3QNXvg0BH3Xx19jx9jcTvcW9jasVXellByBQIaN4GfhhJ5q_mhc87_TtMGWwkWgZtZT7gge0jwtpI6DJas8kfXSGH--g303coAw5DKito0I6Bd6XACANnask_rAwXFlBUCjh98Q09tLE4zkmkoYdM1OMtgbwH3tt7G9Ihz2D8EbrSjhIw/s1045/Campaign%20Guide%20Cover%20Banner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="1045" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihr0PI5GDBqq3QNXvg0BH3Xx19jx9jcTvcW9jasVXellByBQIaN4GfhhJ5q_mhc87_TtMGWwkWgZtZT7gge0jwtpI6DJas8kfXSGH--g303coAw5DKito0I6Bd6XACANnask_rAwXFlBUCjh98Q09tLE4zkmkoYdM1OMtgbwH3tt7G9Ihz2D8EbrSjhIw/w525-h382/Campaign%20Guide%20Cover%20Banner.jpg" width="525" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Realistic (Standard) Play Options</h3><div><b>Check System:</b> Standard check bonus, Class ability checks, combat options.</div><div><b>Opposed Checks: </b>half the ability score in question serves as a penalty to the chance of success of the character. </div><div><b>Save Checks:</b> Base difficulty rating of a Save Check is determined by subtracting the Vitality Dice of the attacker from 10. </div><div><b>Success Levels:</b> Every 10% below base chance of success, rounded down, counts as one level of success, or every two above 20 on a d20 check.</div><div><b>Out of the Fight: </b>At 0 hit points, Constitution save with penalty equal to score below zero. Success = stable. Failure = lose one hp. If hit points reach -10, death.</div><div><b>Healing: </b>1 hit point plus Constitution bonus per day of bed rest. With medical care in a hospital, healing is doubled. Without bed rest, healing halved for every day they are active. Non-lethal damage heals per hour, does not require bed rest. Regeneration heals at double the normal rate. </div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Gritty Play Options</h3><div><b>Check System:</b> No Check Bonus, No Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary abilities. Add +1 to d20 rolls per 4 levels of play, starting at +0 at first level. They still add their ability bonus to checks.</div><div><b>Class Abilities:</b> Advance every two levels instead of one. </div><div><b>Opposed Checks </b>use the opponent’s full ability score as a penalty to the check.</div><div><b>Save Checks:</b> Difficulty Modifier for a given save check is based upon the difference in levels between the attacker and the defender. For every level/hit die higher the defender is than the attacker, they gain +1 to their save. For every level/hit die lower the defender is, they suffer -1 to their save. </div><div><b>Success Levels</b> use a 20% per success level margin </div><div><b>Hit Bonus progressions </b>increase by 1 level (to 4, 5, and 6 levels, respectively).</div><div><b>Out of the fight: </b>characters reduced to 0 hit points are permitted a single saving throw to stabilize, and if they fail, they are dead. </div><div><b>Healing: </b>1 hit point per day, and characters that do not engage in complete bed rest do not heal at all. </div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Cinematic Play Options</h3><div><b>Check System:</b> Characters add their level to checks in addition to normal check bonuses.</div><div><b>Class Abilities:</b> Begin 20% better than normal</div><div><b>Opposed Checks</b> use the opponent’s standard check bonus as a penalty.</div><div><b>Save Checks: </b>All Save Checks are treated as Easy (+10), but the save itself is also affected by the difference between the Vitality Dice of the character making the save, and the attacker whose attack requires the save. </div><div><b>Success Levels </b>use a 5% per success level margin </div><div><b>Hit Bonus progressions:</b> Add level in addition to hit bonus to attack rolls.</div><div><b>Out of the fight:</b> Use realistic rules but you can go to negative Constitution before death. </div><div><b>Healing: </b>Double normal rate; no bed rest necessary; characters always begin a new episode at full health.</div></div><p>In your game, you could, for example, adopt Realistic Check System, Opposed, and Save Checks, with gritty Out of the Fight, and Cinematic Success Levels and Healing. Or any other way you wish to mix it up. </p><p>With <a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/search/label/O.G.R.E.S." target="_blank"><b>Wasted Lands </b>and all <b>Powered by O.G.R.E.S.</b></a> games, it's Your Game, Your Way!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://linktr.ee/elflairgames" target="_blank">Follow Elf Lair Games online!</a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-49019992519912802022023-06-28T10:30:00.008-04:002023-07-05T09:43:23.396-04:00Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age is Live!<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="1082" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1i2KRCbKQjnDtnxg5EdrCX8-Zf7PNn11hn7y3V9_Os1867rw7LsC4kE55AoM1_SH0kG-hDNXCkxcnzbyOtPd92MfpYz5toPcMZp5YikVazy25ZePh1nOxG47sFQuyt1gWdZoxO7511k0JFYqTXS1Z5AHx6ghYeFOzQhEUnp2X_ZOTRhZdtlDCQcxXu98/w520-h317/GM%20Screen%20Moclup%20(rough%20with%20logo).jpg" width="520" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>Here we go, folks! The <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><b>Wasted Lands Kickstarter </b>has launched</a>! Fear not, though; we're not done with these behind-the-curtain peeks at how the game works and the design decisions herein. Stay tuned for more behind the curtain looks as the campaign progresses, and in the meantime, head over to the Kickstarter and support the effort!</p><p>Here are the prior blogs in the series: </p><ul><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/04/wasted-lands-dreaming-age-is-imminent.html" target="_blank">Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age is Imminent!</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/05/will-wasted-lands-be-retroclone.html" target="_blank">Will Wasted Lands be a Retroclone?</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-what-are-divine-touchstones.html" target="_blank">What Are Divine Touchstones?</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/races-species-in-wasted-lands-dreaming.html" target="_blank">Races (Species) and Cultural Backgrounds</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-how-do-tiered-abilities.html" target="_blank">How Do Tiered Abilities Work?</a> </li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-dreaming-age-class.html" target="_blank">Class Abilities in Wasted Lands</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-completely-customizable.html" target="_blank">A Completely Customizable System</a></li></ul><h2 style="text-align: left;">What Is This "Wasted Lands" Thing???</h2><p style="text-align: left;">In case you've missed out so far, <b>Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age</b> is a game of swords and sorcery in a savage lost epoch, set millions of years ago. Instead of playing adventurers tied to the service of mythological deities, you play the all-too-mortal, protohuman origins of the gods of classic mythology, whose stories will inform our own ancestral memories and ancient civilizations. As you engage with your mythology (and others), <a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-what-are-divine-touchstones.html" target="_blank">you gain special powers</a> that will lead you on the path of apotheosis. </p><p>The game is offered as a two-volume set: the <b>Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age</b> Role Playing Game, which contains all the rules of play, <a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-completely-customizable.html" target="_blank">all completely customizable</a> to suit your table's specific play style and desires, and The Gazetteer of the Dreaming Age and Campaign Guide, which contains the setting, bestiary, and game master information. Grab one or both!</p><p><b>Volume 1 - Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age Role Playing Game</b> is a hardcover (7.25" x 9.25") volume at approximately 208-224 pages. Within Volume 1 you will find: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Complete rules for running a game of swords and sorcery, high fantasy, traditional fantasy, or any type of fantasy play you can imagine</li><li>Seven character classes: the Archer, Necromancer, Psychic, Renegade, Sage, Sorcerer, and Warrior</li><li>Simple, intuitive rules that encourage creative play and will feel familiar to players of any version of the World's Most Famous RPG</li><li>Divine touchstones that give a touch of mystic power on the characters' path to apotheosis</li><li>Customizable levels of play to set your game as gritty or cinematic as you like</li><li>Complete rules for games Powered by O.G.R.E.S. or Powered by O.R.C.S., as you choose!</li><li>Guidelines for conversion to a variety of unified mechanics - roll high, percentile, and dice pools</li><li>Optional rules for skills, magical duels, enhanced combat nonhuman species, and human cultural backgrounds</li><li>And more!</li></ul><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="1024" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexBwkElVM-1AT7F7r3eZV2zgC4VLDurgcaOqhlhn_s5N4gHzasVlacu1Hle0PTuzczL-eqliT9-J05M7LEb1Rt8vdHnaDMBQ929SYlH-cCdnO0UiRxR5oY4xKSdKehCTRIVdoXmBZ1nj3saLTxbyLqYzMfn4HcrILpzjlmNUYQ0mUvE9q8t1NXOwvcdE/w585-h331/Kickstarter%20Image.jpg" width="585" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">RPG and Gazetteer Cover Art</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p></p><p><b>Volume 2 - The Gazetteer of the Dreaming Age and Campaign Guide</b> is a hardcover volume (7.25" x 9.25") at approximately 176-208 pages that will include:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>A setting that evokes classic swords and sorcery with cosmic horror, which can be easily removed to play your own games in any setting you desire</li><li>An extensive bestiary of the creatures that haunt the Spaces Between Spaces</li><li>A full gazetteer of the world of the Dreaming Age, set over 54 million years ago. </li><li>Guidelines, tips, and tricks for GMs running campaign chronicles that trace the birth of gods.</li><li>A fold-out, full-color poster map of the Dreaming Age <a href="https://meliorahenning.com/" target="_blank">by Meliora Henning</a>.</li></ul><div><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><b>Head on over to the Kickstarter page</b></a> to back today, and be sure to share the information around to all your social media channels!</div><div><br /></div><div>Follow Elf Lair Games online: <br />Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/">www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/</a><br />Website: <a href="http://www.elflair.com">www.elflair.com</a><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG">https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG</a><br />Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/">https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/</a><br />Discord: <a href="https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4">https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4</a></div><p></p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-9501367424829512402023-06-26T16:04:00.000-04:002023-06-26T16:04:20.413-04:00Wasted Lands - A Completely Customizable System<p> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="2046" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZNwBR2R7S1S-OKBltWdwkhMW3wQ-KnRKA-i8ZmRzmhSy4tkDCqBbyyfFCbVGi0Sf4eKQNkfWQTPSA8KKo2VQK0rgbvEmswxFWBE5FmAIU_rmgAm9TYjriNL3ifhhilhJpIxtayS0jorJWEGF7Aat7eXmYl-Ub3ZtxbTW14ypMuPc48DvYrzyYdluOVg/w641-h182/Logo.jpg" width="641" /></a></p><p>Here we go, folks! The final blog before the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><b>Wasted Lands Kickstarter </b>launches</a>! Stay tuned for more behind the curtain looks as the campaign progresses, but this one completes the big lead-up! </p><ul><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/04/wasted-lands-dreaming-age-is-imminent.html" target="_blank">Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age is Imminent!</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/05/will-wasted-lands-be-retroclone.html" target="_blank">Will Wasted Lands be a Retroclone?</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-what-are-divine-touchstones.html" target="_blank">What Are Divine Touchstones?</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/races-species-in-wasted-lands-dreaming.html" target="_blank">Races (Species) and Cultural Backgrounds</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-how-do-tiered-abilities.html" target="_blank">How Do Tiered Abilities Work?</a> </li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-dreaming-age-class.html" target="_blank">Class Abilities in Wasted Lands</a></li></ul><p>For some time now we've been pushing "Your Game, Your Way" as a slogan for <a href="https://www.elflair.com/pdf-products#HJPIhz" target="_blank">Powered by O.G.R.E.S. games</a>, and many wonder what kind of meaning that carries. After all, everyone claims that their game is the one you've been looking for, and the concept of a universal game system has been around almost as long as RPGs themselves. Even the earliest versions of D&D had sci-fi elements and the first edition DMG discussed melding the system with a range of genres. </p><p>So what do we mean exactly when we talk about O.G.R.E.S. as a customizable system? Does it even have a system or is it just a mess of suggestions? </p><p>Not to fret: O.G.R.E.S. is a system and uses the mechanics <a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/search/label/Wasted%20Lands" target="_blank">we have discussed in prior blogs</a> - the class abilities mechanics, the d20 "roll over" attribute check mechanic, and the Rule of 2. </p><p>So what does it mean to customize the game? </p><p>The answer is in the nuance and the options we present through the various appendices of the game. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="1045" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0pzI16sED2HGStGZ4ePs2aRoZ38ErhlDLHmkUFZPRWLQLlCcK5ERqFuYcIcPlOUoXVxcXvVwsyUNMoDnYmRtemRt-3kB3CZ6eQD0ei69A8dgZw9XefCagNpcBISiDzq6g-PAUyhbuYi5zjmLnxcCa-b42rfnbN9Jo7lKgUn4Q1wIhwWCGjY7B2LeZ3M4/w569-h414/Campaign%20Guide%20Cover%20Banner.jpg" width="569" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">Wasted Lands Gazetteer and Campaign Guide</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2>Attributes</h2><p>The first step in creating the character is to generate attributes. The game provides several options for accomplishing this - rolling dice, point buy, or standard array. You choose the method that best works for your game, with each roughly balanced against the others (though completely random rolls tend to generate a wider range of divergent power levels than point buy or standard spread). </p><p>You then choose <i>tiers </i>for your attributes. Your character class (see below) provides an <i>Aspect, </i>or tier 1 ability, with which you are measurably better than others so far as checks go. You then choose two <i>Normal, </i>or tier 2 abilities, which put you at average or just above. The remaining three abilities are <i>Disadvantaged, </i>or tier 3. These are your areas of general weakness (though if your attributes are high enough you won't truly be <i>weak </i>in any area. </p><p>Your tiers provide a progression of bonuses that you add to all your die rolls with those attributes as you go up in level: your Aspect will advance faster than your Normals, which will advance faster than your Disadvantaged. </p><h2>Character Creation</h2><p>The default method of character creation is the classic (CLASS-ic?) class-and-level setup. You pick a character class which gives you a selection of abilities, and as you gain experience, you "level up," improving existing abilities and gaining new ones. This is certainly the most straightforward method of play, and it is a time-tested, time-honored method of character creation and advancement. Quite simply: it works. </p><h3>Nonhuman Species</h3><p>As discussed in an earlier blog, nonhuman species ranging from elves and dwarves to werewolves and vampires, angels, demons, and beyond, are represented by what essentially amounts to a single-level character class that you pick up when you create the character. </p><h3>Point Buy Characters</h3><p>There are those, however, who prefer a more freeform style of play, which allows them to customize their character abilities and create a completely unique character distinct from what everyone else can do. Character classes certainly carry the weakness of being somewhat archetypal (though your tiered attributes will certainly make a difference). </p><p>In the optional rules appendix, we provide guidelines for a completely point-buy method of character generation and advancement. You get a pool of points to spend and you buy the abilities and advancement progressions you want, building your character from the ground up. Such an approach requires careful collaboration with the GM, to ensure game balance is maintained, but the option is there, and characters created in this fashion <i>will have the same character sheet and same statistics and those created through class and levels. </i></p><p>In the point buy system, you can simply spend your character creation points on a nonhuman species, making it part of your character. Because of the range of abilities nonhuman species gain, selecting one may cost the lion's share of your initial points. </p><p>Thereafter, you will spend your experience points to purchase more abilities or improve existing ones. A separate experience system is offered for this purpose. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1814" data-original-width="2705" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcf2u8W7MFkEFqiEiq9hHTW-cp5e9M_X25ZXDDGputZSU9s3U_Jtg3H4aLs3uhY4qs8qwqMigcnsa3x-c6fUQZMImbuYD8chAsQ1zutPVGYY_CYphFbq6d5NfZ_fTcmE6jgCfTMnpe_bCPH0Da9eHeA01QP1sK73_M1IWjFEAbIY6rDNR243badaG1Xaw/w635-h427/Odin%20vs%20Old%20One.jpg" width="635" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">Odin vs. the Old One</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2>Customizing Core Mechanics</h2><p>Finally, you can even completely customize the core mechanics of your game. As discussed before, and above, the core O.G.R.E.S. system consists of three key mechanics. Many folks, of course, would prefer a unified mechanic. We have you covered there as well. And again, regardless of what approach you take, <i>there is no need to alter the statistics on your character sheet in any way whatsoever. </i></p><p>The first option for core mechanic customization is presented in <b>Wasted Lands: </b>Chapter 5, which is called <a href="https://www.elflair.com/pdf-products#qCLiMp" target="_blank">Powered by O.R.C.S.</a> This system is that which powered our original <b>Spellcraft & Swordplay </b>RPG. It makes use of a 2d6, roll over unified mechanic, wherein you throw 2d6, add applicable bonuses, and attempt to get a 14 or better. </p><p>For those who were fans of <b>S&S, </b>this brings O.R.C.S. back to the table in a full game format, and also presents some important revisions to the system which will be used in any future O.R.C.S. games moving forward. </p><p>Beyond this, and again, in the Optional Rules appendix, we present three other options for unified task resolution in your O.G.R.E.S. games. The first is a straight d20 roll-over system. This converts all class abilities to the "d20 + bonuses <u>></u> 20 mechanic used in our ability check method. </p><p>Next up, we present rules for converting the entire game to a percentile system, converting the attribute checks to function on the same mechanic as class abilities. </p><p>Finally, we present guidelines to convert the entire game to a dice pool system, allowing you to roll a dice pool and count successes, similar to our own Cd8 system. </p><p>We believe these to be the most common and popular methods of task resolution across the board, and now you can play <b>Wasted Lands </b>or <b><a href="https://www.elflair.com/s/shop" target="_blank">Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars</a> </b>with any resolution method your table prefers. Best of all, you can take your characters that use a dice pool method and still use them in a percentile, d20, standard O.G.R.E.S., or O.R.C.S. game - no changes are necessary! </p><p>So there you have it. When we say that Powered by O.G.R.E.S. means your game, your way. we really mean it! </p><p>Stay tuned for more behind the curtain looks at O.G.R.E.S. as we go on, and be sure to <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">hit up the Kickstarter</a>, back, and share everywhere you can! We need your support as we move forward into a new era for RPGs. </p><div>Follow Elf Lair Games online: <br />Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/">www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/</a><br />Website: <a href="http://www.elflair.com">www.elflair.com</a><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG">https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG</a><br />Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/">https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/</a><br />Discord: <a href="https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4">https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4</a></div><p><br /></p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-28165674122066791662023-06-19T14:31:00.000-04:002023-06-19T14:31:14.640-04:00Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age - Class Abilities in O.G.R.E.S.<p> Previous blogs in this series:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/04/wasted-lands-dreaming-age-is-imminent.html" target="_blank">Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age is Imminent!</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/05/will-wasted-lands-be-retroclone.html" target="_blank">Will Wasted Lands be a Retroclone?</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-what-are-divine-touchstones.html" target="_blank">What Are Divine Touchstones?</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/races-species-in-wasted-lands-dreaming.html" target="_blank">Races (Species) and Cultural Backgrounds</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-how-do-tiered-abilities.html" target="_blank">How Do Tiered Abilities Work?</a> </li></ul><h2 style="text-align: left;">Class Abilities - Powered by O.G.R.E.S.</h2><p style="text-align: left;">In previous blogs we've looked behind the curtain at what <a href="https://www.elflair.com/" target="_blank">the O.G.R.E.S. system</a> brings to the table for your fantasy game, whether it is a retroclone or something different, and how features such as Divine Touchstones, nonhuman Species and cultural backgrounds, and Tiered Attributes work in the game. The most recent blog with Tiered Attributes took a look at the ability check mechanic, which functions by rolling a d20, adding applicable bonuses and trying to get a 20 or better. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This blog will look at how class abilities work in the O.G.R.E.S. system. For those who are familiar with old-school gaming, it should look quite familiar, though with a few twists to better codify and unify the mechanic across the board. For those who are new, we'll also look at why we chose a separate mechanic for the class abilities rather than sticking with the d20 check. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="3600" data-original-width="2782" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFdeYUbtAL6FBc4p2_4LwjCTFE17ps4QEljmvUq9-6YOH8Hr1aqbBt9hMY4dGiIP2xw96JmL0CUH7NFlgowOD1QRrOKed_W1laVBFJM9J6Sb2fFte2eH0gk6ejbunBFtLkLV1zWhRCMKfkrMqSKGe9QaTFFgl63GoBjkP2Gq2pwBbkuz6t6CTwIQhCf4/w377-h488/NicoleCardiff_COVER.tif" width="377" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">Art by Nicole Cardiff. Used under license.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">Class Ability Mechanic</h2><p style="text-align: left;">The class ability mechanic in the O.G.R.E.S. system is quite simple - a straight percentile roll attempting to get equal to or less than your score. Thus, if you have a 50% chance to accomplish something, you roll percentile dice, and a 0 to 50 succeeds. In many cases, the base percentile chance is adjusted up or down, usually in 5- to 10-point increments, based on the difficulty of the task. From behind the screen, the GM can set a level of difficulty, multiply that by 5, and apply the result to the base chance of success. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The GM may decide, for example, that a Warrior attempting to track a quarry through the wilderness sees their chance modified by the difference between the Warrior's level and their opponent's. If the Warror, then, is level 5, and the opponent level 8, there is a 3-level difference. Multiplying these 3 levels by 5 results in 15, so the Warrior's Tracking ability is reduced by 15% for this check. </p><p style="text-align: left;">On the other hand, if the Warrior is higher level than their opponent, their chance may increase by a like amount - a 5th-level Warrior tracking a 2nd-level quarry would improve their Tracking chance by 15%. As with <a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-how-do-tiered-abilities.html" target="_blank">Difficulty Bonuses in attribute checks</a>, the GM may or may not choose to tell the player what the difficulty is; they may merely say, "you succeeded," or "you failed." </p><p style="text-align: left;">This does not mean, for example, that you cannot try something that is not a class ability. Consider a Renegade attempting to sneak up on a target. Other characters in the party may also attempt this. The Renegade rolls their stealth ability. Other characters make an Agility check. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The difference is that if the Renegade fails their stealth ability, they can <i>still </i>attempt an Agility check. They essentially get two shots at it. In addition, the Renegade, if they succeed, is assumed to be <i>absolutely </i>silent and undetectable. Other characters may still have to beat an enemy's Wits save, or suffer a "rule of 2" check even if they succeed. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="3508" data-original-width="2480" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAbpFizdvQYEXFrlGsofYyEqzptWYzaalnlJWEbpPyRkpjvabf5OlLGEQaPi_vJwyIaFw6zrgTsAtxAGBk_5VOlHus5vAqZh0BYdnfZ_g588oBv7bFyCNkGgV74n3njn_eANhWkrCJeqFTA2NczASOdDH0hfpLtw_B490huO0cqV7fnk24eTBZehrb7w4/w397-h562/AaronLee_CGCHAR.jpg" width="397" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">Artwork by Aaron Lee. Used under license.</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">Spellcasting in O.G.R.E.S.</h2><p style="text-align: left;">The class ability mechanic in O.G.R.E.S. even applies to casting spells. O.G.R.E.S., unlike many old-school games, does not use a so-called "Vancian" or "Fire and Forget" magic system. Rather, the caster has a base spellcasting percentage which like all class abilities improves as the character goes up in level. This percentage is then modified downward by 5% per level of the spell they are casting. A first-level spell, then, reduces casting by 5%. A fifth-level spell reduces casting by 25%. </p><p style="text-align: left;">So long as you do not fail a casting roll, you can continue to cast spells all day long. If you do fail a casting roll, your spell backfires in some way, requiring a check on a spell backfire table to see how badly it blows up in your face. You may lose access to the spell until the next day. You may have no ill effects except a spell failure. You could summon a horrific demon from the depths of the Underworld that instantly attacks you. It all depends on the power of the spell you were trying to cast, and your result on the table. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The rationale for applying the class ability mechanic to spellcasting is to keep it unified with the rest of the class abilities. In old-school versions of games, the mechanics used in O.G.R.E.S. are all baked into the system - rangers of old used percentile dice to track. Thieves of old used percentile dice for their stealth abilites. The same goes for their comparable classes in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><b>Wasted Lands</b></a>. Spellcasters, however, always and inexplicably used a completely different mechanic for casting spells, and stand alone for that. We took the opportunity to unify magic users, psychics, and the like so that their abilities function the same as any other class'. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Why Two Mechanics?</h2><p style="text-align: left;">We live in a world of game design where unified mechanics rule common wisdom. There is nothing wrong with unified mechanics, and indeed, Wasted Lands offers guidelines to convert the entire game to whichever type of unified resolution system you like - d20, percentile, or even dice pool - all without changing the stats. We also include the return of the O.R.C.S. system that powered Spellcraft & Swordplay if you prefer that approach. So you do have the way to truly make the game your own. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The idea behind using more than one resolution mechanic is that there is an elegance to the mechanics both fading into the background while you play, while at the same time giving you an instant insight into what is going on at any given time. Consider the all-too-common scenario of the players paying half-attention at the table when the GM tells one player to make a roll for something. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Suddenly the entire table comes to life with everyone asking, "What's she doing? Can I make a roll, too?" </p><p style="text-align: left;">In this case, if the roll the player makes is percentile-based, the other players immediately know that it's class-ability-related, so they have a better chance of succeeding than anyone else. It lets you know when a character is digging into the area of expertise where they shine. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Skills in O.G.R.E.S.</h2><p style="text-align: left;">By default, the O.G.R.E.S. system seeks to keep things as simple and straightforward as possible, so skills are not an essential part of the system. They are, however, included as an optional subsystem that allows you to give characters a bit more definition regarding what they can do and what their knowledge is outside of their character class. Skills, essentially, work like any other class ability, which means they use percentile checks, modified up or down in 5% or 10% increments based on the difficulty of the task at hand. </p><p style="text-align: left;">That's all for today! Stay tuned for more behind the curtain looks at O.G.R.E.S. as we go on, and be sure to <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">hit up the Kickstarter</a> and sign up to be notified when we go live!</p><div style="text-align: left;">Follow Elf Lair Games online: <br />Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/">www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/</a><br />Website: <a href="http://www.elflair.com">www.elflair.com</a><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG">https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG</a><br />Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/">https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/</a><br />Discord: <a href="https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4">https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4</a></div><p></p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-41396674371589140082023-06-13T08:59:00.003-04:002023-06-19T17:59:00.777-04:00Wasted Lands: How Do Tiered Abilities Work?<p>First things first: If you're new to the blog and are curious about other "deep dives" into the Wasted Lands, O.G.R.E.S., and how it all works, check out our other blogs in this series (or just click on one of the label tags): </p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/races-species-in-wasted-lands-dreaming.html" target="_blank">Races (Species) in Wasted Lands</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-what-are-divine-touchstones.html" target="_blank">What are Divine Touchstones?</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/05/will-wasted-lands-be-retroclone.html" target="_blank">Will Wasted Lands Be a Retroclone?</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/04/wasted-lands-dreaming-age-is-imminent.html" target="_blank">Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age is Imminent!</a></li></ol><h2 style="text-align: left;">Tiered Abilities in Wasted Lands</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Wasted Lands is Powered by O.G.R.E.S., the house system for <a href="https://www.elflair.com/" target="_blank">Elf Lair Games</a>. It uses three base mechanics on the backend: the Check mechanic, the percentile Class Ability mechanic, and the Rule of 2. The most common of these is the straight-up d20 attribute check and combat mechanic, and that is the focus of this blog. This mechanic covers everything from save checks to sneaking, searching for clues in a setting, and anything else that is not covered by a class ability, while also serving as a <i>backup </i>for class abilities. </p><p style="text-align: left;">That is to say, if you have a class ability - say, a Renegade's ability to move stealthily - you can make a class ability check. If you fail at that check, you may still attempt a standard attribute check to fall back on. Those without class abilities are stuck with just a standard attribute check (and may still suffer consequences, but that's a rule for another blog). </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank"><img alt="Wasted Lands cover images" border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="1024" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-Q-XfW4DGEYR1ZPwoMl94GqOdJtbRwu6G-e9aunAzjVM73G6BxF-kIS3vXgbEts-mVcX0t26XyVJqLXyv2EG9JbJOihki714HeWB4u1KGJhbQU_jKES_nFMI9mVWxdmqNFwvsbBf94Q0rnlNnKWzbfTtBzIAbQzvSi8EWhMZqyXWrgxsR7uWbNpz/w476-h269/Kickstarter%20Image.jpg" title="Wasted Lands cover images" width="476" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">Attribute checks use a Tiered system</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">What Are Tiered Abilities?</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Tiered abilities in O.G.R.E.S. are one way that characters can differentiate themselves within a character class. Each character has a single Tier 1 ability, also called an <i>aspect. </i>This ability is set by their character class. Renegades, for example, are aspected towards Agility, while Warriors are aspected towards Strength. </p><p style="text-align: left;">From there, you choose <i>two </i>additional abilities, which are Tier 2, or "normal." The remaining three abilities are Tier 3, or "disadvantaged." </p><p style="text-align: left;">Each Tier of ability gains a bonus progression - Aspected abilities begin at +2 and progress at multiples of 3 (so +3 at level 3, +4 at level 6, etc.) Normal abilities begin at +1 and progress at multiples of 4. Disadvantaged abilities begin at no bonus and progress at multiples of 5. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Making Attribute Checks</h2><p style="text-align: left;">When you make an attribute check in O.G.R.E.S., you roll 1d20, add all relevant bonuses, and try to get a 20 or better. On the player end, these bonuses almost always include your attribute bonus and your check bonus progression, so if you are making a Strength check, you have a +2 Strength Bonus, Strength is your Aspect, and you are third level (+2), you roll a d20 and add +4. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It may seem very difficult to get a 20 with only a +4 bonus, but on the other side of the screen, the GM adds a difficulty bonus from +0 (extremely difficult) to +10 or higher (extremely easy). The GM may or may not tell you what this difficulty bonus is. If, then, the GM deems the check is easy (+8), your check will be d20 + 4 + 8, or d20 +12, much easier to make. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Combat</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Combat works off of the attribute check system as well, with a few modifications: Tiered abilities do not come into play in combat, and not everyone adds their attribute bonuses. Some classes add strength to melee and/or dexterity to ranged attacks. Some classes (like sorcerers, psychics, necromancers, and the like) add their Aspected attribute bonus to spell, power, or gadget attacks. Your individual class will tell you what ability score bonuses you add to what types of attacks. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In addition, each class has an attack progression which provides a "to hit" bonus. You add this bonus to your d20 roll as well. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Finally, you add the opponent's Defense Value (equivalent to Armor Class in other OSR games) to your roll - it essentially functions as the Difficulty Bonus. This means a lower DV is better than a higher one. Also, just as with the Difficulty Bonus, you may not always know the enemy's DV; it's left to the GM to determine whether they want to share that information or keep it secret. </p><p style="text-align: left;">So combat, in the end, sees you rolling 1d20 + appropriate attribute modifiers + to hit bonus + enemy DV and trying to get a 20 or better. </p><p style="text-align: left;">There you have it! That's the core of the <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">Wasted Lands: the Dreaming Age</a></b> attribute check and combat system. Next up: the class ability system, and optional rules such as skills in the Wasted Lands. Be sure to <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonvey/wasted-lands-the-dreaming-age-role-playing-game?ref=cqch00" target="_blank">check out our forthcoming Kickstarter and sign up to be notified</a></b>!</p><p>Follow Elf Lair Games online: </p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/">www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/</a><br />Website: <a href="http://www.elflair.com">www.elflair.com</a><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG">https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG</a><br />Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/">https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/</a><br />Discord: <a href="https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4">https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4</a></div>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-66017738782426879282023-06-06T08:57:00.006-04:002023-06-13T08:29:45.502-04:00Races (Species) in Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQb4fR5HdimApMxGX4qpWyhIfjzyRksNde9M_Ffzh7P6IgmlKahpjxmH152SCjjAIOzjxTNL1MiUZIFdtustlD40kq4x88r-jDGeOo2c8K5wS4F0vLPdmrR-2rXxYuWfdgB1z5k_obDln4udclbepGWylWKxeg0Aq27FVPXgBDAt2G5zCXiTnotG9e/s2046/Logo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="2046" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQb4fR5HdimApMxGX4qpWyhIfjzyRksNde9M_Ffzh7P6IgmlKahpjxmH152SCjjAIOzjxTNL1MiUZIFdtustlD40kq4x88r-jDGeOo2c8K5wS4F0vLPdmrR-2rXxYuWfdgB1z5k_obDln4udclbepGWylWKxeg0Aq27FVPXgBDAt2G5zCXiTnotG9e/w595-h169/Logo.jpg" width="595" /></a></p><br /><p>It's time for another peek behind the curtain in Wasted Lands. In case you've missed our past posts, we have already covered <a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/05/will-wasted-lands-be-retroclone.html" target="_blank">what type of game Wasted Lands will be</a>, and <a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/06/wasted-lands-what-are-divine-touchstones.html" target="_blank">how Divine Touchstones work</a> in game. This time we'll look at nonhuman species and cultural backgrounds. These things in the O.G.R.E.S. system work a bit differently than some of our old-school (and even new-school) players may be used to seeing, but at the same time will have a degree of familiarity. Let's dive in. </p><h2>Why "Species?"</h2><p>First things first: why "species" and not "race?" The use of the term "species" goes back to <b><a href="https://www.elflair.com/" target="_blank">Night Shift: VSW</a>.</b> We chose the term species for a couple reasons (and we did it long before those Wizards decided to pretend it's some sort of socially relevant term). First, it's flat-out more accurate: elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and the like are quite literally a <i>different species from humanity. </i>Races occur within the same species. We're not posturing or trying to make any sort of statement - it's just, quite simply, a more accurate term. </p><p>Second, it's just another move away from the D&D-centric OGL, though that one admittedly no longer applies now that those guys have jumped on the bandwagon with the term. </p><p>Okay, now that we have that out of the way....</p><h2>Species in the Dreaming Age</h2><p>Technically, there are no nonhuman species in the dreaming age. By and large that's because even the proto-humans that dominate the age aren't true <i>homo sapiens, </i>and are themselves genetically divergent. Many are even sterile and cannot produce offspring (though not all, by any stretch - reproduction has been necessasry and essential for the species to survive for the millennia or three that have passed since the Other Gods were driven into their eternal slumber). </p><p>We <i>do, </i>however, optionally allow for cultural backgrounds among humans in the Dreaming Age. These backgrounds are found in the optional rules appendix, and they work <i>identically </i>to species. They cover things like a hunter-gatherer culture, a horse culture, a warrior culture, a sorcerous culture, etc. </p><p>There is also an option to play a Serpentfolk character, which technically would be the only nonhuman species allowable. In the future we may add one or two others such as Deep Ones, but it is my feeling that the more nonhuman species added to the Dreaming Age, the less it feels like a Lovecraftian/Howardian swords and sorcery setting, and the more it feels like, well, <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>. So don't look for too many species in this core setting. </p><h2>Traditional Fantasy with Wasted Lands</h2><p>Now, all that being said, one of the biggest requests we've seen from fans was that Wasted Lands should be easily divorced from its setting so that one can use it to play any type of fantasy they like. For that reason alone it was important to include guidelines for dwarves, orcs, goblins, and the like. They can be found in the optional rules appendix, along with some other guidelines to help with traditional style epic fantasy using the O.G.R.E.S. (or O.R.C.S., if you prefer) rules set. </p><h2>So How Do Species and Backgrounds Work?</h2><p>Species (and backgrounds, if you choose to include them) work the same way. They are, in old school terms, something of a cross between race-as-class as it existed in BX and BECMI, and race-and-class as in original, Advanced, and later editions of That Famous Game. </p><p>Species and cultural backgrounds function quite literally as single-level classes that you take at character creation. They provide a very specific set of abilities unique to the species and/or culture they represent (species traits also represent the common culture from which the species hails). They provide a single Vitality Die for Vitality Points, usually a specific save bonus, and other abilities (dwarves, for example, get the expected mining and craftsmanship abilities, and certain weapon proficiencies). You gain +0 to hit, no save bonus, and no Tiered check bonuses for ability scores.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p>Species and Backgrounds also have an XP Threshold, usually between 1,000 and 2,000 XP.</p><p>You then begin play without a character class, only this species or cultural background. When you reach the XP Threshold, your experience total resets to zero, you choose a character class, and proceed as normal, selecting your Tier 1, 2, and 3 ability scores, starting your to-hit progression, etc. </p><p>You <i>do not have to choose a species class to be a member of a species. </i>If you wish to play an elf, for example, that bucks the trend, you simply play a normal character without choosing the elf species, and say that your character is an elf. In this case, your species is simply a matter of appearance - you look like an elf, but you don't have their fey magic, nightvision, and the like. </p><h2>Can I Have a Species and a Cultural Background?</h2><p>There is no reason you couldn't have both a species and a cultural background. Simply choose both. Any redundant abilities are just that - redundant. They do not combine unless something in the species or background says otherwise. A species that has stealth abilities like a Renegade combined with a background that provides the same, for example, may improve your stealth abilities by 10% <i>if both state that having the ability as a part of the renegade class allows this. </i>If, however, you then choose Renegade as a character class you wouldn't get the +10% again. It's a one-off bonus. </p><p>Choosing both a species and a cultural background, however, would require you to gain the full XP threshold of both combined before choosing a normal character class. If, then, your species has a threshold of 1,500 and your culture has a threshold of 1,000, you would have to gain 2,500 XP before you could take a class. </p><h2>What if Everyone Selects a Species or Background?</h2><p>If everyone at the table agrees to take a Species or Background, the GM can grant everyone a "bonus" or "bank" of 1,000 XP or the cost of the lowest XP threshold at the table, reducing the cost to take a character class accordingly. Thus, if everyone chooses a species that costs 1,500 XP, the GM can hand-wave the requirement and let everyone also start with a class, since no balance issues are in play. </p><p>If, on the other hand, you have four players, and each takes a background or species with XP thresholds of 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, and 1,500, the GM may award a "bank" of 1,000 XP. This allows the player who chose the 1,000 XP species to take a class immediately. The two players with 1,500 XP thresholds need only gain 500 XP each, and the 2,000 XP player will need gain only 1,000 before selecting a class. </p><p>In the end, however, the XP "bank" award is left entirely to the GM, who is not required to hand out such a discount. They can require playing through the XP threshold as they like. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijhSzYzBFx-GHUATxufZTK2rqOv5ADFF-AxF-LN0HAn62h64kW-rNQv-flxPeev04maO9-naukLOY34CebaPT_6o0ZHX_4997mz4gcKbaDUJawXWw8LqYUxmNNKpkkWxoq3Gk06QenUYo-WsVu8j-d5h0QbTq_QxfXxUBRkj8ILa7SnQG12IG_YuLZ/s2671/Clip%20Art%20Critters-Ogre%20Attack-BKM.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2671" data-original-width="2562" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijhSzYzBFx-GHUATxufZTK2rqOv5ADFF-AxF-LN0HAn62h64kW-rNQv-flxPeev04maO9-naukLOY34CebaPT_6o0ZHX_4997mz4gcKbaDUJawXWw8LqYUxmNNKpkkWxoq3Gk06QenUYo-WsVu8j-d5h0QbTq_QxfXxUBRkj8ILa7SnQG12IG_YuLZ/w395-h412/Clip%20Art%20Critters-Ogre%20Attack-BKM.jpg" width="395" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Art by Bradley K. McDevitt. Used under license</span>.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2>Sample Species: Orc-Men</h2><div><div>Orc-Men are a hybrid species formed of the union of a human and an orc. These creatures are almost always formed from broken homes or broken relationships, and are almost never accepted among orcs, who view them as weak. They can, however, gain positions of prestige among humans, who are more accepting of their heritage. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Size: </b>Medium (6 to 7 feet tall)</div><div><b>Vitality Die: </b>1d10</div><div><b>Saves:</b> Orc-Men gain +2 to Toughness saves and +2 to Strength saves</div><div><b>Move:</b> 30 ft.</div><div><b>Senses:</b> Orc-Men gain darksight, enabling them to see in near-absolute dark for up to 60 feet. This sight functions in all but the most absolute darkness; so long as there is any ambient light, they can see, albeit fine details may be difficult to discern in the darkest caverns. </div><div>Weapons and Armor: Orc-men may use any swords or axes, and can wear armor up to chainmail.</div><div><b>XP Cost:</b> 1,000</div><div><br /></div><h3><b>Species/Cultural Abilities</b></h3><div><b>Powerful Combatants: </b>Orc-Men may add their strength to melee combat attack and damage rolls. In addition, when they hit an opponent, the Orc Man rolls an additional die, keeping the best of all rolled. This combines with similar abilities allowing additional dice, but does not add an extra die kept. </div><div>Human Lineage: Orc-Men may choose any single first-level class ability, which advances as normal, regardless of the class they later choose. If the ability they choose is part of their eventual chosen class, it gains a +10% bonus when they enter the class. Remember that they remain first-level when they choose a class, so this ability does not advance until they gain second level in their eventual class.</div></div><h2>Sample Background: Sorcerous Culture</h2><div><div>You come from a society where the magical arts are prized. Perhaps your region is ruled by a council of the Wise or a council of magi. Perhaps it’s a dark, cult-based society overrun by the Bleeding. Perhaps it is even a village formed on a site of Radiance, dedicated to spreading the knowledge of the “True Magick” of the earth to all the corners of the world. Whatever the specifics, magic runs in your blood, and most people in your community have a gift for the arts. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Vitality Die: </b>d6</div><div><b>Saves: </b>+2 to Intelligence, Wits, or Persona saves (choose one; this cannot be changed)</div><div><b>Move:</b> 30 ft.</div><div><b>Senses: </b>You gain no special senses (but see mystical senses, below)</div><div><b>Weapons and Armor: </b> Staves, daggers, slings, and light armor up to and including studded leather. </div><div><br /></div><h3><b>Cultural / Background Abilities </b></h3><div><b>Corruptible: </b>Any time you suffer Degeneracy, you suffer an additional point beyond that which you would normally suffer. Thus, if you would suffer one point of Degeneracy from spellcasting, a Bleeding site, or another source, you instead suffer two. If you would suffer three, you instead suffer four. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Enhanced Sorcery: </b>If you choose the sorcerer/sorceress character class, you increase your base spellcasting percentage by 10%. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Mystical Senses:</b> You may use the Mystical Senses spell as a spell-like ability at will, with no spell components necessary. You need not make a casting check to use this ability.</div><p><b>Sorcerous Blood: </b>Choose one first-level spell or one Arcane Power from the Sorcerer spell list. You may use this spell or power once per day. If the ability is a spell, you need no components to cast it, and you need not make a casting check to use this ability. If you later choose Sorcerer/Sorceress as your character class, this spell or arcane power does not count against those you know for your class. </p><p><b>XP Cost:</b> 1,500</p><p>That's all for this round. Next time, a peek behind the curtain at how tiered abilities work in O.G.R.E.S.</p><div><br /></div></div><p>Follow Elf Lair Games online: <br />Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/">www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/</a><br />Website: <a href="http://www.elflair.com">www.elflair.com</a><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG">https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG</a><br />Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/">https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/</a><br />Discord: <a href="https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4">https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4</a></p><p><br /></p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-48184802677060016162023-06-01T10:37:00.003-04:002023-07-05T16:43:31.770-04:00Wasted Lands: What Are Divine Touchstones? <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXQzFz86BWZGCbD1yFkVeEBGSz1_XXAPJVhUvnB0MjGrCSQ1FJZtMFAYaGFjkTRED9hE0uWaN1PZlT16kzcjaA4xQO-ohJg4TMrB6tlyaFG87y6NYbeTrszxq8tc3Stwz2_OLU-618vFa53FRnpymYXS4jH0hleK0S5akLuRP9fu04BPn2OoUv6sS/s2046/Logo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="2046" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXQzFz86BWZGCbD1yFkVeEBGSz1_XXAPJVhUvnB0MjGrCSQ1FJZtMFAYaGFjkTRED9hE0uWaN1PZlT16kzcjaA4xQO-ohJg4TMrB6tlyaFG87y6NYbeTrszxq8tc3Stwz2_OLU-618vFa53FRnpymYXS4jH0hleK0S5akLuRP9fu04BPn2OoUv6sS/w665-h189/Logo.jpg" width="665" /></a></div><br /><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Peoples and Culture of the Dreaming Age</h2><p>The core conceit behind <a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2023/05/will-wasted-lands-be-retroclone.html" target="_blank">Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age</a> is that you play the origins of the gods of old. You are not actually <i>playing </i>gods - in fact, you're not even <i>playing </i>modern humans. You are playing "proto-humans" who were created by the Great Old Ones experimenting on native creatures. Thus, while every "human" has the same game stats, one might look more avian, one may appear reptilian, another simian, one rodentian, etc. </p><p>Similarly, the cultures in the Dreaming Age are sort of proto-versions of later ancient world cultures. The game is set 54 million years ago, between the time of the K/T Extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs (and sent the Old Ones into their eternal slumber), and a second great cataclysm that wipes all the remaining traces of the Old Ones' civilizations from the world. During this time, the species that calls themselves "human" has moved into the cities and facilities they built for the Old Ones, and has built their own civilizations. Some elements of these civilizations will filter down through ancenstral memories to become ancient Minoa, Greece, Rome, Babylon, the Aztec and Mayan empires, various indigenous cultures, and the like. </p><p>But that is millions and millions of years away. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Birth of Gods</h2><p>Along with these cultures, the exploits of the player characters will filter down to create the stories of the gods of legend. In this game, your character may be named Odin, but he is <b>not </b>the All-Father; rather, he is a wandering warrior who shares some traits with the Odin of mythology. As he interacts with tales similar to those of the myths of a father/war/knowledge/magic deity, he begins to develop supernatural abilities. These occur because the world is rife with magical energies, and are called (in game terms) Divine Touchstones. </p><p>It's also worth noting that characters will choose several spheres of influence which we call "Divine Archetypes" as descriptors for their character. As above, for example, Odin might have Father, War, Magic, and Knowledge. The player chooses one of these archetypes to be the primary focus of their journey. The others are secondary or tertiary. They have little game function, but serve as a guideline for the Game Master in developing stories, and for the player in defining who their hero is. They also guide in the types of Divine Touchstones the character gains. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgX2vgHWCCPWyos-9Ex_ZOjkof9x_9se8Ce0gziyCbayQCver3CWDuowj4Q1peb69DfPzYgrk7WOdBxYk3sV7phcb0IJWzBxHWRMZ0z9OUc5uwE6yqieyc0KX0Cuv5V6FAICwcESyiT2lrRdAjcQilfR7ZMk8PQQH2X7VWh0S47F66T7jQbjLSU4_A/s661/Cover%20Concept%20Campaign%20Guide_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="541" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgX2vgHWCCPWyos-9Ex_ZOjkof9x_9se8Ce0gziyCbayQCver3CWDuowj4Q1peb69DfPzYgrk7WOdBxYk3sV7phcb0IJWzBxHWRMZ0z9OUc5uwE6yqieyc0KX0Cuv5V6FAICwcESyiT2lrRdAjcQilfR7ZMk8PQQH2X7VWh0S47F66T7jQbjLSU4_A/w434-h530/Cover%20Concept%20Campaign%20Guide_sm.jpg" width="434" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Wasted Lands Campaign Guide cover art by Altro Evo. Used under license.</span></i></div></i><h2 style="text-align: left;">Types of Magic</h2><p style="text-align: left;">The two major types of magic are The Bleeding and The Radiance. The Bleeding is the energy of the Deeper Dark, the source of Degeneracy and Corruption. It forms the vast majority of mystical energy but it calls upon maddening forces of darkness from the spaces between spaces that "bleed through" into the world from sites of rot, foul deeds, and the like. Because the world has been so long affected by the Other Gods (Old Ones), the Bleeding is ubiquitous. Likewise, humanity (such as it is), having been created by the Other Gods, is also subject to corruption and spiritual decay, further strengthening The Bleeding. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The Radiance, on the other hand, is the magical energy of the Earth itself. Earth, as a world, is beginning to "wake up" in the Dreaming Age, and discover that it has power. In sites far from where the Old Ones worked their dark experiments, this magical energy thrives. In addition, great acts of heroism can beat back the Bleeding, converting Bleeding sites into sites of Radiance. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Divine Touchstones are by and large (though not always) connected to Radiance, rather than the Bleeding. Spellcasting, on the other hand, is connected to the Bleeding, so sorcerers in particular must work hard to maintain a balance, for when one becomes too corrupted by the bleeding, the Radiance becomes toxic to them. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Divine Touchstones</h2><p>As stated earlier, Divine Touchstones are gained when the Game Master deems it appropriate, usually at a point where the characters accomplish a great and heroic deed, or when they meaningfully interact with their "mythology." This interaction need not even be with their specific mythology. They might even interact with a similar but divergent mythology. The character playing Thor, for example, may actually engage in a story that mythology attributes to Indra, but since both are storm gods, Thor gains a Divine Touchstone, and helps to spread Indra's myth-cycle in the ancestral memories of humanity. </p><p>In this manner, even if your character dies at some point, their stories go on, and someone else can create the legend of Thor (or Indra, or Zeus, or whoever), despite the passing of the original. </p><p>Divine Touchstones are, quite simply, special powers, akin to superpowers. The game gives a broad selection of these touchstones separated by the character level at which they are appropriate. Others may be possible and the GM and players are encouraged to cook up their own as befits the heroes. </p><p>They are open and customizable - one, for example, allows a character to gain a spell-like ability of the appropriate level. Thus, a fifth-level character may gain a divine touchstone allowing them to cast a third-level spell as a spell-like ability once per day. This spell can be anything appropriate to the character's spheres of influence. The aforementioned Thor or Indra, for example, may gain the ability to call down lightning once per day, while a hero playing Hephaestus might gain a concussive blast of fire, or Seth may gain the ability to create undead.</p><p>As you rise in levels and perform greater deeds, you gain more (and more powerful) divine touchstones, which represent your apotheosis, of sorts, as you walk the path of the gods. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Doesn't That Ramp up Power Levels?</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Yes, the use of Divine Touchstones does ramp up the power level of the game somewhat, but the speed at which it does, and the level of increase is dependent upon the GM, who determines when Divine Touchstones are handed out. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>in general, </i>a Divine Touchstone should be roughly as powerful as a single use of a spell up to half the level of the character. Thus, a 6th-level character could have a Divine Touchstone as powerful as the <i>concussive blast </i>or <i>lightning bolt </i>spell, while a 20th-level character may have something on par with a 9th-level spell. You may also, instead, get increased usages of existing Divine Touchstones, or "always on" abilities like levels of class abilities from another class. The options are endless. </p><p style="text-align: left;">For old school gamers who eschew power creep, the game can also easily be played without Touchstones, and just run as a standard swords and sorcery game in a lost epoch of Earth like your favorite Robert E. Howard, Fritz Lieber, Clark Ashton Smith, or Michael Moorcock tales. And like <b><a href="https://www.elflair.com/" target="_blank">Night Shift: VSW</a> </b>it includes options for normal, gritty, and cinematic play so you can tailor the style of game to your desires. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">What about Traditional Fantasy?</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Traditional fantasy with elves, dwarves, gnomes, goblins, and the like can also be run with <b>Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age. </b>An appendix to the rules gives you everything you need for nonhuman species and archetypes, and takes a unique approach somewhere between the traditional "race as class" of the basic games, and the "race plus class" approach of the advanced iteration of the game. More on that in our next blog. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;">Follow Elf Lair Games online: <br />Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/">www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/</a><br />Website: <a href="http://www.elflair.com">www.elflair.com</a><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG">https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG</a><br />Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/">https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/</a><br />Discord: <a href="https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4">https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4</a></div>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-65800561259701562852023-05-26T09:59:00.005-04:002023-06-13T08:30:18.491-04:00Will Wasted Lands Be a Retroclone?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOVHaYMTYMVbP_ihRzNWMGMb6aNMty2AhdNL6RBNDm0mnFuAFBEl1-jyEbDc1mEjSd6312oDnRRNjqKGjCEaGVEeFYR6vJV0xvcGd9s8ENALnZOxOlblYfwiVUW0WPcqwYsV-7XBWVpAoCGO_wsRwuLgrYo9v2WWVle1LDLeD3ldUmykItNTF4f95/s2046/Logo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="2046" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOVHaYMTYMVbP_ihRzNWMGMb6aNMty2AhdNL6RBNDm0mnFuAFBEl1-jyEbDc1mEjSd6312oDnRRNjqKGjCEaGVEeFYR6vJV0xvcGd9s8ENALnZOxOlblYfwiVUW0WPcqwYsV-7XBWVpAoCGO_wsRwuLgrYo9v2WWVle1LDLeD3ldUmykItNTF4f95/w627-h178/Logo.jpg" width="627" /></a></div><br /><p>I have spent a good deal of time on this blog talking about what O.G.R.E.S. brings to the table for role playing, how it codifies the original system for fantasy role playing (the original, B/X, and advanced versions) to make it clear how intuitive they are to use, and balances out the results to unify the mechanics across the board - making spell casting, for example, work the same as every other class ability by changing it to a percentile instead of Vancian. </p><p>A number of fans across the board have been waiting to see our fantasy take on the system (and it has been TOO long coming - we honestly should've had this done a year ago, but I'm solo on this one. Tim and Derek have been supporting me all the way, helping with proofing, ideas, and critiques, but Elf Lair needed a game that would support the company without the need for royalties. </p><p>We are now coming very close to the launch of the Kickstarter (next month, fingers crossed!), and it will likely be <a href="https://mailchi.mp/832146e13c03/elf-lair-games-newsletter-february-17040506" target="_blank">TWO books, rather than just one</a>. We have an outstanding cartographer and artist working on our world map in the form of <a href="https://meliorahenning.com/" target="_blank">Mel Henning</a>. The world setting (which will comprise Volume 2) is something that I think really kicks ass. </p><p>With that all in mind, people are naturally wondering if O.G.R.E.S. will be a retroclone of old-school gaming, or if it will be something new? The answer is a bit complicated, but the easiest way to say it is, somewhere in between. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Retroclone or New Approach? </h2><p>When I say "somewhere in between," it must be stated that O.G.R.E.S. is not, in strict terms, a retroclone. While it does codify systems baked into gaming since the earliest days, it does not replicate the classes, class abilities, or approach of original, basic, or first edition games. You could, for example, use any monster from one of the monster manuals or creature codices from these old editions alongside our games, with little to no changes needed - monsters in O.G.R.E.S. use low DV (AC in old school terms) and are structured around Vitality (Hit Dice), so by applying our <a href="https://www.elflair.com/freebies" target="_blank">free conversion document</a>, you could easily use monsters and even adventures from older editions with little trouble. </p><p>In fact, we even ran statistical analysis on the experience progressions against original through first edition classes, so if you really wanted, you could theoretically run a character class from one of those editions in a Wasted Lands campaign, though you may want to do some work to convert to the universal percentile for class abilities (guidelines can be found in the appendices of Night Shift and Wasted Lands)</p><p>Tim and I since day one have said that the driving goal when we created O.G.R.E.S. was to combine old school sensibilities and mechanics with modern design and play style. O.G.R.E.S. is, to put things simply, a fusion and synthesis of the old and new. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiQ4g5iXtjRZTb177yfKPHqah51xtx4RB81KsoIkoH7b2F5GK77rwV6tzC2ivcg9FbgkkGWt-UTvhELrmdvNTN9QQtRD5QNx9XPjEr4a65jNtg5eEwjOB63U82_nddXc-E5MJ-49AeB2DZHVL2a2fmdOnXJ4N0TP51IRNqTVpTmC0toCIR4zJA98V/s660/Cover%20Concept%20Front_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="541" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiQ4g5iXtjRZTb177yfKPHqah51xtx4RB81KsoIkoH7b2F5GK77rwV6tzC2ivcg9FbgkkGWt-UTvhELrmdvNTN9QQtRD5QNx9XPjEr4a65jNtg5eEwjOB63U82_nddXc-E5MJ-49AeB2DZHVL2a2fmdOnXJ4N0TP51IRNqTVpTmC0toCIR4zJA98V/w413-h504/Cover%20Concept%20Front_sm.jpg" width="413" /></a></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">What's Different?</h2><p>While the game is compatible with most old-school resources, most of the character classes are quite different from their original and advanced edition versions. The closest would be the Sorcerer and Renegade, but even they have some significant revisions. If you choose to run traditional fantasy with Wasted Lands, character species work entirely different as well. Those who have seen how supernatural species work in Night Shift: VSW will have an idea how elves, dwarves, and the like function in Wasted Lands. </p><p>Essentially, a character species in O.G.R.E.S. (a term we used long before those Wizards that inhabit the Coastal Regions, by the by) is a one-level character class that you choose at character generation. This class gives you all the special abilities of the species you choose. When you reach what would nominally be second level in that class, your XP resets to zero, you choose a normal class, and move forward. </p><p>It's a bit of a combination of race-as-class and race-plus-class. It also eliminates the need for artificial caps on level advancement by balancing the abilities from your species against a human in other ways. </p><p>So there you have it - Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age will feel both very familiar and yet at the same time fresh and new. We hope it will be an exciting approach to fantasy gaming for both old schoolers and newer gamers alike. </p><p><br /></p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-82113452354560372142023-04-18T13:58:00.005-04:002023-06-13T08:30:39.042-04:00Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age is Imminent!<p> Spring time is here, friends, and that means it's a season of growth. For Elf Lair Games, that means that the long-awaited and long-promised <b>Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age</b> is imminent!</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age</h2><p><b>Wasted Lands: the Dreaming Age</b> has officially entered playtest. We do not expect this process to be long, as it uses the same O.G.R.E.S. rules system as <b><a href="https://www.elflair.com/s/shop" target="_blank">Night Shift: VSW</a></b>. As a reminder, this is the second in our "trilogy" of core rulebooks covering past, present and future. So what exactly can you expect from <b>Wasted Lands: TDA</b>? Here's the back cover blurb: </p><p><i>The Old Ones are gone...</i></p><p><i>Stories tell of the day when the skies fell in showers of fiery rock, when the world groaned and shifted, the great beasts of the Old Ones died in an instant, and the stars themselves changed, sending the Old Ones into a deep, eternal slumber. humankind, now free from teh cruel grasp of our former masters, now rules the world from shining kingdoms.</i></p><p><i>We now strive against the remaining minions of the other Gods, their remaining cults, and a world ravaged by the energies of the Deeper Dark. Some with names like Isis, Odin, Quetzalcouatl, Bel, Hecatel, Minerva, Marduk, and others: legends that will remain through the ages. </i></p><p><i>This is the birth of gods. </i></p><p><b>Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age</b> is a game of swords and sorcery in a savage lost epoch, set millions of years ago. You play the all-too-human origins of the gods of classic mythology, whose stories will form our own ancestral memories and civilizations. As you engage with mythology, you gain special powers that will lead you on the path of apotheosis. Within this tome you will find: </p><p>Seven character classes: the Archer, Necromancer, Psychic, Renegade, Sage, Sorcerer, and Warrior</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>A setting that evokes classic swords and sorcery with cosmic horror, but easily removed to play your own games in any setting you desire</li><li>Simple, intuitive rules that encourage creative play</li><li>Divine touchstones that give a touch of mystic power</li><li>Customizable levels of play to set your game as gritty or cinematic as you like</li><li>Guildelines for conversion to a variety of unified mechanics - roll high, percentile, and dice pools</li><li>A complete bestiary of the creatures that haunt the Spaces Between Spaces</li><li>And more!</li></ul><p></p><p>Here's a look at the front cover:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAHTMpIJultE8jWeX7O7ePNf6ViqguuZd52bMLE1TxZmP65M1S5iuWgtr-Ms27Oc4B-ysKUZ5EIyqFW6_w5odpX8EIB9Sc-e2MElmQykYN6Bf1Hf61BW85PI4RGhDJmZ8XV90O4FsWgA8DPgeiCFD4ebE10JQ8iqpOLHXknLy5MuuykKz7klMOAEqH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="541" height="513" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAHTMpIJultE8jWeX7O7ePNf6ViqguuZd52bMLE1TxZmP65M1S5iuWgtr-Ms27Oc4B-ysKUZ5EIyqFW6_w5odpX8EIB9Sc-e2MElmQykYN6Bf1Hf61BW85PI4RGhDJmZ8XV90O4FsWgA8DPgeiCFD4ebE10JQ8iqpOLHXknLy5MuuykKz7klMOAEqH=w421-h513" width="421" /></a></div><p></p><p><b>Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age</b> is expected to Kickstart early to midsummer this year! We are also talking to a stellar cartographer to render our world map, which we hope to include as a fold-out poster map in each core book. More on that later as things get hammered out, but I expect her to become a superstar in the industry very soon. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Return of O.R.C.S.!</h2><p>Even better, for those who are fans of our original fantasy game, <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product_info.php?products_id=94105&filters=0_0_0_0&manufacturers_id=3869&affiliate_id=1762&src=CommunityForum1" target="_blank">Spellcraft & Swordplay</a></b>, this game will include full rules for both O.G.R.E.S. and O.R.C.S. versions of the game! That's right - we're bringing O.R.C.S. (revised) back to the table with this game, ahead of a full version of Spellcraft & Swordplay a few years down the line. You can choose your system - will your game be Powered by O.G.R.E.S. or Powered by O.R.C.S.? It's up to you!</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Watch The Other Side</h2><div>For those who follow <a href="http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/" target="_blank">Timothy Brannan's The Other Side </a>blog, keep an eye out over there, as Tim is already working on some sneak preview material such as characters, encounters, and more. His current Dungeon23 project, in fact, is slated for revision as a megadungeon for <b>Wasted Lands</b> in the coming year or two! If you're not following Tim, you're missing out on one of the best tabletop gaming blogs out there. Check it out, and stay tuned right here for more updates and information!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p>Follow Elf Lair Games online: </p><div style="text-align: left;">Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/">www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/</a><br />Website: <a href="http://www.elflair.com">www.elflair.com</a><br />Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG">https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG</a><br />Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/">https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/</a><br />Discord: <a href="https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4">https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4</a></div><p> </p><p> </p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-48767711894745764072023-03-22T12:25:00.004-04:002023-03-24T07:00:39.663-04:00Welcome to the NIGHT SHIFT<p>I have a little project going on, and it would be nice to make a formal introduction to <b><a href="http://bit.ly/NigthShift" target="_blank">the NIGHT SHIFT: VETERANS OF THE SUPERNATURAL WARS Role-Playing Game</a></b>. </p>
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<p><b><span style="font-size: large;">What is NIGHT SHIFT: VSW?</span></b></p><p>NIGHT SHIFT: VSW is a modern urban fantasy role-playing game with horror roots but with multi-genre elements as well. It is designed to be played the way you want, from light and fast to gritty and complex. It also features of examples of play thanks to our various Night Worlds. So you can be a student in Chicago's only school for Magical Youths and partake in various magic-fueled hijinks, all the way to a post-apocalyptic Earth where the forces of Good and Evil battle it out in the skies above and the streets below. Or to play a supernatural creature that just wants to live and get by in a world full of humans trying to hunt them down.</p><p>Play it silly, straight, dangerous or just fun, NIGHT SHIFT: VSW can do it.</p><p></p>
<p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Wait. What is a Role-Playing Game?</span></b></p><p>Role-playing games have a LONG history. But the modern role-playing game (RPG) began, roughly, in 1974 with the publication of the Dungeons & Dragons rules. You can read more about what a role-playing game is in this excerpt from the NIGHT SHIFT: VSW core rules book.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.elflair.com/uploads/b/8b7b0150-bbb1-11ea-a9b7-8db717e775cd/What%20Is%20a%20Role%20Playing%20Game_OTk4NT.pdf" target="_blank">What is a Role Playing Game?</a></li></ul><p></p><p>NIGHT SHIFT: VSW is self-contained. Meaning every rule you need to play is found in the covers of the core book. You will need dice (available nearly everywhere now), some paper, some pencils, but most of all some good friends to play with. No computers, no phones, and if your internet goes down, you can still play!</p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">What Can I do With NIGHT SHIFT: VSW?</span></b></p><p>Anything you want! As a multi-genre game NIGHT SHIFT: VSW is open to all sorts of situations and ways to play. Have a favorite TV show, movie, or book series? NIGHT SHIFT: VSW with its varying degrees of play difficulty (Cinematic, Normal, and Gritty) allows the players to set the tone of the game.</p><p>Players take on the roles of various characters of their own creations. It's the game of Chosen Ones, Survivors, Witches, and Something Weird. YOU decide what you want to play and how to do it.</p><p>NIGHT SHIFT: VSW is an urban fantasy, horror, and dark modern supernatural game that uses a brand new system of old-school mechanics inspired by and derived from the original, basic, expert, and advanced versions of the World's Most Famous Role Playing Game. It allows you to mimic all the tropes of just about any film, TV series, or novel you like.</p><p><br />All of the following are possible with Night Shift:<br /></p><ul><li>Cheerleaders that are chosen to slay vampires</li><li>Sisters imbued with the power of chosen witches</li><li>Worlds where Fae of all manner battle in the politics of light and dark</li><li>The great-grandniece of a famous gunslinger inherits the legacy of the demon hunter.</li><li>A world where two brothers armed with knowledge and weapons hunt the supernatural in their father's name</li><li>And more!</li></ul>
<p><b><span style="font-size: large;">What is Old-School Play?</span></b></p><p>Old-school play in RPGs refers to a style of play that emphasizes fewer rules and more freedom to play. This is why NIGHT SHIFT: VSW is complete as a single book. Players familiar with new RPGs can still do all the same things they had done before or want to do, now it just depends on how they all want to do it. It is more about how you play with each other rather than how you play with the rules.</p><p>But if you want more details here is co-Author and lead designer Jason Vey on what Old-School play means for NIGHT SHIFT: VSW in some past entries for the <a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Elf Lair Games</a><b> </b>blog.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2020/11/what-does-night-shift-vsw-bring-to-old.html" target="_blank">What Does Night Shift: VSW Bring to the Old School Table?</a></li><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2020/11/why-re-use-old-mechanics-why-not-create.html" target="_blank">Why Re-Use Old Mechanics? Why Not Create a New System?</a></li></ul>
<p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Sounds Great! How Do I Get Started?</span></b></p>
<p>Well, start with some friends who all want to play. One person (maybe you!) will be the Game Master or the one that builds the adventures that everyone goes on. They are like the writer, director, and producer of a movie or TV show. As everyone gets more familiar with the rules you switch off Game Master roles so everyone has a chance to build your new world. Unlike watching a movie or reading a book, everyone playing gets to decide what is happening in the world. </p>
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<p>You can certainly <a href="http://bit.ly/NigthShift" target="_blank">buy the NIGHT SHIFT: VSW core rules and supplements</a>. But in the meantime here are free resources to get you started right now.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.bits-and-mortar.com/system/files/Elf%20Lair%20Games%20Night%20Shift%20Quick%20Start%20Rules%20v2%20ebook.pdf" target="_blank">Night Shift: VSW Quick Start Rules v2</a></li><li><a href="https://www.elflair.com/uploads/b/8b7b0150-bbb1-11ea-a9b7-8db717e775cd/What%20Is%20a%20Role%20Playing%20Game_OTk4NT.pdf" target="_blank">What is a Role-Playing Game?</a></li><li><a href="https://www.elflair.com/uploads/b/8b7b0150-bbb1-11ea-a9b7-8db717e775cd/nightshiftcharactersheet_OTE3OD.pdf" target="_blank">NIGHT SHIFT: VSW Character Sheet</a></li></ul><p></p><p>Not to mention all the free NIGHT SHIFT: VSW content found on the authors' personal blogs and websites.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/search?q=NIGHT+SHIFT" target="_blank">Jason Vey, Elf Lair Games</a></li><li><a href="http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/search/label/Night%20Shift" target="_blank">Timothy S. Brannan, The Other Side</a></li></ul><p></p><p>If you are a fan of physical books you can get <a href="http://bit.ly/NigthShift" target="_blank">NIGHT SHIFT: VSW directly from the publisher</a> or if PDFs are your thing you can buy <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/308014/Night-Shift-Veterans-of-the-Supernatural-Wars&filters=0_0_0_0&manufacturers_id=3869&src=ELG-blog" target="_blank">NIGHT SHIFT: VSW from DriveThruRPG</a>.</p><p>We hope to see you on the NIGHT SHIFT!</p>Timothy S. Brannanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02923526503305233715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-34261972050313966102023-01-10T08:41:00.002-05:002023-01-10T08:42:08.428-05:00Elf Lair Games and the OGL 1.1<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxuYJ6EhUQr5CQYmLyWyQIm-nU-rpd2_mMEqbKsnqGjG0T7i3wlf7l9EA7NiLemCNoAjxo4nPuCr2TNaVzstnkY1WpQEr3-a_aBJSvT76mvVvpKo25QTWc-5NHEAcq31iQ3l9N2BV8zeomEKqD-cVAd1YcYdEkyac4R4WGMu52FZRG5-1_PC-aWxKV" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="2402" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxuYJ6EhUQr5CQYmLyWyQIm-nU-rpd2_mMEqbKsnqGjG0T7i3wlf7l9EA7NiLemCNoAjxo4nPuCr2TNaVzstnkY1WpQEr3-a_aBJSvT76mvVvpKo25QTWc-5NHEAcq31iQ3l9N2BV8zeomEKqD-cVAd1YcYdEkyac4R4WGMu52FZRG5-1_PC-aWxKV=w627-h260" width="627" /></a></div><br />Well, here we are, folks, on the brink of what some has called a nuclear bomb to be dropped on the gaming industry. I felt it important to reach out to our fanbase, let you all know where we stand, and what lies on the future of Elf Lair Games in the face of Wizards of the Coast's upcomping assault on small publishers in the gaming industry. <p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Open Game License 1.1</h2><p>So all the news these days is surrounding the imminent OGL 1.1. There is a lot of misinformation out there, and in truth, even attorneys are split on the eventual legal fallout. I am not an attorney myself, and all I can do is go with what my attorney advises, so I'm not going to lay out my full opinions, save to say that ELG feels that this is an underhanded, low, dishonest, and unfair attempt by Wizards to undermine and destroy publishers across the industry. Whether it's legal or not remains to be seen. </p><p>The road ahead for Elf Lair Games, however, is quite clear: we will not be reporting every publication to Wizards of the Coast so they can review and catalog it. We will not be handing them copies of our games. We will not be giving them blanket perpetual permission to do whatever they like with our product. </p><p>In short: we will no longer be using the open game license for our product. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">What This Means for Elf Lair and O.G.R.E.S.</h2><p>In the end, this means very little for us (and you, on the player end). The sum total of open content in the O.G.R.E.S. system is the six ability scores, a few other scattered terms, and the spell descriptions. As such, moving forward, the following changes will be made: </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">New Ability Scores:</h3><div style="text-align: left;">Strength - Strength<br />Dexterity - Agility<br />Constitution - Toughness<br />Intelligence - Intelligence<br />Wisdom - Wits<br />Charisma - Persona</div><h3 style="text-align: left;">New Terminology</h3><div style="text-align: left;">Hit Points - Vitality<br />Armor Class (AC) - Defense Value (DV)</div><p>In addition, Tim and I are working hard to rewrite all spells so that they contain no wording from the SRD, but still retain all game mechanics. In the end, the new O.G.R.E.S. 1.1 will be 100% compatible with the original, just with some basic terminology changes that are synonyms. Our game system is removed enough from the base d20 system that it stands as an original work. </p><p>These changes will debut in Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age, our forthcoming swords-and-sorcery / fantasy RPG. New sourcebooks for Night Shift: VSW will incorporate the new terminology, and when the current print run of the core game sells out, the changes will be made for the next printing, which we will call Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars (Revised). We're not calling it a second edition because aside from the simple terminology chages, removal of the OGL, and inclusion of errata, the game is not changing in any way at all. We understand that this will create some minor confusion until the game sells out, but we will publish a PDF cheat sheet to help on our website, and it is the best way forward for Elf Lair into the future. We will be completely independent of detrimental reliance upon a company that has proven themselves to be a corrupt bully. </p><p>So, the short version is: Our games aren't going anywhere, our trademarks and IP are still in place, and they will still be Powered by O.G.R.E.S. All that is required is some terminology changes. We'll continue on exactly as we always have, and we will still be completely compatible with most old-school gaming systems due to the intuitive nature of our new terminology, but now we will truly be our own company. We will not be beholden to the goodwill of untrustworthy corporations (or anyone, for that matter). This development is a pain, and will cost us in the short term, but I actually think in the end it will be good for the industry as a whole. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">What about Wasted Lands?</h2><p>I know we've talked a lot about Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age, and I know that releases have been slow this past year, but rest assured, we have made massive strides on this game. Tim and I are well into rewriting spells now, and the game is coming along very well. It will debut on Kickstarter later this year, along with several new works for Night Shift: VSW. I'm excited for you all to see it. </p><p>Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age is the second part of a trilogy of core games that will allow us to cover all aspects of gaming with one system. Night Shift: VSW covers just about any sort of modern adventure gaming you want (you could even do high adventure pulp with it). Wasted Lands: TDA will cover just about any style of fantasy you want, while providing gritty swords-and-sorcery roots. The third game, coming within the next couple of years, will be a science fiction game taking you everywhere from H.G. Wells to the far future. I don't want to say too much about that one just yet as there's a long way to go before it's ready for prime time. </p><p>In the end, you'll have three games and one system that will alow you to explore any type of game you like. All your games can be Powered by O.G.R.E.S.!</p><p>I am hoping, within the next month or two, to have a preview of Wasted Lands available. </p><p>We also have a couple more books for Night Shift: VSW in the works, and are hoping to get those out. With any luck if money and the fates align, this can actually be a banner year for us! I hope you will be patient and stick around for the ride. We're looking forward to the future. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;"> ELG and Conventions this Year</h2><p>To that end, Elf Lair Games is not going to be at Gary Con this year. I am hoping for a return next year, but it will depend on how finances and fate falls. I myself will likely not be at the con, either, as I have a lot of work to do and personal life has interfered. Rest assured, though, that I'm still here and ELG is still here. </p><div><div>I am back working on Elf Lair Games projects, and I SINCERELY hope to make this a banner year for the company, so stay tuned! As always, thanks for your support and be sure to pick up the <a href="https://www.elflair.com/product/night-shift-veterans-of-the-supernatural-wars-gm-screen-and-toolkit/5?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false" target="_blank">GM Screen and Toolkit</a> if you haven't already, and check out our <a href="https://www.elflair.com/pdf-products" target="_blank">PDF and POD releases</a> like our Quick Start adventure and character journals!</div><div><br /></div><div>Follow us online: </div><div>Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/">www.facebook.com/groups/elflairgames/</a></div><div>Website: <a href="http://www.elflair.com">www.elflair.com</a></div><div>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG">https://twitter.com/ElfLairJasonTLG</a></div><div>Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/">https://www.instagram.com/elflairgames/</a></div><div>Discord: <a href="https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4">https://discord.gg/xHBEtBZ8B4</a></div></div>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-25585892621325726982022-09-28T17:10:00.016-04:002022-09-28T17:49:37.641-04:00Universal's Dark Universe...Done Right<p> It's no secret that Universal Studios made critical errors with their efforts to do a "Dark Universe" with their stable of classic monsters, a la the Monsterverse, MCU, or DCEU. They have screwed the pooch by going too big too soon, by trying to blow up their monsters and find some sort of bizarre, "fresh," "new" approach to these monsters, and in the process, losing everything that made them beloved in the first place. </p><p>Now, to be fair, beginning with <i>Dracula Untold</i> was not a horrible idea. It's not a bad "origin story" for Dracula as a vampire, but here's the problem with that: <i>we don't need an origin story for Dracula. </i>He was Vlad the Impaler. He did horrible things in defense of his country. For whatever reason, be it his sins or a deal with dark powers, he became a vampire after death. It didn't need to be shown on screen and showing it wasn't clever. It was pointless. </p><p>Tom Cruise's <i>Mummy</i>...what can we say about that? Just bad in general, though slotting in Dr. Jeckyll played by Russell Crowe was the sole stroke of genius in that flick. Again, however, it was just some weird effort to force things that did not need to be forced. But the basic story in that was stupid. It was using the name for name recognition's sake, and ignoring <i>everything </i>about the Mummy franchise that came before it. Why? Just so they could make a woman the Mummy. </p><p>Look, I get the desire for diversity in films, but let's be fair: co-opting Egyptian mythology and culture is problematic to begin with. This film is just problems from top to bottom. </p><p>So how can we do a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Classic_Monsters" target="_blank">Dark Universe</a> properly? Here's the secret: there is no secret. It's freaking easy, if Universal would just wake up and use what they have. Here's the outline, and surprise! It's already been done.</p><p><b><i>Disclaimer: all images used for illustrative and reference purposes and believed to reside under the Fair Use Doctrime. </i></b> </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Dracula</h2><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSAj8HmA1eftZ5kwJ4SKHi5P8LGblsDQXqXvoJNIlOaWuliD2iuzfBJ0-0Z1E_P2eDYpfn7b1XraZHYg0qXGQ-E4M8S8VUzcVM7Z4buS6G4oFY5mHpmJ3EvfWWyJZSLOIDIIledV9Bby8OvQoRwTlW1osL28MoRPwEqjwm7iTgVe1N17yWy-JPDma7" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSAj8HmA1eftZ5kwJ4SKHi5P8LGblsDQXqXvoJNIlOaWuliD2iuzfBJ0-0Z1E_P2eDYpfn7b1XraZHYg0qXGQ-E4M8S8VUzcVM7Z4buS6G4oFY5mHpmJ3EvfWWyJZSLOIDIIledV9Bby8OvQoRwTlW1osL28MoRPwEqjwm7iTgVe1N17yWy-JPDma7=w323-h484" width="323" /></a></div><br />The biggest change to this film is that it's set in the modern era. We begin with Jonathan Harker, a real estate broker on his way to broker a deal with Count Vlad Dracula, supposedly a distant descendant of the original Carpathian voivode. Harker is distressed upon arriving at Dracula's manse, a fictional, vast, castle-like abode in the Carpathian mountains, that he has no cellular service. This will become a running theme: monsters tend to live on the edges of civilization where modern media cannot easily track them. The series is as much about the modern day catching up with the ancient world as it is retelling the stories. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Harker meets Dracula, who welcomes him and wishes Harker to stay for several weeks while preparations are made, his legal team reviews documents, and whatnot. He allows Harker free rein of his house except where doors are locked, and informs Harker that he suffers from Polymorphous Light Eruption (PMLE), a sun allergy that forces him to do most of his business indoors or at night. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Harker has his encounter with the female vampires. Dracula intervenes, just as in the book, but Harker is left drained, weakened, and enslaved while Dracula departs for England. Harker escapes. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Dracula arrives in England to take control of Carfax Abbey, which is just next to a major medical centre where, of course, Dr. Seward works. Dracula enslaves an inmate, Renfield. <br /><br />The rest of the story plays out exactly as in the book, just substituting a modern setting, complete with Dracula dying by Quincey Morris' hand and killing Quncey in the process.<br /><br />In a mid-credit scene, the Harkers, Holmwood, and Seward are recruited by Van Helsing into a clandestine organization of monster hunters. In a post-credit scene, a mysterious figure approaches Dracula's body, removing the knife from his heart or perhaps performing a ritual (possibly even bathing Dracula's body in blood), and Dracula's eyes pop open. </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6TLUi5trQO2P5jijcgCO1mk9K8HDP7KKILdu9MrDWogvfXhZCzBdSYsCs6APH8dmHQFvRyUsTd2gq26HBw7CORIaKl1Tf_kjT1OWagswgHLXs9tdhAmbvhisT3LZuExq2cbV-G-lC-8bryMuKBb5VDrBP9EDppPAQrbIIznezM19PF-mDgOGF3wLC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="350" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6TLUi5trQO2P5jijcgCO1mk9K8HDP7KKILdu9MrDWogvfXhZCzBdSYsCs6APH8dmHQFvRyUsTd2gq26HBw7CORIaKl1Tf_kjT1OWagswgHLXs9tdhAmbvhisT3LZuExq2cbV-G-lC-8bryMuKBb5VDrBP9EDppPAQrbIIznezM19PF-mDgOGF3wLC=w225-h345" width="225" /></a>Frankenstein</h2>Again, like Dracula, this one proceeds almost exactly like the original, but substitutes modern settings and technology. The storyline, again, follows the book more than the original film, and ends with Frankenstein dying while chasing the monster into the Arctic, and the monster fleeing across the ice. Instead of a boat, it takes place in an arctic research base. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">In a mid-credit scene, Frankenstein is revived by base doctors, and finds Van Helsing standing over him, stating, "We have much to talk about." In a post-credits scene, we see the monster, still alive, and wandering back into the south, perhaps finding his way to Svalbard, Greenland, or Finland. He is approached by the same mysterious figure, who in a dark mirror of Van Helsing, says, "We have much to talk about." </p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPEM53TDgGWhUuFfYBU1rnDU7yr7h2cAbTB-cYlqTJcWFmRTViQW_6v1azZtP4VvfQ_5WR4q_FoLXjBgvcdUoAqMztMwbUQA3tORdWVFHQvgT5eHxb6oAG5f6VyH85rCLMgoQlwZjJV4VS5e8EjOE-w8o10lHaO4UHYz6sLwR-w5jkoSeyI77kizJF" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2313" data-original-width="1541" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPEM53TDgGWhUuFfYBU1rnDU7yr7h2cAbTB-cYlqTJcWFmRTViQW_6v1azZtP4VvfQ_5WR4q_FoLXjBgvcdUoAqMztMwbUQA3tORdWVFHQvgT5eHxb6oAG5f6VyH85rCLMgoQlwZjJV4VS5e8EjOE-w8o10lHaO4UHYz6sLwR-w5jkoSeyI77kizJF=w227-h341" width="227" /></a></div>The Wolf Man</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Yet again, the story proceeds as the original but in modern settings. The existing remake with Benicio Del Toro is a fantastic model for this (ignoring the werewolf-on-werewolf fight with his father and modernizing the setting). In this one, Talbot dies in the end and is buried. Perhaps in a post-credit scene we see the same mysterious figure that revived Dracula...doing something mysterious. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Bride of Frankenstein</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Again, this is a fairly straight remake of the original film, only modernized and we can do away with the weird little people in glass jars. Frankenstein is living with his new wife Elsa and his daughter Julia and doing research for the monster hunting agency, trying to atone for his past sins, when he is approached by the mysterious figure, now revealed to be Doctor Septimus Pretorius. Pretorius is obsessed with the secrets of life and death, and the mysterious things that man was not meant to know. He is also a former professor of Victor's from his college days, which enables him to worm his way into the doctor's trust.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhINr-lc-aOChsg5jE7LyCyILpQ75VQkcKaw1W4pRmK2g3cTlBfRCFq4yQITXubY_vAi0_m2Po19_4_gVZ1PzVUU4ij9KQNw9b-EWbsM47PWXpFWazfIGX_7k2KLBFXhjdP6fCRUpua7Hb7b2nCNB7WDt6Cxx7eosX2L_J5wQNtg4ntT63HQ4xnvvyf" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1372" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhINr-lc-aOChsg5jE7LyCyILpQ75VQkcKaw1W4pRmK2g3cTlBfRCFq4yQITXubY_vAi0_m2Po19_4_gVZ1PzVUU4ij9KQNw9b-EWbsM47PWXpFWazfIGX_7k2KLBFXhjdP6fCRUpua7Hb7b2nCNB7WDt6Cxx7eosX2L_J5wQNtg4ntT63HQ4xnvvyf=w244-h364" width="244" /></a></div><br />Before long, he brings with him the monster, who terrorizes Frankenstein and Pretorius reveals that they have taken Frankenstein's new wife Elsa and his daughter Julia hostage. The two will only be returned if Victor creates a female companion for the monster. Pretorius' goal of course is to learn the secrets of creating life. The monster's is exactly what he demands: a companion. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">In the end of this one, the Bride and monster do not perish hating one another. As the film progresses, we find Frankenstein able to get word to the Van Helsing group, who gather to render aid, but they arrive too late. The castle is destroyed but the monster and Pretorius escape, while the Bride rescues Victor with the help of Jonathan Harker and Arthur Holmwood. Van Helsing reveals that Pretorius is an old associate of his, once a partner who turned dark.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In a mid-credits scene, the monster parts ways with Pretorius, having realized he was being used. It's also established that the monster does not know where Pretorius is hiding Elsa and Julia (and indeed never knew that they were taken hostage to begin with). The monster will become a wild card as the series goes on, playing his own schemes. In a post-credits scene, Pretorius and Dracula visit Elsa and Julia. Dracula is clearly smitten with Elsa.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBjNs2glnDyTzTIOqFlygGmhnBxK_ZaaMhq5_NvLUx5AaFTXzFkHGppPaBCD3kYZZUSIlSrLidyxi3OTTPmzGIWiedA5MmXfOcFp0vyUiP7mAWAR8KTZC3JSMDE7zPVKh2wHF2AzCzyrBs9qm_eIC61Kw-pECl9am1DqQBB0SLz-SbOIlRvOWsDj9g" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2901" data-original-width="1925" height="447" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBjNs2glnDyTzTIOqFlygGmhnBxK_ZaaMhq5_NvLUx5AaFTXzFkHGppPaBCD3kYZZUSIlSrLidyxi3OTTPmzGIWiedA5MmXfOcFp0vyUiP7mAWAR8KTZC3JSMDE7zPVKh2wHF2AzCzyrBs9qm_eIC61Kw-pECl9am1DqQBB0SLz-SbOIlRvOWsDj9g=w296-h447" width="296" /></a></div><br />The Blood Countess</h2><p style="text-align: left;">This is a new entry, unrelated (for the most part) to original films. It does, however, draw from the legend of Erszebet Bathory, from the <i>Dracula's Daughter </i>film, and from the story of <i>Carmilla. </i>In it, we establish a family line between Dracula and Erszebet. The film begins with the countess, eager to free herself of the curse of vampirism, visiting Dracula's manse in Transylvania and destroying his brides with the help of her servant Szandor. The Countess and Szandor then head to England, where she becomes enmeshed in the aftermath of the events of <i>Dracula. </i>She takes the alias of Countess Carmilla Karnstein and makes the acquaintence of Dr. Pretorius, who promises her that he can cure her condition if she cooperates. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Meanwhile, she begins to fall prey to her own bloodlust, which she has held in check for too long. She becomes enamored of a young prostitute named Laura, whom Szandor brings to her after finding Laura on the brink of suicide and under the pretense that his mistress seeks a model for her art. This mimicks the scene in <i>Dracula's Daughter </i>with Lili. As Bathory first sees, then stalks, then paints Laura, she has flashbacks revealing another Laura in ages gone by, a young girl whom she loved dearly - these depict the story of <i>Carmilla. </i>It all leads to Bathory losing control, viciously attacking Lili to drain her. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Szandor dumps Lili's body in a dumpster, but somehow she is barely alive and ends up brought to Dr. Seward, who calls in the Van Helsing group upon seeing the marks on her neck. She dies of heart failure under hypnosis just as in <i>Dracula's Daughter. </i>More hijinks follow during which the Van Helsing Group realizes that Karnstein is Erszebet Bathory. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Bathory gives into her urges and when she finds out Pretorius is in league with Dracula, she flies into a rage. Pretorius barely survives. Bathory then manages to subdue the Van Helsing group and kidnap Harker, and Mina, now a seasoned demon hunter, must rescue him and have a showdown with Bathory. Possibly Mina calls in some help for the climax: the Bride, now a member of the Van Helsing group. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The mid- and post-credits scenes involve Bathory's re-awakening by Dracula, who reveals that as her sire he has always known how to find Bathory and that a great <i>day</i> will soon <i>dawn</i>. He has someone he wants her to meet. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Frankenstein vs. the Wolf Man</h2><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzbx-0c9j5pNzrDFntNMCifRYOa_6wlcPOGfRGXg_jZ7lN1HwkSxTGk1ZFPDJ6owBcJtocSaPcOx8-_R-iws5tRz9hJEO3OgJIApAAtc9zL6OGwiHhWt8EtzzrXl_85eet9g8iAhbuxZSSG4goTkqnHdr694CSyb5OAGfdG8EF9rImPlT94fO-N6Rg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1494" data-original-width="1000" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzbx-0c9j5pNzrDFntNMCifRYOa_6wlcPOGfRGXg_jZ7lN1HwkSxTGk1ZFPDJ6owBcJtocSaPcOx8-_R-iws5tRz9hJEO3OgJIApAAtc9zL6OGwiHhWt8EtzzrXl_85eet9g8iAhbuxZSSG4goTkqnHdr694CSyb5OAGfdG8EF9rImPlT94fO-N6Rg=w287-h429" width="287" /></a></div><br />This film closes "Book One" of the Dark Universe. Larry Talbot is awakened when grave robbers disturb his grave, removing the wolfsbane with which he was buried and exposing him to the light of the full moon. Talbot transforms and savages both grave robbers. It is revealed that Pretorius was behind the grave robbing to begin with as he watches the werewolf lope off into the night. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">He is found the next morning, his clothes tattered, delirious and confused, and taken to the hospital, where he is tended to by none other than Dr. Henry Jekyll. Much of his experience in the hospital mirrors the original <i>Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, </i>save that Jekyll actually realizes Talbot is indeed a werewolf, and takes a sample of his blood. Jekyll recommends that he and Talbot travel to Switzerland to visit his acquaintence Victor Frankenstein, who may be able to help Talbot with his condition. It becomes clear that Jekyll, however, has plans of his own in mind as he secrets away the blood sample he took from Talbot. </p><p style="text-align: left;">As they arrive in Switzerland, something happens that causes Talbot to shift into his wolfen form outside of the full moon (something orchestrated by Pretorius, perhaps, or by an unethical experiment secretly performed by Jekyll). He is hunted through the streets by a vengeful mob after murdering a young boy. He escapes and finds himself in the countryside. When he awakens in his human form again, he discovers that he has been rescued by the Romani woman Maleva, who he knows from the beginning of his story. Maleva has brought him to the remote home of a friend of hers, a massive, deformed man - Frankenstein's monster. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Upon revealing to the monster his story, the monster first acts with rage, then softens and declares that it might be time for a final reckoning with his creator after all, and vows to take Talbot to Frankenstein's estate. Jekyll is already there and is pleased to see that Talbot survived the night. The monster and Frankenstein have a violent reunion at first, until Maleva, Talbot, and Jekyll manage to smooth things over. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It is revealed that Frankenstein has spent months searching for his wife and daughter, who are still, he presumes, being held by Pretorius as future leverage over him. Neither he nor the Van Helsing group have made any progress. The creature, wracked with remorse, vows to help Frankenstein however he can. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The group discusses the issues and between Maleva's occult knowledge and the intellect of the monster, Jekyll, and Frankenstein, they come up with the idea that the monster is immune to all diseases, including lycanthropy, so that if the unnatural antibodies within the monster's blood could be transfused to Talbot, it would be possible to remove the lycanthropy from Talbot using the monster as a sort of biological filter for the disease. The danger, however, is that it must be done during Talbot's transformation while the disease is resurgent and Talbot regenerates; otherwise the monster's blood, which is infused with unnatural chemicals, would kill him. Some clearly magical "occult science" might be brought into the picture since the explanation is not strictly biologically sound. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In the end, the experiment goes awry when Jekyll tries to steal a combined serum of Talbot's and the monster's blood, plus the filtering chemicals for his own research into the betterment of humanity. The wolf man breaks loose, forcing the creature to also break loose and try to protect the humans. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In the end, Jekyll, Maleva, and Victor escape as the manse burns to the ground, leaving the fate of the monster and Talbot uncertain. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In a post-credits scene, we see Dracula, Bathory, and Dr. Pretorius on a hill, watching the mansion burn. Dracula congratulates Pretorius on a job well done and says everything is proceeding according to plan. They are then joined by a fourth figure, who is gradually revealed to be Elsa Frankenstein, now a vampire bride of Dracula.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Coming Soon: Book Two</h2><p style="text-align: left;">I'll do "Book Two" later. Off the top of my head it will incorporate:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>The Mummy (With Imhotep renamed Kharis)</i></li><li><i>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i></li><li><i>The Lair of the White Worm</i></li><li><i>The Mummy's Tomb (reworked to maintain Kharis' intellect)</i></li><li><i>The Invisible Man</i></li><li><i>The Jewel of the Seven Stars (based on Stoker's novel, but with Kharis trying to revive Tara)</i></li><li><i>House of Frankenstein</i></li><li><i>House of Dracula</i></li></ul><div>These last two films would form the "Avengers Infinity War" and "Avengers Endgame" of the story, a big two-part climax where Dracula's plans come to fruition and the Van Helsing group must gather their forces to defeat the Count and his dark allies. </div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNXDVUW1ritJo0bnRyQSFce8wgEUA6tko8VtQrLkvimXCCXng_UDSzfrTImpbtR7o-ZRNaoU0o66F_lfUp4eAFpx_YGVjJE0tpr362Op1KvKayw1uXb9JtykCLzWn-aGEtT_jo8jjdqHLjTXnL119RD6Z8pGR3EVPwE1RKK2BWnFlVzEtxyCbzbgQL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="532" height="439" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNXDVUW1ritJo0bnRyQSFce8wgEUA6tko8VtQrLkvimXCCXng_UDSzfrTImpbtR7o-ZRNaoU0o66F_lfUp4eAFpx_YGVjJE0tpr362Op1KvKayw1uXb9JtykCLzWn-aGEtT_jo8jjdqHLjTXnL119RD6Z8pGR3EVPwE1RKK2BWnFlVzEtxyCbzbgQL=w383-h439" width="383" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Meanwhile, why not grab yourself a copy of the RPG that lets you do all these stories yourself? That's right, I'm talking about <b><i><a href="https://www.elflair.com/" target="_blank">Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars</a></i></b>! Grab your copy today, and don't forget to stop down to <b><i><a href="https://www.apismead.com" target="_blank">Apis Mead & Winery</a></i></b> on October 8, 2022, to try out Twilight Queen, the official <b>Night Shift: VSW </b>mead, or <a href="https://vinoshipper.com/shop/apis_mead" target="_blank">order yourself a bottle on </a><b><i><a href="https://vinoshipper.com/shop/apis_mead" target="_blank">Vinoshipper</a> </i>starting that same day!</b></p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><br /><br /><p></p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-32405898649255087932022-09-27T11:52:00.003-04:002022-09-27T11:55:28.352-04:00The Official Night Shift: VSW MEAD!<p> And here...we...go! </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFG2Ej_QuL3iSNkv5v53Xs15zUAswiverYt4B2qtSqUA5sl9Z5BunE2wLcApBOVcS911SGGpKMSjKwgRAurqHzJCWkz71Nh1NdiNethYOei520Nw13qa6GL8XB4v_w4958Up7wEBEoGSuved41jfw6r7MgcXhBhLGXwCVH14ZMLoHBTKwIg7bmM1_M/s1600/Apis.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1395" height="610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFG2Ej_QuL3iSNkv5v53Xs15zUAswiverYt4B2qtSqUA5sl9Z5BunE2wLcApBOVcS911SGGpKMSjKwgRAurqHzJCWkz71Nh1NdiNethYOei520Nw13qa6GL8XB4v_w4958Up7wEBEoGSuved41jfw6r7MgcXhBhLGXwCVH14ZMLoHBTKwIg7bmM1_M/w532-h610/Apis.jpg" width="532" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Twilight Queen, the official mead of Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIS8TVoa6NWSvvUbASubWDbTmAzw0HuCGZp_tFX83BJnMvFSRpgwW4fF2lnBJfvOCntW_9CGZ9LkwWviVBJkuht72i831yG9mVQ5D9DJo8jfB7GSrN9NrfqRWXuWdYhoZJv2vbgHcTk7OyGcgHZzuLoYqN-4XMQtMeqUQn1eYpoL38Wv4684Y9WNik/s1823/Apis%204.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1823" data-original-width="1367" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIS8TVoa6NWSvvUbASubWDbTmAzw0HuCGZp_tFX83BJnMvFSRpgwW4fF2lnBJfvOCntW_9CGZ9LkwWviVBJkuht72i831yG9mVQ5D9DJo8jfB7GSrN9NrfqRWXuWdYhoZJv2vbgHcTk7OyGcgHZzuLoYqN-4XMQtMeqUQn1eYpoL38Wv4684Y9WNik/s320/Apis%204.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>I am pleased to announce the release party for the official <b><i><a href="https://www.elflair.com/" target="_blank">Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars</a></i></b> mead: Twilight Queen on October 8! This release makes us the first ever tabletop role playing game company to have our own official mead!</p><p style="text-align: left;">Even better, the mead connects with the game, as the favorite drink of Maeve Antinea, the woman who calls the shots, and <a href="https://www.elflair.com/product/night-shift-a-faustian-dilemma/3?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false" target="_blank">the Twilight Queen herself</a>, served in Club Khalsa, the most popular nightclub / watering hole in the City.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTuOFkNtjygT_0SckYVTxaIWNiZ3qTejiRGSqWd_tXwx828Ye-6cwwy5Zdu7Rkeh8Pduh33LSzNgUqS_UBzoLGj97Vk8cPYnTM76Y7GS5WIWAA-k-WBHLFJwHi6FWRFCNZBFb-TW7CYyug0kiKJ7iLKHwtNOqixvY39BXQkurp09WEFdk5MU4T4bVF/s1768/Apis%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1768" data-original-width="1326" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTuOFkNtjygT_0SckYVTxaIWNiZ3qTejiRGSqWd_tXwx828Ye-6cwwy5Zdu7Rkeh8Pduh33LSzNgUqS_UBzoLGj97Vk8cPYnTM76Y7GS5WIWAA-k-WBHLFJwHi6FWRFCNZBFb-TW7CYyug0kiKJ7iLKHwtNOqixvY39BXQkurp09WEFdk5MU4T4bVF/w279-h371/Apis%202.jpg" width="279" /></a>This mead, a collaboration with Apis Mead & Winery in Carnegie, PA, is a buckwheat mead with black cherries, vanilla, allspice and cinnamon. The release party will be at Apis on Saturday, October 8, from 2:00 PM until whenever. We will have gaming events and giveaways, and both the mead and the game will be on sale! Our friends from Drawbridge Games will be on site as well!</p><p>I should also mention here that this is not just me slapping my company name on something. I'm a meadmaker and have been for about 15 years. I collaborated closely with Dave from Apis on every aspect of this, from the initial flavor profile to the level of spice and flavoring in it, adjusting, tweaking, and the entire process of brewing the beverage. This is very much an Elf Lair creation as much as it is an Apis Mead, and after several rounds of tasting and tweaking, I am absolutely confindent in saying IT IS A WINNER.</p><p>Please save the date and stop down! And if you can't make it, Apis can ship to any state that is allowed, through Vinoshipper!</p><p>Please share this info EVERYWHERE!</p><p>You can find more <a href="https://www.apismead.com/" target="_blank">information about Apis at their website here</a>.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65f7H4aTFKRAWI3O_t2pMtMXX8jwyoEbQYoYrK_d2TyA-eh8AUwxte_OIhuUtZXXkgXX_ZWZlNpNdxR5dJGtxyA1ct8MXcTCYnXyCaYRE61tmZ7lcFILjKnDw4ibi8IpeHa5vp9XctlvO-9GgsxFXS3hA9i4a2kxwH9ZCUbiLr_JwX4E7FZaXQQZz/s2479/Apis%201.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1859" data-original-width="2479" height="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65f7H4aTFKRAWI3O_t2pMtMXX8jwyoEbQYoYrK_d2TyA-eh8AUwxte_OIhuUtZXXkgXX_ZWZlNpNdxR5dJGtxyA1ct8MXcTCYnXyCaYRE61tmZ7lcFILjKnDw4ibi8IpeHa5vp9XctlvO-9GgsxFXS3hA9i4a2kxwH9ZCUbiLr_JwX4E7FZaXQQZz/w550-h413/Apis%201.jpg" width="550" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Night Shift: VSW Twilight Queen Brew Crew</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-40247865782595884622022-08-03T07:30:00.003-04:002022-08-03T08:02:45.494-04:00Skirmish Battles and "Mook" Rules for O.G.R.E.S. Games<p> Combat, as we all know, is part and parcel of a role playing game. Almost every game out there devotes more rules space to combat than to any other aspect of the game (arguably, except for spell descriptions). While combat is generally the most dynamic (and often the most fun) part of the game, it can also drag on and get boring after awhile. This is also the case when you have skirmish-level battles going on with a lot of enemies. </p><p>When it comes down to these situations, skirmish or mook rules come in very handy. With that in mind I've been thinking about some streamlined combat rules for the O.G.R.E.S. system that will greatly speed up battles and tap into some classic concepts from early "man to man" wargames. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgMLXjejenGgvu7_uc_-2iX88pBNj4uV2hHkgiHRmFwlpfmPb7Qps2Px3_-IO-oPG9eD4vVbaWexS5IlytD93FZc8IrowPnmsGo704SWXTML9RG8DH0FdEb4WBhNr___q7vY65rIpVcNacWhuD3yzPrIR-xwVIh0Rq0dbh5s-nXPIKDsCJTc_zU3x/s4242/dreamstime_xxl_219215496.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2828" data-original-width="4242" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgMLXjejenGgvu7_uc_-2iX88pBNj4uV2hHkgiHRmFwlpfmPb7Qps2Px3_-IO-oPG9eD4vVbaWexS5IlytD93FZc8IrowPnmsGo704SWXTML9RG8DH0FdEb4WBhNr___q7vY65rIpVcNacWhuD3yzPrIR-xwVIh0Rq0dbh5s-nXPIKDsCJTc_zU3x/w532-h354/dreamstime_xxl_219215496.jpg" width="532" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>219215496 © United States Department Of Defense Visual Information Directorate | Dreamstime.com</i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Basics</h2><p>These rules assume, but do not require, that you are using miniatures. Please see <a href="https://trolldens.blogspot.com/2022/08/miniatures-combat-in-siege-engine.html" target="_blank">our last blog on using minis with O.G.R.E.S.</a> to familiarize yourself with the comments there before moving forward. </p><p>Another thing you'll need is some sort of counter to track conditions and wounds. I highly recommend the little neck rings from soda pop or water bottles for these. They easily drape over most standard size minis and are good at a glance. Red ones can represent wounds, green poison, blue something else, and you get the idea. </p><p>If you're not using minis, you won't need these; players can simply track wounds on their character sheets. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Streamlining Combat</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Streamlining combat essentially works by removing hit dice and damage rolls from the equation altogether. In such a system, characters have a number of wounds equal to their level. The same goes for monsters: they have a number of wounds equal to their hit dice. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Characters with a Constitution score of 13-17 get one additional wound. Characters with a Constitution score of 18 get two additional wounds.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Every time a character or enemy is struck in combat, they suffer a wound. Each time a character or creature suffers a wound, drape a ring over it. When the rings equal the character's total wounds, they are prone and unconscious. If they suffer one more wound, they die. </p><p style="text-align: left;">They may each round make a Constitution saving throw to stabilize. This save starts at +10 and reduces by 1 each round. If they make a save, they are stable and no other saves are necessary. If they continually fail and the save bonus reaches 0, they are dead. If they get medical attention they automatically stabilize.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Attacks are made exactly as normal in the game, and any special effects that an attack makes (such as a Chosen One's stunning or instant kill) are still in play. All that changes is insted of rolling for damage, you're taking and doling out wounds. Since the core rules of O.G.R.E.S. see all attacks dealing 1d6 anyway, it doesn't, by and large, affect much in terms of probability. It just reduces calculations and dice rolls. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Extra Damage</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Some classes (Veterans, Chosen Ones, Survivors) have the ability to deal extra damage, either by rolling extra dice or through adding strength bonus to damage, or both. Characters that add an ability score bonus to damage, assuming they have an ability bonus, do 3 wounds for every 2 they inflict. If their ability bonus is +3 (18), they do 2 wounds per attack. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Characters who roll extra dice (roll 2, keep 1, for example) also do 3 wounds for every 2 they inflict. If a character has both an ability bonus and extra dice, they do 2 wounds per hit. Characters with a perfect storm of an 18 attribute and extra dice deal 5 wounds per 4 inflicted (they inflict 2, then 3). </p><p style="text-align: left;">Critical hits deal an extra wound.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">"True" Mooks</h2><p style="text-align: left;">True mooks refer to hordes of minor enemies that are there to be a threat to the PCs, but through whom the PCs can just rip. Basically, these characters have an AC of 8-10 and only 1-2 wounds. On the other hand, they have no bonus to hit at all, adding only the PCs' AC to their attacks. In this way they have a lmited chance to land telling blows, but will be mowed down by the heroes. These are ideal for cultists, street gangs and the like. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Magic, Psychic, and Supernatural Powers</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Magic, supernatural, and psychic powers can be handled just like normal, rolling a percentile check against base casting damage, treating failures just like the rules in the core book state. For each 2d6 of damage a spell or psychic power would normally deal, it instead deals 1 wound. If the GM wishes to translate spells to d20 rolls, to cut own on die types during streamlined combat, guidelines for doing so can be found in the <a href="https://www.elflair.com/product/night-companion-a-sourcebook-for-night-shift-vsw/4?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false" target="_blank">Night Companion</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There you have it! Streamlined combat rules that are ideal for tabletop skirmish scenarios using the O.G.R.E.S. system. With a bit of tweaking and work, these rules could be used to create boardgame scenarios or a full miniatures skirmish game using our system. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Curious as to what this O.G.R.E.S. stuff is all about? Check out <a href="https://www.elflair.com" target="_blank">Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars</a> and grab your copy today!</p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-65573553260936732632022-08-01T10:22:00.005-04:002022-08-01T10:22:37.868-04:00Using Miniatures with O.G.R.E.S. <p> O.G.R.E.S. games, though built from a more "old school" sensibility, tend to eschew miniatures in favor of a "theatre of the mind" approach. This is, admittedly, a factor of my own preferences as a gamer, GM, and designer. While I understand the utility of miniatures as a visual reference, I feel that they devolve the game from an exercise in shared storytelling to a board game, moving pieces around and losing the drama. Folks can agree or disagree on that to whatever degree they like; in the end, it all comes down to preference. </p><p>None of this, however, means that you <i>can't </i>do miniatures-based combat with <b>Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars</b> or other O.G.R.E.S. games. Everything you need to do so is already inherent in the rules. Let's take a look and see how it breaks down, as well as some rules to simplify movement and tactics in combat. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93q0S-lKRSrwbhoi1WAAcrjhuQtOLRxXnxltXAyiaFRsFcERzKOFdBQHl_L0kIUnqB42yRxsP1jSRhFXmW2MW5gnPCi_UbKQwN8qfCDc9tRQzDfH3XfRIxim97zx5Ly8OBLO71KwoMYg2tRcPETJsN7tLBrVFhGX6N-yBUXQLE-u2rXaWH5IzF9eD/s2272/dreamstimefree_909058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2272" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93q0S-lKRSrwbhoi1WAAcrjhuQtOLRxXnxltXAyiaFRsFcERzKOFdBQHl_L0kIUnqB42yRxsP1jSRhFXmW2MW5gnPCi_UbKQwN8qfCDc9tRQzDfH3XfRIxim97zx5Ly8OBLO71KwoMYg2tRcPETJsN7tLBrVFhGX6N-yBUXQLE-u2rXaWH5IzF9eD/w499-h374/dreamstimefree_909058.jpg" width="499" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>909058 © Ivan Josifovic | Dreamstime.com</i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Basics</h2><p style="text-align: left;">The basics of using miniatures in O.G.R.E.S. are already there; most human beings and supernaturals can move up to 30 feet per round and still make an attack or take another action. If you choose to forego an attack, you can move up to 60 feet in a round. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In the metric system, you can move up to 10 meters per round, or 20 meters if you forego an action. It's not an exact conversion, but it's close enough for government work. </p><p style="text-align: left;">At their most basic level, that's all you need to use miniatures in your game; simply decide on a scale on your tabletop and let it rip. Usually, for the standard 25 or 30mm size miniatures, one inch on the tabletop equates to five feet (or roughly 1.5 meters). You can use either a tape measure or a grid with one-inch squares or hexes to track movement. Most folks reading this already know this, but for the new gamers out there, it bears mentioning. Many game stores will cary wet- and dry-erase vinyl mats already marked with such grids. </p><p style="text-align: left;">If you use larger figures like standard sized action figures, you may want to expand the scale on the tabletop, doubling or trebling the numbers so a two- or three-inch square equates to 5 feet; likewise you can reduce the scale for smaller figures. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8t5Aw6nt44dJaGUyZ81ZuwCi1APNxk1fWqXWxMpeF46JxsdGAty3aFWmkdP7YeeZ9RELPYyjaYDiH-zPtoVeGh7EDMQvdQH9NxPJeXBU7niZTmxZUGlK-yhFeozMlYBJDeHpSv66lrbo4MImi5tWzaku3zdKu0styd6sxcgJ7GPZthpFTcJ8MWyz6/s3504/dreamstimefree_438746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2332" data-original-width="3504" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8t5Aw6nt44dJaGUyZ81ZuwCi1APNxk1fWqXWxMpeF46JxsdGAty3aFWmkdP7YeeZ9RELPYyjaYDiH-zPtoVeGh7EDMQvdQH9NxPJeXBU7niZTmxZUGlK-yhFeozMlYBJDeHpSv66lrbo4MImi5tWzaku3zdKu0styd6sxcgJ7GPZthpFTcJ8MWyz6/w562-h374/dreamstimefree_438746.jpg" width="562" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>438746 © Robert Pernell | Dreamstime.com</i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">Adding Tactics and Complexities</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Many games that utilize miniatures combat get weighed down on tactical options. In the end, it's up to each group to determine how far they want to go with this. In general, a few basics should probably be added in to make the visual reference worthwhile. These include "fly by " attacks, retreats, gang-up attacks, line of sight and cover, difficult terrain, and pass-through fire. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Before you can add tactics and complications, however, you need a proper map. This can be as simple as sketching out the area on a battle map; so long as you know where walls, doors, obstacles and the like are, that's all you need. It's important to know, for visual aid reasons, where lines of sight lie, which areas characters might have difficulty moving through, and where they can take cover.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Some GMs and players like to get especially elaborate and build 3-dimensional terrain. This can add a great deal of dynamic fun to your visual aid, but it's also expensive and time-consuming. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Fly-By Attacks</h3><p style="text-align: left;">When you come within five feet (one inch) of another figure on the tabletop, unless that figure is an ally, you must stop to engage them. If you do not and you choose to move past, the enemy gets to make a free melee attack against you as you run by. This is called a "fly by attack." The attack doesn't count against their normal attacks in a round. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Retreating from Combat</h3><p style="text-align: left;">If you are engaged in melee combat with another figure and wish to withdraw, you can move up to 15 feet (three inches) as a "fighting withdrawal." If you move any more than 15 feet, the opponent gets to make a fly-by attack against you just as though you ran past them. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Ganging Up</h3><p style="text-align: left;">When more than one person attacks a single opponent in melee combat, all attackers get a gang-up bonus of +1 per additional figure past the first. Thus, if four allies attack a single opponent, all get a +3 bonus to their attack rolls, as it is difficult for the opponent to defend aganst all of them. Normally, up to eight figures can attack a single opponent, assuming they can completely surround it. If the figure has its back to a wall, only 5 figures can attack it. If it's in a corner, as few as three figures may be able to attack.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Line of Sight and Cover</h3><p style="text-align: left;">You can't attack something you can't see. When determining line of sight, trace a straight line from the center of the attacker's space to the center of the target's space; if the straight line doesn't pass through a wall or other large object, you have line of sight. Otherwise, you can't target the figure or object in question. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In some cases, the GM may rule that a target is partially visible. Targets that are partially visible or can't be seen at all are considered to have some degree of cover. Cover improves the AC of the target and is deteremined as 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, or Full. </p><p style="text-align: left;">1/4 Cover means the target is partially concealed and difficult to hit. Their AC improves by 2. </p><p style="text-align: left;">1/2 Cover means that at least half of the target is concealed or blocked. Their AC improves by 4.</p><p style="text-align: left;">3/4 Cover means the target is difficult to see and even harder to targe. Their AC improves by 6.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Targets with full cover cannot be attacked at all. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In ranged combat, targets who are engaged with other combatants in melee combat gain cover based on how many people they are fighting. If the target is engaging 1-2 opponents, they have 1/4 cover. If they are engaging 3-5 opponents, they have half cover. If they are engaging 6-8 opponents, they have 3/4 cover. </p><p style="text-align: left;">If you fire into a melee and miss the target based on the AC adjustment provided by cover, you instead strike the cover. This could mean striking an ally instead of your intended target.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Difficult Terrain</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Difficult terrain is anything that makes it hard to move, from a rubble-strewn room to moving through a swamp. What constitutes difficult terrain is up to the GM, but if you encounter it, movement is reduced by 50% so long as you remain within the terrain. At the GM's option, a Dexterity save can allow you to move at full speed through the terrain, but failing the save means you fall prone and have to use your movement to get up again. The difficulty modifier for the save is based on how rugged the terrain is, again, at the GM's discretion. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Difficult terrain can even come into play in otherwise organized areas. Consider a bar. A character in a bar must maneuver around tables and booths, or even leap over the bar to take cover. The GM is within reason to declare the bar difficult terrain due to the number of obstacles in the way. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Pass-Through Fire</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Pass through fire occurs when someone with a ranged weapon is poised to "cover" an area and someone moves through that area. If you use your movement to set up and cover a specific area instead of moving, you may, once per round, make a free shot at anyone who moves through that area, in addition to your normal attacks that round. To take advantage of pass-through fire in an active battle, the target must be within short or medium range of your weapon.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy1jeXtuXrBJLnlonduUZ7Jm8xPU0gQatwos511sT6say9xtoqXkvCb6GgGPVhhRx2k-APQ_qMnvptMyt4EeRz9dmIqG0VsQUt23vQfDiLZ9kbLxOk3AE6gCPDMrLeVaSMWQeXA_xrx-20xTjQjfxFE9lF6jDk2ZfNTFjkf_QzUyaCaLGrVpbKzSMS/s3872/dreamstime_xxl_97165377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3098" data-original-width="3872" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy1jeXtuXrBJLnlonduUZ7Jm8xPU0gQatwos511sT6say9xtoqXkvCb6GgGPVhhRx2k-APQ_qMnvptMyt4EeRz9dmIqG0VsQUt23vQfDiLZ9kbLxOk3AE6gCPDMrLeVaSMWQeXA_xrx-20xTjQjfxFE9lF6jDk2ZfNTFjkf_QzUyaCaLGrVpbKzSMS/w558-h446/dreamstime_xxl_97165377.jpg" width="558" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>97165377 © Publicdomainphotos | Dreamstime.com</i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">Zone-Based Movement</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Another, more abstracted option for minatures-based combat involves dividing terrain into zones. Many miniatures skirmish-style board games use this option, providing boards that are already divided as such. Otherwise, the GM can create zones however they see fit. Using the bar area above, let's say the bar has a main room downstairs, a secondary dining room, a parking lot area in front, a back lot behind, and a second floor. The GM declares each of these spaces a separate zone. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Characters in a battle can freely move about within the zone they currently occupy. They can move one zone away and still attack, so long as they have a clear path (a door; a window counts as difficult terrain and requires a full move to accomplish). As a full move they can travel up to 2 zones, but cannot attack. This eliminates the need to track specific inches of movement. </p><p style="text-align: left;">There you have it: basic tactical miniatures rules for combat in the O.G.R.E.S. system. Next time we'll consider larger scale skirmishes and quick ways to resolve those situations without having to account for every hit point of every combatant. </p>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-34301536223790792932022-07-07T17:22:00.005-04:002022-07-07T17:22:59.826-04:00We Need to Stop Judging How Others Play<p> A few things have popped up lately that have me reflecting hard on how the gaming community on social media treats each other, and to be honest, a lot of the time it's really despicable. The worst part, however, is that many folks have the best intentions and don't realize how judgmental or self-important they are being. Others are just trying to express an opinion, and yet come off like they're preaching, accusing, insulting, or belittling others. </p><p>I'm far from immune to this, myself, as a disclaimer. In no way am I pretending to be above these issues. I'm an opinionated guy (a lot of my friends are laughing uproariously as they read this, in a "NOOOO...YOU?" kind of way), and more often than not, I just say what I think, and don't sugar coat it. As a business person running a gaming company, I honestly should be a lot better at that than I am. It's something I struggle with.</p><p>But I digress. </p><p>Two things happened today. One was me, and one was someone else. Both come down to One True Wayism, which is a goddamn blight on the gaming community. Even if you think your version of it is morally upright, it's still crapping on someone else's fun, and that, my friends, is absolutely uncool. Let's break it down. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbH4AXWLTJx79PDgqFtkpSSazlgLHux83zPjsufYkEAMgynkI2Imco24N3MeWYJjonMqDAcvfWngtBtT1jlrCkskq0pfClayZGqDUkPirC43oDLVpj8Y5-mgvf4T7G1CTesZzUffC0_QOEvi9XW0z8qSsXQoMC0P_Yl_leMzY3g-cIXTTpd1zfUjg/s3567/dreamstimefree_6540049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="3567" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbH4AXWLTJx79PDgqFtkpSSazlgLHux83zPjsufYkEAMgynkI2Imco24N3MeWYJjonMqDAcvfWngtBtT1jlrCkskq0pfClayZGqDUkPirC43oDLVpj8Y5-mgvf4T7G1CTesZzUffC0_QOEvi9XW0z8qSsXQoMC0P_Yl_leMzY3g-cIXTTpd1zfUjg/w495-h394/dreamstimefree_6540049.jpg" width="495" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>6540049 © Marcin Okupniak | Dreamstime.com</i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">Edition Wars and "Your Game Sucks"</h2><p style="text-align: left;">So today, I saw a post from <a href="http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/07/monstrous-mondays-d-4th-ed-monster.html" target="_blank">Tim Brannan's blog</a> from July 4 (you're probably reading his blog, and if you aren't, you really should be). It's about 4th edition D&D. I don't like 4e. I hate it, in fact. It was the single most divisive edition of the game ever, and it nearly broke WotC. It was the first time in the history of TTPRGs that they weren't the top dog in industry sales. Its failure led to 5e, which say what you will, made D&D a legitimate international phenomenon in a way it never has been. </p><p style="text-align: left;">A poster made a lighthearted comment about not liking it, and my response was far too harsh. I said, "I agree with you 100%. 4e was D&DINO: D&D In Name Only." </p><p style="text-align: left;">That was, put simply, uncalled for. The poster in question said, "If people like it, great! Play it! Just not for me!" </p><p style="text-align: left;">I then chimed up to clarify, saying, "Yup. Everyone is welcome to play whatever they like and it's not for me to tell them what (or how) to play their games. There's no such thing as badwrongfun. There's just fun. If you dig it, play it.," and that's really how I feel. My <i>approach, </i>however, was belittling to anyone who likes 4e, and that, quite simply, is incorrect and inexcusable behavior. </p><p style="text-align: left;">There's lots of games I don't like that others love. There's lots of games I love that others don't. It's not on me to act as the grand arbiter of what's a good game. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I've done the same thing with VTT platforms and online gaming. I've been extremely dismissive of it, but in truth, some people enjoy it more than in person gaming, and there's nothing wrong with that. Some people do it because they legit can't game in person with people for whatever reason. Who am I to dismiss their method of fun? </p><p style="text-align: left;">I didn't <i>intend </i>to belittle people who enjoy specific games or methods of gaming, but that is precisely what I did. And I'm not alone. People do this <i>all the time </i>in the gaming community. It needs to stop. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-tNFeTGs3kwFbiYG_sNfYnR55dfHHtvXWRgyW-VetDxAbk5w3gBfZRQqAHXgoxHF8oaMc7On6RFlHacdi4a7ZxpsFibcM9K8znzrSK1fV4AWYDiGPs0QA3buBvBjwIDx-IUF8deuIEejt299OtX6HhVFLnG4fF1lPLaMoSn4vpZrgAcGMPMYjscP/s2532/dreamstimefree_1125339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2532" data-original-width="1887" height="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-tNFeTGs3kwFbiYG_sNfYnR55dfHHtvXWRgyW-VetDxAbk5w3gBfZRQqAHXgoxHF8oaMc7On6RFlHacdi4a7ZxpsFibcM9K8znzrSK1fV4AWYDiGPs0QA3buBvBjwIDx-IUF8deuIEejt299OtX6HhVFLnG4fF1lPLaMoSn4vpZrgAcGMPMYjscP/w421-h566/dreamstimefree_1125339.jpg" width="421" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1125339 © Bogdan Lazar | Dreamstime.com</i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">You Must Use These Tools, or, You Must Play This Way</h2><p style="text-align: left;">This one gets sketchy. The post in question was a very popular D&D streamer, who was (rather arrogantly) preaching that <i>everyone </i>needs to use tools like X cards or "respect mechanics" at their table to keep from "triggering" others, insisting that they were a core, vital, and necessary tool to ensure that comfort levels are valued across the board. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This poster was preaching, however, in response to another post wherein someone was insisting that those things are stupid, and nobody that uses them are welcome at their table. They claimed that people need to grow thicker skin and get over it. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Here's the thing, folks: both of those stances are correct on <i>some level, </i>and both of them are also wrong <i>on some level. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;">First, for some tables, X cards, Session Zero boundary discussions, and comfort mechanics <i>are, in fact, necessary. </i>Indeed, they're especially helpful if you're sitting down with an entire new group of people for the first time and <i>nobody </i>knows each other. These are games, folks, and if anyone at the table isn't having fun, you've lost the point. I don't care <i>what </i>the topic is, it doesn't hurt <i>you </i>in any way to <i>not </i>incorporate it into the game, but if it <i>does </i>hurt someone else, then the game is lost. </p><p style="text-align: left;">On the other hand, <i>not every gaming group needs these things. </i>I have been gaming with the same people for <i>over two decades. </i>We all know each other inside and out, backwards and forwards. Nobody is going to be caught off guard, and if something <i>does </i>crop up, we are all comfortable with each other to just speak up. So some groups (more than you'd think, I would wager) can do away with these things. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Do people need to grow thicker skins? Eh. That's a discussion for elsewhere. Sometimes I think they do about some things in this day and age, but it doesn't kill me to show a bit of common respect for people at the table. Gaming is about the group, not the individual. It's the Vulcan concept of IDIC: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. If you can't agree that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one at the gaming table, you may want to stop and think about whether it's the right hobby for you. Or not. Again, it's not my place to tell you how to think or feel or play your game.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If I can be forgiven for being really freaking blunt for a second, if I have a sexual abuse or sexual assault survivor at the table, I goddamn well better be avoiding those topics in game. That's not a "grow thicker skin" situation. It's <i>someone with actual trauma. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;">In any case, nobody should be telling anyone else how to play. That ranges from what tools you have to use in your game, to what platforms you should use, to what the "correct" approach to role playing vs. roll playing is. There's only One True Way in gaming and that's, "are you having fun?" </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nbcLTG-Se2-q63Sveg1GoZndcYDTK-dNJKaDMTs4UXL8bAHESQm8xDnYHa3LrCtLjtnLafb0cfKC_s_WUGpkYMj1rnKGem2I2ONcBjspsoVw1VPC8Jph4pCDQsM6x28P3eJJCIuoaDaWGm38QHTrWFi1oeud0oe-Q7Ta4Wm-wC3nDTXixE0q1V4l/s3200/dreamstimefree_4849619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2133" data-original-width="3200" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nbcLTG-Se2-q63Sveg1GoZndcYDTK-dNJKaDMTs4UXL8bAHESQm8xDnYHa3LrCtLjtnLafb0cfKC_s_WUGpkYMj1rnKGem2I2ONcBjspsoVw1VPC8Jph4pCDQsM6x28P3eJJCIuoaDaWGm38QHTrWFi1oeud0oe-Q7Ta4Wm-wC3nDTXixE0q1V4l/w502-h334/dreamstimefree_4849619.jpg" width="502" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>4849619 © Ivan Grlic | Dreamstime.com</i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">Showing Common Decency and Respect</h2><p style="text-align: left;">In the end, I just don't think any of us should be telling other people what the "right" or "wrong" way to play a TTRPG is. Someone might have practices at their table that you think are awful, but they and their players have zero problem with. The solution, then, is to not play with those people. There's over 30 million D&D players out there. There's probably tens of thousands of streaming sessions. You're sure to find someone whose proclivities match your own, and VTTs, Zoom, Discord, and other platforms make it easier than ever to hook up. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Your local game store can probably help you find an in-person group if that's your thing (I personally can't get into online TTPRGing). If you haven't been to your FLGS, you might think about stopping in. They are an important part of the community and a wonderful place to meet great people, make new friends, find gaming groups, and discover new games. My town is blessed with a number of them. I'll link a few below, because they deserve recognition. Many towns don't have a lot of game stores. I might do another blog on finding yours. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Again, however, it's all about just being respectful. I've said over and over again that all the problems in our world could be solved if everyone just started treating each other with common decency and respect. You know, if we treated each other like human beings. Most of us don't mean to be judgmental or harsh when we state our opinions. We all might just take a step back and think about <i>how </i>we say things before we say them...because it does matter, and the only universal is that there are no universals. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Okay, there are some. Violent crime is bad. That's a universal. But you get my point. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Pittsburgh and Surrounding Area Game Stores</h3><div>Check these guys out if you're ever in town. They are all run by awesome folks. </div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="http://www.drawbridgegames.com/" target="_blank">Drawbridge Games</a> (Castle Shannon)</li><li><a href="http://www.potagames.com/" target="_blank">Phantom of the Attic</a> (Oakland)</li><li><a href="https://gamemasterspgh.com/" target="_blank">Game Masters</a> (West View)</li><li><a href="http://ndcomics.com/" target="_blank">New Dimension Comics</a> (Waterfront, Homestead)</li><li><a href="https://www.pittsburghcomics.com/" target="_blank">Pittsburgh Comics</a> (Peters Township)</li><li><a href="https://4horsemencomics.com/" target="_blank">Four Horsemen Comics and Gaming</a> (Robinson Mall)</li></ul><div>Be sure to visit <a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/p/elf-lair-games-online.html" target="_blank">Elf Lair Games online</a> as well, head to our website, and <a href="https://www.elflair.com/contact" target="_blank">sign up for our newsletter</a>!</div></div>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-83208561752720766802022-06-28T12:38:00.003-04:002022-06-28T12:41:43.738-04:00Night Shift: VSW Adventure Hooks<p> This might be a short post, but I thought I'd just throw out a few adventure hook ideas for your NSVSW games. Enjoy, take them for what they are, flesh out and change as you like. Hopefully these can provide some inspiration when you've got a game to run and just can't come up with anything to go with. </p><p>The adventures will be presented in a few sections: Hook, Mystery, Revelation, Climax, and Twist. At the end I'll include some suggested Night Worlds from those in our books, but really, these should be generic enough to work in just about any setting you like. </p><p>I wish I was clever enough to come up with names for the sections that would work out to a cool acronym (like O.G.R.E.S.) but I've been in a creative wasteland lately. It's just been awhile and I owe you guys some playable and interesting content, so hopefully this can fill the gap. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzRy1XvaBluCCjarboOSJAXiLBlCOBJ1NRIc6b7RUcMbJKjuivlLYc-d9AlsDtDT__LyGS50MZBmK3JTecpRc86CwFB6jwza_pbvqK7vMN52sDy56CO182PVoMMD2hB_zIPPhDibIfOETKhPkQAlUjXTldbcZ1IWBWP-hYVJInUJJx_dev0O_3ik1g/s1645/CAC353-PiercedVampiress.tif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1645" data-original-width="1478" height="453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzRy1XvaBluCCjarboOSJAXiLBlCOBJ1NRIc6b7RUcMbJKjuivlLYc-d9AlsDtDT__LyGS50MZBmK3JTecpRc86CwFB6jwza_pbvqK7vMN52sDy56CO182PVoMMD2hB_zIPPhDibIfOETKhPkQAlUjXTldbcZ1IWBWP-hYVJInUJJx_dev0O_3ik1g/w408-h453/CAC353-PiercedVampiress.tif" width="408" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Artwork by Bradley McDevitt</i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">Frame Job in Fae Town</h2><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Hook: </b>A supernatural NPC that the player characters know (and who should be an ally or beloved on some level) is found at a murder scene, covered in the blood of the victim. The victim, in turn, is the head of some major supernatural agency that the NPC belongs to. They run to the PCs for help. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Mystery: </b>The NPC can't remember anything, but knows for sure that they're being setup and didn't actualy commit the murder. The mystery, then, becomes who set them up, and why are they being used as a scapegoat? </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Revelation: </b>The frame job is because the NPC either has a great deal of power they don't know they have, they are prophesied to be a danger to some other major figure, or they are a threat of some sort to a conspiracy within the organization. The goal was to usurp control of the organization while eliminating this potential threat in one fell swoop. The <i>new </i>head of the organization was in fact the very one who orchestrated the frame job. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Climax: </b>A final confrontation with the upper echelons of the organization to prove the frame job, remove the usurper from power, and clear the name of their friend. </p><div><b>Twist: </b>The framed NPC ends up in control of the organization, but their own outrage over being framed may make things even worse for the PCs in the near future...</div><p style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Suggested Nightworlds: </i>City of the Twilight Queen, Nocturnumverse, Veterans of the Supernatural Wars</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqVcGoP1c38MFvmvTZnuXplFsl7_9a5rBZ5LY9x2gHUvvINzHNJ3IuPbHtdI-snnt5YzbeeISVtoC6ufauCn_7oyJbK2SVI7kPhWXEvQjQTdoEAHuLm0hE1PROCivBxunBJC5Ljx3UsPeeY9tx9Rjpwx9_Z9Q2JNWJgoZs8NagouMY01FaYcV01KD2/s2253/CAC-Vampiricembrace-F-BKM.tif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2162" data-original-width="2253" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqVcGoP1c38MFvmvTZnuXplFsl7_9a5rBZ5LY9x2gHUvvINzHNJ3IuPbHtdI-snnt5YzbeeISVtoC6ufauCn_7oyJbK2SVI7kPhWXEvQjQTdoEAHuLm0hE1PROCivBxunBJC5Ljx3UsPeeY9tx9Rjpwx9_Z9Q2JNWJgoZs8NagouMY01FaYcV01KD2/w410-h393/CAC-Vampiricembrace-F-BKM.tif" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Artwork by <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/384/Postmortem-Studios" target="_blank">Bradley McDevitt</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">Shadow Wars</h2><div><b>Hook: </b>Two factions of vampire exist; demonic vampires and ensouled vampires, and they have had a cold war going on for centuries. Now, something has happened that threatens to erupt the cold war into a hot war, and as acts of gang violence between the two factions increase, so does the threat of the world at large learning about the supernatural world. </div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Mystery: </b>Someone clearly is orchestrating this war behind the scenes. Who is it, and what's their end game? The revelation of the supernatural world doesn't serve to benefit anyone. </p><div><b>Revelation: </b>Those behind the war are an ancient group of vampire and demon hunters, who have decided that the best way to win the war once and for all is to blow open the doors of secrecy and see a war erupt between humankind and the supernatural. </div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Climax: </b>The battle lines are drawn and the player characters have to determine where to throw their lot: will they take on the hunters and stop their plot? Will they join the plot and revel the supernatural? Will they choose one or more factions to support? Their choice certainly could affect the future. </p><div><b>Twist: </b>The twist depends on what side the heroes choose. If they choose the hunters, humanity loses the war, and the supernatural takes over the world. If they choose to keep the supernatural quiet, they are branded as Public Enemy #1 by the waking world as they are framed for murder when evidence of their activities surfaces, appropriately modified to make them look like mass murderers...</div><div><br /></div><div><i style="font-weight: bold;">Alternate Idea: </i>Instead of two factions of vampire, the war is between vampires and werewolves, light and dark fey, or any other two opposed supernatural factions. </div><p style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Suggested Night Worlds: </i>Veterans of the Supernatural Wars (This could be a prelude to the Night of Blood); Nocturnumverse, Ordinary World</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6SktK3DOmTD2rxoGyxUGtDcnrMDTtmP2j03YOV_Qs3lxmo3KkzQHMmZFVTb5fTSzi-sBu1JRRa_OL8nf8rm513jNop1c2NQ_XS8Co1qQe5ZNjwEsqvI4--FpbFC4SIDcnaVurzNlU5syzNcfb3qVct5H1XkMc_uVO_tkcEvnRUeqfspMWS4_oL-tA/s1450/AaronLee_MAGACADEMY.tif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="1450" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6SktK3DOmTD2rxoGyxUGtDcnrMDTtmP2j03YOV_Qs3lxmo3KkzQHMmZFVTb5fTSzi-sBu1JRRa_OL8nf8rm513jNop1c2NQ_XS8Co1qQe5ZNjwEsqvI4--FpbFC4SIDcnaVurzNlU5syzNcfb3qVct5H1XkMc_uVO_tkcEvnRUeqfspMWS4_oL-tA/w530-h348/AaronLee_MAGACADEMY.tif" width="530" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Art by <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/146840/Silent-Legions-Art-Pack" target="_blank">Aaron Lee</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">Be Cruel to Your School</h2><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Hook: </b>The characters are high school students who one by one discover they have supernatural powers of some sort, just as a series of disappearances and murders rock the school. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Mystery: </b>Who or what is committing the crimes, and does it have anything to do with the heroes suddenly learning about their own supernatural abilities? </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Revelation: </b>The characters' discovery of their own powers is a complete coincidence; they are fey changelings, who come into thier true powers during adolescence. The killer is a shadow demon draining the life from students, all of whom have something in common. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Climax: </b>The heroes are the only hope for the school, as their powers give them a unique edge against the shadow demon. They must defeat it to return things to normal at school. </p><div><b>Twist: </b>The return to normal is a new normal - the arrival of the shadow demon heralded a supernatural incursion on the town and the player characters must now discover their individual fae origins, what types of creatures they are, and balance school with being champions and defenders of the town. </div><p style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Suggested Night Worlds: </b>Generation HEX</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyiNkz3M5Jj6qqL-a27yY7wOI__GL6Uak2wYY26ht6tIOyJMDFP9t3ROQJDSySIwBCL1fxQ6dff7EB-BjCTHDubsU8riCYGawNAzuQ9dTADx2FvWe-8VX5O9w9-pJtTNf61dTMnFAN7wR3ZMOYTKvJu3MemQ0qLAZQmJ75ZMLVF88rJ5BWHQXbdWVI/s1500/DavidLewisJohnson_MYTHFOOT.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1062" data-original-width="1500" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyiNkz3M5Jj6qqL-a27yY7wOI__GL6Uak2wYY26ht6tIOyJMDFP9t3ROQJDSySIwBCL1fxQ6dff7EB-BjCTHDubsU8riCYGawNAzuQ9dTADx2FvWe-8VX5O9w9-pJtTNf61dTMnFAN7wR3ZMOYTKvJu3MemQ0qLAZQmJ75ZMLVF88rJ5BWHQXbdWVI/w523-h371/DavidLewisJohnson_MYTHFOOT.jpg" width="523" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Art by <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/146840/Silent-Legions-Art-Pack?term=Sine+Nomine+art+pack" target="_blank">David Lewis Johnson</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Book of Shadows</h2><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Hook: </b>A traveling museum exhibit showcasing a new archaeological find from the Middle East has been vandalized. The only thing missing is a rare book that has yet to be translated. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Mystery: </b>What is the book? Why was it stolen and what does the thief want with it? </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Revelation: </b>The book was stolen by a black market dealer in occult artifacts. It's a resurfaced version of an ancient book of shadows from a dark warlock who existed in a prehistoric, lost epoch of Earth's history.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Climax: </b>The heroes must infiltrate the black market of occult artifacts, track down the tome, and defeat its purchaser to return the work to the museum from which it was stolen. </p><div><b>Twist: </b>The buyer was a power-mad kid who knew nothing of the occult, but wanted to visit horror on all their enemies. The kid made the mistake of trying to read the wrong passage, which translated itself because the book <i>wants to be used. </i>An ancient demon now walks the land, sowing chaos and destruction wherever it goes. </div><p style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Suggested Night Worlds: </i>Nocturnumverse, Weirdly World News, Ordinary World, City of the Twilight Queen, Generation HEX</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmLDohQCDXGKL8cfq7kVoFAZVmqZDk81qNIpzjDsPryIHqptysSvyIwywk-_U44kU9knJOOQVyjk0M53WsuqgzMN1tsoi-8S_XIRjPoqGRvm_xD7PvCzeS1Ip8fC2nOJBc9JIljR0s-AKXqaIyp6FqqlTmKifJ2BhdL6o_tTWLiC7nuqeqbCnzGQS/s1431/LuigiCastellani_SORCLIST2.tif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1431" data-original-width="1431" height="453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmLDohQCDXGKL8cfq7kVoFAZVmqZDk81qNIpzjDsPryIHqptysSvyIwywk-_U44kU9knJOOQVyjk0M53WsuqgzMN1tsoi-8S_XIRjPoqGRvm_xD7PvCzeS1Ip8fC2nOJBc9JIljR0s-AKXqaIyp6FqqlTmKifJ2BhdL6o_tTWLiC7nuqeqbCnzGQS/w453-h453/LuigiCastellani_SORCLIST2.tif" width="453" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Art by Luigi Castellani</i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">Incarnate</h2><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Hook: </b>People all over the city are suddenly developing strange and unusual supernatural abilities. The abilities last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, but always end up sowing destruction when they manifest. Those who manifest the powers are left exhausted and sometimes even dead when they fade.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Mystery: </b>Where are these powers coming from? Is there a common thread between those who gain the powers? Can they be stopped, and who or what is behind them? </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Revelation: </b>The heroes track the manifestations to a new street drug made from the ashes and fluids of supernatural creatures. The drug provides a sense of euphoria and invincibility as well as manifesting the uncontrolled abilities of the creature from which it was made, but ends up devastating the bodily systems of the users. The more times one uses the drug, the greater chance death will result. The trail leads to a black market of supernatural farming: dealers who are capturing and vivisecting supernaturals to create the drug. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Climax: </b>The heroes infiltrate the ring and put an end to the black market...at least for now. </p><div><b>Twist: </b>One or more of the creatures rescued by the heroes declare war on humanity in vengeance for what was done to them. </div><p style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Suggested Night Worlds: </i>Ordinary World, Nocturnumverse, Weirdly World News, Generation HEX</p><p style="text-align: left;">There you have it! A few quick adventure outlines for you to flesh out for those nights you need to throw something together quick. Please be kind and consider buying some of the art packs linked in this; the artists are fantastic and they deserve your support (and yes, I have purchased all of them). And as always, check out <a href="https://www.elflair.com/" target="_blank">Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars and all our other great games,</a> and please consider buying our product!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div><br /></div>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-55337631881603261112022-05-26T10:07:00.002-04:002022-05-26T10:07:21.316-04:00Dice Pool Gaming with O.G.R.E.S.<p> Recently, I've done a number of posts about system mechanics and games that are Powered by O.G.R.E.S. to create a Multiverse of Systems approach to gaming. The core rulebook for <b>Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars </b>uses a standard class-and-level system using three classic mechanics to create an intuitive and fast-play system that's robust enough to handle almost any kind of play, while the <b>Night Companion </b>allows you to eschew class and level for point-buy characters, then gives guidelines to convert your game to universal task resolution using either d20 roll-over or percentile roll-under. </p><p>The one thing we have not yet addressed is the idea of using dice pools. Is this possible with the O.G.R.E.S. system? I think it is, and this blog will examine some thoughts as to how it might be accomplished. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">If It Can Do Anything, How Is O.G.R.E.S. a System?</h3><p style="text-align: left;">This is an outstanding question, and one worth addressing. While most gaming systems are predicated around the rules that drive play, O.G.R.E.S. is more driven around the characters and statistics they use. Any O.G.R.E.S. character, under our design system, must be compatible with other characters made with a Powered by O.G.R.E.S. game, and must be applicable to the entire <a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2022/04/what-is-powered-by-ogres-all-about.html" target="_blank">Multiverse of Systems</a>. O.G.R.E.S., as a system, is built around characters, not mechanics. </p><p style="text-align: left;">With that in mind, the challenge, then, is deciding how to use existing statistics for O.G.R.E.S. characters to generate dice pools, and how, then, to use them to play the game. The answer, I think, is simple and already baked into the characters in terms of their bonuses and base scores. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbrBfY3jxlxH83sWGsjbz4rdzFNL1i96IaopN_Ec1VcKa-nH02qGg3NCmftyb0SEw5g6Sxkng0ZXVlI-wnwRHxZaCwy_E36ZbQz-c6OluQTbV9rW62YSV-QKCKgA4i7yiivH6cT6jqOuj2v5SOdvghd5ToQJI2gHoEU57fCLowK9gS3DO_CHVgSrO/s5472/Dice_dreamstime_xxl_112840492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbrBfY3jxlxH83sWGsjbz4rdzFNL1i96IaopN_Ec1VcKa-nH02qGg3NCmftyb0SEw5g6Sxkng0ZXVlI-wnwRHxZaCwy_E36ZbQz-c6OluQTbV9rW62YSV-QKCKgA4i7yiivH6cT6jqOuj2v5SOdvghd5ToQJI2gHoEU57fCLowK9gS3DO_CHVgSrO/w551-h367/Dice_dreamstime_xxl_112840492.jpg" width="551" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Which Dice to Use?</h3><p style="text-align: left;">The dice you choose to use for your game will change the probabilities overall. At first level, a character making an ability check, save, or attack roll with no other bonuses has a roughly 5% chance of success. If, however, the ability check in question is Primary, the chance becomes 15%, and if the task is easy to medium (+5), the chance then increases to 40%. It goes up from there if the character has an ability bonus or other situational backgrounds. </p><p style="text-align: left;">With that in mind, as you select dice upon which to base your pool, let's look at the target numbers needed for success. The fewer sides your dice have, the higher the probability for epic games. For this reason, it's probably best to go with 10-sided dice and use 10 as your target number. That means that after you generate your dice pool, you'll throw that many dice, and every result of 10 counts as a "boom.". Most tasks need only 1 boom to succed. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Generating Dice Pools</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Generating dice pools is simple. Every +2 bonus a character has (or portion thereof), or every 10% on a percentile ability, is one die to the pool. Thus, a character who would have +10 on a d20 check rolls 5 dice. A character with +11 or +12 would roll 6 dice. A character with 40% would roll 4 dice, while a character with 41% to 50% rolls 5 dice. Every 10 or better is a "Boom." </p><p style="text-align: left;">Most tasks require only one Boom to succeed. Some tasks, however, require multiple such hits. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Spellcasting: </b><a href="https://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2022/03/specialist-wizards-in-ogres-and-old.html" target="_blank">Casting a spell</a> successfully requires a number of Booms equal to the spell's level. This makes 9th-level spells exceedingly difficult to cast. When dealing with the backfire table, simply roll 2d10 (totaled) instead of 1d20, making the minimum result impossible to achieve. If you want to keep the minimum result in play, if your 2d10 result comes up as 2 (1 and 1), roll a 3rd d10. On a 1-5, subtract 1, and on a 5-10 leave it at 2. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Percentile Checks: </b>Any percentile check that suffers penalties to the base level of success, instead suffers a -1 penalty to dice pool per full (not partial) 10% of penalty. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Combat: </b>When making an attack, add half the opponent's AC to your dice pool to hit. One Boom is a hit. Additional Booms deal 1 extra point of damage each. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Damage: </b>Dice pool symptoms tend to be even more abstracted than straight-roll systems, and the need exists to remove other types of dice. Thus, weapons do a flat 3 points of damage, plus Strength or Dexterity bonus, if the character has the Melee or Ranged Combat abilities, respectively.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>The Rule of 2: </b>The Rule of 2 uses 10-sided dice, and becomes the Rule of 3 instead. If you want to stick with the same expression of the rules for dice pools, in this case a Boom is 7-10...or you can roll 3d10, looking for 10s. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Use the table in the <b>Night Shift: VSW</b> core rulebook to calculate percentages for other situaions (like being surprised on a 1 on 1d8), with each 10% resulting in a 1 on the die. Being surprised on a 1 on 1d8, for example, is 12.5%. Simply round down to 10% and the character is surprised on a 10 on 1d10 instead. This makes such characters marginally more powerful, but that's the nature of these sorts of conversions. </p><p style="text-align: left;">If you choose, you can also just throw percentile dice, since you are using d10s anyway. It's a minor deviation from the dice pool, but since this is a GM tool only, it shouldn't be that disruptive. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Quick and Dirty Solution</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Remember, this is just a quick and dirty solution off the top of my head. It theoretically should be statistically sound, but has not been playtested. As with other playable content here, I'd be very interested in hearing the results if anyone does playtest it. </p><p style="text-align: left;">There we have it! Dice pool play with O.G.R.E.S. characters. For more play options, explore the blog further and be sure to <a href="https://www.elflair.com" target="_blank">pick up our entire game line</a> today!</p><div><br /></div>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946596366681548315.post-3436510570567675012022-05-19T17:19:00.002-04:002022-05-19T17:22:33.861-04:00Hit Locations in Night Shift: VSW and O.G.R.E.S.<p> One of the things I enjoy the most about Powered by O.G.R.E.S. games is that they are anything but simulationist. It's heavily abstracted, and that's by design. The idea is that the game is not about the minutiae of combat, but is about telling a cinematic or literary story. You stake a vampire, basically, by reducing its hit points to 0. There are no called shots and no overly detailed tactical combat maneuvers. </p><p>That being said it can sometimes be fun to play with a bit more detail. In the <b>Night Companion </b>we introduced such ideas as variable weapon damage and weapon class, which can beef up combat a bit. Another fun add-on can be hit locations. This sort of subsystem can slow down combat, but also adds some unique effects such as lingering injuries that often tabletop RPGs don't deal with unless they're crazy complicated. Let's check out how hit locations and called shots might work in a simpler system. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SABWgcmhxGvgBL75fy7m8VISZAwbHoNO_dX22xFl8IUDncxjzG76yqsUK3lNFg6jk9rsKsna1vU62uM0xqBg1LlFh-6-XDYMKYOtAN3mYKQyoqxO5RKqbwP-c452gixxs6CFNP5cUeYdTqfUR0KCnWPbWuBM09MbzUjPcV-jA7v1fMGXLMyukI4B/s3456/Combat%20Soldier.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3456" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SABWgcmhxGvgBL75fy7m8VISZAwbHoNO_dX22xFl8IUDncxjzG76yqsUK3lNFg6jk9rsKsna1vU62uM0xqBg1LlFh-6-XDYMKYOtAN3mYKQyoqxO5RKqbwP-c452gixxs6CFNP5cUeYdTqfUR0KCnWPbWuBM09MbzUjPcV-jA7v1fMGXLMyukI4B/w503-h335/Combat%20Soldier.jpg" width="503" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: 3588089 © Andrey Kiselev | Dreamstime.com</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><h3 style="text-align: left;">When and How to Use Hit Locations</h3><p style="text-align: left;">The first thing to consider when deciding to use hit locations is when to apply them. Applying them to every attack roll can vastly slow things down. At the same time, it also makes it possible to blow off a hand or foot easily, or do way more damage than a limb or location should be able to take. The latter idea is easy to deal with when one considers that hit points are not wound points. They're a measure of the target's overall combat capability in an extremely abstract sense. Thus, taking 6 points "of damage," means reducing combat effectiveness by 6 points. </p><p style="text-align: left;">What this means is that shooting someone in the arm and rolling 6 on your damage die doesn't mean that they take 6 points of damage to their arm. That 6 points of damage reflects the harm the targeted area takes, and also represents the overall pain the target feels, how much it slows them down and distracts them, and other intangibles. </p><p style="text-align: left;">With hit locations, then, it's important to explore other effects that a targeted area suffers. Sometimes this will, in fact, just be additional damage because a serious hit to a vital spot just brings the victim closer to death faster. Other times it's the loss of use of a limb (or the loss of a limb entirely), becoming blind or deaf, or some other condition. </p><p style="text-align: left;">While you could roll on a hit location chart on every attack, this can create exceptionally lethal combats and should only be considered for <b>gritty </b>games. For <b>realistic/normal </b>games, it's recommended that hit location checks only occur on a roll of natural 20 on an attack. In <b>cinematic</b> games, hit locations may be inappropriate, though the GM <i>could </i>allow Veterans to roll a hit location check on a natural 20 (if they choose), and Chosen Ones, instead of rolling, may <i>choose </i>a location to strike (no roll necessary) if they roll a successful stunning blow, in lieu of actually stunning the target. Likewise, a Survivor making a successful Sneak Attack may be permitted instead of dealing additional damage and making a supernatural attack, to simply choose a hit location to strike. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Called Shots</h3><p style="text-align: left;">If you have a hit location chart, the GM may also choose to allow called shots. To make a called shot, the attacker targets a specific hit location and must hit the adjusted AC listed. Damage is always 1d6 unless otherwise stated in the hit location, but on a successful hit, the target also suffers the effects of that location. For example, attempting to shoot a target in the head requires lowering the target's AC by 4, and on a success they suffer triple damage and are either blinded or deafened (50% chance either way), with a 60% chance of the condition being permanent, plus unconscious unless they make a Constitution save. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8YAh35ozAb5NLGei3jlNtVavKykNIZBqsvp5crdRIxmsLe0dbbnEoouHYGoz--fFvvkOnxLtuVUEXTs24OC7te3vVgCyn9Yk3ay1P0D9_mYfiHuEgiKzq6Q_e4Qi5MBrygapCyDq1cgVLGrJ93Yu3upHk2HejYyBj80KoNI6dxZod4RXv0LJMo9I/s3008/Combat%20Soldier%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="3008" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8YAh35ozAb5NLGei3jlNtVavKykNIZBqsvp5crdRIxmsLe0dbbnEoouHYGoz--fFvvkOnxLtuVUEXTs24OC7te3vVgCyn9Yk3ay1P0D9_mYfiHuEgiKzq6Q_e4Qi5MBrygapCyDq1cgVLGrJ93Yu3upHk2HejYyBj80KoNI6dxZod4RXv0LJMo9I/w490-h326/Combat%20Soldier%202.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: 5650863 © Sergeyussr | Dreamstime.com</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Hit Locations and Effects</h3><p style="text-align: left;">The following chart lists hit locations and effects as well as AC modifiers for optional called shots. Roll 1d12 for a random hit location.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>1 - Head:</i> </b>A shot to the head deals triple damage, and the target is either blinded or deafened (50% chance either way and 50% chance of partial (one eye or ear) or total). There is a 60% chance of the condition being permanent. Even if they survive, the target must succeed at a Constitution save (Difficulty: 10-damage dealt) or are unconscious for 1d6x10 minutes after they are brought above 0 hit points. <i>AC Modifier: -5</i><b><i><br /></i></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>2 - Heart:</i> </b>A shot directly to the heart deals triple damage, and the target is knocked off their feet. They must succeed at a Constitution save (Difficulty: 10-damage dealth) or be unconscious for 1d6x10 minutes after being brought above 0 hit points. Characters suffer 1d6 damage each round until they receive medical attention. <i>AC Modifier: -5</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>3 - Lungs:</i> </b>A shot to the lungs deals double damage and the target is knocked off their feet. Until they receive medical attention, they must succeed at a Constitution save every minute to remain conscious; this save begins at Difficulty 10 and lowers by 1 each round. A failed save also deals 1d6 additional damage. Characters suffer -5 to all Strength and Dexterity checks and saves until they receive medical attention. <i>AC Modifier: -3</i><b><i><br /></i></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>4 - Guts:</i> </b>A gut shot is a slow killer. It deals standard damage, but the target is poisoned as their bile spills out into their body cavity. Every hour the target must succeed at a Constitution save, treating the shot as a poison whose potency begins at 3, but reduces by 1 every hour. Failure means the target takes 1d6 damage per failed save. Thus, on a third failed save the victim takes 3d6 damage. Failures do not need to be consecutive. Proper medical attention before the character reaches 0 hit points can save them; such characters will recover if they make their next save, with the medical attention adding +5 to the saving throw. <i>AC Modifier: -3</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>5 - Thigh:</i> </b>A shot to the thigh is not deadly. It deals standard damage, but the target is hobbled; their speed is halved and they cannot run. <i>AC modifier: -3</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>6 - Knee:</i> </b>A shot to the knee is flat-out crippling. It deals standard damage and the target is knocked off their feet. They cannot walk without help, they cannot run, and their speed is reduced to 1/3 of normal. There is a 75% chance their knee is destroyed and they are permanently crippled unless they receive a replacement knee. <i>AC modifier: -5</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>7 - Lower Leg:</i> </b>A shot to the lower leg has the same effects as a shot to the thigh, but there is a 50% chance of shattering a bone. In this case, the character is crippled for at least 6 weeks, during which time they cannot walk without crutches, are reduced to 1/2 speed, and cannot run. If the result of the bone breakage roll is 20% or lower, the bone is completely shattered, the leg is blown off at the knee, or is so damaged it must be amputated. The victim is crippled permanently unless they receive a prosthetic limb. <i>AC modifier: -4</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>8 - Foot: </i></b>A shot to the foot has the same effects as a shot to the thigh, but also knocks the target off their feet and they cannot stand until they succeed at a Difficulty 5 Constitution save. The condition lasts until they receive medical attention plus 1d6 weeks. <i>AC modifier: -5</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>9 - Shoulder:</i> </b>A shot to the shoulder is painful, but rarely deadly. There is a 5% chance such a shot strikes a major artery, in which case it is treated as a lung shot. Otherwise, it deals double damage and the target loses the use of the associated arm (50% right/left) until they receive medical attention. Thereafter, all checks and saves that involve the associated arm are at -5/-25% for the next 1d6 weeks. This includes spells requiring somatic components (genstures). <i>AC modifier: -4</i> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>10 - Elbow:</i> </b>A shot to the elbow renders the associated arm (50% right/left) useless, and deals double damage. The victim must succeed at a Constitution save (Difficulty: 10-damage dealt) or fall unconscious from pain and shock. There is a 60% chance the limb is lost below the elbow, or the elbow is shattered, rendering the condition permanent without a prosthetic replacement. If the limb can be repaired, the victim suffers -5/-25% to all checks and saves with the limb for 1d6 weeks. <i>AC modifier: -5</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>11 - Lower Arm</i>: </b>A shot to the lower arm has the same effects as a shot to the shoulder, but there is a 50% chance of shattering a bone. In this case, the limb is crippled and unusable for at least 6 weeks. If the bone breakage roll is 20% or lower, the damage is catastrophic; the lower arm is lost or must be amputated, with all effects permanent unless a prosthetic limb can be fitted. <i>AC modifier: -4. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i>12 - Hand / Wrist: </i></b>A shot to the hand/wrist has the same effects as a shot to the lower arm. <i>AC modifier: -5.</i></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">A Final Note</h3><p style="text-align: left;">This subsystem, as I stated, was more of a fun thought experiment than anything else. It's designed to provide some dynamics to combat, which can make battles far more brutal and result in permanent injuries to characters and NPCs. It has not, however, been playtested. It should also be noted that the AC modifiers here are not in any way related to the effects; a shot to the lungs is easier to make than a shot to the hand or knee because the lungs provide a larger target area that's easier to hit, but it's also far deadlier. GMs should keep all of this in mind before importing called shots into their game. </p><p style="text-align: left;">In addition, incorporating the kinds of disabilities that these rules represent could be problematic or even traumatizing to some players. GMs should always be sure that the rules you use are appropriate to your table. Discuss things with your players before dropping major combat complications like these into your game. </p><p style="text-align: left;">If anyone does try this system out, I'd love to hear how it works. Hit me up on Discord, Facebook, or comment here and let me know how it works! I would be more interested in actual play comments than theoretical ones, however. And as always, for more expanded combat rules, be sure to check out the <a href="https://www.elflair.com/product/night-companion-a-sourcebook-for-night-shift-vsw/4?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false" target="_blank"><b>Night Companion</b></a> for <b>Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars</b>!</p><div><b><br /></b></div>The Grey Elfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696474020129732936noreply@blogger.com0