Inktober 2019 Preview

After some deliberation I’ve decided I’m going to participate in Inktober 2019. Essentially all you have to do to participate is draw something using ink on a daily basis for the 31 days of October. Officially they want you to tag your art with #inktober and #inktober2019 and post it on social media. If you go over to inktober.com, you can find out more info and resources.

There is an official prompt list of a single word for each day to help inspire you to draw something related to the word (this is much like rpgaday). There are also other lists floating around that I suppose you can use if you want. As far as I’m concerned, the biggest thing is to draw something daily for 31 days using ink.

Some people like to draw their sketch with pencil and ink over the top of that. I may try that but probably not. While I want to use this to improve my art, I think part of the challenge for me is making mistakes and learning how to fix them using ink. This will no doubt be a big challenge for me to draw daily.

Another aspect to it is that posting your art online can be very intimidating. Art is subjective and I for one haven’t made a piece that I was completely satisfied with. Every artist sees where they screwed up and their eye goes directly to that blemish every single time they look at the piece.

I encourage everyone to attempt this challenge even if they don’t announce that they’re doing it or don’t want to post their work on social media. Just pick up a pen and doodle something on a Post-it note. I may not get something drawn every day but I will make the attempt. More than likely it will be more of the case that I feel my art isn’t good enough to post on that day. My daily posts will be on Twitter @mstark78 and I will make a weekly MeWe post. I’m undecided if I will blog my drawings weekly to be honest.

Every new project calls for new gear. Amirite? As you can see in the picture, I got a new sketchbook, a black Copic marker, and some cheap ball point pens. The next picture shows all of my old gear. Some of it will be used, then again, maybe not. Of all the ink utensils, I think my primary tools will be the black Copic, a sharpie, a ball point pen, a white gelly roll pen, and my Pentel brush pen. My fountain pens and dip pens probably wont get used at all.

The sketchbook will be interesting to use as I’ve never heard of this brand before and it’s specifically marketed towards markers. The little paper on the front cover also says that its ultra smooth surface is excellent for pen and ink, technical pens, and markers.

The Copic multiliners are great technical pens but I think I’ll reserve those for my dungeon map drawings. The first Copic multiliner I ever bought was the more expensive refillable one. I don’t recommend you buy those. At first glance they seem like a good idea. You can refill the pen and replace the nibs. Fuhgedaboudit. Just get the disposable multiliners. You’ll thank me later.

Interesting side note on the brush pen. It needs to be stored in the upright position (as if it were clipped into a pocket). I had about half of a refill cartridge leak into the cap that came pouring out when I took the cap off. It was slightly leaking out of the cap inside my pencil case but I had no idea what I was in for when I took the cap off.

Well, I think that’s all I’ve got this time. You folks have a wonderful day and don’t forget to head on over to the Nerds-InternationalMeWe page to check out all the great podcasts and bloggers over there. The pinned post at the top of the page has all the contact info.

P.S.   If you’re curious about narrative dice or you’re just looking for a podcast on the Genesys RPG then look no further. Finding The Narrative: A Genesys RPG Podcast is a member of Nerds-International and their hosts Tony, Chris, and Stephen are very knowledgeable on all of FFG’s narrative GM crutches.

Nerds-International MeWe community

#RPGaDay2019 Week 4

As I sit down to write this last installment of #RPGaDay2019 I’m dreading the completion of this exercise. For some reason unknown to me I find myself unmotivated to finish it. I feel like its wearing thin on me. While doing weekly installments has been much better than daily it still feels hard to complete. I shall persevere.

22. Lost- Perhaps this one is better suited to lost in translation. There have been many times while playing games or even conveying information via text that the meaning of my intentions get lost along the way. During a game I interpret this as my lack of clue giving or lack of properly describing the situation to the players. Online while responding to posts on social media its quite easy for your intent to be misconstrued the wrong way. This is just something that happens and you have to accept it.

23. Surprise- In game terms there is usually a mechanic to “Surprise” the characters but what about surprising the players? I can recall only one time I was surprised as a player and that was because I totally wasn’t expecting a giant monster to come out of the water into the cultist lair. It’s very hard to surprise players nowadays. We’re all gamers and like to read so we all read the monster manuals. If I throw an Aboleth at a group, chances are high that someone will know how to fight it. I’m going to take a different approach with these types of things for my DCC Lankhmar game coming up soon. I’m hoping I’ll at least creep out a player or two.

24. Triumph- Defeating a mighty evil against all odds while the numbers are in the favor of your enemy. I can’t think of a time in a game where I felt truly triumphant. Savage Worlds is more of a cinematic game in my eyes which kind of takes away the triumphant victories. In Call of Cthulhu, just surviving is considered a victory so being triumphant would have a different meaning I suppose. I think in order to get that triumphant victory feeling it needs to happen over the course of a long campaign. One in which the characters are slowly achieving the overall goals to face the big bad guy with setbacks at every step of the way. They have to feel like the objective is hopeless yet achievable.

25. Calamity- Oh boy! I’ve been in many, many, many games where calamity ensued. The one that sticks out most in my mind is the encounter in my Irongate game. It’s the second session in a short campaign and the characters come across an encampment. The scene is an old RV camper off to one side with cages on another. Near the middle of the camp a woman is chained to the ground while someone is sawing off her forearm. The players don’t quite know it yet but these cannibals are the Fratelli family. One of the characters decides to go have a chat with these fine people while the other 3 sit back and watch what’s going on. Well, one of the 3 weren’t so sneaky and Sloth was sent to check it out. Someone attacked Sloth and the one talking to the cannibals tried to yank a shotgun away from Mama. Let’s just say that one character died, one got captured, and the other 2 limped away to safety. I wish I could have recorded that scene. It was a real fun one. Well, for me anyway. Hehehe.

26. Idea- They come from all over the place for me but mostly movies and books. I have shelves full of books that I might never play but I mine the information to use in other games. I’ve had a few good ideas from podcasts like Finding the Narrative, a podcast about FFG’s Genesys system (its their Star Wars game with the Star Wars ripped out). Tony, Chris, and Stephen are very knowledgeable on the game.

27. Suspense- Now this is a good one. How do you create suspense in a game? The easiest way is to end the session on a cliff hanger (no token needed). My buddy Eric just did it to us a couple of weeks ago. We were sitting in a local watering hole and after we gathered the needed information we’re relaxing when some German soldiers enter. Of course, the only one of us that speaks German decides this is a good time to go to the washroom. The Germans are coming towards us and as I grip my Colt 1911 Eric ends the session.

28. Love- I’m not a fan of toying with this emotion in rpg’s. It usually just feels weird and other times it’s a cheap way to force characters into action. Using the characters loved ones to force them into performing acts is an old cliché. It shows lack of imagination of the part of the GM. If the characters loved one is an active part of the story then it could be okay to an extent but should be avoided.

29. Evolve- Some people say that games need to evolve but I disagree. It’s the people who don’t like the game as it is that say this. I’m sorry but if you feel that way then you need to find a different game. Many people like the game the way it is and don’t need it to evolve into something completely different. I also feel like publishers do this just to make more sales. Look at D&D for example. No one can agree on which edition is best. A lot of people love 5e and hate 4e. Some people liked 4e but the game evolved because there was an overwhelming number of people who disliked it. Now 5e is out and they still haven’t produced any new content. All they’ve done is convert old products to the latest edition and people are clamoring for more.

30. Connection- Isn’t this what the hobby is about? Connecting with people around a table to have a good time. Sometimes those connections get stronger as time goes on and other times they weaken. What about connecting with your character. I’ve not experienced this but some view their character as an extension of themselves and they grow connected to it. It’s just a game folks. You should play some OSR type games where a character often dies and you show up with 3 backup characters.

31. Last- A fitting end to the challenge. The last thing I want to do is let people down. Scheduling an online game is hard enough but cancelling at the last minute always disappoints me. I will always try to let others know if I can’t make a game at least a few days in advance so it irritates the heck out of me when others can’t do the same. Sometimes these games are dependent on everyone showing up while other times it makes no difference if a player can’t show up. There have been stretches of time when I was only gaming once a month and when the GM cancelled at the last minute I was really pissed off. So please try not to let other people down.

P.S. There are a lot of people over at the Nerds-International community that put out great content and it wouldn’t have been possible without Jaime Pierson. The Brewery is his show where he does wargames, rpg’s, and reviews. Go check out his Youtube channel.

Nerds-International MeWe community

The Savage Worlds Killer

This morning on my drive into work I was listening to Finding the Narrative, a Genesys podcast hosted by Tony Fanning and Chris Holmes. They started talking about combat and it made me realize that I like Savage Worlds more than any other system on the market to date. I do like Fantasy Flight Games' game and it does some stuff really well but Savage Worlds does it better.

Then I thought, what is it about Genesys that I like? Well for starters, its magic system is top notch. I think it performs better than most other systems. The magic user can adjust how powerful her spell is on a case by case basis. It allows free form sculpting of the spells on the fly and is only limited by the spellcasters imagination. Savage Worlds can't quite do this but it does come closer than anyone else with trappings.

Genesys' use of talents makes more sense to me than just increasing your skills. The use of talents allows players to have a bit more narrative structure to their character while also including boons to skill rolls, strain, or soak value. The tree by which talents are selected is designed to force the players to make difficult choices and also makes sure the character is balanced (i.e. not overpowered). Savage Worlds is very similar to this in the fact that some Edges have prerequisites. Players cannot simply take Improved Counterattack without first taking Counterattack. Then Counterattack in itself has requirements of its own. 

One last thing that I really like about Genesys is its use of Motivation. Motivation is a tool for both the player and the GM. It helps the player to better define the character by describing when and how they learned the skills that they have. It also provides the GM with ideas to incorporate the character's background into the story. I don't know how many times I've asked players to write a short background on their character and only get a few people to actually do it. Savage Worlds sort of accomplishes the same thing through the use of Hindrances but too many players only see these as a way to generate bennies. It is meant to help mold the character to your concept. Flawed characters are always more fun than perfect ones.

Now onto some of the things I dislike about Genesys. Combat actions, this irks the hell out of me and the deciding factor of why Savage Worlds is better. Much like D&D, in Genesys you only get one combat action. I remember the first time I saw Savage Worlds played by others. I saw someone perform multiple attack actions and move around. This was an epiphany to me. This is what I was missing from D&D. I was growing tired of the no you can't do that because you only have one action mentality. I wanted to be able to jump onto a table, kick an Orc in the face, swing from the chandelier, and tackle another Orc. Not gonna happen in Genesys or D&D. 

Let's talk about Cool and Vigilance used for initiative. This is stupid. Why are there two different skills for performing the same task? I understand they're trying to differentiate between someone being surprised and someone who is ready to engage in combat. It does speed up the surprise check process but it doesn’t make sense. Why do I need to invest points into two different skills that only has one purpose, combat initiative? Just have the players roll Perception for surprise, if they fail they act the next round. Then have all successful players roll initiative. The players who are surprised take the last available initiative slots. 

Abstract initiative turn order is not something I enjoy all that much either. I don't see a whole lot wrong with it but I see it as encouraging meta gaming. I'm not saying meta gaming is bad. I'd just like to see a little less of it during combat. Savage Worlds and Castles & Crusades gets this part right. Initiative is determined every round simulating the fact that combat is more fluid and you don't act at the same time every turn.

Before I forget, I really don't like how characteristics in Genesys are pretty much stuck after character creation. Or at least they should allow for a more accessible way to increase them after creation. Currently the only way to increase them is after picking up a tier 5 talent and that is pretty dang tough to accomplish. A tier 5 talent will cost 175 experience points minimum. In game terms that means you could increase one characteristic by 1 every 9 sessions assuming you don't spend it on skills.

Savage World is not perfect by any means either but it handles everything I've wanted in a game fairly well. Just to name a few things I'm not keen on are the different uses of Investigation and Streetwise to accomplish the same thing. They both perform the same function but are narratively defined differently. I've also heard that the new version will breakout Performance from Persuasion which again are serving the same function with different narrative descriptions. They will also combine Climbing, Swimming, and Throwing into a new Athletics skill. They really need to keep Throwing separate from Athletics. Throwing is a combat skill that needs to be on its own.

Basically what I'm getting at is that no game system is perfect and Genesys is not, nor will ever be a Savage Worlds Killer. I'm looking at you Jamie. Anybody who's familiar with the Nerds-International Google Plus community will know that SWK is just a term we use to joke around with about one system being better than the other but we all know that Savage Worlds just does some things better than others. It should go without saying that we put ICRPG into the same category of ribbing each other.

Even though I'm not a huge fan of ICRPG, I cannot deny the fact that it has changed how lots of people play table top RPG's in general. It has made a huge impact on the game industry as we know it. At least once a week I'll see someone on social media talk about how they don't play it but it has opened their eyes or showed them a new way to look at something. For that, I say thank you Hankerin Ferinale.

Nerds-International Google+ community page

Herald: Lovecraft & Tesla The Tabletop Roleplaying Game Review

I finally got around to running Herald: Lovecraft & Tesla, a Savage Worlds tabletop roleplaying game from Ravendesk Games and Action Lab Comics, and I really like the game. I would say this is pulp style of Cthulhu but honestly it all depends on your GM style. You could easily run this game in a pulp fashion or a hardcore Lovecraftian Cthulhu style. I had loads of fun running an adventure over the last two weekends even though there were some flaws that I should have anticipated before running it. I think the game I ran started out as a pulp version but by the time we got to the last scene it was more reminiscent of a Cthulhu game where 2 of the 3 player characters died and the last ran away in babbling frenzy of fear. MUWAHAHA!

This 180 page book contains the typical character creation and setting rules along with new edges and hindrances. The first 57 pages contains the player section while the remainder of the book is for the GM's eyes only. Included within are 45 pregenerated Novice characters, 5 Seasoned characters, and 5 Veteran characters. You also get a character sheet, a two page spread of 20's slang, a 10 page bestiary, 6 one sheets, and 5 adventures. As part of the Kickstarter campaign I took part in, I also got an adventure titled A Fistful of Dholes.

The setting book itself is a rather fast read that I enjoyed. In this game the players are part of the Mythos Resistance, a secret organization of people from all walks of life (mostly famous people and celebrities) who are trying to protect John Q Public from the invasion of unnatural beings during the roaring 20's. They "keep the world safe and ignorantly blissful." Cosmic horror and invaders from beyond the stars is what this game is all about. There isn't any magic therefore there are no arcane backgrounds. Saying there isn't magic is a rather broad statement but it doesn't mean there isn't really magic. It just means that if it’s not normal or un-explainable then it’s not natural or "unnatural". There certainly could be magic in your version but in order to maintain the pulpy feel of the game then it should be explained in a way such as weird science rather than magical.

This setting uses the Fear mechanic from the Savage Worlds Deluxe core rulebook with a slight twist. It's up to the GM when a Fear check is called for but it shouldn't be used for anything weird or mysterious. This is more for Cosmic horror or unnatural encounters. "Being surprised by a bear in the woods is natural." Seeing giant 3 foot long worms erupting from a rotting corpse towards you is a Fear check. They also replace the d20 fright table with a 2d6 Cosmic Horror Chart. While you can still use the standard fright table, this new chart changes things up a bit. Most notably by removing the heart attack effect.

If you've already purchased other Cthulhu style games then this book may not be for you. Don't get me wrong, this is a good book but the ideas presented here aren't entirely new. What you're getting are some new edges, hindrances, Tesla tech gear, lots of pregenerated characters, bestiary, and some adventures to run. Having said that, I think it's worth the $24.99 PDF price tag. The artwork is fantastic and looks like it came straight out of the comic books. The style and feel of this game via the artwork, time period, and Tesla inventions are what sets it apart from other Cthulhu games.

I decided to run the Dhole adventure for my friends Blaine, Jamie, and Stephen. As I said before, I had a blast putting my friends in the Mythos Resistance and seeing how they reacted to the situations they were put in. This adventure had two major flaws that I should have caught beforehand. One was a scene where the player characters talk to a condescending university professor as one of the clues they were provided. This scene has way too much information to convey to the players that it almost fell apart halfway through. There's nearly a full page and a half of text that your supposed to read aloud along with a requirement to have them pass a short oral exam of what they just listened to. If they fail the exam then they miss out on some vital information. I should have anticipated this ahead of time and adjusted how the information was conveyed. The second flaw comes in the final scene where the players are supposed to summon an Egyptian demi-god who helps them eliminate the threat. The problem with this is that it turns into an NPC vs NPC encounter taking away any heroic acts of the player characters. I think the right word for this is anticlimactic.

As a side note, I just saw that the characters should have had some equipment that is supposed to be standard issue. The Lightning Pistol is a hand held lightning bolt projector that ignores armor. Oh well, at least I know for next time. Sorry fellas, I'm just a dumb dora that's full of banana oil.

As far as the setting book goes, I'd give it 4 out of 5 Jalizaran Moons. I think the sheer number of pregenerated characters and combination of one sheets and adventures bump it up a notch. The adventure A Fistful of Dholes on the other hand would get 3 out of 5.

P.S. Some friends of mine have a new podcast about the Genesys RPG from Fantasy Flight Games. It's called Finding The Narrative: A Genesys RPG Podcast. The link will take you to Podbean and you can also find them on the Nerds-International Google+ subcategory page. Check it out and you wont be disappointed. 

Nerds-International Google+ community page