It has been a month since my last post. Been busy. Life has been really kicking me lately.

Anyway, I have been working on Dolphin, as well as a ton of other things. A lot of writing and a lot of business for Rogue Games.

You do not believe me about Dolphin? Take a gander at this:

What is this you ask?

The draft in progress.

Every thing I write is always done in longhand. James can attest to this fact in our work on a number of projects together. Every draft begins in a Moleskin, which is where my notes are contained. From this collection of notes, I then write the first draft (contained in the larger brown notebook). The draft continues until I am done, and once done, I then begin the rewriting. Rewriting involves my typing in the longhand draft into the Mac.

So there, you can see for yourself, I am writing Dolphin. I hope to have a manuscript done by the end of next month. This will be then be typed up, and the real work will begin.

Though I have been silent the past few weeks about this game, I am still working on it. Slowly but still working on it. To help me collect the scattered thoughts I have about the game, I am going to download my mind right here. This will be messy, and might make no sense, but, it might answer some questions. Still, knowing how things go, it might also create more as well.

• You play a dolphin. Not a magic dolphin. Not monster dolphin. A regular real live dolphin.
• Enemies are sharks, jelly fish, eels, and other nasty things in the sea. There is a big bad, over reaching nasty, but what it is, I will not say.
• The ocean is the world.
• Whales are missing.
• Adventures center around discovery, exploration, solving mysteries, and helping your pod.
• The ocean is known as The Blue.
• The rules are designed to get to the heart of the mater.

Before I dive into the next post, there are a few questions I want to answer. These are answers to some emails, tweets, and messages I have gotten since I first started talking about this.

Q. Is Rogue Games going to publish this?

A. Yes.

Q. When will this be released?

A. When it is done.

Q. Really, there is no plan to this?

A. No.

Q. You’re crazy.

A. Yes, I know. That is not a question by the way.

Q. Is this going to be a roleplaying game?

A. Yes.

Q. So, let me get this straight. As a player, I play a dolphin?

A. Yes. All characters are dolphins. The entire game takes place under the sea.

Q. Will Dolphin run on 12°?

A. Yes. The mechanic is perfect for a game of this type. Dolphin is more narrative in the type of adventures you run and play in. 12° is a good mechanic, that when you take it to the core, allows for easy task resolution. It does not get in the way, and does not make things too complicated. The type of actions that take place in the game, needs a mechanic like 12° to drive it.

Q. If you are using 12° will this be similar to how the mechanic is used in either Colonial Gothic or Thousand Suns?

A. No. Both of those games are different in tone and the type of rules you need are different as well. Both games need — let alone require — rules allowing for Skills, structured combat, and add on features that a game such as Dolphin does not require. The best example of this is Skills. Both Colonial Gothic and Thousand Suns need them. Dolphin does not. Why? For a couple of reasons.

First, the player characters are all dolphins, and because of this, they pretty much are all able to do the same things. What Dolphin will do is merge  Skill Tests in with ability Tests. By that, if you want your PC to fight, it is a Strength Test. Abilities — in Dolphin — set your skills. This is similar to what is done in Toon, but unlike Toon, you will not have a list of skills listed under each ability. Instead, all Tests, are driven by the appropriate ability.

Secondly, these are dolphins after all. I am going for a different tone with this game, and because of this, I do not need the complexity that is found in Colonial Gothic and Thousand Suns.

Q. So what is the tone? You mentioned Finding Nemo before, are you trying to do a game like that?

A. Yes, and no. What I want with Dolphin is a game that allows me to run — and play — adventures that are more drama. I want to run a game that can be more cienamtic, as well as one, that does not bog down the play. What I am doing with this game, and what the players have been doing, is more narrative.

Anyway, this should bring you up to speed on the what and how. Next post will be about the setting.

Eighteen years ago my life changed.

My friend John loved games, comic books, and anything dealing with the genre of cyberpunk. He was a Robocop fanatic. He was devoted to the gospel of the Holy Trilogy and the teachings of the Godfather. John was a genius. He loved math, computers, and for fun enjoyed doing derivatives without a calculator. Gaming with John was always a trip and his Cyberpunk character Buck Johnson was truly a masterpiece of perverted sick humor.

John and I met at our freshman orientation for college in 1989, and immediately hit it off. We shared a passion for comic books, and debated the weighty topics of McFarlane’s depiction of Spider-man, and why I think the Legion of Superheroes is the greatest creation of all times. I joined his regular gaming group and was introduced to the numerous charts of Rolemaster, while I introduced them to the joys of Car Wars. The group was great, and it would not be until the summer of 1997 that it would disband. Sadly, John did not live to see the farewell party.

It was the first week of school and the weekend was upon us. The group was gathered, the dice ready, and John was late. Mind you, John was prompt to a fault and you could always count on him showing up a half-hour early. As we sat around the table in the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee Student Union we joked that finally we could tease John for being late. A half-hour went by and there was still no sign of John, and as was the rule, if you are not there we play without you. It would not be until later that night I would learn the news.

John was at a red light waiting patiently for it to turn green. John was patient. Hell the guy would wait in line without any complaint, and he could fish for hours without moving a muscle. John was probably listening to talk radio and debating with the conservative host. John was a liberal, and like everything else with our relationship, we debated politics all the time since I was his polar opposite. He never saw the car coming that hit him head on, killing him instantly.

It was on September 6, 1991 at 6:30 PM that my best friend John lost his life. It is a Friday that still, after all these years, is vivid in my mind. Even now as I write this, I have tears in my eyes thinking about the life of my best friend that was cut short. The driver who murdered my friend was drunk. Strike that, she was beyond drunk, she had pure grain alcohol running through her veins. She passed out at the wheel, and as luck would have it escaped with only a broken leg and a broken collar bone. John was not so lucky.

Every September 6th I think of my friend. I think of the times we shared and the debates we had. I remember going to Gen Con with him, going to comic book shows, and the endless nights of play at the game table. Still eighteen years to the day I feel a little empty inside. I would give anything to talk to him even if it were only for just five minutes. I would give anything to see the expression on his face when I tell him I am married.

I miss you John.

This was going to be a larger article, but I never had time to finished. I did run it in A&E when I contributed my own ‘zine, but that was the only time it appeared in public. This also marks the first, and only time, I ever wrote fiction. Anyway, I like the ideas here, I wish I finished it.

Bounty Hunters of the Old World

Night had fallen along the Altdorf-Middenheim Road. It was Ulriczeit, and it was called. The patrons of the Ox Yoke Inn huddled in the common room nursing mugs of mulled wine trying to stay warm. Though the inn was warm, the icy fingers of the winter night had found their way in.

It was late, and most of the room was empty. In an hour Otto Tasker would close his bar and those who bought a night’s rest in the common room could finally get some sleep. Already a few patrons had found a quiet corner of the common room and were sleeping off a night of drinking, or long day of travel.

Suddenly, the front door of the inn opened, and a gust of wind filled the room. Following the wind’s wake a figure dressed in a long black hooded cloak entered. Shutting the door behind him, the man pulled the hood off, and threw it over his shoulders.

The man was trouble. His legs were covered with black leather pants, and a chain mail shirt rested easily over a thick black wool shirt.

Not very big, he was lean, toned and had the look of danger. A sword hung loosely on his left hip, and a loaded crossbow rested comfortably in his right hand. The man’s weather beaten face had a scar racing up from his chin to an eye patch covering his right eye. His black hair, streaked gray, hung like a mane to the middle of his back.

With his one good eye, he scanned the room searching for someone. No one spoke or moved, in fear that the man’s stare would stop on them.

There in the corner, near the fireplace, the man saw who he was looking for. Purposely, he walked the length of the room, never taking his eye off the man. The tread of his boots, and rattle of manacles, was the only sound heard in the room.

“Wendel Castel, you are wanted for the murder of Valentine Eschenheim, Liliane Ladengast, Isabella Pabst, and Adelheid Raab. You are wanted for the murder of two Altdorf City Watchmen, wanted for the crimes of escaping arrest, and wanted for the theft of a Road Warden’s horse. I have a signed warrant for your apprehension,” the man spoke calmly, never taking his eye off the man.

Wendel cursed himself for being complacent. After fleeing Altdorf, he thought he was safe on the outskirts of Middenheim. He would soon get past this one-eyed hunter and go into hiding again. Looking desperately for a way to make a run for it; Wendel sized up the bounty hunter and thought that he could rush past him and escape into the night.

Suddenly a sharp pain spread from Wendel’s chest to his arms. A blanket of cold covered him, he began to gulp for air, and blackness loomed on the edge of his vision. Looking down, Wendel saw a black-shafted crossbow bolt protruding from his chest, and he saw his own blood quickly darkening his chest.

“The warrant did not state you had to be alive. Dead or breathing, it makes no difference to me,” stated the bounty hunter matter-of-factly.

The last thing Wendel saw before departing for Morr’s Realms was a smile of satisfaction break across the bounty hunter’s face. With a thump, Wendel slumped to the table, his blood methodically dripping to the floor.

The hunter went to the body and produced a roll of cloth. Quickly he wrapped it around the body and tied it securely in place. With a grunt, he hoisted the body over his shoulder and walked out the door. No one in the common room spoke, or moved to stop the man from leaving.

Into the cold night the hunter left, and with him his next pay day.

Many choose to become a bounty hunter because they see a profit tracking down bounties. Though a hunter may be well paid, the life of the bounty hunter is a hard one. It is filled with many nights sleeping on the ground and many fights in smoke-filled bars. Tracking down a bounty can cost a hunter a small fortune, and often the cost does not justify the return from the posted bounty. The life leaves its mark on a hunter, and many have scars of poorly bound wounds, or poorly set bones, to prove it. No one gets rich from bounty hunting, and those who do, are usually ones who have gone from being bounty hunters to paid assassins.

Typically people enter the profession tend to be ex-watchman or wardens who grow tired of the low pay and risks of their jobs. After a few years of risking their lives trying to enforce the law, they come to the conclusion that by tracking down bounties, which is equally dangerous, but with higher rewards . Hunters and woodsman find this profession is easy to break into, as hunting people is not much of a change from hunting animals. After all, though humans tend to be smarter then deer, it is not that different from hunting game. In short anyone with a modicum of fighting ability, and the ability to follow a trial or intimidate an informant, can make a living from hunting down bounties.

Saying you are a bounty hunter, and actually being a bounty hunter are two different things. In order to collect a bounty one must be licensed. Licenses are easy to obtain and cost 20 Crowns a year to maintain. All licenses are issued by the local government and bear the signature of a issuing judge and a representative of the local government. With the license a person is able to apprehend, and in the case of Imperial warrants, kill a bounty. If a bounty hunter is not licensed, or if they are working with an expired one, the hunter cannot collect a fee.

There are two types of bounties in the Empire: civil and Imperial. A civil bounty is one that is posted by a private individual or group. Generally if a person wants to keep something private and has the financial means to pay a bounty they will contact a bounty hunter. Civil bounties generally involve such crimes as outstanding debt, theft, and in a few cases having carnal relationships with a wealthy merchant’s daughter. These types of warrants pay very well, but the hunter has to bring the person in alive to collect the bounty. Also, because of their nature, no civil bounty can call for the bounty to be killed. Unfortunately, there is nothing to stop a person from making a civil bounty dead or alive, but the judicial system has shown a tendency to frown on this.

Imperial bounties are a different matter, however, and they are usually the last resort of the judicial system. Not only the Emperor but also by Electors, and lesser rulers issues imperial warrants. These warrants cover any criminal posing a threat to the Empire’s stability. If the authorities are unable to bring a criminal to justice, or find a wanted suspect, a bounty is issued. All that is needed is the signature of a judge, or of a representative of a local government official. Once the bounty is posted, any bounty hunter can take it and attempt to collect on it. Imperial bounties are issued for outlaws, highwaymen, and others who pose a serious threat to the safety of the Empire and her citizens. These bounties are typically paid if the suspect is brought in alive, but in the case of wanted thieves, murderers and rebels, it will be paid if the body is brought in dead.

Both Imperial and civil bounty’s will have a monetary award attached to them, and the maximum amount is usually no more than 200 Crowns. In the case of civil warrants the award has no limits and there are cases where a hunter has collected 500 Crowns. In this case the bounty is paid by a jilted lover who discovering she was being played a fool by an ex-lover having a relationship with her daughter. As mentioned only Imperial warrants can have the “Dead or Alive” stipulation attached to them, and only licensed hunters can collect on them. It has come as surprise to many unlicensed bounty hunters to find themselves arrested for murder after bring in a dead bounty.

Bounty hunters are loners, and it is rare for them to work together. The reason is that most bounty hunters are greedy, and if two hunters bring in their bounty they then have to split the award. Many do not want to do this, being reluctant to share the wealth. There are a few cases of bounty hunters working together, but this is a rare occurrence. Recently, however, is a group of bounty hunters have formed the Pallenberg Agency in Middenheim.

Six years ago, four bounty hunters who saw a market for their service founded the Pallenberg Agency. Realizing that they would never get rich from collecting Imperial bounties, the four decided to create a service for wealthy citizens in the area of security and investigating. The group specializes in hiring out agents as bodyguards for individuals who can afford to pay. Clients are guaranteed the utmost satisfaction and are given the promise that, as long as their guard is one duty, no harm will befall them. In addition agents are hired as security for private functions, and many wealthy merchants in both Middenheim and Altdorf employ Pallenberg as their security firm. The big area of business for the firm is investigations. Those with the means hire the Agency to track down conmen, and those who have wronged them. Pallenberg is expensive, but the results speak for themselves. By relying on contacts and intimidation, Pallenberg Agents have a 90% success rate.

This is the moleskin that Dolphin currently lives in.

I am torn as to where I should post this. On one hand, this can easily be posted over at Rogue Dispatches, because eventually, this game will be published by Rogue Games. However, the game is not even ready yet, and only exists in a very rough stage.

Game?

Oh, I guess I should start at the beginning.

For the past year or so I have been kicking around a game design idea. Said idea, deals with a roleplaying game, different than what I usually do. The game is one that has the players assume the roles of dolphins.

Yes, dolphins.

The game is more narrative than anything I have done, and deals withe players surviving in the ocean, and dealing with a growing threat. Think of it as Finding Nemo meets Planet Earth.

The idea has been kicking around and every few weeks, I get a bunch of ideas and write them down in one of the moleskins. Eventually these ideas reached their limit, and I began writing the game. Now, by writing, I am talking about the bare essentials, and if anything, the writing is more notes than anything.

Finally about four months ago, I ran the game, as is, and much to my surprise, my players loved it. Oh yes, there were many rough patches, but the over all feeling was simple: they loved the idea, they liked the game, and they wanted me to design more. I was far too busy to do anything with this — after all I was in the final stages of Colonial Gothic Revised and tying up the last of Thousand Suns: Foundation Transmissions — but said I would do more with it eventually.

GenCon comes, and as usually happens when I get together with my friends, we start talking about games and game design. I mention Dolphin in passing, and then I see it, more people who dig the idea. It would not be until we’re back in the hotel room that Ariana states rather simply to me:

You know, Dolphin is a game I would want to play.

My wife is not a roleplayer. She loves board games and all types of games, but rpgs are the one type of game she has never showed any desire, let along interest in. Yet, her simple statement, was a shock to my system. Hence, now I am working on a new game, Dolphin.

Ok, with that introduction out of the way, we are now all up to date.

Dolphin is the new game I am working on. I have no idea when it will be released, how it will be released, or when it will be done. However, I know it will be done, and I am working on it. I know this is a game James and I want to release, but there is no timetable with it yet. This is why I am torn about where to post about this game. For now, I will keep Dolphin posts here on my blog. The rough plan I have is to document the development here, and when it is ready to playtest, move that stage, and the rest of the development over to Rogue Dispatches.

I do not know how this is going to work, let alone where it is going, but I am excited about this game. It is something different for me, and I am having fun working on it. All the reservations I had about it are gone, now the fun begins. I can design.

Last night marked the start of what is my favorite season. Football Season.

College, or Pro, I do not care. The games count, and I was glued to my television watching the Booyah Network’s coverage. The only game I cared about last night was Boise v. Oregon. Said game started late (9 PM CST), and I was up far too late watching the game. Though tired, I do not care, it was live football.

I have three passions in life — my wife and Rogue Games take the #1 and #2 spots respectively — and football is one of them. Between now, and February, my free time will be spent watching games. With baseball nearing an end — my White Sox are done and I cannot stomach it any more — I am happy that Football is started.

For me, Football marks the start of many things, namely the end of Summer. It marks the start of my more productive time of the year, as well as my favorite time of the year.

This was written back in the mid 90s and appeared in a game club newsletter. That is all I got on this.

The Hunter

Description: When a noble wants to have a day of hunting, he does not simply gather his friends and other nobles, and trek into the woods. Instead he calls on a hunter to find suitable game, and to flush it out for the noble to kill.

A hunter is skilled in the ways of the animals. Unlike what the name implies, the hunter works to keep the game population manageable. They do not over hunt, and they seek to stop others from doing that. It is not only the hunter’s job to find the perfect deer, but too keep the woods safe from poachers, bandits, and monsters.

Hunters are quite and careful, and prefer to spend their days in the woods, and their nights drinking and boasting. They live by their own code, and answer only to themselves.

Requirements: Standard

Primary Terrain: Forest

Role: The Hunter is the quite watcher of the woods. It is his job to watch his liege’s land and manage his game herds. Hunters insure that the game herds are manageable, and that overpopulation does not harm the balance of the forest environment.

Besides animal control, the Hunter tracks down and slays any creature of evil that invades the forests. It is his duty to insure that the forces of evil do not reign unchecked in the woods.

Secondary Skills: Forester, Hunter, Trapper/Furrier

Weapon Proficiencies: Required: Long Bow. Recommended: Hand Axe, Knife, Short Sword, Sling.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bonus: Animal Lore and Hunting (see below). Recommended: Bowyer/Fletcher, Set Snares, Endurance, Cooking, Direction Sense, Camouflage, Alterness

Armor/Equipment: Hunters must have a long bow, and can wear only leather armor. Hunter’s also use only sheaf arrows.

Species Enemy: standard

Followers: any

Special Benefits: Stealth-hunters gain a +5% bonus to Hide in Shadows and Move Silently rolls; Hunting-hunters gain the Hunting proficiency free of charge. This skill improves by +1 every three level the ranger earns.

Special Hindrances: The hunter is the protector of the woods and he takes his role very seriously. He is often seen as a zealot when it comes to over hunting areas, and slaying monsters. Because a hunter works for a liege, he must seek permission to go adventuring.

Notes: The hunters takes himself very seriously, and he feels that he is the only one able to watch the woods. He will always stop poachers, and will always seek to put an end to over hunting. Over hunting also includes putting an end to hunting predators (wolves and the like).

Why would a hunter seek to stop the hunting of predators? The answer is balance. If there are no predator left in the woods, then an over population of deer, mouse and the like will incur. The hunter always seeks to keep everything in a balance, and he will pursue anyone who seeks to overturn that balance.

Seven years ago today, I married my best friend. If you count how long we been together (we lived together for a few years before we married) I have been with Ariana for twelve years.

I am not going to get mushy, or post an epic length post about my wife. She does not read my blog , nor do I think the world needs to know this stuff.

I will say, that every day I count myself as the luckiest man in the world.

So there you go.

I have no idea where this is from, what it was for, or why I wrote it. If this does not constitute a Lost Work I do not know what is.

Hobgoblin Omens

Hobgoblins by nature are not skeptical or suspicious. As a warrior race, hobgoblins have little need for prophecy or oracles. Chieftains rarely need advice on a decision and it is considered a sign of weakness not to know what to do. Hobgoblins do believe that nature gives significant omens. To ignore an omen a hobgoblin runs the risk of death or some other calamity.

From an early age hobgoblins are taught to identify these naturally occurring omens. No one knows the origins of these omens; they simply exist. Some shamans feel that it was the god Gorm who taught the hobgoblins the meanings of these omens. For hobgoblins omens are a part of life and that is all there is to it.

No one knows how many omens there are. One reason for this is that omens tend to differ from tribe to tribe. What one tribe considers an omen, another considers a quirk of nature. There are some omens that are common to all tribes. It is these omens that are considered the most significant and are often the most feared among the tribes.

“A perched crow who looks at you sees your doom.”

The crow is a significant animal for hobgoblins as it is associated with death. Crows flock to a battle and feed off the dead, and because of this hobgoblins fear them. The bird is a reminder to a hobgoblin of how short life can be. This is something a warrior does not like to face. It is one thing to fight and die in battle, but it is another thing to be reminded of your mortality.

Since the crow is associated with death, hobgoblins feel they can see death. It is thought that by killing the crow that looked at you the upcoming death can be averted. Crows are so feared among tribes, that slaves, since they are expendable, are sent to kill any they see.

“When a chieftain is named and a crow cries before the name is spoken, fate has changed.”

Like the previous omen, this one also spells doom, but only for a new chieftain. Crow’s, besides their association with death, are also associated with bad luck. The crying of the crow attracts bad luck, which is linked to the name of the new chieftain. The way to avert this is to kill the crow that uttered the cry. Then you must wear the feet as a talisman to ward off bad luck. If the crow cannot be found, the chieftain can also face an enemy alone and by winning, it is thought that he changes his bad luck to good luck.

“A ring around the full moon means good times ahead.”

Most hobgoblin omens deal with bad luck or death, but there are a few that deal with good fortune. A halo around the moon is a very rare occurrence, and since it is so rare hobgoblins feel that when it occurs good fortune soon follows. There are numerous accounts of hobgoblins, after seeing a halo, having successful raids or overcoming tremendous odds. It is thought that if a halo appears the night before a new chieftain is named, the halo signifies the chieftain’s reign will be successful.

“The falling star brings war.”

When a star falls in the sky it is thought that Gorm is swinging his axe and slaying his enemies. According to most this is a sign that battle soon approaches. If a tribe is in the middle of a conflict and they see this omen it is thought that Gorm walks with the tribe and victory is close at hand.

These are just a few examples of omens that can be used in play. New ones can be created at any time, and the best ones are vague in their meaning.