Filed under: Games, Rogue Games | Tags: © 2009 Rogue Games, news, Rogue Games
(Chicago & Toronto) April 8, 2009. The Rogues of Rogue Games is please to announce the launching of Megadungeon.net.
First conceived on James Maliszewski’s Grognardia, Megadungeon.net is an exercise in collaborative dungeon building.
Over the course of the coming weeks and months, the site will present a growing old school megadungeon. Although its native rules set is Swords & Wizardry, available as a free download from Mythmere Games, rules content will be light, making it usable with almost any fantasy roleplaying game. More importantly, the entirety of the content on Megadungeon.net (except artwork and cartography) is designated Open Game Content under the Open Game License. This means that anyone can freely use content from Megadungeon.net as they wish, including their own published products, provided they abide by the terms of the OGL.
More importantly, Megadungeon.net is free of charge — no subscriptions, no fees, no cost. Once content is done and posted, it is there for anyone to use in any manner they choose. In addition, everyone is invited to contribute to Megadungeon.net, providing room descriptions, monsters, spells, magic items, maps, artwork — you name it. The goal of this project is to produce a dungeon resource unlike any other.
So the question remains.
Do you dare to enter the dungeon?
Filed under: Games, Rogue Games | Tags: © 2009 Rogue Games, news, Rogue Games
So the news about Wizard of the Coast pulling their PDFs and running has hit the web, and gamers are angry. Fear not gamer, because Rogue Games is here, we are still selling our PDFs, and guess what? They are still as affordable as ever, and we still treat you, the Gamer, with respect.
When the Rogues started Rogue Games, our goal was was simple: make our games affordable. We strive to keep our prices low. In addition, we want you to play our games, and we feel that we should not get in your way when doing that. How are we doing this? Simple:
- Every time you buy a hard copy of our games at IPR you get the PDF for free. Forever. Ever.
- Our PDF pricing is as follows $9.99, $6.99, $4.99 and $1.00. These prices hold no matter if you buy your PDFs from Indy Press Revolution, Studio 2 Publishing, Drivethrurpg.com, RPGnow.com, e23, and Yourgamesnow.com.
- Finally, over the next few weeks our PDFs will be DRM free. Starting with Transmissions from Piper and all products here on out, will be DRM free. Call us crazy, but, we do not care.
Why all of this?
Simple. We. Want. You. To. Play. Our. Games.
Strange concept, we know, but that is the truth.
Filed under: Games, Rogue Games, thoughts | Tags: © 2009 Rogue Games, colonial gothic, design notes, Rogue Games, thoughts
Over at the Rogue Games blog, I have talked about the new rules found in Colonial Gothic Revised that cover the creation of creatures. Monsters, as I write in that blog post, is one of the areas lacking in the original version on of the Colonial Gothic Rulebook. With the revised version, this was one of my goals — expand the rules for creatures.
Anyway, here is an example of a monster that appears in the book. It also shows off the new rules as well.
Leeds Devil
Might 9, Nimble 10, Vigor 8, Reason 5, Resolution 5, Resolve 25, Vitality 42, Fear -2
Skills: Tracking [7]
Abilities: Bite, Flight [90-feet/Round], Fear, Horrific Visage, Moan, Second Wind [5 Sanity (10 with a Dramatic Success) lost for successfully hitting Target].
Sometimes known as the Jersey Devil, the Leeds Devil, as rumors go, is found in the Pine Barrens located in the southern regions of the New Jersey Colony. This creature has always existed in one form or another, and those seeing it, describe it the same way: a creature standing 8-feet in height, with a long neck, crane-like legs ending in hooves, and large bat-like wings, and a head resemble a dog. The creature, when encountered is viscous, and has a taste for human flesh.
As for the origins of the creature like most things there are more theories than facts. Some of the more plausible one are as follows:
- The Legend of the Jersey Devil traces the creature to Deborah Leeds. The Leeds family lived in the area of the Pine Barrens, and Leeds – who had given birth to 12 children – was pregnant with her 13th. The delivery was very difficult for her, and she invoked the Devil’s name. When the baby was born, it immediately, grew into a full-grown devil and escaped the house. Before doing so, the creature killed the family, and after devouring them, gained the taste for human flesh.
- Another version states that Mrs. Leeds, upon discovering she was pregnant with her 13th child, exclaimed that if she was to give birth to another child: “May it be a devil.” When she gave birth, her child was the creature.
- Another theory holds that the Mr. Leeds was a prominent merchant who treated his workers and indentured servants very poorly. So bad was this treatment that one of them placed a curse on the family, and the result of this curse was the birth of the creature.
- Some whisper that Mrs. Leeds, who was a Quaker, refused to convert from her faith. The Puritan Preacher was so angry with her; he proclaimed that her next child born would be Satan’s offspring.
- One final tale tells that the child was born a monster and that Mrs. Leeds raised and cared for it until she died. Upon her death, the child flew off into the swamps of the Pine Barrens and now lives there to this day.
What should be noted is that despite all attempts to track down the Leeds, and confirm any of the details had failed. No one can find them, let along anyone who knows of them. For every answer discovered, there always seems to be more questions. Besides the links to Mrs. Leeds, the Lenape whisper about a creature of great evil which they call Ehangelikgik. The creature, according to the shamans, is the enemy of Mani and is but one of many who serve the great evil known as Machtalappajo. These creatures stalk the land and hunt the righteous so that the world is prepared for the coming of Machtalappajo. This creature is ancient, and a danger to all.
Historical Background
The region called Popuessing by the Lenape roughly translates to the “Place of the Dragon.” When Swedish explorers arrived to the area named the area Drake Kill. With the arrival of the English, the area, they dubbed the region the Pine Barrens. Coupled with the rumors of the creature, the region gained a reputation for being a “mysterious place.” The fact that the region is isolated and a favorite for those trying to escape notice helps make the stories of the area darker. Loyalists, fugitives, religious dissenters, military deserters and others seeking a place to hide. Some formed small groups of bandits, as well as communities known as “piney.”
Filed under: Games, Rogue Games | Tags: © 2009 Rogue Games, design notes, SS&S, thoughts
Work on Shadow, Sword & Spell is going well. James is busy working on his sections dealing with tone, setting and character backgrounds. For me, I am working on a lot of the rules and gears driving the game. There is still a lot to do, and like any project that is being worked on by us, I am still waiting on James to finish his thinking. (An aside: this thinking involves epic length phone calls where the two of us talk through the things nagging at our thinking).
What we are doing with this game is giving everyone options. By this, like Thousand Suns, Shadow, Sword & Spell, is going to be a toolbox. GMs, and players, have a lot to choose from when running their games. These options are not just setting options, but rules options as well. By this, if you want more lethal combat, then you choose the options facilitating this. If you want a less lethal combat, you choose others. Case in point, here is an example from the Action & Combat chapter. This is still rough, but it is perfect in showing what I am talking about:
Armor
Wearing armor is an effective means for a Hero to defend themselves against damage. All armor has an Armor Value (AV), which a number is telling you how much damage your armor absorbs when attacked. For example, your Hero is wearing chain mail (which has a AV of 35). Any damage your Hero takes below this AV 35 is absorbed by the armor, anything above this value is passed to the hero. For example, your Hero is hit by an attack causing 50 points of damage. The armor absorbs 35 of this, and the remaining 15 is passed to the hero.
Option
This option makes combat a little more deadly, and Armor behaves the same way as above. The only change is that any Dramatic Success has the damage pass the armor and go directly to the hero.
Option
This option, if your Armor takes damage over it’s AV, the AV is reduced by a number of points equal to the overage, and stays this way until repaired.
There is more details to come, but the guts of this is important. By choosing from the offered options everyone can decide on how they want to play the game. There is no “right” way with this, and this for us is important. Every game of Shadow, Sword & Spell is going to be different, though all these games run on the same rules. Mixing and matching options allows you to really make the pulp fantasy game you want, and this, for me, is very cool.
Filed under: Games, Rogue Games, thoughts | Tags: © 2009 Rogue Games, colonial gothic, design notes, Rogue Games, thoughts
In the past I’ve written about the small changes I am making to how magic work in Colonial Gothic. Here is an example of a new spell that will be found in the game. Note this is still rough and will see some tweaking.
Bolt
Time: 1 Action
Range: 40/50/60
Duration: Instant
Performed On: Others
Sanity Cost: 0A recent development by European powers, Bolt marks the first active work in creating magical spells that have a more useful purpose – combat. Bolt was first used actively during the Seven Year’s War, as well as limited engagement in the colonies during the French and Indian War. With the end of hostiles, the knowledge of the spell became widely known, and since then, mages looking for a means to protect themselves from harm, has started learning this spell. The first recorded documentation of this spell is found in the little known work Een verhandeling over de toepassing van het mysterieuze Kennis, written by Gysbert Vansteenwijk, which was published in 1710. The work had a small printing, and the printer died upon publishing the work.
Successfully casting Bolt, the caster creates a bolt of elemental force that can hit target and cause damage with a damage value of 3(20). The caster can choose the bolt to be any elemental type they choose: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Magic. A Dramatic Success in casting Bolt has it cause double damage, while a Dramatic Failure has the bolt explode in the caster’s hand with them taking damage.
Filed under: Rogue Games, thoughts | Tags: © 2009 Rogue Games, colonial gothic, design notes, Rogue Games, thoughts
I am coming into the home stretch with getting the book done. It should be off to editing this week. I am way ahead of schedule, which is a good thing. The reason for being so far ahead is due to really enjoying this game. I like what I am working on, and I like the changes being made to this game.
Here is a snippet of the chapter I am polishing now:
Chapter 5: Action
Your Hero is your means of interacting with world of Colonial Gothic, but what your Hero does, and how he does it, is governed by the 12° system, described in previous chapters. This chapter builds upon the foundations laid down earlier, providing expanded sub-systems for important actions your character takes during the course of an adventure. To put it more simply, this chapter shows you how to fight, perform and act against the agents of the occult and supernatural. (Ok, not in real life, but in the context of the game!)
Personal Combat
When you’re a Hero, you need to respond to situations when others can’t (or won’t). Some Colonists might choose to settle conflicts peacefully rather than fight a monster. This might work in polite society, but when a vampire comes knocking at your door, talking is not going to help. Eventually your Hero is going to need to fight.
Before getting into the mechanics of action, keep in mind that when declaring your Hero’s actions in Colonial Gothic, you’re describing a scene in a movie. At times, your actions will be unbelievable; at other times you might take risks where any sane person would wait until its safe.
Telling Time
Personal combat is divided into units of measurement called Rounds. A Round does not necessarily correspond to any specific real world length of time. Instead, a Round is how long it takes for all characters involved in a situation to complete all their available Actions. Thus, it is an arbitrary unit intended to help both the Game Master and players keep track of who does what, and when, in the course of a combat. Rounds are not realistic representations of anything; they are a game convenience. If you need to know how long a round is, it is roughly 1 minute in length.
Initiative
Which character gets to act first in a Round is determined by his Initiative rating. Initiative is determined by the following formula:
D12 + ((Nimble + Reason) ÷ 2) +/- modifiers = Initiative Rating
[BEGIN BOX: Initiative Modifiers]
Initiative Rating can be modified by any number of factors, as determined by the GM. Characters wandering into an ambush might rightly receive a penalty to their Initiative Ratings, while those laying a trap for their opponents might receive a bonus. Likewise, previous combat experience might modify Initiative Ratings as well.
[END BOX]
Actions proceeds throughout a Round based on Initiative Rating, from highest to lowest. In the case of ties, the character with the highest ((Nimble + Reason) ÷ 2) acting first. Once the initiative order is determined, it remains fixed until combat is completed. The only exception is if a character chooses to delay acting in a Round until later than his Initiative Rating would normally warrant. If he does so, his Initiative Rating drops to the new, lower rating and stays there until combat ends.
Initiative can be determined either on an individual or “per side” basis. What this means is the GM can has every character, including NPCs, roll individually for their Initiative Rating or designates a single character per side in the conflict whose Initiative Rating he will use to determine who acts when. Typically, the character with the highest Tactics skill is the best person to designate for this task, but players should feel free to offer alternative suggestions. In general, individual initiative works best with smaller numbers of combatants, while per side initiative works best for large fights between many opponents.
Actions
An Action is whatever your character chooses to do during a Round. Normally, a character has only one Action per Round. If he wishes to attempt more than one Action in a Round, he suffers a multiple action penalty.
Multiple Actions
A character attempting more than one Action in a Round, suffers a penalty, the severity of which is determined by how many additional Actions he attempts. For each additional Action beyond the first, a character suffers a –1 TN penalty to every Action he takes that Round. For example, a character attempting three Actions in a single Round, suffers a –3 TN to all three of their Actions, including the first one they would normally get without penalty.
So there you go. The revisions are not going to change the game — they are going to make it better. Bringing the game in line with the flavor of the rules James and I have been working on, helps refine the ideas and streamline play. It also, and this for me is what is the most important thing, allows fans of one game, to know how to play our others. There might be a few tweaks, but in the end, if you know one, you know them all.
Filed under: Games, Rogue Games | Tags: © 2009 Rogue Games, colonial gothic, Rogue Games
…of the rough cover for Colonial Gothic Revised.
Filed under: Rogue Games | Tags: © 2009 Rogue Games, news, Rogue Games, thousand suns
It has been a few days since I’ve talked about the next Thousand Suns book, Transmissions from Piper. We hit a few snags — nothing that will delay things, we are on track — but it is coming along well. Waiting on the last bit of art, and here is the rough sketch of one of the pieces:
The above is done by Bradely K. McDevitt, and let me tell you he is doing some great work on this.
Filed under: Rogue Games, thoughts | Tags: © 2009 Rogue Games, colonial gothic, design notes, thoughts
As I mentioned a few days ago, magic in Colonial Gothic is getting a face lift. It is not going to be anything major, just a simple clearing up of a few things. As Rituals are now, the game mechanics are vague, and such things as how long it takes to cast them are not clear. Here is one example, please note that this is very rough, and I am still doing revisions:
Awake
Time: 1 Action
Range: Touch
Duration: Days equal to caster’s Resolution
Performed On: Self, Others
Sanity Cost: 0
By performing this spell, the intended person is not be able to sleep for days. A person unable to sleep is unable to replenish his Vitality without the use of magic, and regain any lost Sanity. For each additional rank in this spell, past the base rank, the number of targets effected is increased. For example, if a mage has 2 Ranks in this spell, they are able to affect two targets upon casting this spell.
For this spell, success or failure dictates whether or not they get a penalty. Successfully casting this spell the target is unable to sleep for a number of days equal to the caster’s resolution. While suffering from this spell the target is unable to sleep, and because of this they are unable to regain any lost Vitality naturally or regain any lost Sanity as well. In addition, due to being unable to sleep the target suffers a -1 to all TNs due to being tired. Dramatic Success, the target in addition to reaming awake and unable to gain lost Vitality and Sanity, lose 2 Sanity per day they are awake. In addition, they still suffer the -1 to all Tests due to being tired. Failure, to cast the spell, means the target is unaffected. A Dramatic Failure has the caster hit by the spell, and they suffer the effects from lack of sleep.
Above is rough, but you can see the slight changes being made to make magic clearer. The other changes is that Rituals are now known as Spells, and two types exist: Common and Arcane. Spells will still have the flavor that exist now, as well as still maintain the same sense challenge it takes to cast them — objects and ingredients. More importantly I am carrying on the tradition of creating little histories for each spell (as seen in Poor Wizard’s). So this change is not that major of change, just a refinement of ideas.
Filed under: Rogue Games, thoughts | Tags: © 2009 Rogue Games, colonial gothic, design notes, thoughts, thousand suns
Been under the weather the past few days, and busy with the day job for the past few weeks, but I have been working through the third draft of Colonial Gothic Revised. Playtest has gone very well, and I am happy with how the game is shaping up.
How much is changing? Not much. By that, the game is still the same at its’ core. What has changed is that the rule have moved to the form they resemble in Thousand Suns. In Thousand Suns, James and I tweaked the rules, and that version of the rules runs smoother and is more refined. BTW, for those who have not played the game, or read it, you can download Thousand Suns Basics here. That being said, I have refined it some more so that it fits with the vision of Colonial Gothic.
One change I have made, and one that I am happy with is the approach taken with Sanity. Sanity, as it stands in the game now, feels like a add on. It does not impact the game, and really does nothing but add a cumbersome effect. When working on Revised, I really wanted to tweak Sanity and make it something that not only added to the horror, but reflected the horror Heroes face.
First let’s look at Sanity. This is from the current version of CG Revised:
The most logical way to choose your Hero’s Disorder, would be to acquire a Disorder that is the direct result of your Hero failing their Fear Test. For example say your Hero was stuck in a tiny cabin when he confronted a Devil. This traumatic experience was enough to force your Hero to make a Fear Test, which he failed. Not only is your Hero penalized for a number of rounds, they also lost another Sanity Point, which forces your Hero to make a Resolution Test. After failing your Resolution Test, you scan through the various Disorders and choose Claustrophobia, to represent your Hero’s trauma.
In order to keep the game flowing, Resolution Tests for Disorders should be made after, not during, combat. Once combat is resolved, then your Hero will begin to feel the affects of their violent, unearthly experiences.
As you can see, this is the first change, Sanity, for the most part, stays the same. The only difference is that once your Sanity is reduced to 0, your Hero is not out of the game. Instead, their Sanity is reduced by 1 point. Why is this? What I want to do with Colonial Gothic is allow for Heroes Sanity to slowly erode. Why? Let’s look at the next section of the Sanity rules.
Heroes, in their fight against the Agents of the Occult & Supernatural, always put their Sanity on the line.
Ok, so you see the tact I am taking. By being a Hero — or a Villain — by taking up this vocation, you risk your Sanity while fighting forces beyond the perspectives of all. For Colonial Gothic Revised, it is now a clock ticking down the eventual demise of your Hero’s Sanity. By facing situations that are dangerous to your Sanity, your Hero is faced with a delima: Do I risk my Sanity, to do the impossible?
So how do you regain your Sanity? Again, from Colonial Gothic Revised:
What happens when your Hero reaches 0 Sanity? They gain a Disorder, that they cannot heal from, and your Hero suffer its’ effects for the rest of the time that they are alive.
Pretty straight forward.
Now, the big change with Sanity is how it comes into play with Magic. Here is an example of this from Chapter 6 of Colonial Gothic Revised:
Ok, a few things here that need explaining — and I will expand upon them in another email. First, the big change with Magic in Colonial Gothic Revised is that I am doing away with the terminology of Rituals. It does not fit, and the use of it, really caused me some issues in that by using the word Ritual, it limited me in something I wanted to do. Thus Rituals are now Spells, and there are two types of Spells: Common and Arcane.
Common Spells are spells that are easy to discover and learn, and their effect does not have any lasting effect. Arcane Spells are spells that are ancient, extremely powerful, and their effect lasts. Common Spells can be purchased at the start of Hero Creation, while Arcane Spells are only learned after discovering them in play. More importantly, since Arcane Spells are so powerful, their casting leaves a mark of the caster, and it slowly reduces their Sanity every time they are cast.
So there you go, the changes to Sanity. There are still details I need to work out, and refinements I need to do. However, you can see where my thinking lies, and the work I have done.
Let me say this, before I end this, I am loving this game. I know, sounds cheesy, but is true.
