The Warlock's Origins 2014 Recap!

Sweet zombie Gandhi, readers; it's been a while!  Real life has, as you might imagine, prevented me from keeping up with my weekly blogging.  However, having just made it back from this year's Origins Game Fair, it's high time to toss another entry into the pot!  So, without further a-do, here's a look back at this year's show!

Firstly, HUGE news!  After some delay, Cold Steel Wardens: Roleplaying in the Iron Age is finally on sale!  The PDF went live on the Chronicle City web-store the Tuesday before Origins, just in time for all those lovely gamers to get their hands on a copy of my first game.  Let me tell you, this has been a long time coming, and I'm still somewhat in shock that I'm a "real" published game designer.

The con itself was an absolute whirlwind for me this year.  Between the PlatinumChick and myself, we ran 52 hours of CSW.  For me, it was literally a full-time job for the week:  8 hours of games a day!  On the plus side, these games were a great mix of previous CSW players, some long-distance friends, and new players to the system.  Nearly every one of the WittGuild's games went off, with Friday and Saturday filling up the Union room we were in!

That said, I did manage to sneak away in the mornings for a while to get in some non-CSW gaming.  I threw down some ICONS on Thursday morning, a Venture Brothers-themed Paranoia game on Friday, a Cartoon Action Hour version of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe on Saturday, and a Justice League themed game using Mutants and Masterminds on Sunday before shipping out.  Also, I was sure to keep my evenings free to indulge in some of the great food found in Columbus' Short North neighborhood.

The ICONS game was an utter blast.  The first in a three part JSA storyline, the game ran quick around the table, even with 8 players sporting characters.  The GM was clearly enthusiastic about both the system and the source material, pulling out some fantastic villains to counter our Golden Age heroes.  On an awesome note, ICONS author Steve Kenson had offered the GM some prize support; a really stand-up gesture on his part!

Unfortunately, I can't really say the same about the M&M game.  The scenario felt poorly written, with little investigation or even interaction with NPCs.  We simply drifted from fight scene to fight scene with some nonsensical narration in between.  In one instance, we ended a fight scene by watching a huge portal open, only to return to play having been captured aboard a Thanagarian starship.  Worse, the GM insisted on splitting the table into separate groups for three of those four scenes, running one side's combat, completing that combat, then starting the other.  I literally spent over an hour and twenty minutes at the table before even finding out where my character (Green Lantern John Stewart) was!  While the table banter was great between the players, the scenario itself was dismal and the game definitely suffered from the typical problems with M&M:  overly complex characters with inflated (and incorrect!) numbers that don't really represent the idiom well.

However, the He-Man game more than made up for that disappointment.  Full of absolute fans of the iconic 1983 series, the game began with the classic theme song and didn't let off the gas for a moment.  While the scenario was simple, it perfectly fit in with the plotlines of the old show, while showing off the new rules for CAH splendidly.  Our game came complete with commercial breaks, breakfast cereal (it was Saturday morning after all!), and even a post-show moral delivered by yours truly!

Y'know, after coming to Origins for 7 consecutive years, you'd figure that I'd be an old hat at this thing, but really?  I find myself learning new things all the time...

• The Happy Greek in the Short North?  Absolutely fantastic.  Even better?  It was utterly deserted on a Thursday night and our table of 8 was seated immediately.  Can't beat it with a gyro stick!
• Speaking of food, I'm giving up on Flavors of India at North Market.  The last two times I've been there, the curry's been watery and lacking flavor.  So many better options are right there!
• Wow, am I ever glad that we arrive on Tuesday evening.  Being able to pick up our badges the evening before the show starts really frees you up!  Those lines are hateful!
• Best way to start the convention?  A free breakfast and a morning soak in the Drury hot tub. 
• I think I'm done with Paranoia.  While I always have a good time playing it--and did this time, too!  Our GM was fantastic and the sheer idea of combining The Venture Brothers with Paranoia is mind-blowingly hilarious--Paranoia tends to play very 'samey' to me:  get mission, begin wacky hijinks, get terminated over and over.  It's just a touch repetitive for my taste.  Maybe I'll come back to it after a while.
• Same thing with Mutants and Masterminds.  I'm not sure why it gets the acclaim it does, outside of being a huge part of the d20 boom.  While I love Steve Kenson as a designer, ICONS is such a superior game to M&M:  it's easier to GM, play, and generate characters in.  There are just other, better systems I'd rather play than Mutants and Masterminds.
• Next year?  No occult themes in the CSW games.  Not that they're bad, really--CSW does low-level occult mystery games beautifully--but I want to be able to show off a new kind of scenario.  The gangs and crime families are so integral to New Corinth, it's high time I show them the spotlight.
• Also?  No more 2 hour demos.  They don't fill out enough to justify running them.  The four hour games fill better.
• For that matter, the Chew games didn't fill.  Very sad, considering how awesome the comic is!
• I have no idea how I managed to stay awake during this year's Origins.  Literally every day from Wednesday on, I was awake at 7am or earlier, running game from 1pm till 11pm, then hitting the bar until at least 2am.  In the words of Lieutenant Murtaugh...
• A tablet makes running game *so* much easier.  Great investment on my part.
• Forgetting your camera sucks.  Obviously, no pics this year!
• Always check a used game before buying it!  I picked up a copy of Ghost Stories on the cheap, having been told by the booth staff that he had "just checked it" an hour or two prior for another customer.  However, upon opening the game at home and popping out the tokens, I found that I was missing three vital pieces!  Hopefully my email to the creators will remedy the situation.

All in all?  I love Origins...can't wait till next year!

In Which The Warlock Picks Nits...

Having a "real job" does have its perks.  While I'm still up to my eyeballs, between grading, planning, writing papers for online classes, and the struggles to finish out Cold Steel Wardens, the best perk of having a real job is undoubtedly the cash...which, in gaming terms, means gaming swag!

Since graduating and entering the workforce, there's hardly a doubt that my gaming library has increased.  It's overflowing our game room shelves, to the point where we swiftly need to rearrange our collection!  That said, I do try to be judicious in my spending--after all, there's only so much that one can spend on gaming!  I check out reviews on RPG.net, and try to read sample chapters or previews before I actually make a purchase.

But, even among the best of gamebooks out there, there are certain nitpicks that just drive me up a wall:

No Index!

Oh, man!  This one's an unforgivable sin.  You see, a game manual--particularly a core-rulebook--is, in essence, a reference book.  While full of flavor text, fiction, and setting material, a well-written game manual should make it easy to find information quickly and easily.  Indexes make character creation easier, rules referencing swifter, and overall organization more...well, organized!  With this age of print-on-demand and numerous print utilities, it's easier than ever to include an index any work.

Heroes Unlimited, the old warhorse that brought me into the gaming in the first place, is the biggest offender on my shelf in this regard.  While the Palladium rules set overall is messy enough, the lack of an index makes the rules almost impossible to navigate swiftly during a game session.  Situational rules become hard to find, which slows down the pace of a game.  A simple index could easily solve the problem, but such isn't the case.

Bad Font Choices!

Cursive!  Curse you!

As I'm learning, fonts are an incredibly powerful thing.  In choosing fonts for Cold Steel Wardens, I've been trying to find ones that exude a gritty, urban feel but are still legible and easy to read.  Fonts have a tendency to inspire irrational rage in certain people--just see the crusade against Comic Sans!

In this case, All For One: Regime Diabolique was the biggest offender for me.  While fancy cursive calligraphy perfectly fits the Musketeer-milieu, the cursive font chosen for chapter sub-headings came out gritty and grainy, making those sub-headings difficult to read, and impossible to discern at a glance.  I can't imagine how these headings look in PDF format--it certainly can't be legible!



Uber-NPCs!

NPCs are important.  We all know this.  I have a massive chapter in CSW devoted solely to populating the world and giving unique hooks and elements to base campaign sessions around.  That said, NPCs are there to provide opportunities for PC interaction.  They may be major players, yes, but they should never be the most major.

As much as I love it, Deadlands is a big offender here.  While significantly toned down in the Reloaded version, the Classic Deadlands rules made major NPCs into invincible killing machines with literally every power and skill in the book.  Worst of all was the time-jumping Jackie Wells, whom The Journeyman GM railed against in his sessions of the "Heart of Darkness" trilogy.  On the plus side, though, the current rules at let you destroy those NPCs in the Plot Point campaigns!

Kitchen Sink Gaming!

Great system.  Great setting.
Can't say that I cared for them together...

I'm a big believer in mechanics supporting a specific method of play.  While generic systems are neat and viable for some things, I find that they tend to leave the flavor of the game in the hands of the GM, rather than bringing it to the table through mechanics.  For example, Savage Worlds makes for great pulp games and, with its gambling and poker elements, fits the Weird West of Deadlands.  But, after reading through both Realms of Cthulhu and the Horror Companion, I'm more and more convinced that I never want to run a true horror game with Savage Worlds--the game simply isn't built around that concept, especially when games like Dread or Call of Cthulhu are available.  You can surely hammer a nail with a wrench, but wouldn't a hammer be easier?

The d20 glut was a huge offender here, but it's Mutants and Masterminds that gets my goat the most.  While I respect the game greatly--and, for Justice League or Avengers-style adventures, it can work very well--every time I've played M&M, I find that the rules just add nothing to the experience.  That, in my eyes, is a problem, but it's one I intend to fix...


Okay, so this post was a touch negative.  Next time out, let's take a look at some of my favorite schemes in game design!

In Which The Warlock Illumines the Unobtained...

I've been lucky enough in 15-odd years of gaming to have run and played in huge variety of campaigns, one-shots, convention games and more.  And, through this blog, I've been able to share--at least somewhat--my experiences with you, oh glorious reader.

But, y'know...there's a lot that I haven't done.  A lot that I'd love to be able to do, but just haven't quite managed it yet.  And so, fellow gamers:  I present to you the start of my "Gamer Bucket List!"

• I want to play Planescape.  Oh, my yes.  In all of its Victorian-philosophizing, genre-bending weirdness, I've never actually gotten to play in a Planescape game.  I'd love to see that change sometime soon.

• I want to run a LARP.  Still haven't managed to do this one, despite the WittKids having one every semester for the past few years.  I think my penchant for causing inter-party strife would make an excellent asset for a diceless showdown.

• I want to play in a swashbuckling, high-adventure game.  Not sure this one is going to be on the horizon, either, but I have a tendency to shy away from games with 'derring-do' in favor of more 'serious' games with elements of horror and suspense.  Just once, I'd like to be able to cut loose and run a dashing swashbuckler with a devil-may-care attitude.

• I want to be scared in a horror game.  Not saying that I want blood, gore, and entrails all over the floor, but I'd love it if a game actually managed to put some fear into my jaded gamer heart.

• I want to wean myself off of Savage Worlds.  Not to say that it's a bad system--far from it!  It's becoming my go-to system for all things.  But, there are some things that it just doesn't do particularly well:  actual horror, for one. 

• I want to do some more reading.  While I've done a fair amount of reading in terms of game-books, my actual reading list has shied away from genre-fiction in the last 5 years and more towards heavier literature or (for light reading) comics.  I haven't touched sci-fi or fantasy novels in years and, judging by the field out there, it's not likely that I'll return anytime soon.

• I'd love to be able to field-test a new system.  While writing Cold Steel Wardens, my influences are pretty evident--4e D&D, Savage Worlds, ICONS, Heroes Unlimited, and Mutants and Masterminds to name a few--but it'd be great to see someone else going through the playtesting process.

• I want to run one of the classic campaign arcs for a chosen system.  This could be any number of games:  the "Dime Novels" of Deadlands, the original Temple of Elemental Evil series for D&D, or the plot point campaign of Necessary Evil.  I've had a lot of fun with "The Flood," but there are so many classic campaigns out there to sample...

I suppose all of this is just a start--there's tons more that I'd love to do before I hand in my dice for good.  Any other suggestions?

In Which The Warlock Muses on a New Project...Again...

One of the biggest residual benefits that I tend to pull from Origins is the "post-convention inspiration".  I find that, after our trips to major gaming conventions, I come back with a brain-ful of inspiration, ready to start writing.

This year, I was determined to channel that inspiration into my already-existing projects, and hopefully finish out either SunnyVale Acres or Dungeon Slam!, and possibly even get a playtestable version of Lumberjack Wars up and running.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still working on those, but they've taken a bit of a back burner to a new project...

Fantastic Four #1:
In the heart of the Silver Age

Running ICONS at Origins (and talking with Gareth-Michael Skarka, one of the creators!), I was really high on the ability for a simple game-system to emulate the Silver Age of Comics.  While light on the rules--really, one of the draws for me--the biggest benefit of ICONS is the way in which it fosters the "over the top" actions as a default.  Heroes are encouraged to take risks, try new power combinations, and lay the one-liners on thick and heavy, as they take down alliteratively named villains.

Many superheroes systems have done their best to provide a "generic" view of comics.  Mutants and Masterminds, particularly, does its best to appeal to all the eras of comics, providing a "kitchen sink" approach to design--from street-level to cosmic, you can potentially build any Hero in such a system...the system isn't particularly geared for any particular type of gaming.  They suffer from "d20 syndrome" in the fact that the system mechanics aren't geared towards supporting the setting.  As such, the mechanics become bland and the onus of telling the story resides only with the players and Game-Master, not the game as well.

But, then it struck me. While the Silver Age of Comics has its representation...what about the pinnacle of comics storytelling: the Iron Age?

Rorschach, a seminal
Iron Age anti-hero...

Not familiar with the Iron Age of Comics?  Yes, you are.  You just might not know it yet.  Seen Watchmen?  Alan Moore's magnum opus was the seminal work of the Iron Age.  Enjoyed The Dark Knight?  Yeah, based thematically on Iron Age comics series The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, and The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb.  Don't get me started on the lordly might of comics legend Denny O'Neil, and his character-defining runs on Iron Man, Green Arrow, and The Question. 

As such, I set a new goal for myself:  write a game based in the Iron Age--my favorite era of comics, and what may well be the greatest era of comics as a storytelling medium.  The Iron Age took superheroes away from dealing with fantastical threats, towards a more grounded, realistic series of conflicts.  Not satisfied with "villains of the week", Iron Age writers and artists sought to bring depth, experience, and poignancy to a medium often relegated to children.  And no role-playing game has dared to try to bring those stories to the forefront, despite the fact that they are perennial favorites of both comics-fans and laymen alike.

That leaves me where I am now:  about 20,000 words into what I'm calling Cold Steel Wardens:  Adventures in the Iron Age of Comics.  Working a typical "work-week"....oh, who am I kidding....working from about 7pm till about 4 am, I manage about 2,500 words a day, with occasional spikes into much higher word counts.  Hell, the first day I sat down to write, I pumped out about 9,000 words alone!  Plus, I've been able to maintain a feel suitable to the Iron Age--martial arts combat styles, a focus on investigation and human foes, and a visceral damage mechanic...I think I'm onto something here!

With a bit of luck and continued work, I should have a completed rules-set by the end of August, with a completed manuscript, ready for editing, by the end of the year!  I'll keep you posted, friends and neighbors!  There's more to come!

In Which The Warlock Contemplates The Next Step...

Now that our yearly convention season (and my delicous summer break!) is at an end, the WittKids and I are in a bit of convelescence. After traveling all summer, running games at Origins and the other conventions, and running our weekly games in-between, it's made for a really hectic season. I'd say I'm almost looking forward to getting back to work, but we all know that's a joke!

Rather, I'm more looking forward to the start of the new semester and the resurgence of games over at Wittenberg. With a new batch of freshmen on deck, and a really fantastic group of upperclassmen executives, this year looks to be a really positive one for the Guild.

However, I find myself in something of a quandary. Thanks to a much less hectic schedule--no wedding planning this year, and a much easier series of prep at school--I'm actually planning on running a game during the week at Wittenberg. I attempted doing one last year, if you'll recall: a 4e D&D game, set in Eberron. Unfortunately, due to my multiple engagements, it fell through. With a freer schedule, I shouldn't have as much problem with a weekly game, though I do want to avoid the idea of setting up tiles, minis, and the like. I'm not averse to them, but they're just a pain to haul over to Witt, only to pack up again a few hours later.

I've narrowed my game ideas down to two, which you can find below. What do you think, gamer nation? Which one should it be?

Delta Green: Die Karotechia, Die!
System: d20 Modern/d20 Call of Cthulhu
Genre: Cosmic Horror/Conspiracy

There are many things that man was not meant to know. Sometimes, these are the secrets of the universe. Sometimes, these are the secrets held by your government. Sometimes, these are the very things right in front of you. You know these secrets. You've watched them unfold before you like the yellow envelopes you receive every so often. You know the truth about the world around you, and you fight against it every day. You're Delta Green, and you won't go down without a fight.

A shadow ops group working outside of the government, Delta Green stands on the tiny precipice between the world we know and utter chaos and blasphemy. The remnants of Nazi Germany's occult program, the machinations of aliens from Pluto, even the corruption and naivete of your own government stand against you. But you're Delta Green, and you won't go down without a fight.

Your day job is a cover, working within the United States government. By night, you dig deep into things that 'man was not meant to know'--things that your government has lied to the public about. Things you have been lied about. You see, the War isn't over. Never will be. It's just gone rogue...and that's a war you've prepared for.

Gotham City Breakdown
System: DC Adventures/Mutants and Masterminds 3e
Genre: Bronze/Iron Age Superheroes

Years ago, the Wayne family was mugged on the way home from the theater by a small-time thug named Joe Chill. Thomas Wayne and his son, Bruce, were killed by Chill in the incident when Thomas refused to turn over his wallet. Martha Wayne killed herself 4 years later, stricken by grief. Wayne Enterprises, Thomas' company, filed for bankruptcy 15 years later, and has since been dissolved. The man known as The Batman has never come to be.

Gotham City is much as it ever has been. Crime families like the Bertinellis and the Falcones rule the streets, with the police able to do little against them. Masked and deformed criminals--the "freaks"--roam the sewers and alleyways, leading vicious gangs. Gotham teeters on the edge of chaos.

You have chosen to rise up against this scourge. As a masked adventurer, you believe in justice. You believe in law. You believe that something must be done. And you're the right person to do it. It's time to take up arms against the likes of Intergang, the Royal Flush gang, and others, and fill the void left in a world without The Dark Knight.

In Which The Warlock Remembers He Has a Blog!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently--the weeks have been hectic recently, as work has had me hopping on IEP and MFE documentation, to say nothing of my normal workload. As such, it's been a touch rough to focus on gaming during all this time.

That said, I have come up with something of an idea for a game...if I can pull it off.

The premise would be something of a coupling of Alan Moore's seminal Watchmen and some of the more recent Ramsey Campbell Cthulhu Mythos work, with a touch of Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth thrown in for good measure.

Players would take the role of low-powered superheroes--think Punisher, Batman, or Moon Knight instead of Green Lantern or Iron Man--as they investigate psychotic supervillains, vile cultists and serial killers, and the conspiracies behind the banning of global "superheroes".

The biggest problem in this centers on the system to use in this. There's no easy answers here...

I'm tempted to use Mutants and Masterminds, as many people are familiar with the d20 system. However, M&M suffers from the rules bloat of 3.5e D&D, and is really numbers heavy. While I'd always have d20 NPC Wiki to fall back on, I hate to do that on a consistent basis. Plus, it seems like most of the orientation in M&M is towards high-powered, Golden Age superheroes, which isn't exactly the time period in question.

I've heard good things about Silver Age Sentinels and Champions, but I own neither, which is...well, more money for only a singular game. And further, I don't know much about the actual nitty-gritty of either system.

As such, I'm left with my old stand-by: Heroes Unlimited. While I love the quirky little Palladium system, it's not exactly the most elegant thing out there, and many players balk at learning a new system just for one game. However, for low-powered supers, there might not be a better system to catch it.

Suggestions? I'm all ears...

Origins Blog 2008! Entry Five--The Swag!

No con is complete without the Swag! I was good, and kept to my vow of not spending more than $100. I even came under budget this year, spending only about $90. But that said, I was more than pleased with my purchases.

(Koplow Dice Tray)

I said I was going to get it, but this ended up being my last purchase. No surprises here—I’ve needed one for a while, and now I have it. The pleasant thing was seeing Bob (Don’t Call Him The Diceman!) at the booth. He seemed rather receptive about coming back to WittCon, which is a great positive—it’ll be great to have him in our corner again!

(Ironwind Metals—Fantasy Miniatures)

With the advent of 4e, and the tactical feel of combat, I set out for the Origins auction to look for some used minis that I’d be able to use when running the game. While the auction didn’t have what I was looking for, Ironwind did! At $2.00 an ounce for loose minis, I was able to pick up quite a selection (including a Cyclops, which is the spitting image of Craig T. Nelson’s monster in Flesh Gordon). Not too bad at all, particularly for $18.00 total.

(Sorting Chips—250—Multi-Color)

If it’s one thing I’ve noticed in many of the games I’ve been running recently, it’s that status conditions are getting more and more numerous. WEGS has its “Lost Action Phase”, and that’s to say nothing of Sure-Shot, Catlike-Tread, Magic/Mystic Sense, and more. D&D 4e, in addition, has “marked” targets, Warlock curses, “Hunter’s Quarry” targets, and much more. Having a way to keep track of these seems like a good way to go, and this was a cheap way to do it. At $4.00, you can’t beat the price—it’s great!

(Hex Hex; Smirk and Dagger Games)

Demoing this game with Curt Covert, while talking shop, may have been one of my most favorite sections of this year’s Origins. Hex Hex is a fun little game of backstabbing, which really runs when you’re sitting around with some good friends, just having a good time. It’d make for a stellar drinking game, too…but that’s another story. I was so impressed that I picked up the expansion, as well, Hex Hex Next, which has some even more lethal cards to toss in.

(Mutants and Masterminds 2e, Green Ronin Publishing)

Free is absolutely the best price, but this was an unexpected find. While I still love Palladium’s Heroes Unlimited, quite a few of the Witt-Weggers (Ebbs, for one) are all about the M&M. Reading through this, I can’t say I blame him too much—it’s a sweet little system. It may never replace my nostalgic favorite, but it’s a solid rules-set, with a lot of support behind it. None too bad at all.

So, I guess that, if you’re reading this, you’re wondering where are my reviews on Black Industries’ Inquisitors’ Handbook and the Kingsport Expansion for Arkham Horror. Well…I bought neither. But, this is for two different reasons.

I didn’t really find a good deal on Kingsport, and Bookery Fantasy is still offering their 15% off sale through the summer. I’d rather support my FLGS and get a sweet discount than simply get the expansion at a con, just for the experience of buying it there. I may even hold off for a tick, as Kingsport will be there for a while, and we typically play AH over at Lionel’s, so my set would go unused.

As for Inquisitors’ Handbook? Well, it’s a matter of cost. I paid $45.00 for the Dark Heresy core rules, which are in full-color and a beautiful matte hard-cover. Expensive for a book, but not unheard of. The Inquisitors’ Handbook, concurrently, is the same price, but is a soft-cover and only in black and white with red-borders. While I’d love to have it and use it, I just don’t think it’s worth it right now. Particularly when one considers that Fantasy Flight Games is expecting to put out their version in July, which will be in both hardcover and full-color. Thanks, but I’ll wait for that.