The other day I posted that GOG had put Darkest Dungeon on a very steep discount. It was $5. I'd been eyeing it for years, literally, after having heard a couple of my players talk about it.
For $5 I figured that even if I got only a few hours of fun out of it I'd be okay. And heck, maybe I could get an idea or two for my own gaming.
What I wanted was a game I could play with minimal thought. I ended up with a game that takes some thought and planning. Nothing like the mind-drain that is War in the East or (to me anyway) its more complex brother, War in the West. It still takes planning.
If you're not familiar with the game, I'll give you a quick rundown:
- your ancestor was a bored rich person who dug too deep and dreamed a little too much of a dream of power. In the paraphrased words of Glen Cook, he brought back fingers cobwebbed with damnnation.
- you take a ride to a sad little hamlet next to your ancestral home, a ciffside house with a nearby wilderness, warren, ruin, and cove as well as the titular "Darkest Dungeon" and recruit adventurers to send to clear out the evil.
- the whole game is hardcore mode. It saves continuously. Everything you do is permanent.
- character death is something to try to avoid, but it happens. It's basically permanent (although there are events that affect that.)
- characters suffer stress from delving, from getting critically hit, from almost dying, from running away, from standing to fight, from darkness, from too much light (with the wrong manias), etc. Enough stress and they can go crazy, which is stressful on others. Enough stress and they can even die from it.
- injury can also kill you. Injury happens a lot.
- even totally successful delve can have negative, lasting (or costly to fix) impacts on your characters.
- you never have enough resources to go around. Nor enough space for treasure needed to replenish it. You'll find yourself tossing treasure to keep food, torches, or special unguents or quest items. Equally, you'll find yourself tossing torches, food, and special unguents to make room for quest items and treasure. Everything is a tradeoff.
All in all, it's black, bleak, very Warhammer-like, and fun.
It can be maddening, mostly when you click the wrong button and bad stuff happens. The initiative system is round-based rolling, so it's dreadfully common to have one side go twice in a row. If that side is the bad guys and they include a multi-action foe, you can get curb-stomped down from 'totally healthy and sane' to 'dead and mission failure' while you just sit and watch.
All in all, though, it's fun. I'm not likely to plunder it for ideas, not for my current gaming, but it is a lot of fun. Probably even $25 worth (list price), if I ever spent $25 for non-giant-wargame video games.
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Monday, April 27, 2020
Random Links for 4/27
Just some links I wanted to post but didn't get to over the weekend.
- There is a podcast up with Dr. Kromm over on Roleplay Rescue. I haven't listened to it yet. I've found that I'm a big fan of podcasts while I'm driving, and I work from home at the moment due to COVID-19. I just don't listen when sitting around my house when there is - oooh! Shiny! So I've downloaded this and I'll give it a listen once I'm commuting again.
- According to Kromm, my book was edited and is headed to production. Hopefully after the exhaustive work put into making it better by Doug, Chris, and Matt, it didn't need much editing!
That's it for today. Just a quick update.
- There is a podcast up with Dr. Kromm over on Roleplay Rescue. I haven't listened to it yet. I've found that I'm a big fan of podcasts while I'm driving, and I work from home at the moment due to COVID-19. I just don't listen when sitting around my house when there is - oooh! Shiny! So I've downloaded this and I'll give it a listen once I'm commuting again.
- According to Kromm, my book was edited and is headed to production. Hopefully after the exhaustive work put into making it better by Doug, Chris, and Matt, it didn't need much editing!
That's it for today. Just a quick update.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Opponent Mix in Felltower
This post was sparked by a tangential discussion in the comments of one of my posts.
What kind of foes are encounter in Felltower? Are they mostly monsters or mostly PC-like, template-built or template-like, "human-like" foes?
I could split it by appearance, but that gets even wonkier. The question really was about template use, so let's try to keep it there. Foes who use any templates will count as non-monsters for this purpose.
If we're comparing "monsters" versus "PC races and PC templates," flat-out, hands-down, monsters win.
Encounter Mix in Felltower by Type
The vast majority by types are monsters.
That is, I've used more unique monster types than non-monster types.
You can see this list here.
Some of that is inevitable - ten bandits is just one listing, but an ooze and an ape demon are two monsters.
By type, then, hands-down it is monsters.
Encounter Mix By Numbers
Here it is like to be more "even." I use a lot of orcs at once. A lot of cone-hatted cultists. Dozens of norkers.
On the other hand, I use much smaller numbers per-encounter of monster types. I'm very likely to deploy 50 orcs at once but dragons and beholders are likely to be singular.
Overall totals are tough . . . but it's possible that non-monsters win here just because of the orcs.
Encounter Mix by Frequency
Monsters win here.
In a given session, it's much more likely that all encounters will be with non-human, non-human-like monster types.
It's extremely rare for a session that's only human-like foes. I'm not certain there has been any recently.
Encounter Mix by Importance
Most of the big, important, carefully-placed encounters in Felltower are non-template built monsters.
There are a few - Rangol Grot is built with a template. So are some wizards and high priest types. The cone-hatted cultist group was partly built with templates for most of the group. But thinking it through, most of what I place down aren't basically Mirror, Mirror PC groups. I'm not really as interested in whowouldwins between Wizards and Clerics, or Barbarians and Martial Artists, or can you kill the Bard with your Knight before he makes you join him. It tires me out to my soul, almost instantly, when that comes up. I'm vastly more interested in when all six of them team up and fight a black reaver or a napalm-spitting dragon or a beholder. So I don't set up a lot of fights.
So, in Felltower, Monsters basically win.
But, if you think about it, humans are the real monsters!
So what? I live in a world where there is no magic, no treasures waiting to be pried out of the hands of monsters, and where humans are the real monsters. So I'm playing a game where those are all incorrect assumptions. I've also played fantasy games mostly not about treasure, or fighting monsters, and where most of the enemies were humans. Or specific to this post, they were basically like the PCs. Inhuman foes showed up, but they were vastly outnumbered by simple country bandits, guardsmen, soldiers, wandering warriors, wizards, and other "normal" types. This is not that game. We did that for 10 years or more, coming out of another game that was 5 years of about the same.
What kind of foes are encounter in Felltower? Are they mostly monsters or mostly PC-like, template-built or template-like, "human-like" foes?
I could split it by appearance, but that gets even wonkier. The question really was about template use, so let's try to keep it there. Foes who use any templates will count as non-monsters for this purpose.
If we're comparing "monsters" versus "PC races and PC templates," flat-out, hands-down, monsters win.
Encounter Mix in Felltower by Type
The vast majority by types are monsters.
That is, I've used more unique monster types than non-monster types.
You can see this list here.
Some of that is inevitable - ten bandits is just one listing, but an ooze and an ape demon are two monsters.
By type, then, hands-down it is monsters.
Encounter Mix By Numbers
Here it is like to be more "even." I use a lot of orcs at once. A lot of cone-hatted cultists. Dozens of norkers.
On the other hand, I use much smaller numbers per-encounter of monster types. I'm very likely to deploy 50 orcs at once but dragons and beholders are likely to be singular.
Overall totals are tough . . . but it's possible that non-monsters win here just because of the orcs.
Encounter Mix by Frequency
Monsters win here.
In a given session, it's much more likely that all encounters will be with non-human, non-human-like monster types.
It's extremely rare for a session that's only human-like foes. I'm not certain there has been any recently.
Encounter Mix by Importance
Most of the big, important, carefully-placed encounters in Felltower are non-template built monsters.
There are a few - Rangol Grot is built with a template. So are some wizards and high priest types. The cone-hatted cultist group was partly built with templates for most of the group. But thinking it through, most of what I place down aren't basically Mirror, Mirror PC groups. I'm not really as interested in whowouldwins between Wizards and Clerics, or Barbarians and Martial Artists, or can you kill the Bard with your Knight before he makes you join him. It tires me out to my soul, almost instantly, when that comes up. I'm vastly more interested in when all six of them team up and fight a black reaver or a napalm-spitting dragon or a beholder. So I don't set up a lot of fights.
So, in Felltower, Monsters basically win.
But, if you think about it, humans are the real monsters!
So what? I live in a world where there is no magic, no treasures waiting to be pried out of the hands of monsters, and where humans are the real monsters. So I'm playing a game where those are all incorrect assumptions. I've also played fantasy games mostly not about treasure, or fighting monsters, and where most of the enemies were humans. Or specific to this post, they were basically like the PCs. Inhuman foes showed up, but they were vastly outnumbered by simple country bandits, guardsmen, soldiers, wandering warriors, wizards, and other "normal" types. This is not that game. We did that for 10 years or more, coming out of another game that was 5 years of about the same.
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Review: Battletech: The Fox's Teeth
For more reviews, please see my reviews page.
The Fox's Teeth: Exploits of McKinnon's Raiders
Produced by Jordan K. Weisman
Written by L. Ross Babcock III, Patrick L. Larkin, Richard Meyer, William H. Keith, Jr., Richard Meyer, Walter Hunt, Lisa Hunt, Evan Jamison, Samuel Brown Baker II, and Dorothy Elizabeth Baker
48 pages
MSRP ??
FASA 1606
The Fox's Teeth is a scenario book for Battletech (the 1985 version.) It is centered on a House Davion/Federated Suns unit, McKinnon's Company of the 7th Crucis Lancers. It features a history section, details of the full 12-mech company, and 14 scenarios including a 4-scenario campaign.
It starts out with a history House Davion and the formation of the Federated Suns, and a gazetteer of some important locations - the capital, New Avalon, New Syrtis, the home of the ambition brother-in-law of the Prince of the Federated Suns, and others. Then it segues into a history of McKinnon's unit.
Unlike the heavy-firepower assault-troop Black Widows, McKinnon's company is more standard. A heavy Command Lance, a Medium Lance headed by a heavy mech, and the all-jump capable Recon Lance with two mediums and two lights. The troops reflect a similar mix, though - the wiley commander, the wiley commander's younger and more irresponsible brother, the cold professional with a grudge over her arm injury, and even a religious fanatic. Most of the mechs are undamaged, but a few have special issues - over-heating guns, armor limits from previous severe damage, and gyro issues to name three. The unit is famed through its history as raiders, guerrilla warfare experts, and being sneaky and clever.
The scenarios really use the personalities of the mechwarriors, too. One scenario is centered on the younger brother getting pushed into a tough mission to make up for previous errors, another had a duel with a twist between one of McKinnon's mechwarriors and the husband of a wife he seduced, and still another has the enemy dealing with command while their frequency is blotted out with the religious fantastic's incessant Old Testament quotes.
The scenarios also have some really unique elements. One is in, and under, water - complete with rules for underwater mech warfare. Another features buried mechs in ambush in a desert, and rules for that. The campaign features a crate of valuable supplies and rules picking up and carrying a crate. It's get-the-McGuffin except you've got to tote it around the map and not get killed trying to make off with it. Mechs without hands - Warhammers and Marauders or Riflemen, say - have issues here.
War Stories: I played some of these scenarios. I didn't really love the big 4-scenario campaign, though. It wasn't that great for solo play when I tried it. I really liked a few other of the scenarios - the underwater fight, for example, and the desert ambush. There is a bizarre mass-of-lights-vs.-standard-lance scenario that is a lot of fun, too.
Overall: While I didn't enjoy this as much as Tales of the Black Widow Company, I think this is almost equally as good for a Battletech player who wants new rules for early Battletech and a solid block of enjoyable scenarios to play out.
The Fox's Teeth: Exploits of McKinnon's Raiders
Produced by Jordan K. Weisman
Written by L. Ross Babcock III, Patrick L. Larkin, Richard Meyer, William H. Keith, Jr., Richard Meyer, Walter Hunt, Lisa Hunt, Evan Jamison, Samuel Brown Baker II, and Dorothy Elizabeth Baker
48 pages
MSRP ??
FASA 1606
The Fox's Teeth is a scenario book for Battletech (the 1985 version.) It is centered on a House Davion/Federated Suns unit, McKinnon's Company of the 7th Crucis Lancers. It features a history section, details of the full 12-mech company, and 14 scenarios including a 4-scenario campaign.
It starts out with a history House Davion and the formation of the Federated Suns, and a gazetteer of some important locations - the capital, New Avalon, New Syrtis, the home of the ambition brother-in-law of the Prince of the Federated Suns, and others. Then it segues into a history of McKinnon's unit.
Unlike the heavy-firepower assault-troop Black Widows, McKinnon's company is more standard. A heavy Command Lance, a Medium Lance headed by a heavy mech, and the all-jump capable Recon Lance with two mediums and two lights. The troops reflect a similar mix, though - the wiley commander, the wiley commander's younger and more irresponsible brother, the cold professional with a grudge over her arm injury, and even a religious fanatic. Most of the mechs are undamaged, but a few have special issues - over-heating guns, armor limits from previous severe damage, and gyro issues to name three. The unit is famed through its history as raiders, guerrilla warfare experts, and being sneaky and clever.
The scenarios really use the personalities of the mechwarriors, too. One scenario is centered on the younger brother getting pushed into a tough mission to make up for previous errors, another had a duel with a twist between one of McKinnon's mechwarriors and the husband of a wife he seduced, and still another has the enemy dealing with command while their frequency is blotted out with the religious fantastic's incessant Old Testament quotes.
The scenarios also have some really unique elements. One is in, and under, water - complete with rules for underwater mech warfare. Another features buried mechs in ambush in a desert, and rules for that. The campaign features a crate of valuable supplies and rules picking up and carrying a crate. It's get-the-McGuffin except you've got to tote it around the map and not get killed trying to make off with it. Mechs without hands - Warhammers and Marauders or Riflemen, say - have issues here.
War Stories: I played some of these scenarios. I didn't really love the big 4-scenario campaign, though. It wasn't that great for solo play when I tried it. I really liked a few other of the scenarios - the underwater fight, for example, and the desert ambush. There is a bizarre mass-of-lights-vs.-standard-lance scenario that is a lot of fun, too.
Overall: While I didn't enjoy this as much as Tales of the Black Widow Company, I think this is almost equally as good for a Battletech player who wants new rules for early Battletech and a solid block of enjoyable scenarios to play out.
Friday, April 24, 2020
Review: Battletech: Tales of the Black Widow Company
While I'm looking at my old Battledroids/Battletech stuff I'm writing reviews of the two Battletech supplements I have - Tales of the Black Widow Company and The Fox's Teeth: Exploits of McKinnon's Raiders.
Here is the first of those two reviews. For more reviews, please see my Reviews Page.
Tales of the Black Widow Company
Produced by Jordan K. Weisman
Written by L. Ross Babcock III, Patrick L. Larkin, Richard Meyer, J. Andrew Keith, and William H. Keith, Jr.
48 pages
MSRP ??
FASA 1605
Tales of the Black Widow Company is a scenario book for Battletech, centered around a specific mercenary regiment's elite company. It includes 15 scenarios, including a 4-scenario campaign - The Battle for Hoff - pitting Wolf's Dragoons against the Eridani Light Horse.
It start with a history of Wolf's Dragoons, the unit that Captain Natasha Kerensky's Independent Company aka The Black Widows belongs to. This book expands on the mention in the rulebook that Wolf's Dragoons fought for and against all of the major houses, and has some kind of supply base outside in the Periphery. It's implicit but strongly implied by their actions that they're scouting out the Inner Sphere for some purpose, and are supplied externally to do so. For what? Well, we know a ruler named "Kerensky" went into exile and that not all of the Star League Army followed him. I always assumed that Wolf's Dragoons were part of that force that followed Kerensky, and they had access to supplies, replacements, techs, and mechs stashed outside the Inner Sphere by the ruling Kerensky, setting them up as a spearhead for a return of the Star League Army. The game went a different way, eventually, but the clues are there for that kind of campaign.
It then goes on with a one-page summary of the origins of the Black Widows and several of their major actions.
The unit is a full company, with four lances - Command Lance, Fire Lance (with two Archers, ouch!), and Recon Lance. The personnel range from professional soldiers of high quality to Dirty Dozen cast-offs from other units. The recklessly brave pilot and her trashed Crusader, the war criminal under a sentence of death who just won't get himself killed, the thrill-seeker, the clueless guy who someone is trying to get killed, the thief . . . all good stuff. Many of the mechs are in good condition, but many others have specific, idiosyncratic issues that haven't been, or can't be, fixed - and the writeup explains where and when that happened. These do give the unit some color, and make it more interesting. It's a tabletop wargame, of course, and you can have the reckless one hang back, the careful one charge berserkly, etc., but it's a lot of fun to try and play them as described.
The opposition is rarely given much personality besides a "main" enemy, if then, but mechs are often equally damaged, not-quite-100% working, or have oddities about them to make the fights interesting. The scenarios have victory conditions that usually are more than just "destroy the enemy" although that's generally not a bad thing if you manage it. They have extra rules, too, to cover the special conditions. One I especially liked are rules for morale and recovery/repair of units in the 3rd Battle for Hoff, a short-ranged high-density slog of a fight between two battled mech companies over a dry riverbed.
It does have some oddness - a pair of special mechs with engines too small, by the rules, to give them the MP they have. It's clearly not a typo as a later rule makes it clear they have their listed, too-high MP. But that's all that I can find.
The art is good, although Kerensky's portrayal is a bit mixed. On the cover she looks like Betty Boop striding through a war zone. Inside, she generally looks like an attractive but serious Russian woman a gun and an attitude. It's kind of amusing to think of crew sidearms when you're fighting with mechs, but I guess when you have to bail you'll want a handy long arm. In any case, the art includes Jim Holloway, whose work I always enjoyed.
In actual play: I played most of these scenarios out. Not all of them - you have a scenario with mechwarrior trainees with very high (in other words, poor) Piloting and Gunnery skills lead by a vet with excellent skills, but I couldn't figure out how to use the Gunner skill because the rulebook lacks an explanation.
I remember specifically playing out the four Hoff scenarios, especially the 3rd scenario and its 21 mechs fighting at short range. It was a lot of fun, although Kerensky herself got waxed from a critical hit to the head from an opposing Phoenix Hawk early on. Oops. The Widows won, barely, as far as I recall but it was amusing that the major character died. Hey, it's combat. The morale rules were good, too, in actual play. They made the fight more than a slog to total destruction.
Overall: I really enjoyed reading this book and playing out the scenarios. I'd play them again if I had time and table space. Highly recommended if you can find a copy.
Here is the first of those two reviews. For more reviews, please see my Reviews Page.
Tales of the Black Widow Company
Produced by Jordan K. Weisman
Written by L. Ross Babcock III, Patrick L. Larkin, Richard Meyer, J. Andrew Keith, and William H. Keith, Jr.
48 pages
MSRP ??
FASA 1605
Tales of the Black Widow Company is a scenario book for Battletech, centered around a specific mercenary regiment's elite company. It includes 15 scenarios, including a 4-scenario campaign - The Battle for Hoff - pitting Wolf's Dragoons against the Eridani Light Horse.
It start with a history of Wolf's Dragoons, the unit that Captain Natasha Kerensky's Independent Company aka The Black Widows belongs to. This book expands on the mention in the rulebook that Wolf's Dragoons fought for and against all of the major houses, and has some kind of supply base outside in the Periphery. It's implicit but strongly implied by their actions that they're scouting out the Inner Sphere for some purpose, and are supplied externally to do so. For what? Well, we know a ruler named "Kerensky" went into exile and that not all of the Star League Army followed him. I always assumed that Wolf's Dragoons were part of that force that followed Kerensky, and they had access to supplies, replacements, techs, and mechs stashed outside the Inner Sphere by the ruling Kerensky, setting them up as a spearhead for a return of the Star League Army. The game went a different way, eventually, but the clues are there for that kind of campaign.
It then goes on with a one-page summary of the origins of the Black Widows and several of their major actions.
The unit is a full company, with four lances - Command Lance, Fire Lance (with two Archers, ouch!), and Recon Lance. The personnel range from professional soldiers of high quality to Dirty Dozen cast-offs from other units. The recklessly brave pilot and her trashed Crusader, the war criminal under a sentence of death who just won't get himself killed, the thrill-seeker, the clueless guy who someone is trying to get killed, the thief . . . all good stuff. Many of the mechs are in good condition, but many others have specific, idiosyncratic issues that haven't been, or can't be, fixed - and the writeup explains where and when that happened. These do give the unit some color, and make it more interesting. It's a tabletop wargame, of course, and you can have the reckless one hang back, the careful one charge berserkly, etc., but it's a lot of fun to try and play them as described.
The opposition is rarely given much personality besides a "main" enemy, if then, but mechs are often equally damaged, not-quite-100% working, or have oddities about them to make the fights interesting. The scenarios have victory conditions that usually are more than just "destroy the enemy" although that's generally not a bad thing if you manage it. They have extra rules, too, to cover the special conditions. One I especially liked are rules for morale and recovery/repair of units in the 3rd Battle for Hoff, a short-ranged high-density slog of a fight between two battled mech companies over a dry riverbed.
It does have some oddness - a pair of special mechs with engines too small, by the rules, to give them the MP they have. It's clearly not a typo as a later rule makes it clear they have their listed, too-high MP. But that's all that I can find.
The art is good, although Kerensky's portrayal is a bit mixed. On the cover she looks like Betty Boop striding through a war zone. Inside, she generally looks like an attractive but serious Russian woman a gun and an attitude. It's kind of amusing to think of crew sidearms when you're fighting with mechs, but I guess when you have to bail you'll want a handy long arm. In any case, the art includes Jim Holloway, whose work I always enjoyed.
In actual play: I played most of these scenarios out. Not all of them - you have a scenario with mechwarrior trainees with very high (in other words, poor) Piloting and Gunnery skills lead by a vet with excellent skills, but I couldn't figure out how to use the Gunner skill because the rulebook lacks an explanation.
I remember specifically playing out the four Hoff scenarios, especially the 3rd scenario and its 21 mechs fighting at short range. It was a lot of fun, although Kerensky herself got waxed from a critical hit to the head from an opposing Phoenix Hawk early on. Oops. The Widows won, barely, as far as I recall but it was amusing that the major character died. Hey, it's combat. The morale rules were good, too, in actual play. They made the fight more than a slog to total destruction.
Overall: I really enjoyed reading this book and playing out the scenarios. I'd play them again if I had time and table space. Highly recommended if you can find a copy.
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Weird Wizards
I love weird wizards. The W is for Weirdo.
While I first encountered "normal" wizards like Gandalf, I eventually stumbled across really odd wizards.
Fritz Leiber's duo of patron wizards, Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, plus a few unsavory wizards in his books. Then I ran into Glen Cook's Black Company series, full of wizards like The Hanged Man, The Limper, many-voiced Soulcatcher, big smelly Shapeshifter. And then his Dread Empire books, with the Egg of God and Varthlokkur. (Is it any surprise when you find out Glen Cook and Fritz Leiber were close friends?) The Dying Earth books of Jack Vance came next, with equally strange wizards. Or utterly normal-seeming types who take wizarding like a hobby, but otherwise are very non-wizardly, like wine-swilling Pelias in Robert E. Howard's Conan books.
Therefore when I make wizards in my games, I make weirdos or guys who'd hang out in bars with Oliver Reed.
Wouldn't it be nice if you had to be one or the other? Maybe both?
TSR's Lankhmar City of Adventure supplement points the way. In that game, if you were a Black Wizard (you took Magic-User and Illusionist spells), after a few levels you rolled on a table of deformities.
Why not do the same in GURPS?
This could be a fun campaign switch.
For every 10 points in spells or spell-related advantages (you know the ones), you must have at least -2 points in disadvantages that reflect a weird, bizarro type. These can be any of:
Bad Smell
Delusions
Disturbing Voice
Dread (holy objects is an easy one; how about beauty?
Excommunicated
Frightens Animals
Ham-Fisted (stubby fingers)
Lifebane
Megalomania
No Sense of Smell/Taste
Obsession
Phantom Voices
Unnatural Features
Unattractive, Ugly, or Very Ugly
Weakness
or from a pool of social waste:
Compulsive Behavior (you know the ones - gambling, carousing, spending)
Gluttony
Jealousy
Lecherousness
Overweight
Selfish
Skinny
So DF wizards with Magery 6 (65 points), Energy Reserve 5 (15), Improved Magic Resistance 3 (15), and 75 points in spells (75)? That's 65+15+15+75=170 points in magical advantages, so that's -34 points of his -55 in disadvantages and quirks must be oddball ones. As you progress in power, you'll need to start to swap out your healthier disadvantages (Sense of Duty, Charitable, Duty, etc.) for these less savory ones.
I'd have to throw in more details, but I think this a pretty good list to start. You'd start out nice, sure . . . but as you earned points, you'd either totally let loose of your morals or your connection to other people and your humanity, one or the other. But you do get more powerful, and you probably already took Obsession (Become the most powerful wizard in the world) so you'd not going to argue with the tradeoff.
While I first encountered "normal" wizards like Gandalf, I eventually stumbled across really odd wizards.
Fritz Leiber's duo of patron wizards, Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face, plus a few unsavory wizards in his books. Then I ran into Glen Cook's Black Company series, full of wizards like The Hanged Man, The Limper, many-voiced Soulcatcher, big smelly Shapeshifter. And then his Dread Empire books, with the Egg of God and Varthlokkur. (Is it any surprise when you find out Glen Cook and Fritz Leiber were close friends?) The Dying Earth books of Jack Vance came next, with equally strange wizards. Or utterly normal-seeming types who take wizarding like a hobby, but otherwise are very non-wizardly, like wine-swilling Pelias in Robert E. Howard's Conan books.
Therefore when I make wizards in my games, I make weirdos or guys who'd hang out in bars with Oliver Reed.
Wouldn't it be nice if you had to be one or the other? Maybe both?
TSR's Lankhmar City of Adventure supplement points the way. In that game, if you were a Black Wizard (you took Magic-User and Illusionist spells), after a few levels you rolled on a table of deformities.
Why not do the same in GURPS?
This could be a fun campaign switch.
For every 10 points in spells or spell-related advantages (you know the ones), you must have at least -2 points in disadvantages that reflect a weird, bizarro type. These can be any of:
Bad Smell
Delusions
Disturbing Voice
Dread (holy objects is an easy one; how about beauty?
Excommunicated
Frightens Animals
Ham-Fisted (stubby fingers)
Lifebane
Megalomania
No Sense of Smell/Taste
Obsession
Phantom Voices
Unnatural Features
Unattractive, Ugly, or Very Ugly
Weakness
or from a pool of social waste:
Compulsive Behavior (you know the ones - gambling, carousing, spending)
Gluttony
Jealousy
Lecherousness
Overweight
Selfish
Skinny
So DF wizards with Magery 6 (65 points), Energy Reserve 5 (15), Improved Magic Resistance 3 (15), and 75 points in spells (75)? That's 65+15+15+75=170 points in magical advantages, so that's -34 points of his -55 in disadvantages and quirks must be oddball ones. As you progress in power, you'll need to start to swap out your healthier disadvantages (Sense of Duty, Charitable, Duty, etc.) for these less savory ones.
I'd have to throw in more details, but I think this a pretty good list to start. You'd start out nice, sure . . . but as you earned points, you'd either totally let loose of your morals or your connection to other people and your humanity, one or the other. But you do get more powerful, and you probably already took Obsession (Become the most powerful wizard in the world) so you'd not going to argue with the tradeoff.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Battletech Gunnery Skill
As I went through my Battletech/Battledroids stuff yesterday, I went and looked into something I'd had lurking in the back of mind for a while. That is, what does Gunnery skill do in 1st edition/1985 edition Battletech?
If you use variable Mechwarrior skills, you get a Pilot rating and a Gunnery rating, which is either 3 or 4. Pilot skill rolls are all over the place. You have to make them to do just about anything cool.
Gunnery skill, though . . . I can't find a single instance where it comes up except under Variable Mechwarrior Skills (p. 36). That's it. You have the skill, and you can improve it over time . . . and it doesn't seem to do anything in play. MW skills go down as you get better, so I'm not even sure how you'd use it. Giving Gunnery as a positive modifier to attack rolls means everyone is going miss even worse than before (+4 to the target number on 2d6 roll-over mechanics isn't conducive to hitting; +4 on the roll means the more skilled, the worse!)
Anyone familiar with Battletech know the answer?
If you use variable Mechwarrior skills, you get a Pilot rating and a Gunnery rating, which is either 3 or 4. Pilot skill rolls are all over the place. You have to make them to do just about anything cool.
Gunnery skill, though . . . I can't find a single instance where it comes up except under Variable Mechwarrior Skills (p. 36). That's it. You have the skill, and you can improve it over time . . . and it doesn't seem to do anything in play. MW skills go down as you get better, so I'm not even sure how you'd use it. Giving Gunnery as a positive modifier to attack rolls means everyone is going miss even worse than before (+4 to the target number on 2d6 roll-over mechanics isn't conducive to hitting; +4 on the roll means the more skilled, the worse!)
Anyone familiar with Battletech know the answer?
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