Fortress of Perpetual Midnight

One of my one-shots (on which I'll comment later) led into the idea to start a new campaign run by one of the group, even though we don't have as many as I'd usually place as the minimum. So far, we've done a bit of character development, so I've posted a version of mine here.

I've also uploaded a draft of the character sheet. My comments:

Ability Scores: I don't much like using rolled scores, but these ones are far better than what I usually get. The dump stats reflect my idea of him as a reckless (which I may not play very well due to predisposition), irresponsible rogue of noble birth who's never had to deal with any strenuous work. The only reason I put the 18 in Int is that I'm always irritated when I use an odd number and thus sacrifice at least 6 skill points.

Skills: Consequently, I had as much as I could possibly have here from the Player's Handbook alone, unless I had been a full human. As I was told that he had only gotten the job three months earlier, I used the skills to represent his noble upbringing (in that case, mostly just Ride, since the DM said I would've learned it) and night life. I might use the last 4 points to get actual occupational skills like Forgery (from his experience with paperwork) and/or Knowledge (architecture & engineering, dungeoneering).

Feat: I could use this to say he's been involved in the gentry's dueling circles (Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse) or just to improve his skills.

Anyway, this campaign is supposed to focus on character development, so I don't know much about how he's going to change in the future. . . .

After the problem that prevented me from entering the first time, I found that Paizo also has a few free items† so you can find out about their setting and thus write things about stuff they already own, which is what helped me in the other one. One of the interesting things that I noticed is that the Queen of Korvosa is rumored to be sleeping with her female bodyguard. (Although it's only one sentence, at least they didn't feel the need to throw in anything claiming that's any more scandalous than any other affair, like in the one I mentioned earlier.) In any case, given the depictions of the King (it's debatable whether he was still alive at the time of the portrait) and Queen, one can hardly blame the rumormongers—or the couple, if it's true.

Of course, they're trying to run a business, so the information in the free stuff pales in comparison to the commercial products. Interestingly, they've chosen to do most of their background expansion in their adventure serials. As you can see from its pilot, the current one centers on city and the Queen. (The latter part is expanded in later issues, but those are heavy spoiler information.) In addition, I have an idea for an adventure set in Korvosa, so it may be worth buying those and/or the city guidebook to build up my knowledge for the next RPG Superstar contest.

In addition to this, Paizo is also making its own version of the RPG based on D&D v.3.5, so it will not have to be heavily updated. Sadly, they aren't allowing others to use it, so anyone else using the d20 System will have to do the same themselves to avoid having to make new rules every time the Wizards decide to replace the base. The guys who tried to make a better ruleset* (and succeeded, except that they didn't fix the most fundamental flaw enough; it's also compatible with Pathfinder) also require you to make a deal with them to use their enhancement, unlike the d20 System and OGL themselves.

*By the way, I hear that the original True20 setting includes a lot of characters who don't make pointless restrictions on whom they love based on what equipment they have.‡ I might look into that, too.

Edit (2008.04.05): †‡Updated here

My readership appears to be at an all-time high (apparently at least two regulars!), but I've accumulated quite a lot of stuff during its absence, to say nothing of my sloth and the fact that I've built up a lot of new things due to year's-end-and-beginning splurging. So, I'd like to see if you have any requests or suggestions. What I've got in the works is as follows:

( Ridiculously long notes )

Since I'm not going to get the chance to write them for Living Greyhawk, I've added the adventures to the one-shots list (no longer a lucky number of records). They could theoretically be played as a loose series with the same characters. It's also occurred to me that "Island of Dr. Mordenkainen" and "Necrohazard" are not set in existing campaign settings, so I could publish them as actual adventures under the OGL with some modification.

Man's use of steamjacks was the daughter of the necessity of the Orgoth occupation so many years ago. The first were known as the Colossals, massive machines of war that were strong enough to shatter the dark armies of the invaders. Over the years since the Orgoth were driven back over the sea, the great warjacks were eventually retired from service due to peace treaties between the Iron Kingdoms and lack of funding, their chassis scrapped to build smaller descendants.

Now, however, Gorman of Many Colors, a mechanika collector living in Five Fingers, has uncovered information suggesting that a mostly intact Colossal still lies somewhere hidden within an Orgoth ruin where it fell in the war. If this reputed madman could find such a weapon, his resources could return it to being a dangerous force in western Immoren, rivaling the strongest battlegroups of the Kingdoms' armies.

Fortunately, Gorman has many enemies, and three happen to be hot on his trail at this moment. . . .

Asir (CN Iosan [CG50] Rogue 4/Scout [CG84] 4/Mage Hunter [CG120] 2): As men grow in power, the elder races fade into the fringes of western Immoren, but none more than the elves of Ios. Some of your wizards posit that the decline of your dying goddess is collateral damage from the humans' reckless use of arcane magic. You are one of those who venture forth from the forest to hunt man-mages and save your people. Such a powerful and unpredictable warcaster as Gorman is a high-priority target, so you have taken the opportunity to ally yourself with others who are after him in order to bring him down.

Garrity (N Morridane [CG39] Rogue 5/Pistoleer [CG124] 1/Second Story Man [CG] 4): You take pride in coming from a long line of men of questionable occupations. You have worked your way up from breaking into cheap garrets to be able to infiltrate the mightiest bastion (or so you claim). You were elated to accept an offer to break into the Five Fingers workshop containing possibly the greatest private mechanika collection in the Iron Kingdoms. Little do you know that this job will take you to unforeseen depths. . . .

Sigmur (LN dwarf [CG46] Cleric 9/Fighter 1): As a cleric of Rhul, you are tasked with enforcement of dwarven law. You have just arrived in Five Fingers on the trail of a dangerous human mage who is suspected of having stolen mechanikal texts from your land. If the holy word of the Great Fathers is not enough to dissuade him, you will not hesitate to put him to the axe.

Strongarm (N ogrun [CG54] Barbarian 5/Fighter 4): Many ogrun families have worked for centuries in Rhul as guards and laborers. Having served under the clerics of the Great Fathers since you were but a bokur, you were proud to choose Sigmur as your korune. Your skills in the art of dwarf-tossing (a tactical method of overcoming the short-legged folk's mobility problems) serve your korune well in rough terrain.

I've updated my one-shots. It's too bad that I don't have players for any of them. I'm desperate enough that I might even be willing to GM at ERPL if I had the chance.

One of the main selling points to me for making these in the first place is the chance to try out various settings and elements. Towards that end, I tried to make sure to include various factions and the special abilities associated with them. Unfortunately, this also makes it more difficult for players. The rules are not too much of a problem (even though in D&D and STAR WARS you have to make reasonably high-level characters to get access to much of the interesting stuff), as I build all of the characters and locations myself. However, the characters from these factions are more difficult to role-play for people who know nothing about the factions or setting beforehand. I try to give them primers on what their characters are, but this can only go so far.

In Rokugan, this problem is accented by the fact that one of the design strategies for the setting was to emphasize the alien nature of the culture. Even with all the information given, there are unclear areas, and they are not intended to be filled by our common expectations about how society works. Because of this, my version is an amalgam of what it says in the RPG books that I have, the wiki, and my own concept of Japanese culture. Conveniently enough, I chose to center the PC parties on the two most liberal clans of the empire, as they allow more variety in interesting character concepts, but I still only thought of three for the latter, so I ended up throwing in a couple of Lions (the archetypal samurai clan). If I think of more ideas, or if I only manage to get three players, that may work out all right.

I also plan to throw in a primer on Japanese language (or as much as you keep when speaking English in a stereotypical Japanese setting) to help those who play in the Rokugan mods. As noted before, I've given real-life Japanese precedence over that in the official setting, as the latter really sounds stupid to anyone who knows any of the former. It's not a big deal, but I like talking about it, and there's an off chance that people on this list might actually be willing to discuss things with me. . . .

Here's the other Rokugan one-shot that I promised:

UNICORN CLAN MAGISTRATE TEAM

The Unicorns are the outsiders of Rokugan, but their way with people and their nomadic ways make them ideal magistrates, policing the Empire in parallel to the Kuni witch hunters and the Phoenix inquisitors. Many heimin are promoted to Unicorn buzoku, so the caste gap is not as pronounced as with many clans.

居内宗麟 (N adult Unicorn barbarian 1/shugenja [CD] 8): You are the face of the magistrates, due to your superior mental faculties and Unicorn diplomatic skills. When push comes to shove, you can use your spells to fight, or use an adrenaline surge to increase your endurance as a last resort. You claim a karmic link with Iuchi, one of the most resourceful shugenja in early Rokugan.

望都胡弓 (NG adult Unicorn barbarian 2/ranger 4/Moto avenger 3): As a Moto, you fight to atone for the shame that some of your family once turned to the Shadow. Although the traitors have been wiped out, you still have great zeal to hunt Tainted folk. You claim descent from Moto Sorō, the simple peasant who earned his place among samurai and founded the Moto family.

胡擢鋭馬 (♀ LN adult Unicorn fighter 8/battle maiden 1): You are one of the élite warriors of your family and have cut many corrupt men down with your naginata. You share the spirit of Utaku Shiko, the founder of the Utaku Battle Maiden tradition.

LOCAL LION CLAN BUZOKU

Although many of you have been sent off to aid your Phoenix allies, you still have proper leadership to assist the investigation. The Lion are the archetypal samurai, filled with honor and zeal.

末吠 (LN adult Lion fighter 4/samurai [CW] 1/Matsu rager 2): You epitomize the controlled fury of your family and are ready to unleash it on whoever is causing trouble on your land. Since you were not deployed to support the Phoenix in their war with the Dragon, you have had little outlet in such a peaceful location. If those weakling heimin and hinin are causing trouble with their puny peasant weapons, you'll show them what for. Your ancestor, Matsu Hitomi, was the most famous female samurai of the early Empire. Hitomi donned her brother's armor to avenge his death, earning command of a unit of samurai through her fierce devotion to war.

吉津郷祖 (LN adult Lion shaman 9): Unlike the elemental shugenja of other clans, you draw your strength from your honored ancestors. Respect for those who have come before you also gives you power over the walking dead. You are Suegara's chief spiritual advisor, although you are grooming your brother Ubagai to take your place. You are descended from Akodo's advisor Ikoma—a historian, judge, and storyteller.

吉津祖母懐 (♂ adult Lion): Ubagai took your mother's recent death hard, becoming a grim and melancholy young man, but this is an honorable sign of his devotion to his ancestors. He uses his inherited talents to police the town. His ancestor, Akodo Shinju, was the greatest spy of the Lion clan.

AOI-YA

The biggest and most prestigious geisha house in town—although the performers are still hinin, of course

おかみさん (♀ adult hinin): The mistress of the house is a beautiful lady with a name that no one seems to be able to remember, so everyone just calls her o-Kami-san.

蒼 (♀ adult hinin): O-Sō is the diminutive senior geisha and o-Kami-san's protégé.

青朗 (♂ adult heimin): The virtuoso tattooist Seirō is a friendly, boastful fellow (he claims to have tattooed his own back) who keeps shop at the Aoi-ya so his customers have something to watch while he's working.

PHOENIX CLAN INQUISITORIAL WARRIOR BAND

The Phoenix are allies of the Lion, and they have sent a team here to investigate rumors of mahō-tsukai. The clan is known for its mastery of divine magic, which makes it as good as the Crab at hunting the Shadow.

石和偉査夫 (♂ adult Phoenix): The Isawa are the most accomplished shugenja in the Empire, wielding the powers of all five elements. Isao is one of the few who has mastered the fifth: the Void. Its powers of ancient knowledge aid him in his hunt for Tainted traitors.

鳥羽調 (♂ adult Phoenix): The Shiba are a family of defenders to the Phoenix's many shugenja, so it's only natural that one of their samurai should be sent to assist Isao.

朝来黥布 (♂ adult Phoenix): Geifu is a budōka of the Asako who has also studied as a tattooed monk under the Dragon. His loyalties might be thought to be split due to the current war, but from his record, it appears that blood is thicker than ink.

I've made numerous changes to the blurb for "Kagemusha." I've also thought up ideas for another Rokugan-set one-shot. There's no blurb for it yet, but I've added it to the database.

In case you're interested in learning more about the setting, I've found a useful wiki. However, keep in mind that my adventures are set in 1158 (since that's the date of the last sourcebook I have in hard copy), not the present day as the card game continues to tell the story. I don't think anything there really spoils my secrets, but remember that not all of it has happened yet (or will happen, if you manage to change history).

Here's the blurb for the one-shot I mentioned earlier:

THE WARA-NINGYŌ

HIDA-KYŪ LEADERSHIP

CRANE EMBASSY

MERC STRIKE TEAM

This is not a Legend of Five Rings game because I don't know or care about that system. Instead, it's D&D v.3.5, using rules from Oriental Adventures tweaked to fit in with the current set. The ninja, samurai, and shugenja from the Complete books are standard, except that the latter have some of their spells updated in the Spell Compendium.

It would be damned nifty if we could sometime get arifyn and blitzcon together and run all the dialogue in Rokugan-go, but that's wishful thinking. (As you can see, I've changed a lot of names to make them a bit more authentic.) This is also likely a bit too combat-heavy for the Star Children's tastes.

After I'd seen it as the featured setting in the 3rd-Edition Oriental Adventures, I jumped at a chance to get a sub-mint copy of an older book on Rokugan at a damn good price. (I never can resist a deal.) Well, I thought OA had bad Japango (counterpart to Engrish), but the AEG version puts it to shame. Just for laughs, let's see if you can understand any of the biggest chunk of text:

I don't even want to talk about the Japanese handwriting. . . .

Incidentally, it also occurred to me that one of my new tags, yōsei Nihon-go, is a self-referencing term. I intended it as a counterpart to wasei Eigo.

Meanwhile, I thought of making a one-shot set in Rokugan a while back, but now with the further information, it's starting to coalesce. More on that later . . .

※I've just sent in my supplemental amazon order, but the regularly scheduled July one is still open.

※"The Vecna, the. Wayne Reynolds shows us that no one who speaks Abyssal could be an evil man." —Dragon 348. I know at least one reader who will catch at least one of the references—if he actually bothers to check LJ.

※Since borrowing the Call of Cthulhu rulebook from lokodraucarn, I had an idea for another investigative one-shot adventure. Unfortunately, I'm not confident in my ability to keep an appropriate mood—particularly considering most of my contact with the Mythos comes from Irregular Webcomic! (Incidentally, remember that other than Cthulhu, who is making personal appearances, the folks in that comic are fictional characters that just happen to have similar names and appearances to real-life figures, as you can see from the facts that Terry has a "y" in her name, and Jamie occasionally uses exclamation points.) This is compounded by the fact that I eventually realized that the easiest way to have a group of investigators without having to explain them at length to the players is by using the famous crew of the Mystery Machine. . . .

Well, it turns out that I didn't do my homework for "These Aren't the Droids for Which You're Looking." As noted here, the Imperial Remnant wasn't consolidated to the Outer Rim until 13 ABY, and the New Republic was declared only a month after the Battle of Endor, meaning that the heroes shouldn't be called Rebels anymore.

Meanwhile, I'm working on more surprises, but it's still mostly combat. I've also found a name for each encounter that's a quote from the movies—six from A New Hope and two from Return of the Jedi, I believe. Irregular Webcomic! was indispensable for this purpose, as it's written out and a lot quicker than watching the movies.

Despite the title, this isn't going to be a rant about how counterintuitive old RPGs were (1st- and 2nd-Edition D&D, anyone?). Much the opposite, in fact. The thing is, I was planning on updating "These Aren't the Droids for Which You're Looking" to Saga Edition. I've been reading the previews here and liking a lot of the changes they've made (including some stolen from me, such as rolling Defense into saves and combining Bluff and Disguise), but there are so many innovations that, despite the streamlining, it looks like it'll actually be more difficult to run for people who are only used to D&D and other more conservative d20 games. So, for one-shots, I think I'll stick to the revised edition. The only real change I'll make is in fighting space, so the miniatures work better. Of course, I still have the problem of no players. . . .