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boingboing.net thinks we’re cool

Monday, January 24th, 2005

I was reading through some blogs late last night and stumbled on an article on boingboing.net about RPGNow and how cool they are for selling their roleplaying games in downloadable .pdf version online. The article went on to call the project “brilliant” and “the smartest digital publishing venture I’ve seen so far.” Naturally, when I read about it I said to myself, “1KM1KT’s been doing that for a while now – and we do it for free!” So I sent in a submission to the popular blog and lo and behold, they think we’re cool too. Check out the full article, and be sure to leave a comment and let boingboing know you’re a 1KM1KT fan too.

Keeton

Using Description to Enhance Your Game

Saturday, November 6th, 2004

Download this article (.pdf)

A key factor in any role-playing game is the 'willing suspension of disbelief.' This is what allows players to envision themselves as heroes doing great deeds, rather than students or business people gathered around a table with their friends. Anything that can help this 'suspension of disbelief' adds to the roleplaying experience.

People do many different things to try to enhance this suspension. Sometimes people may dress in a sort of costume, which can be representative (for example, a person wearing a shirt with long, loose sleeves when playing a magic-user) or more literal, such as a player wearing a long robe and carrying a thin stick to wave whenever a wand is called into play. Many groups use music as a background, to help set a mood and block out the sounds of everyday life. Dimming the lights and adding candles to a room could also suggest a medieval, fantasy, or horror feel. All of these possibilities boost the imagination through the use of the body's senses.

Another way to go about it is to simulate the use of the senses through the imagination. By describing what is seen, smelled, heard, touched, or even tasted in a scenario, a Game Master can help move his or her players, in their minds, away from the mundane world and into some other world altogether. Individuals usually each have one or two senses which are stronger than the others, or 'dominant.' Sometimes a person's speech patterns may give a clue to his dominant sense. For example, someone who says, 'I see what you're saying,' probably has seeing as her dominant sense. On the other hand, 'I hear you' might indicate that hearing dominates. Using 'That stinks!' to describe a bad situation could be the choice of a person with a dominant sense of smell.

Because people are different, it's important for GMs to use descriptions that appeal to every sense. That would help stimulate the imaginations of all the players in a game, regardless of their dominant sense. Like the players, GMs also have a dominant sense, and it's easy to give descriptions that include only the senses important to them. A really good description could emphasize two or more senses, but a variety is what is important.

In fantasy RPGs, the Dungeon is the classic adventure location. Many GMs really enjoy drawing up complex maps and filling the dungeon with dangerous creatures, but their imaginations falter when it comes to describing the areas where there are no encounters.

It's hard to explain how there could be a monster living in every room. Magic might make it possible, but it threatens the suspension of disbelief. What, then, is to be said about the rooms that are empty?

Player: 'Do we see anything in the room?'
GM: 'No, it's empty.'
Player: 'There's nothing in there at all?'
GM: 'Well, there's some dust on the floor.'
Player: 'Dust! Are there any footprints in it?'
GM: 'No! It's just dust! What part of empty do you not understand?'

How much better instead to fill the emptiness with a little creativity!

Some descriptions could be geared to people who like to visualize the setting surrounding their characters.

'At an intersection of corridors, your flickering light reveals a charcoal mark upon the wall. It appears to have been made by either a stick plucked from a fire or from the burned out stub of a torch. The smeared mark is about five feet from the floor and forms an arrow that points back the way that you have come. There is no indication as to who could have made it.'

'You come across a backpack that appears to have been ripped open by a clawed hand and teeth. Its worthless contents have been scattered around, torn, and trampled. There are scraps of cloth, a broken flask and some straps of leather but nothing of value. There is also nothing to indicate who the former owner was nor who (or what) the vandal may have been.'

Other descriptions could set the scene with sound:

'The moss is deep, and growth covers walls and floor. Your voices all sound deadened and seem to fall lifeless and still just a few feet away from you.'

'You hear a sound like sobbing and whimpering echoing through the corridor. It is distant and the source is unclear.'

This description could suggest mystery to the person who favors the sense of smell:

'A hint of an odor teases your senses. It is a rich, slightly sweet smell, possibly incense. Just a whiff comes to you, and then the scent disappears.'

Be alert for occasions when a description could appeal to more than one sense.

'You have entered what was once a finely decorated room A faded tapestry depicting a woodland scene is now frayed but hints at former luxury as do the desk, chair, and table. Dim light reflects off the very tarnished silver and brass fittings. A slightly sweet smell of decay permeates the room.'

'The air is damp and cool and the smell of mold torments your nostrils. The light casts deep shadows and you peer ahead into the darkness beyond. The shadows are unyielding of their secrets and as you strain to listen, all you can hear is the creak of leather and clink of mail as your comrades shift their weight. Everything else is very still.'

Opportunities for description can be found in any setting, not just fantastic dungeons. How many adventurers have wandered through a town or city and asked, 'So, what do we see as we walk down the street?' This is the perfect place for a description of sensations that can engage the players' imaginations and pull them out of their mundane existence into a world of heroism or fantasy! Just a few words can be enough to stimulate the imaginations of players and Game Masters alike.

About the author: Vicki Potter writes and edits material for Tabletop Adventures, which publishes the 'Harried Game Master' line of products. TTA is producing books with brief, colorful descriptions to assist Game Masters who, for whatever reason, find themselves short on time or creativity. The first was 'Bits of Darkness: Dungeons' (quoted above), which details things to be experienced in a fantasy dungeon setting. Coming in Winter 24 will be 'Bits of Darkness: Caverns' which will describe some of the wonders and horrors of underground exploration. In 25, 'Shards of the City' will explore the fantasy urban street-scene, with sensations galore for the wandering adventurer. Visit TTA online at www.TabletopAdventures.com. Copyright 24, Tabletop Adventures, LLC.

RPGs Off My Shelf – September

Wednesday, September 8th, 2004

Well, its official, “Off My Shelf” is now a series- at least, if you count two issues as a “series.” This week I want to get into a topic near and dear to a lot of roleplayers out there, D2. The D2 engine, highlighted in Dungeons and Dragons 3/3.5 edition has been nothing short of a movement. Good or ill, a lot of the rpg content produced in the last 4 years or so are lumped into two broad groups; D2 and non-D2. While I know there are a lot of people that really resent D2 for either poor mechanics or adopting a Microsoft type of business model, the simple fact to me is that a lot of quality rpg content would never have seen print if not for D2. Admittedly, it takes a little bit of work to make it through the D2 signal to noise ratio- but the gems, when you find them, are very worth it. So, this month’s review article is all about those rpg diamonds in the D2 rough.

Because D2 lends itself to fantasy settings, expect to see a focus on fantasy this time around. While D2 does have some nice entries in the non-fantasy genre, it is the fantasy settings that really stand out in terms of D2 quality.

My biases up front; I like deep settings with lots of supplements. I am a collector more than I am a player (much to my chagrin), so rpgs with lots of high quality books are more of an asset to me than single “core” books. Right or wrong, I see lots of supplements as a sign of a healthy line. And with lots of supplements come lots and lots of ideas, most of which, I assume, help flesh out the world. I also like settings that twist standard assumptions into new ways. As you can tell from my July article (Sci-Fi Settings) I not only dig in-depth settings but also setting innovation and quality production values.

(A bit of a disclaimer: due to the open gaming nature of D2 this article looks at D2 and OGL products together as one family)

So, knowing all that, here are this month’s rankings.

My Top Five D2 settings.

Honorable mention:

Iron Kingdoms (Privateer Press)- While a great game, I helped write parts of the setting and so I remove it from contention.

Oathbound; Domains of the Forge – A setting specifically designed to handle characters from various worlds. A bit like Planescpae meets Fraggle Rock meets the Running Man (no joke). There are a lot of goofy elements and some occasional bad editing gaffes that keep it just off my top 5.

Eberron (WotC)- nifty setting that still needs more definition before I can rank. The core book is great, but the quality of the supplements has yet to be decided.

Warcraft (Sword and Sorcery)- a quality translation of the wonderful CRPG. The key to this line is that the supplements are getting better (not worse as is the norm) as the line continues.

5. Forgotten Realms (WotC). This is the quintessential D2 kitchen-sink game. It has taken me a number of years to come around to really enjoying Forgotten Realms. Originally I played in Ansalon (Dragonlance) and for a long time Forgotten realms lacked the luster of Dragonlance. However, with D2 and the reproduction of Forgotten Realms as the flagship setting of Wizards of the Coast, I ended up buying the core book and have never regretted the purchase. 3/3.5E Forgotten Realms has some absolutely spectacular plot elements highlighted by a series of books that are, arguably, the highest quality rpg products on the market. In all honesty, the 3E Forgotten Realms books are beautiful and the art is extremely evocative.

While kitchen-sink setting are usually not my preferred settings, 3E Forgotten realms does everything just right to get me to really want to play in Faerun. The introduction of the Shades (elite Shadow corrupted humans) and the Kir-Lanan (anti-divine gargoyles) were two small additions that really caught my attention. The fleshing out of the Thayans to more than simple evil magic users has also helped make Faerun a much more interesting and compelling setting. All told, there is a lot of interesting plotlines presented in the core 3E Forgotten realms book- so much so and of such a quality that I can overlook all the craziness thrown in to really focus on the interesting aspects.

4. Conan (Mongoose Publishing). Who doesn’t dig Conan? This is a largely faithful translation of the original Robert Howard stories into the D2 mechanic. Usually, I am very skeptical of Mongoose. They really seem to rush their products and end up with some inferior products. Case in point, is the first edition of Conan (Hyborean edition). Riddled with errata, the game was seriously hampered in playability. However, Mongoose immediately made good on their promise to remedy the situation and, in time, released a new edition (Atlantean edition) with cleaned up rules and text. All that said, Conan D2 is a nifty setting.

There are some fundamental changes to the D2 mechanic as presented in the PHB, but still, Conan D2 is at its heart, a 3E game. Conan takes sword and sorcery, distills it down into its core elements and then rebuilds according to Howard’s compelling setting. It is a world of Barbarian kings, eldritch and sometimes uncontrollable magic, and of adventure. There is a rawness to Conan that is reflected very well in the D2 game that I really enjoy. Strikes against Conan are the original problems with errata as well as it being a licensed setting- in the end, while it is a worthy addition to the Conan body of work- my preferences lean towards original settings.

3. Scarred Lands (Sword and Sorcery Games). This is a very compelling setting that a lot of people have missed. The body of work so far is impressive, and while some of the books could do with a re-write (rather than a simple edit) the vast majority of what is out there for Scarred Lands is really interesting and fun. The Scarred Lands take some of the best parts of the Forgotten Realms, like the conflict between the Gods, and really highlights those elements. Scarred Lands as a setting, is interesting because of the way it was created. Rather than trying to force an existing idea of a setting into the D2 mould (such as with Conan) the designers looked at the core mechanics of 3E and designed a world that helped make sense of those mechanics. Thus, alignment makes a lot of sense in Scarred Lands. Similarly, the various classes each fit very nicely into the Scarred Lands setting- something that just about every other setting fails to do. Druids, Paladins and Monks, normally an afterthought in D2 settings, each play integral roles in the Scarred Lands. I really like the integration of the classes.

Scarred Lands as a whole is an interesting place to adventure. A land recently ravaged by a war between the gods and their followers, the world is still trying to recover. This is post-apocalyptic fantasy at its best, where the heroes do what they do because the designers made sure to emphasize that the world really needs heroes. The Scarred Lands is very big (4 full continents and counting) and there is a lot of room for adventuring to be had- certainly a plus for any role-player.

The downsides are few but important. There are a number of edits and errata many of the books need. Similarly, like I mentioned above, a couple of the books are simply not very good and hurt the playability of the setting. Still, the overall quality of the setting outweighs much of these problems (indeed, it is that much fun IMO).

2. Rokugan (Alderac Entertainment). I loved the original Legend of the 5 Rings but really hated the 2nd edition and I stopped paying any attention to the setting as 1st edition was left behind. Then, Rokugan came along as part of the redesigned D2 Oriental Adventures and I was a very happy boy. D2 and Rokugan mesh quite nicely. The new classes all fit the pseudo-Japanese style of Rokugan and I really dig the inclusion of the Courtier as a core class (showcasing that D2 is not only about hack-and-slash). Even more appealing is the Samurai core class, the Daisho ability really makes them the highlight of the setting while not quite overpowering fighters as a useful combat class.

Rokugan is a lot like Japan of the warring states era (Sengokujidai), except in this world, you have magic and the gods playing their role. Populated by a handful of Great Clans under the direction of the Emperor, the world is a constant flow of shifting alliances, border skirmishes and political intrigue. Humans are the primary race, with all other races marginalized. No quick synopsis of Rokugan would be complete without mentioning the Shadowlands – a corrupted land to the southwest where a broken and vengeful god plots his revenge against humanity.

The supplements have all been extremely useful. The “Way of” books have done a nice job of covering the various and disparate aspects of Rokugani society and the “Secrets of X” books did something that the previous Clan books did not- help define the landed regions of Rokugan as well as give a little more definition as to what life in the Clans is like. Overall, Rokugan is a very deep setting, with complex alliances and plotlines that all but scream to be role played. This is a setting where the characters can become bigger than life because the world almost begs them to develop into deadly Ninja, honorable Samurai, crafty Courtiers, and mysterious Gaijin.

Rokugan has some of the most interesting and detailed NPCs around. Where other settings are set around compelling wars, conflicts or regions, it is the personalities behind the NPCs of Rokugan that really give the setting shape. I once heard that the original developer saw the whole plot unfold before his mind’s eye because of his vision of one of the core NPCs, Bayushi Kachiko.

The downside to Rokugan is the same as its biggest asset; the involved world. The body of Rokugan info, from the original 1E and 2E games and from the constantly evolving Collectable Card Game. Simply put, if not played with an eye to consistency, the world can potentially overwhelm the GM or the players. Still, recognizing that the world of Rokugan grows and changes just as the characters do helps put the style of play into context- and if you take the time to get into the world, it ends up being very rewarding.

1. Midnight (Fantasy Flight Games). This setting is head and shoulders above the rest, IMO. I have a penchant for dark and gritty settings, and they do not get any darker or grittier than Midnight. The best description of Midnight is Middle earth if Sauron won. That one line description alone creates all sorts of interesting roleplaying opportunities- add to that a very well thought out world, nifty classes, some fun new mechanics, and you get my favorite D2 setting.

The default playing style is a group of PC freedom fighters- fighting the good fight in an unconventional way against the forces of darkness that seemingly stand on the verge of victory. Everything else aside, the oppressive setting immediately creates some difficult questions- such as where the term freedom fighter vs. terrorist diverges. Also inherent in the setting are questions such as who is an enemy or potential ally and if victory is really an attainable goal against such a powerful evil. All told, it is these difficult and complex questions that really make Midnight shine.

To its credit, Midnight goes beyond these implied questions to help develop the world in a very fascinating way. Even without Izrador (the dark God) and the forces of Shadow, are the conflicts between the various races and cultures. In the core book alone we get a lot of information of the peoples of Midnight, providing a good deal of useful tidbits to help make a number of different types of characters (including, naturally, evil ones). Beyond the core book are a host of solid supplements. One thing that I really like about Midnight is that FFG has focused on creating a regular series of low cost but useful supplements. Most Midnight supplements hover around $16 and focus on things like Midnight specific monsters, magic, locations, and heroes. The art is pretty good throughout the line and very consistent, a big plus in my book. Oh, and one of the supplements is a boxed set- how cool is that?

The new mechanics in Midnight are second to none. Magic is pretty radically changed in the setting, fitting in nicely with the desperate feeling that should be core aspects of any heroic campaign. To help offset the nastiness of the setting, PC heroes have access to “bloodlines,” s sort of destiny mechanic (such as “steelborn” and “beast friend”) that grants bonuses as the character advances. Bloodlines not only help grant useful and setting appropriate bonuses, but also help further define a Player’s character from other characters of the same class. Nifty.

The only issues I have with Midnight are that the bindings of some of the core books were pretty poor. I take good care of my books, but still had to send my copy of the Core book to Fantasy Flight to get a replacement (and like Mongoose, FFG was more than prompt in helping me get a new replacement copy). I also feel that the signature adventure “Crown of Shadow” is pretty weak- especially for a setting that is popping at the seams with great campaign ideas.

All in all though, Fantasy Flight has a winner on their hands. I cannot recommend Midnight highly enough.

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to pop over to the forums and voice your opinion.

Thanks, and see you next month.

Chris Gunning

Chris Gunning writes copy for the “one thousand monkeys, one thousand typewriters” website, where they accept open submissions and provide publication resources for artists and writers in the fantasy, science fiction, and role-playing genres. His site can be found at: http://www.1km1kt.net

Anatomy of an RPG

Monday, August 30th, 2004

This is the first issue of my column on RPG mechanics and RPG theory. Never in here will specific RPGs be discussed at length; this is a column about RPG mechanics as a whole. This month’s issue, not unfittingly, is a detailed anatomy of RPG mechanics themselves. This should prove useful to RPG designers by allowing them to split their mechanics up into bits. Things are always easier to do if you can split them up. It also drops some nice hints on mechanics…
All rules in RPGs can be divided into two categories; character description and action resolution. You need rules in each for the RPG to be playable. The cleaner the mechanics, the more separate they are. In D&D, for instance, the character description are hoplessly entangled so it’s hard to distinguish one from the other, wheras in GURPS, you can clearly divide character description and action resolution. The ideal RPG would have these two sections capable of operating independently. In the rest of the article, I will split these two categories into more categories and detail on each.

Character Description

Character description invloves describing characters using various descriptors (skills, for instance), and assigning values to them, usually numbers. A quick list of ways in which a descriptor can be described:

  • Quantative- a number. A quantity.
    • An integer.
    • A percentile value.
    • A range. Such as 1d8 (1-8). More on random number generators later.
  • Qualitative- anything that it not measurable as a quantity. A quality.
    • A concrete value, such as “female”.
    • An abstract value, such as “unlucky”.
    • A general value, such as “elf”.
    • An adjective, such as “strong” and “very strong”.

Now some discussion of distribution of these descriptors. RPGs tend to divide descriptors into attributes and skills (though most use different terminology). Attributes are descriptors which describe the character’s raw abilities, while skills are their training and experience. There are actually several generic categories:

  • Attributes- quantative descriptors representing raw abilities.
  • Skills- quantative descriptors representing training and experience.
  • Advantages, Disadvantages, and Quirks- qualitative descriptors representing almost anything.
  • It seems worth noting that D&D has categories for attribute-type quantative descriptors, attribute-type qualitative descriptors, skill-type quantative descriptors, skill-type qualitative descriptors, various assumed descriptors (see below), plus assorted odds and ends (such as Size), plus whatever the magic system is. This is a stark example of mediocre game design. RULE OF THUMB: If a game system needs a separate system for magic, you should probobaly ditch it.

Now some assorted descriptor anomalies and peculiarities:
Assumed Descriptors: Almost all RPGs do not list many descriptors, but simply “assume” them. Take D&D for instance:
Assumed Descriptors in D&D

  • Height, weight, others such as hair and eye color
  • Gender
  • Alignment (!)
  • Religion

It is my humble opinion that you should never, ever use these, because you can’t assume anything. According to this, dragon characters have hair colors, and worse, centipedes have religion. And that’s without even stepping out of the fantasy genre! These may be okay in genre-specific RPGs if carefully thought out, but never, ever in universal RPGs.
Adjectives as opposed to numbers: Many RPGs (such as FUDGE and The Mirror, couldn’t find a link, sorry), choose to use adjectives instead of numbers for their quantative values, on the grounds that they tell you more about the character. What these RPGs fail to do is work the adjectives into the game system seamlessly. They essentially use the adjectives as a subsititute for numbers, and in the case of The Mirror, as a thinly disguised range pretending to be an adjective. I have yet to see a system using well-designed adjective-based quantative values.

Action Resolution

Action resolution involves weighing various descriptors of PCs, NPCs, and outside forces to arrive at a conclusion which determines logically the outcome of a certain situation.
Data Processing: Action resolution is all about processing data. You get data from character description and then you do things with it with action resolution. A successful action resolution is one that provides realistic results and covers as many situations as possible with as much speed as possible. The features you look for in an action resolution system look eerily similar to those you look for in a computer:

  • Processing a wide variety of data.
  • Producing high-quality results.
  • Processing data quickly.

At this point, I will burden you with one of the design epiphanies I have had in recent months: You can gain a lot by thinking outside of the box. You can probobaly gain more by stepping out of the box and finding what is already there. For instance, talk to a programmer about RPG design and you will probobaly get some good insight on RPG design drawing ideas from, say, Object Oriented Programming. Talk to a philosopher about RPG design, you will get concepts drawn from philosophy. This advice may be less useful, though, because philosophy is rarely as concrete as programming. Therefore, I conclude that one can draw an infinite amount of inspiration for RPG mechanics by looking at existing logisitical schemes. Let’s take an example; our timekeeping system.
Timekeeping is about measuring numbers; therefore, we will be using the logic scheme used to divide up time to divide up quantative values. Instead of measuring values on one scale, we divide them up into seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc. This means we can now have a value of 6 be a value of 1 with a higher unit. Incidentially, this system is highly impractical, so we adapt it. We use base 1 units. Now we can shave some zeroes off of round numbers by using higher units. This is a nice rules fragment, if we can work it into the system; working-in is the main difficulty of adapting existing logic schemes.
Okay, that huge tangent complete, back to action resolution.
Randomization: Almost all RPGs have some way of introducing random factors to action resolution, usually using dice (and with good reason; dice are one of the more practical and powerful random number generators out there). Most systems that advertise themselves as diceless use cards or some less convenient random number generator. This silliness falls into the same category of using adjectives instead of numbers; unless you can make it work, don’t do it! Anyway, back to random numbers. There is an incredible amount of detail that I could go into on this (see John Kim’s dice mechanics article for said detail), but I won’t. For now I will just cite a few things I find interesting:

  • Ranges: Like those things in The Mirror where you have just a die roll for each of your descriptors. This is a very good method of randomization (aside from the cost of dice) if you can make it work, which is easier to pull off then the other schemes I have said that about. The nice thing about this is that if randomization uses any random number generation, everything is a range. So, if you can come up with a practical way to initiate the generation of any range in one step, all action resolution will be one-step. The trick is finding a number generator that can do this pratically.
  • Varying Degrees of Randomness: Some RPGs put more weight on the random number generators than others. In some RPGsD&D, this can vary based on the situation, which is more a result of poor design than intent. However, there is something very good in here. While there is clearly no determinable answer to how random your game should be, there are three answers, one of them inspired by the silliness of D&D:
    • Variable Randomness: The randomness varies logically by situation, much like D&D, except D&D varies randomly like an electrified hula dancer. What we want is an RPG where the degree of randomness is based on the degree is randomness that is logical. Someone let me know if you figure this one out.
    • Customizable Randomess: The GM can determine how random they want their game. This is a tough one, but I pulled off a similar thing in my RPG by letting the GM vary how precise they wanted to measure player abilities.
    • A Combination of Both: If the GM can vary the randomness on a case-by-case basis, then they can fit not only their preference, but realism also. This may be the best solution, and also the hardest to make workable. It does present all sorts of opportunities for imbalance. Suggestion: Character stats are based on a die and a number added to it, such as 1d4+6. Well, if the GM could vary this by taking 1 away from the number to be added and adding 2 to the sides of the die, then he could vary how much of it was random. For instance, 1d4+6 could become 1d6+5 if he wanted more randomness, or 1d2+7 if he wanted less randomness. This is impractical on several levels, but just an attempt to prove that you can come up with mechanics to accomplish this stuff.

Now, a graphic:

treeview
It turns out that this graphic is not only as cute as a button, but describes the layout for the rules scheme of almost any RPG. I used a few new terms here, so let’s take a look at them:

  • Generic Descriptors: Descriptors which apply to all characters, or at least most. Like ability scores in D&D.
  • Specific Descriptors: Descriptors which make a character unique, or at least less generic. Like skills in D&D (and feats, and class, and spells, and..)
  • Data Acquisition: Before it can process data, the action resolution system needs to get some data. What data does it use? Is it quantative or qualitative? What kind of quantative or qualitative?
  • Data Acquisition: Before it can process data, the action resolution system needs to get some data. What data does it use? Is it quantative or qualitative? What kind of quantative or qualitative?
  • Variables: The information about the outside world that the resolution system acquires. While descriptors are predefined, this is more interesting because you need to figure out how you want to describe the variables. It is generally a good idea to make it as similar as possible to the way the descriptors work, for easy compatability.
  • Factor Weighing: You need to figure out how the data acquired will interact. For instance, most systems use “the highest number wins” (and there is nothing wrong with this). Straightforward and modeled after reality are good traits to go for.
  • Random Number Generation: To add that element of uncertainty. The value of random number generation is debatable, but you should all of the aforementioned factors if you intend on using it.

In conclusion, there are an obscene amount of ways in which you can design your RPG, and no shortcuts, but working on one piece at a time and keeping your goals in mind while doing so will probobaly end you up with a good RPG. Also, study up on RPG mechanics. The better you understand how RPGs work, the more easily you will be able to build them.

This article by Nick, who thinks he may have made an RPG for everyone: http://wtism27.tripod.com/carps/ Don’t be afraid to tell him if he’s wrong. You can contact him at nw.thomas@att.net.

Where are you from?

Tuesday, August 24th, 2004

This website gets visitors from all over the world! Presumably, they’re all interested in Roleplaying Games, Science Fiction or Fantasy, but we don’t know for sure. If you’re visiting us for the first time, or if you’re a regular, please take a moment to share your experiences about your country, RPGs, Sci-Fi and Fantasy. We’d love to hear from you!

This month we’ve had visits from Germany, Canada, The United States, France, Belgium, Sweden, Poland, Spain, Brazil, Colombia, The United Kingdom, Great Britain, Australia, Austria, Thailand, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Mongolia, New Zealand, and Venezuala to name just a few!

Tell us about it in the forum!

Review: Heaven and Earth, Third Edition

Sunday, August 22nd, 2004

Introduction

Once in a while, you come across an rpg that is worth more than just one read. Heaven and Earth, 3rd edition is just such an rpg. I’ve had the fortune to get access to a pre-release copy of the newest version of Heaven and Earth, 3rd edition and from my two initial read throughs, I can honestly say I am looking forward to the full release! This game is worth checking out, if only because it breaks free of a number of the typical assumptions other rpgs make.

Some of you may remember a television show from the mid-9’s called American Gothic. The story was about a small town out in South Carolina where weird things seemed to be the norm. Specifically, the story revolved around the Sheriff of the town who had connections to Hell and with a young and innocent kid who was the focus of much of the Sheriff’s machinations. All told, it was a great series that focused on a subtle battle between good and evil in a setting so innocuous it became compelling. I think very highly of American Gothic. Much to my happiness, I think I have found an rpg equivalent to the American Gothic series!

Heaven and Earth, 3rd edition is set in a small town called Potter’s Lake. The town is a lot like Mayberry R.F.D except that it serves as a sort of spiritual magnet for the weird. The thing is, the people of Potter’s Lake as a whole don’t seem to realize that there home is also a haven for the bizarre. They go on living their lives despite the large number of missing persons reports, spontaneous psionic manifestations, and a very healthy and robust series of hauntings. Basically, Potter’s Lake is a town where the creepy little rumors that circulate through the pre-teen crowd are all true.

Let me start by saying that Heaven and Earth touches on a lot of my favorite aspects of a well written setting. I am a sucker for settings that go for detail rather than generics. Heaven and Earth, 3rd edition takes the time to set up Potter’s Lake as a living and breathing setting, going so far as to not only detail the various locales of interest but also to give bios and backgrounds of 25 of the more intriguing people of the town. I like this kind of detail – a lot. It makes the job of the GM a whole lot easier and makes the environment for the PCs significantly more compelling.

Characters

Players of Heaven and Earth, 3rd edition create normal characters. That’s right. The game strongly suggests that exceptional or weird characters are not the default type of PC (as opposed to just about every other rpg on the market). Instead, the game provides character creation rules to help build normal PCs – doctors, park rangers, mechanics, school bus driver, etc. The key to divergence in PC generation from most other rpgs, is that the weirdness of Potter’s Lake is wonderfully juxtaposed by the mundane PCs. As the PCs grow and advance they get a chance to uncover the various secrets of Potter’s Lake, and with some good roleplaying, become just as odd as the rest of the town. This is another aspect of the game I really enjoyed.

Heaven and Earth is the first RPG that I know of that encourages normal starting characters with the implied promise that the setting and gaming will be interesting enough to keep the players motivated. Considering the compelling back story to Potter’s Lake, I have no doubt about this promise!

Storyline

The back story to Heaven and Earth is one of its biggest strengths. Potter’s lake is weird. Its inhabitants are weird. However, there is a reason for all the weirdness, and it is a good one! Basically, all the oddities of Potter’s Lake link back in one way or another to the big secret behind the town – the secret that the entire game is based on. During my first read I was a little worried that the game wouldn’t justify why the weirdness seemed to make a home in Potter’s Lake, but my fear ultimately proved unfounded. Without ruining the mystery behind Potter’s Lake, let us suffice to say that it is becoming a pivotal battleground for the future of humanity!

And the best part? Heaven and Earth, 3rd edition assumes that the players are going to find out about the secret of Potter’s Lake. Instead of hiding the back story from the GM or the players, the game is built around the idea that, in time, the PCs will uncover the secret and work with it to their own ends. The most interesting parts of a lot of rpgs are their hidden secrets, and too often those secrets are withheld from the GM or remain undiscovered by the players.

Mechanics

The mechanics to Heaven and Earth, 3rd edition are pretty simple and encompass about 1 pages including combat. Basically, the harder a thing is to do the smaller the die type your PC has access to. Something easy will get a D2, while something damn near impossible will get a D4. There are of course modifiers for a character’s experience with the task based on the individual PC’s stats. There is also a nice little fate mechanic called “Destiny.” By expending one point of Destiny a character can re-roll a failed attempt, or with two points of spent Destiny, automatically pass a check. Two points of Destiny, while expensive, can be extremely useful for those situations where you are only rolling a D4. All in all, the mechanics of Heaven and Earth, 3rd edition walk a fine line between rules-lite and rules-heavy. There is a certain emphasis away from combat, so combat-wombles may want to stay clear (though, it should also be noted that the setting is not very combat friendly either).

Heaven and Earth, 3rd edition, while focusing on mundane starting PCs, does have rules for all sorts of supernatural events and creatures. Inside there are rules for spirits, mages (which operate metaphysically a lot like White Wolf’s Mage: The Ascension in that belief and will can warp reality), the Gifted (Heaven and Earth’s take on psionics), the Goetia (ancient spirits connected to some aspect of reality), Secret Societies, Angels, and Demons. There is a lot for Heaven and Earth to cover, and it does so quite well with specialized rules for each creature.

The big problem is that I really wanted to see the same loving attention to detail that was paid to the setting carried over to the creatures and spirits that live there as well. Unfortunately, clocking in at almost 13 pages there just was not enough room. However, it does whet my appetite to see what supplements will be coming out from Abstract Nova – if only to further define these creatures and their complex relationships with the people of Potter’s Lake.

Credits

Something else I really dug about Heaven and Earth, 3rd edition are the writers. Lucien Soulban, my all time favorite rpg writer, helped work on this version- a nice surprise for me when I leafed through the credits. Also credited are Lee Foster, Michelle Lyons, James, Maliszewski, and John R Phython. I am familiar with Lyons and Maliszewski (as well as Soulban) who are experienced rpg authors. Their background shows through in the enjoyable and entertaining style of the book’s writing. The prose and style of the writing is quite good, and the language is very accessible.

Art

The art of Heaven and Earth, 3rd edition is above average, but not spectacular. I did appreciate that all the NPCs received their own portraits, obviously drawn by artists familiar with the text. In each case, the NPC’s picture reflects their occupation and general description, helping to bring the character to life visually. In fact, throughout the book the art largely reflects the writing specific to the page which is something I always appreciate. The art is solid and in a few cases like the NPC portraits mentioned above, really helps to bring the text to life. The cover is very pretty, but I noticed that the person featured on the cover has his eyes pointing in two different directions. While I think the funky eyes are intentional (the rest of the picture is very clean and symmetrical when it needs to be – leading me to think the artist would not have neglected the focus of the picture’s eyes) they get to me. I just do not dig on the two directions of the guy’s eyes – they make me go a little bit cross-eyed myself!

Conclusion

In the end, I was very pleased with Heaven and Earth, 3rd edition. It definitely seems to have been worth all three iterations. I liked this game a good deal, and encourage anyone that is looking for a little twist to their roleplaying experience to look into it. All the elements are there to make a game with Heaven and Earth a very enjoyable and refreshingly different experience.

I highly suggest looking for Heaven and Earth when it comes out in September.

RPGs Off My Shelf – July

Saturday, August 21st, 2004

Welcome to the inaugural column of what I hope becomes a regular event. This is “Off My Shelf” and is my opportunity to look back at the best and worst role playing games I have come across in my nearly 2 years of gaming. In that time, I have collected a nice size rpg collection, large enough for me to feel comfortable to list off my favorites (and least favorites) of the rpgs that I have come across in my experience as both a Game Master and a player.

The goal of this column is not to review the rpgs I discuss here since I have no doubt that they all have been reviewed before. No, instead with “Off My Shelf” I would like to take the opportunity to compare and contrast what parts of the rpgs I like and dislike and hopefully encourage discussion as well as encourage gamers who are unfamiliar with the rpgs in question to take the time and check them out. If you are a sports fan, you may be familiar with ESPN.com's “Power Rankings.” If so, you have a pretty good idea of what I am looking to do with “Off My Shelf.”

As this column grows and progresses, you will get a feeling for who I am. With any luck, this will be more than a self-masturbatory project and will involve some discussion as to what I missed, what I ranked incorrectly, and generally helps prompt some lively discussion on the better qualities of the better rpgs out there. So, to help avoid making this a pointless narcissistic exercise, I strongly encourage anyone that agrees or disagrees with me to post their thoughts on the 1km1kt rpg forums. So, please, if you have any comments, feel free to share them.

So, rather than blather on, let me start this month with one of my all-time favorite rpg genre:

Honorable mention:

  • Stardrive (TSR) – solid and fun kitchen sink game.
  • Fading Suns – Similar in feel to Dune, but with aliens and arbitrary splats that I don't like much.
  • Traveler (SJGames) – the grand-daddy of sci-fi rpgs that I still buy loyally. The GURPS presentation is the best, IMO.

My Top Five Sci-Fi rpg settings

5. SLA Industries (Nightfall/Hogshead) – SLA Industries is a very dark rpg put together by a bunch of Brits. All in all, it is everything, in my opinion, that Warhammer 4K should have been. It is gothic, brooding, powerful, and generally oppressive. However, I take all those qualities as a good thing. SLA Industries challenges the players to come up with some nasty characters- equal part Rifts and Vampire. The game also fully embraces powergaming as a core aspect and instead of letting that style of play overwhelm the setting, SLA Industries is able to ensure that as bad ass as your character may be, there is assuredly at least a couple others out there just a little bit more bad ass.

I really like the tone and feel of SLA Industries and I really like how it encourages players to play badasses in the same way Exalted does the same for fantasy players. The editing is a bit sloppy and the sentence structure can get awkward at times keeping this as my number 5. I also feel like the powergaming aspect of the game does get a bit too much at times- a little restraint on some parts of the setting would have been welcome. Even with my problems, the presentation is solid and the world is fascinating.

Anyone interested in SLA Industries should be forewarned that there is a hidden backstory to the game that has been the core of some very nasty flamewars on the net. I like the backstory, but think the SLA Industires settings stands on its own merit without the beackstory. A little searching on the world wide web will turn up the backstory, and it is, indeed, nifty, but it has been the source for all sorts of consternation on the part of GMs, players, and the designer. You have been warned.

4. Jovian Chronicles (Dream Pod 9) – Jovian Chronicles (JC) is a skillful blending of hard sci-fi and mecha with just enough pulpy goodness to make sure the setting encourages gameplay a lot like the Gundam episodes that inspired the game. I like the feel of JC and I really like the larger-than-life mecha. In fact, JC has some of the best presented vehicles of any Sci-fi rpg and considering the genre, this is a major asset to the rpg. JC is supported well with a number of supplements that cover the different planets and vehicles of the setting. I respect JC for being a game that avoids dealing with FTL drives, and instead recognizes that the solar system can certainly be big enough to encourage all sorts of adventures. Plus, the politics of JC is quite juicy; a cold war between Jupiter and Earth looms and the inner planets play off one another to gain advantage. Venus is especially appealing to me, a hyper-modern militarized Japanese-like society- it plays a delicate game working with and against the Earth Imperialists.

The detractions of the Jovian Chronicles setting are the imbalanced presentation of the setting. As the supplements were developed (basically from SolaPol onwards) there was a shift in the Earth-as-simple-and-direct-bad-guys to Earth-as-potentially-misunderstood-and-not-as-bad-imperialists. There is also some really horrid numbers editing in the mechanical catalogs (vehicle books) that make the utility of some of the ships are bit harder to utilize- taking away from the setting as a whole. Still, the presentation and the sheer fun of the setting override the downsides.

3. Transhuman Space (Steve Jackson Games) – I am so very fond of this setting. When I first heard about it I thought it was an intriguing idea that would probably not translate well into a setting. Boy, was I wrong. Transhuman Space (THS) is all about taking the modern world and fast-forwarding it. The designer, David Pulver, seems to have taken all the really interesting bits from Popular Science and mixed them together into a setting. Technology is at believable levels, social and political development make sense (and, in some cases, do not make much sense- which, I think, is very appropriate), and the general presentation of one possible future for mankind is riveting reading. Transhuman Space does not pull any punches- rather, it seeks to explore the weird technology and society of the future. Philosophy, memetics and religion play major roles in THS- something I think is handled by the game quite well. I am also quite fond of the presentation of Artificial Intelligences and Ghosts/Emulations as potential PCs. All in all, Transhuman Space is the setting for those of us that like our sci-fi hard. An absolutely amazing setting.

While I am trying to stick to the merits of a setting independent of anything else, I must say that the art in the core THS book by Christopher Shy is both appropriate and evocative. THS is quite surreal at times, but just recognizable as to make it playable- and Shy's art complements that feel perfectly.

My minor problems with THS are the goofiness that plays into the setting (I really dislike humor that I can label 'goofy'). There are some really weird and humorous things inserted into the setting that I feel breaks the continuity of the setting. Sure, it helps lighten the mood of an otherwise very (VERY) serious rpg, but humor in rpgs needs to be very thoughtful and well done- and the occasional bits of humor in THS feels more like an afterthought or shallow parody of the modern era- neither of which I feel took a lot of time to think up and detract from the hyper-evolved setting of THS. Luckily, these spates of humor are few and far between and are pretty easy to ignore.

2. Blue Planet (Biohazard/Fantasy Flight Games) – I will forever be indebted to Fantasy Flight Games for taking the steps to make sure Blue Planet received the support it deserved after the untimely demise of Biohazard games. Blue Planet is another relatively hard Sci-fi game (see a pattern?) that focuses in depth on the development of a single planet (in this case Poseidon). I particularly like how Blue Planet does not seek to provide us with a whole grocery list of planets and star systems, and instead works to make their fictional setting as compelling as it can be. Like my admiration of JC for staying within the Solar System, I like Blue Planet even better for taking the philosophy of setting development one step further. Poseidon is one of the (if not the) most thoughtfully well developed single planet in rpg history.

The development of the ecology in Blue Planet and the interactions between native and Earth species are stories just waiting to be told. The technology is all sufficiently advanced while still recognizable to present any tech-head with the gadgets and gears to have a blast. The mysteries behind the aborigines are presented in such a way as to make it clear that potential players are to avoid that information while still being readily accessible to Game masters. The presentation of cetaceans and genetically altered humans is great and worth a look alone (Ancient Echoes is one of my all time favorite rpg supplements). All in all, a great setting that gets into the nitty-gritty of what makes an alien world interesting.

The only reason Blue Planet is not number one is my predilection for space opera. Otherwise, Blue Planet has just about everything a gamer could want.

1. Heavy Gear 2nd edition (Dream Pod 9) – Dream Pod 9 really does put out some quality settings. While the support can be haphazard in quality, the ideas behind the settings are second-to-none, and in my opinion, Heavy Gear is the pinnacle of merging fun ideas, mecha, science, space travel, politics, and space opera into a single compelling setting. The default setting, both pre- and post- advancement of the metaplot (which I will not spoil), is just dripping with campaign ideas.

Heavy Gear has, arguably, the best support of any sci-fi rpg out there (except for maybe Traveller). The thing that really gets me jazzed about Heavy Gear is the consistently interesting and coherent setting that is put together through the supplements. Not only do we have a very detailed core world in Terra Nova, but we also have the benefit of getting some detailed support for Caprice (a great setting in and of itself) and then some nice general support for a number of the other planets involved in the Heavy Gear setting. Heavy Gear creates a setting worthy of some great campaigns and is admirably established to handle all types of adventures- from military, to political, to criminal investigation, to exploration, to espionage, to just-about-whatever. Heavy Gear also presents an interesting political atmosphere that encompasses multiple factions on Terra Nova as well as a complicated web of alliances and enemies throughout the other colonies and Earth. I really like the political atmosphere of Heavy Gear.

The presentation of the technology is absolutely wonderful, with options for the military minded who dig on field variants of established vehicles, to people less interested in tech and happy to work with general stats for “generic 9mm Gyroc Pistol.” The high quality of Dream Pod 9's ability to translate science and mechanics into an interesting vehicle (highlighted by the Heavy Gears themselves) really shines through in the setting. And the Gears? They are probably the coolest and most believable mecha I have encountered.

I also enjoy the consistently high quality of the supplements. Each supplement dissects different parts of the Heavy gear universe and does so in such a way as to make each sub-section worthy of attention and campaign ideas. There is a lot to work through in the Heavy Gear body of work, but it is all worthwhile and each part helps craft a compelling larger picture of multiple worlds locked together in their respective destinies. In Heavy Gear, the sum of the overall picture is much larger than the component (and high quality) supplements.

I will say that Heavy Gear does have some problems, most of which involve the metaplot, but these metaplot generated quirks often work out to a better setting. Most notably, the advancement of the metaplot started before all the nations of Terra Nove were detailed- normally this would drive me nuts. However, the advancement of the plot made it so the last nation detailed, the Eastern Sun Emirates, is presented in a more fascinating situation than if it had been detailed solely before the metaplot was advanced. Additionally, the metaplot helped ensure we got to other planets- and thus, what helped move Heavy Gear into a game that both detailed a core world (Terra Nova- the default setting) as well as a web of other interesting planets. So, to Heavy Gear's credit, what would normally be a negative helps push the setting forward into better supplements.

For what it is worth, I am not as fond of Heavy Gear 3rd ed (linked to SilCore)- the support for the setting has been lackluster. If you want a spectacular sci-fi setting that gives you options and encourages some nifty gaming, then go find yourself a copy of Heavy Gear 2nd edition- I seriously doubt you will be disappointed.

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to pop over to the forums and voice your opinion.

Thanks, and see you next month.

Chris Gunning
Chris Gunning writes copy for the “one thousand monkeys, one thousand typewriters” website, where they accept open submissions and provide publication resources for artists and writers in the fantasy, science fiction, and role-playing genres. His site can be found at: http://www.1km1kt.net

Review: Exemplar the RPG

Wednesday, August 18th, 2004

Do you find that your current RPG moves too slowly? Is there too much time exploring and searching and not enough time spent killing things or blowing stuff up? If so, then the Exemplar RPG may be right for you. Exemplar is designed with one thing in mind, combat. Everything else is secondary or ignored all together, except explosions. Explosions are key to advancing your character. The more explosions caused by a character’s actions, the faster that character advances. Nothing else matters.

But what is Exemplar? Well, Exemplar is a light-RPG set in the far future, where humanity is spread across several stellar systems and it is ruled by the Intergalactic Government and Church (IGAC). The player characters play powerful characters either in the employ of IAGC or fighting against it. Within this framework, everything is geared toward making combat fast and furious. Downtime is frowned upon. In fact, the overall tone of Exemplar has a very Paranoia-ish feeling, with situations and events relying heavily on the whims of the GM. This can be immensely fun for a few sessions, but doesn’t lend itself well to a long campaign.

The game itself clocks in at 32 pages, half of which details the rules for character creation and combat, the other half covers NPCs and details a short scenario. The first thing to notice is that Exemplar is played with 1-sided die. That’s it, no other dice needed. Secondly, the dice are only used during combat or whenever a character attempts to perform some action whose outcome is unknown. Everything else is done using points. We’ll get to that. Let's start with character creation.

Creating Your PC

A character in Exemplar consists of a unique set of ability scores, one set for physical (Styles) one for mental (Metaphysics). A point buy system is used to determine the initial starting points for each ability. Styles increase in increments of 5, while the Metaphysical ones increase by 1. Additionally, Styles whose score is 15 or above have Talents associated with them. A Talent is a field of the Style in which the character excels. For instance, a character may choose the knife-fighting Talent for his Prowess Style. A Talent adds a bonus to a characters combat roll when used. A character’s combat abilities are split into Melee and Missile. One of these will be the best score between Prowess and Wits, while the other will be the lease, or, each may be the average of Prowess and Wits. Also associated with Melee and Missile is a favored move. A favored move is concatenation of a combat move, a weapon and its results (single target, light wound, pistol). This leads to one negative about this game. The rules could stand a good going over. Some things, see favored moves, aren’t necessarily explained well, or at all. Its obvious a lot of time and effort has been placed into this game, a little more would make understanding it easier. Characters that have points in the Metaphysical attribute Insight may also learn a Technique. Techniques are akin to feats and allow a character to perform certain actions such as adding bonus to himself for combat or causing a penalty to an opponent in combat. Two other unique ‘attributes’ a character has are Plot Points and Nemesis.

Spending a plot point allows a player to take over the story for a particular encounter and affect the situation in some manner that doesn’t involve controlling other PCs or Named NPCs. Anything else is fair game. Plot points regenerate at the beginning of each session so they should be used liberally. This is an interesting twist which gets the characters more involved in creating the scenes played.

Nemesis is basically fate. As a character progress upwards, he gains Nemesis points. Nemesis points can be used to affect the outcome of die rolls. When used this way, a check box is marked next to Nemesis. 5 marked boxes cause Nemesis to increase by 1 point. When Nemesis is at 5 and its 5th check box is marked, it goes back to 1, not 6. However, the GM must decide on a Fate for the PC. Using Nemesis points brings a character closer to his Fate. When the Fate Nemesis is at 5 and the 5th box is marked, a character becomes free from Nemesis entirely, but gains permanent bonuses to certain abilities. The odd thing is, while the rules make it sound like a character’s Fate is a bad thing, there is no way to actually meet his fate. A character will hit the magic 5th box and be free from Fate entirely. The Nemesis section, while interesting, needs some re-tooling to make it work better.

Combat

Combat itself is fast-paced with a unique mechanic for determining hits and misses. Basically, combat begins when one character decides to attack another character. This may be at range or in close quarters combat. The initiator decides on a number of dice he wants to roll. He then adds any bonuses (subtracts dice) or penalties (adds dice) then rolls. He must roll his appropriate combat rating (Melee or Missile) or less. If he makes his roll, then the opposing character rolls, using at least the same number of dice as the initiator. The first person to miss his roll gets hit. Bonuses and penalties are subtracted or added depending upon a character’s Talents, role-playing, favored moves, assistance from others or Techniques. The first to miss a roll gets hit and damage is dealt. The victim now becomes the new initiator.

The first interesting thing to note is that making a roll does not mean a hit. In fact, it means your opponent misses you. This seems counter-intuitive. Secondly, a bonus means subtracting dice from the number you roll, thus making it easier to roll below your rating while a penalty means adding dice making it harder. This is also counter to the usual meanings of bonus (get something) and penalty (lose something). While the combat mechanic is certainly different, the counter-intuitive nature can make for confusion. It could be re-worked to achieve the same affect, but in a more natural manner.

Damage is dealt when a player misses his roll. The winning player gets Effect Points equal to the number of unmodified dice he rolled. Also, if a special type of attack was used (heavy, light, favored move) then adds/subtracts appropriately. These EP are then spent on one of the following effects: Wound, Disarm, Push, Other (GM approved). The number of EPs spent on an effect is the chance out of 1 the effect occurs. The player then rolls a 1-sider and if his roll is less than or equal to the EPs spent, the appropriate action takes place. Additionally, each effect also has an effect when the roll is unsuccessful. This leads to another interesting feature of this game. There are no hit points. As seen in the above list, characters don’t take damage, per se. They have things happen to them, being knocked down or knocked out are common. Death seems to not be an option. The Other category may be a catch all, but allowing Death as an effect of one hit makes combat very short, not to mention lethal. While keeping in the apparent spirit of the game, it may not be fun for anything other than a one or two session campaign.

The Rest of the Story

The remaining portion of Exemplar details various NPCs, the history of the IGAC and a short description of its military order, worlds and governance. The included scenario is short and details the mutiny of pro-revolution forces onboard an IAGC starship.

Exemplar relies heavily upon the GM to make snap decisions in game about the difficulties of actions and what the appropriate outcomes are. Also, the GM must work to keep the action going and to ensure that stuff blows up so that the PCs can advance. This is definitely not a setting for an inexperienced GM. In fact, a group’s enjoyment from Exemplar will lie entirely in the hands of the GM. Although not meaty enough for a long term campaign, Exemplar, with some work on the GM’s part, should provide enough entertainment for a few sessions break from a group's normal gaming campaign.

So, why do a contest for StickGuy?

Thursday, August 5th, 2004

I am just going to let it all out on this, and hopefully give a little prospective to the entrants of the StickGuy setting contest. I want to set a standard right here and now for 1km1kt.net and myself, I want to add a little commentary (a blog if you will) to the major undertakings here at 1km1kt.net so that whoever drops by can get a little legit insight to what we are doing and why we are doing it.

So, why do a contest for StickGuy? There are a number of reasons:

Basically, we are doing this for the exposure.

1km1kt.net is still a very new site, and a lot of the people that deal with the site on a regular basis are the ones that helped put the site together. I’d like to see the website forums and contribution increase, and I can’t think of a better way to encourage the kind of people we want at 1km1kt.net to drop by than through a contest that asks people to have a little fun writing and use up a little bit of their creative juices. If we can get some people to drop by the site, post once in a while (maybe ask a few questions about StickGuy or whatnot), and generally help the site prosper, then great. We like 1km1kt.net and we hope other people will as well. Even better, if we can help make 1km1kt.net a haven for freelancers of all types, then we will be quite content with the site. The key, of course, is that we need creative people to drop in and help make a community here.

Basically, we are doing this because it is fun.

Honestly, this is a major reason for the setting contest. StickGuy is a fun little rules-set. It surely is not the end-all-be-all of role playing games nor is it even the best example of a rules-lite rpg. What it is though, is fun (and free). I think it is a versatile rules-set and want to see if anyone out there agrees. So, by putting together the setting contest we are encouraging people to play around with StickGuy, have a bit of fun, and put together some material that will help the StickGuy rpg grow. I think it will be fun to read all the entries and share them with other roleplayers out there. I think it will be fun to talk a little StickGuy on the forums. I think it will be fun to talk about all the oddball settings people will come up with. And, in the end, I think it will be a lot of fun deciding which setting takes the cake (in this case $4U.S.).

Basically, we are doing this to see if we can do it.

1km1kt.net is really a one man show. Keeton Harrington, a good friend of mine, is putting a lot of effort into the site as a bit of a pet project. StickGuy is my pet project' something that came about late one evening after I got home from working in a movie theatre. In both cases, our little labors of love have grown about as far as we can push them on our own' now it is time to see if we can encourage 1km1kt.net and StickGuy to grow even further. It’s a bit of a challenge, but Keet and I are not ones to give up.

So, here we are, offering a bounty of forty bucks to whoever can put the best setting for StickGuy together' and in the mean time, help us at 1km1kt.net complete a few personal goals of our own.

Thanks for your time,

Chris Gunning
Shapeshifter13@hotmail.com
-SPQR

Chris Gunning writes copy for the 'one thousand monkeys, one thousand typewriters' online publishing group, where they accept open submissions and provide publication resources for artists and writers in the roleplaying game, fantasy, and science fiction genres. His site can be found at: http://www.1km1kt.net

We’re Very Popular in Canada!

Sunday, August 1st, 2004

So I’ve noticed there have been lots of hits to our website coming out of Canada lately. Since I’ve never been to Canada, hopefully someone out there can give me an idea of what the roleplaying scene is like! Seriously, how is the rpg industry up there? Are there lots of players? What about independent and corporate publishers? What are the favorite games? What’s big in Canada lately that I don’t know about? Drop me a line and let me know what you think.