Wednesday 30 September 2009

CthuluTech: New Tokyo

Just got cthulutech one of the most intriguing settings I've come across. For those who haven't come across it, its as if someone took mecha anime, cthulu, alien invasion and some cults and turned a blender up to full blast, the resulting delicious goo is cthulutech. Its a setting with lots of different flavors in it and I suspect getting the right mix in a game is going to be tricky. So over the next few posts I will detail a setting that should allow you to ease players into the world gently.

Just a small note if the designer reads this, thank you for not putting in a mech control skill as it makes life really easy for all the party to participate in a mech game without them all necessarily being dedicated pilots.

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Penitence: Lady Catherine

The inner ring of Penitence changes dramatically from cell to cell and there is very rarely any noticeable pattern to them. Each cells function and design is made to contain only one specific subject.

Lady Catherine was born over 250 years ago into a aristocratic family with links across the entire sector. She always suffered from mental issues for all her life believing that she was accompanied by invisible friends who whispered her unknown and hidden things. The family were reluctant of causing a scandal and simply allowed her to be classified as eccentric and did their best to keep quiet any major upsets.

However as she got older the influence of the voice became more apparent. Family secrets and hidden knowledge were discovered by her using the knowledge of the whispers. When her family attempted to send her to an asylum she fled.

For the next 100 years she hunted her extended parts of her family adding their voice to a growing choir of whispers. She evaded detection due to her psykic signature being masked underneath the presence of the whispers. Eventually though she was trapped by a group of untouchables led by an inquisitor.

This would have been where her life would have ended until she revealed by accident the extent of one of the nobles hidden practices. In consuming these voice she had often stumbled across evidences of heresy and so the inquisitor stayed her execution until all the information could be extracted.

Current condition
She remains in the picture of perfect health, appearing a bright 25 year aristocratic woman. She dresses in the elegant style of 100 years ago and her room is decorated to match. She is often found serving tea to a host of invisible guests. However the seals to contain her choir have not prevented the occasional casualty. Two medical staff were attacked with the fine knives and forks and are often present at the table and are kept in a state of near death by the choir.

Conversation
In order to have any discussion with Catherine it will necessary to pretend to be one the choir that has previously been eliminated by the penitence wardens. They are of the various aristocratic social archetypes you might expect. She will often relay interesting information as gossip and so getting to the true nature of things is challenging but her knowledge of the secret dealings of the nobility for the past century is second to none. Psykic characters will have the opportunity to speak to the choir directly although this isn't without danger. Most are the harmless echoes of people long since gone but the fragmented mind of Catherine is truly a thing of nightmares.

Tuesday 22 September 2009

Penitence: The Outer ring

The outer ring of cells is as close to a regular prison you might find in the rest of the sector. Its patrolled by specially selected guards who are trained to be ruthless and partially resistant to psykic attack (just in case the inner cells are breached). The inmates are generally the worse prisoners you find in prisons, they are serial killers, mad occultists and others that looked to deep into the madness of chaos.

The reason they have been permitted to live and taken to this facility is that knowing or unknowing they have come across chaotic influence that must be investigated. Prisoners whose victims all died in the same manner as an arch heretic 2 centuries previously, the scholar whose discovery of long lost knowledge about a demonic cult and others where that knowledge must not be lost.

Blocks range from Alpha to Delta with Alpha being the largest and Delta being the smallest. Prisoners will move from alpha to delta in their stays here unless circumstances dictate otherwise. The torment and scale of suffering each prisoner will go through increases as they move onwards.

Alpha, Beta and Gamma Block
Each individual cell contains rudimentary facilities such as a bed and bucket and will generally contain between 2 and 4. As the prisoner approaches delta the rooms will become smaller and the occupants thin out. Here they live lives of routine and random suffering. Prisoners will be dragged away to be interrogated, increasingly more as the block increases, mainly with old fashioned techniques which you might find in a medieval dungeon. Every day is another day where you may get beaten, tortured, starved or worse dragged off to Delta level unless you repent your sins.

Delta Block
Delta is the final act for the majority of prisoners who arrive at penitence. Few make it and they are put through the worst suffering imaginable. Contained in isolation in cells with no windows, no bed and not even a bucket their physical suffering begins like this. The prisoner will be dragged from his cell at random intervals, sometimes minutes ofttimes hours depending on the officer in charge belief about what will work best. The mental suffering will begin with psykic techniques used upon them to confuse and befuddle their senses into revealing what needs to be known. This will continue as long as necessary and a team of medicae stand ready to ensure this although they are not always successful a fact which interrogators are keen to point out.

If at any time the prisoner gives up his knowledge the interrogator shall first check the nearby scribes writings for full accuracy and then immediately execute the heretic with a blessed weapon. These bolt guns are positioned pride of place in each room and blessed daily. The inmate is then taken to the crematorium outside the facility where is body is burned and the ashes purified and buried.

Plots
A player may have to infiltrate the prisoner populace to gain knowledge of a planned breakout that has somehow mysteriously managed not to be revealed under torture.
Players may have to assist in the various charades and tortures that the jailers engage in to bring suffering to the prisoners.

Monday 21 September 2009

Penitence

A Dark Heresy Idea

Inquisitors are not known for taking prisoners, as the forces of chaos deserve no forgiveness, but somethings are too precious to be destroyed, even if it means the preservation of chaos. So on a icy planet in a corner of a forgotten system lies the prison known only to a few as Penitence.

Its existence is a closely kept secret even from most of the inquisition. Several times more puritanical members of the Inquisition have ordered the planet to be wiped from the face of the galaxy and some radicals have attempted to infiltrated the complex. None of these plans have succeeded as more moderate members of the Inquisition keep it safe so that they can discover from the twisted minds of Penitence inmates what needs to be known.

A prison for the mind ,body and the soul
In orbit is a series of small stations that each have a skeleton crew of a dozen plus servitors. They have only two tasks, the first task is simple, eliminate all incoming and outgoing craft that are not authorised, with a shoot first, never ask questions policy. The second is to obliterate the prison complex with a series of ancient viral, atomic and other mysterious missiles if the correct command code is sent. These crew have no idea what they guard and most will lose their minds within a year so. Replacements often arrive late only to find the previous crew all dead or of no use. The former crews are packed away to a nice quiet asylum where they can hope to forget what tormented them in that cold, dark place.

On the planet surface there are only two major structures the space port and Penitence itself. The space port is manned by servitors and is armed to the teeth with anti aircraft fire platforms. There is a group of heavy transports that will make careful trips across the ice fields. There is an exact route to travel, too much deviation from it will lead the vehicle into various minefields or into hidden crevasses. Each vehicle will transport 1 and only prisoner at a time. They are equipped with psychic dampening fields that reduce the average psyker to a drooling heap. It will take about a day to travel the distance although with the lack of landscape features it will seem a lot longer.

Then there is Penitence itself. A 15ft wall surrounds the area and guards patrol it regularly in the severe cold. The prison is made out a series of circular buildings with the security and danger of the inmates increasing towards the centre. The outside buildings are mainly for non psykers, non augmented traitors and heretics. The centre building are reserved for the most vile and dangerous of heretics who will need special containment.

How to get the players there
If the players are delving into the past quite a bit this can be a useful way to get that information.
If the subject of an investigation is an inquisitor this is even better as their former associates are quite likely to be kept here until they divulge their knowledge.
This should be a place visited at most once in a campaign otherwise it will become a crutch for the players to go find out information.

Friday 18 September 2009

The Bridge

An Exalted idea (although it could work for almost any fantasy game with a little tweaking)

Across a large river valley, not that far from Nexus in the scavenger lands, lies a wondrous marvel of engineering. A first age bridge that spans across the entire valley for almost a mile in length. Its white earth jade surface is as unbroken and unmarred since the day it was constructed although it has gained a few extra parts since then.

Between the mighty supports lies a network of huts made of bits of caravans and canal boats. From the precarious heights above the road to just a few meters above the water level these ramshackle buildings cover the structure. Once just a few bandits robbing the occasional passerby they changed over the years into a community of traders and a important stopping point for travellers before they reach the sea or head inland to nexus.

Different family clans do different work in the town. Some clans are dedicated to moving goods from the river to the road and back using ropes, pulleys or simply climbing up the supports. The other major clans are mainly for providing hospitality to the various crews and guards who stop.

Possible stories
  • An entertaining stop for anyone heading to Nexus where they can find out vital information before heading into that hive of scum and villainy.
  • A army is about to march on Nexus and this is the best place for the characters to mount a defence.
  • The clans may want an enterprising exalt to find out why the bridge has begun to crack and may not be too fusy which exalt.
  • A group of thieves have come to claim back what they see as rightfully theirs. They are using grappling hooks from below and flying machines given to them by a mysterious benefactor who wants to see the town gone as well as the players.

Thursday 17 September 2009

A Most Magnificient Mask Shop

In a quiet corner of a market in Chiaroscuro, down an forgotten alley way in Nexus or in the streets of the Imperial City lies a most wonderful shop. To most mortal customers it is simply a shop filled with beautiful masks of all shapes and sizes. Masks of animals, gods and people line the humble shopkeepers shelves and windows.

Each one, as the shopkeeper will mention to the customer in a quiet tone, brings happiness and joy to its wearer for the night its worn. Parties that would have fallen flat are now the talk of the town for months, rumours and whispers about its antics are fondly remembered, such are the powers of these little masks.

If you are more than a mortal though the shopkeeper will take you behind a curtain into a small room where 8 blank masks are hung on the walls. Each mask is a white and featureless but upon wearing it the owner adopts some startling new features. Blatant lies now sound like truth and tall tales seem merely modesty on the part of its owner. A man will gladly give up his house and the clothes on his back to buy that shiny apple from you if you tell him its magical apple.

Wearing one of these masks a man could con a kingdom, but the magic does not last forever, something which the shopkeeper never points out. The night after the mask holder has conned his 8th person the mask shatters and all those he conned now regain their senses. Even the smallest lie will count and if he manages to hold onto the mask for more than a few days the mask will make him lie compulsively until his 8th has been used up.

The shopkeeper loves to see the chaos such simple masks can bring, in particular kingdoms full of the proud and noble. For, unknown to most, he is the celestial god of mischief and loves nothing better than to wind up sidereal exalted who really need to lighten up.

Mortal Mask of Mischief
Drops temperance by 2 for the night it is worn but only at a social event where masks are encouraged.

Magical mask of Mischief
Drops temperance by 2 and makes all manipulation based social attacks succeed unless the target is not mortal in which case they may roll their essence as a defence against the roll the mask wearer would have rolled. The target will believe whatever lies he has been told and the effect lasts until the masks breaks, or until someone uses a suitable charm to remove this supernatural influence (mask owners essence as the difficulty). The mask breaks after the 8th victim and if the mask hasn't been used in (characters temperance) days will force the mask wearer to con the most powerful person within a mile.

Smiling Fox: God of Mischief and Mirth
Originally a fox spirit he conned his way through the celestial bureaucracy to become head of the council of laughter and joyous events which he almost never attends. He is only rarely sighted in yu-shan and only then at parties or other social functions, where make the more serious gods lives a misery. He spends most of his time in creation in his mask shop. He has a particular loathing for bronze faction sidereals who are way too up tight. He will also pick on the serious and proud, but he does have a soft spot for con men, night caste and generally most lunars who aren't brutes.

Stories
  • The characters could be trying to pull of the creations most difficult heist and may need an artifact with a little more power.
  • They could be sidereals trying to shut down this tricksters when they become victims to it.
  • Perhaps they need the gods help in someway and his challenge is to con as much as they can with these masks and get away with it.

Wednesday 16 September 2009

A Legend in the Making: Epilogue and Genre Twist

With the beast slain and the princess rescued a national holiday is declared on the wedding day. With all the realm out to see the prince and his new bride the characters will have to step in to provide security and sign a few autographs perhaps. With the wedding vows about to be said an ally of the terrible beast bursts in. Is it the brood of the terrible dragon, the ancient spirit of the vampire lord or an army of golems? Time for the characters to save the day once more and fight amongst the church, feast table and of course the precariously positioned multi layered wedding cake.

Perhaps this whole stealing princesses has become a bit of fad across the globe. Rival kingdoms will bribe monsters to steal princess of other nations in order for their own children to rescue them, guaranteeing them marriage alliances. The players experience in slaying monsters will get them lucrative rewards from rescuing princess before rival kingdoms do.

Genre Twist
The daughter of a interstellar merchant guild has been kidnapped by a powerful raider of the space lanes. The players will have to track him down across multiple planets and defeat the forces he sends against them.

Tuesday 15 September 2009

A Legend in the Making: Act 3

So with the Prince suitably armed its time to march on the dread beasts lair and rescue the princess. Will the adventurers have the courage to defeat such great evil?

The beast is a mighty dragon who is holding the princess in the highest cave in his mountain lair along with all his treasure hoard. However the caverns, tunnels and rooms below the hoard are full with dragon kin who worship the dragon as living god and will do anything to protect him. When they arrive to save the princess the reason for her capture becomes clear, shes meant to be the first meal the dragon and his new mate are meant to share.

The beast is a vampire lord who hopes with powerful magic he can use the princess as a host to the spirit of his long dead wife. His ancient fortress is defended by legions of the undead still under oath to defend their lord. Ancient traps, ghosts, skeletons, banshees and all manner of monstrous undead beasts lurk within the castle walls.

The beast is a golem who has achieved true intelligence and only stole the princess away to protect her from the advances of the prince. The golem lord wants to build a new kingdom for his kind and even invites the characters to attend his wedding to the princess. Will the characters be able to stop the prince and his father from razing this new kingdom to the ground or will they fight the golem city to get the princess back.

GM notes: To avoid the prince stealing all the spotlight have him knocked out by the dread monster (or killed if the players are really fed up of the moaning git). Afterwards, to make them feel like true heroes, have them presented as the noble companions to the quest. For added fame have them overhear stories told in the land which make it appear as if the adventurers were the real heroes.

Monday 14 September 2009

A Legend in the Making: Act 2

With the players having now successfully arrived at the wizards castle they now have the arduous task of collecting all the suitable materials to construct a weapon. Magical weapons aren't the most easy things to make though.

A weapon composed of 4 elemental cores would surely have enough force to allow the prince to defeat the beast. Lord Pyron, greater elemental of the endless fire, resides at the heart of a volcano. Baron Aquan, greater Elemental of the bottomless depths, resides in an ancient ruin under the sea defended by fishfolk. Duke Aethon, greater elemental of the eternal storm, resides on the peak of a storm shrouded mountain. Last but not least the Boulder King who rampages through a desert canyon with his fellow earth elementals.

A weapon must be made of the essence of heroism to strike true against the beast. The sword of a barbarian who defeated a mighty wyrm, and since then that land has been covered by jungle and the brood of that ancient wyrm. The crown of an long dead king who defeated an ancient army of evil and whose castle now resides in haunted lands. The heart of a noble paladin who has been captured by a orc warlord.

To defeat a mighty beast you must have the strength of other great beasts. The feathers of a hippogryph, the head of a hydra, a vampires fangs and the eyes of a giant. However the ingredients must be fresh, so getting back in time for the wizard to add them may prove to be a challenge.

Friday 11 September 2009

A Legend in the Making: Act 1

A bard has arrived from a rival kingdom to record the epic tale. Will the players be able to stop him seeing through the scam, especially when the players do most of the work anyway? How will the prince and the party react when he writes a hit play portraying the prince as monstrous tyrant and the players as greedy thieves.

The king, in an attempt to hedge his bets, has sent his best knight to accompany the players. A knight of the Golden Rose, honourable, just, handsome and all round nice guy i.e. everything the prince is not. When the townsfolk welcome the knight as the hero and when he looks like a better candidate for the throne than our greedy prince will the players just take the money or will they consider the kingdoms future.

Rival empires and nations send their own agents to beat you to the prize or sabotage your efforts. When adventuring parties beat you to the loot, assassins lurk in every crowd and you are forced to go the long way round everything will the players really go through all this for the moaning, whining prince.

Thursday 10 September 2009

A Legend in the Making

Magical swords, noble princes and terrifying monsters, such is the stuff of legends and ages past, but when a princess is stolen away by a mysterious beast, a little nearby kingdom thinks maybe they could tilt fate in their favor. The king of this little kingdom knows his army stands no chance against the armies of evil that could march upon the land, but if he could save the princess he could get some much needed help. Only trouble is his son, Prince Alexandros, is a cretin and wouldn't get further than moat on his own, looks like he might need some hired help.

Enter the players.

Act 1. Travelling across the land to the wizards tower to seek advice. Keeping Alexandros out of trouble and making sure no one finds out that hes not exactly hero material.

Act 2. The wizard advices them that they need to craft a magical weapon that would allow even a twit like the prince to kill it. Only trouble is that it requires a lot of magical ingredients only found in the most deadly places in the world.

Act 3. The assault on the fearsome lair of the beast. How will they get in, what evil will they have to face and can they keep the prince alive long enough for him to emerge a hero?

More details on each of the acts and the characters involved will be posted another day.

Wednesday 9 September 2009

My shiny new Notebook

Hello Everyone,

I'm a Games Master and most of my time is spent thinking up fun concepts to throw into my games. Thinking up a cool idea is an imperfect process you never know what might work, what the players will do or when you will need it.

Idea generation is, in my opinion, a crucial skill to make every game a good game. If you can bring with you lots of little ideas to the gaming table it will save you from those mind blank moments and help you roll with the punches the players throw at you.

So it is my honor to aid you my fellow role player with as many ideas as possible. Some you'll like, some you won't, some may be good for your game tonight and some for that game you would run if only you could think of something cool. My ideas alone may not be enough for you my reader, so I will include my tips and techniques for getting your creative juices flowing.

Welcome to my humble blog I hope you enjoy your stay.