Wrath of the Righteous - Solo Pathfinder Game

It's amazing what you can do with a solo campaign.  Basically I got the itch to run a game and have been eyeing off this adventure path for quite some time.  My husband is always present and available and one of our big hobbies involves running things for each other so I figured: "Why not?"

He created a Tiefling Monk called "Alfie" and was given a set of Base 14 stats where he could increase a stat by reducing another one by one.  And yes, it was a one for one basis so the cost of going from 17 to 18 was the same as to go down from 13 to 12.

I also gave him maximised hit dice (so that he had a full 8hp on a d8, or whatever it is that monk's get - I forget), three additional starting feats (though they couldn't all be pre-requisites for each other, no early stage chaining) and three traits. 

I also let him roll thrice on the tiefling special ability chart to replace his Darkness spell-like ability and even let him roll again when one of those abilities didn't make any sense.  He's meant to be a Good Tiefling, so cannibalism for hit points wouldn't work out for this type of campaign.  He personally chose to swap out his sorcery bloodline benefit for a mobile tail.

I even gave him a free Sin Rune - Rune of Resistance - and he was allowed to take it for one of his existing Resistance 5s and Acid Resistance.  This was connected to his backstory whereby he was used for some terrible ritual before being rescued at an early age and dropped off in Vigil (which I transplanted to Mendev for my own needs).

Other than that his equipment was selected by me and was all pretty ordinary.  Other than a Ring of Protection + 1 it was all very mundane.  Monks don't need elaborate weapons and armour anyway.

Finally I gave him an extra 2 skill points per level.

Oh, and he started at level 3.

So why did I do all of this?  Well, he has to play the role of four Player Characters for while there are allies included in this particular game, sometimes he'll be on his own.  I could just make him higher level, but I didn't want his saves / base attack / AC to wildly overwhelm the opposition so I made him smarter, harder to kill, with better stats and a slight boost in level at the beginning (later he'll probably only sit 1 level higher than the suggested CR).  So yeah, versatility over pointiness.

We're partway through the first Part of the first Book and it's working out well so far.  It's also a hoot as the NPCs are really well detailed and there's points in various rooms where they respond and react to things and it's all laid out on the page for me to follow (or branch off from where I need to).

I started him in my moved area of Vigil as I wanted him to have a stable base of operations and he got to have a rather ordinary time interrupted only by the arrival of some Nidalese Kuthites wanting to join the Crusade (or so they say) who did odd things like dropping in on the Shelyn Temple to pay their respects and who were hiring on a guide to Kenares (which is an easy three day ride away across a well-travelled and protected road).

"Alfie" was an orphan raised by the Temple of Shelyn whose destructive impulses have been channelled into martial arts training (since he can't quite do a monk-like aspect as he's too ADHD).  Other than being a real food glutton and a bundle of energy, he's a good kid as one of the chief clerics to Shelyn has managed to position him as an example of the redemptive qualities of goodness, so he gets given special treatment that does tend to irritate tieflings' with a rougher history.

Anyway, been loads of fun so far.  Just thought I'd share on the character creation changes.

Rooting Fantasy Characters In The Mundane

One of the troubles with the Pathfinder / D&D method of creating classes is that people generally define their characters by that class.  This makes sense since as a player it's helpful to know what niches are taken and what powers are available.  It also makes sense that those categories would be available colloquially since people of particular classes function in effectively different ways within the game universe as well.

However that's not to say that you can't further define your character by what they spent their time doing before they took up adventuring.  Sure, they might have been adventuring since Level 1 or since being a commoner, and sometimes that may be perfectly fine, but there are other options even if the game itself will be a dungeon delve.

What if you were a merchant caravan guard?  Or a chronicler who writes the last day's activities next to your spell book?  What if you are an archaeologist (hence Engineering, Dungeoneering and History) who picks up spells from carvings on the walls (ask your GM to let you aesthetically flavour your auto-spell-known-per-level from this)?  Or maybe you were a pirate and lament being stuck in this place now?

And that's not even touching upon the jobs you might have had prior to being an adventurer.  Technically you could gain levels from any regular task, it just takes longer.  So perhaps the bard was a satirist whose satires got them chased out of town?  Or that rogue could actually have worked with law enforcement to get the dirt on the bad guys?  Or acted as a security specialist?

Was your barbarian a generally mild-mannered bouncer at an up-market establishment who chased off the unfortunate?  Or even just a blacksmith with a military history and one hell of a temper?  Your ranger could have bred horses back in the day or couriered messages across the land.

Even if you're a cleric whose task kind of connects with your class quite well, you could have a variety of different positions within the church: proselytizer, medic, almsman, protector of relics, administrator, or jack-of-all-trades as the solitary priest at the local church.  Do you have a preferred title other than cleric?  Are you a Father, Mother, Divine, Kezar, Whatzit?

I've found an easy way to develop your character and give them a bit more flavour be to give them an occupation in their history.  It doesn't need to be complicated.  It doesn't even need to come up much.  It just helps give off that feeling that your character existed and has a place in the world.  It also makes them more identifiable as we don't think of ourselves as Scientist, we think of ourselves as that health inspector that takes water samples from air conditioning units and examines shops for pests.

What are your thoughts?  Do you do this yourself?

Game Translation: Deadly Premonitions

Now

this rather wacky comedy horror game where you control FBI Special Agent Francis York Morgan through his investigations into the "Raincoat killer" who has been blamed for a murder in small town Greenvale. 

Firstly if you are running this with several players you should have them select one person to play the kooky one.  Everyone else can have mild eccentricties but you really need a mostly "straight man" group.  Too many kooks spoil the plot and will likely cause them to bounce off each other in plot killing ways.  While you can pull off a party of very serious and highly functional York-type people, it would be hard to get the alchemy right in a way that lets the group work well together.  If you've got 2 players, sure, give it a shot - though get the players to comment on how their character's deal with each other's strangeness. 

If you've got 4 - 6 players, well, I wouldn't recommend that player size for this type of game but if that's what you've got then no -- the odds that their issues won't clash and derail the game are very low.  You'd be better off creating a locked room with a few puzzles and letting them spend a session wrestling with each other's unusual behaviour rather than expecting them to semi-sensibly navigate the plot.

Also be sure you talk the kookiness through with the designated player so that they create someone who is highly functional in society.  It doesn't matter if they should likely be kicked off the force (since the FBI have high mental health standards).  What matters is that their off-putting social mannerisms should make them seem slightly unpredictable, make sense according to their own internalised logic, and not completely shut down all conversation with NPCs. 

In other words, occasionally talking to an invisible friend, talking about how you get assistance from someone who isn't there (and that you'll explain more about him later) as well as going off into a slight trance as your lips move (indicated that's what he actually does when he speaks to Zach) as well as telling people that you can find clues in your morning coffee is fine.  Screaming in someone's face, pouring cereal in your hair and accusing random people of being aliens from outer space is not.  Less is more.  Pick a couple traits and stick to them.  Think *functional*.

On that note, reward the one picked to play the York-like PC by giving him the occasional tidbit that makes sense according to his delusions.  Let him hear a hint in the television static or read a vague clue in the coffee.  Try not to use this to generate leads unless they're really stuck - instead be indirect enough that they're likely to only put it together after the fact (or shortly before it).

This game also requires you complete the mundane actions of life which adds a bit more of a human and realistic touch to an otherwise strange game.  The character has a hunger meter and tiredness meter, gets puffed out quickly when he runs too long, stinks out his clothes when he wears them too long and starts growing a beard as the days progress if you don't make him shave.  These little touches keep things human.

They're also easy things to enforce in the game world.  Most systems you could use to run a game has some form of penalty system.  Just whack on a -1 penalty or remove a dice if they go a certain amount of time without eating or sleeping.  Alternatively just keep pointing out how hungry / tired they're getting and if they leave it beyond a certain amount of time you can start stripping health levels.  The latter option is more in keeping with the style of game and adds extra tension.  Just be sure to give them opportunities to eat. 

As for stinkiness and beardiness, they should have no real penalty though the former issue might draw comment from people stuck in the car with you.

When entering the Other World, feel free to have the sensible characters go with the York-style one.  Here is where things are likely to get very trippy as York can adapt quite well to the strangeness (which he only partially believes is real, ironically enough, as seen when he confronts the second-to-last boss at the end).  The normally straight-edged characters get to shine by being out of their depth, confused and confronted.  Their sanity may fray, tempers may snap, and the normally kooky guy they have to guide and assist through the real world can suddenly become a core character able to help them muddle through. 

After the second or third time in the Other World, they're likely to have it all figured out but the first time should allow for some real roleplaying gold.

Pay attention to the time and call it out to the players so that they know that timing is critical.  Know when stores open and close.  Have a vague idea about NPC routines.  Tell the players if it takes them an hour to get to the hospital or that it's 10:30 by the time they locate the park.  Have a vague idea on timelines too.  If they take too long, people die and the plot progresses.  This adds an extra bit of tension.

"Zach, how do I heat up this coffee with my mind?"

As with any investigative game, it's best done with smaller player groups since having more than 3 people interview one witness tends to get pretty crazy and overwhelming for the witness.  You can get around this by having the witnesses surprisingly unfazed by having larger groups turn out *or* if the party splits, get really good at hitting things in a nut shell.  Get the players in tune with it, too.

A good starting point for this is to grab a 10 minute timer and get it going.  The scene ends when the ten minutes are up.  Forgive the absence of any social niceties and think of it more like a movie interrogation.  Things escalate quickly and wasted words are minimised. 

In a split party combat you should certainly do the same with rounds by asking the person on highest initiative what they do and if they don't answer within 5 seconds, go to the next one initiative down.  You don't have to skip their turn entirely unless they take so long that everyone else has their turn first.  If the person on the higher initiative figures it out by the third person in the queue, then they can go first.  Just don't let them interrupt the latest announced action otherwise it becomes it's own power and the players will make a point of waiting (unless that's a mechanic you want to have in your game).

Basically, most folks don't want to sit on their hands with nothing to do.  They're happy to watch if the gameplay is entertaining but long drawn out conversations, heavy with social niceties, and convoluted combat sequences with plenty of book references and umming and ahhing aren't very entertaining.  If you want the long drawn out psychological roleplay, wait until the spots where everyone can be involved.


As for how to plot for this kind of game ... well, go with something strange and esoteric and try not to make it too comprehensible.  It should be overly convoluted with a reasonable number of contrivances and some of the leads should be downright bizarre.  Once they have enough information to confront a witness, if the witness also happens to be on the hit list they should die.

One option (don't tell your players) is to avoid plotting it all out as you normally would do and wing it by swinging the plot in the most entertaining fashion possible.  Flesh out the town, have a map, know the general NPC schedules, but don't decide on the bad guy or their motivations until the moment of unveiling.  This requires a bit of finesse on your part but if you're good at winging things you'll likely find a meandering route to the most logical culprit anyway.  Does this mean that certain aspects won't add up?  Absolutely!  But that's kind of the point.  Things should feel slightly off-kilter in a surreal horror.

Anyway, a campaign based around Deadly Premonitions or including elements of it, should appeal to -

Investigators who will enjoy collecting clues, interviewing witnesses and basically being a cop.  There is a mystery to solve and so long as they can piece it together, they're happy.  If you've got any of these in your team, I'd recommend using both handouts and tapping into their own ideas.  If they want to search the sofa but you had the clue in the garden, is there anyway the dropped clue could be under the couch?  They may also have ideas for other sorts of clues - searching out tyre tracks in soft soil and other details.  Go with it.

Explorers will love the switch between Other World and Real World, as well as the odd and strange situations they will find themselves in with the somewhat eccentric NPCs that live within the town.  Often explorers like to feel like they're really there, so having to eat / drink / sleep / shave will certainly add to that so long as the process doesn't become laborious.  Make the food interesting.  Make when to sleep a choice.  Enrich the story with these requirements.

Communicators will love a game that has such rich psychological diversity within it and that really encourages strong roleplaying with vividly drawn NPCs.  Flash them some intriguing insights into the NPC minds and draw them into kooky conversations.

Action Heroes will probably enjoy it so long as they like their action relatively sensible.  This isn't a hi-octane yippee-kay-aye car chase type of game but plenty of action heroes are happy so long as they get to do something cool.  Stabbing and driving over monsters certainly qualify.  The slightly off-beat nature of everything else will likely keep their attention as well and allow more enjoyment.

Tacticians might not find enough to do here.  They may get frustrated seeking out the perfect use of time and hoard items that are better off spent.  They may also get irritable in any serial killing case if they give themselves the parameter "Keep everyone alive" and then beat their head against the wall trying to come up with a successful plan.  While a tactician may enjoy it, they'll need to relax and go with the flow a little, focusing on immediate tactics and techniques to deal with more obvious problems.

So if you want to check out the trailer, you can find it here. If you want to read up on the TV Tropes you can find them here.

For the next Game Translation (which will be in a fortnight's time), you have a choice of these: Wastelanders 2, Wolfenstein, or Vampire: the Masquerade (Bloodlines).  If no one picks anything by next fortnight, it will be the latest Wolfenstein.

If you want to see the list of games I've done thus far, you can find the Game Translation series starter over here.

Running a LARP: Ticket Sale Deadlines

There's always a bit of a balancing act on how close to the game start that you allow people to purchase tickets.  Some games will still sell tickets even once game has begun.  Many allow purchases at the door.  Others want a few days notice so that they know just how many characters to print and prepare.  The amount of time you allow for ticket sales depends upon three main points:

• Logistics (i.e. will you have people at the door who can sell tickets and for how long)
• Alliance Demands (i.e. will you need time to alter sheets to remove unselected character references so certain players aren't stuck with goals relating to unplayed characters)
• Game Style (i.e. will significant alterations need to be made to the plot to accommodate a highly reduced player number)

On the other hand, making it easy to buy tickets for as long as possible will result in (generally) increased ticket sales.  This isn't a guarantee.  Nothing is.  You could have a dozen players arriving at the door with cash in hand or no players buying any tickets for a couple weeks prior to the game.  You won't ever know the difference between gunshy or procrastinating players and a literal absence of further interest.  That's just how it goes.

My particular one-shot vampire LARP is logistically capable of selling tickets until the LARP begins but not during it since those on the door will also be coming in to play.  Therefore it is possible to sell tickets until the 1.00PM "Registration Desk Closes" time.

On the other hand, my LARP is small enough (30 players) that each character has goals largely relating to other characters rather than simple factions - generally because characters are from different eras so plain old covenant allegiances are more fragile.  Therefore I need enough time to print sheets and change goals that relate to unselected characters.  While I can *do* this at the last minute, I *can't* wait until the last minute to get these character documents into player's hands.  Giving players' draft documents with goals relating to thus far unselected character names highlighted may help, but they will want the complete version at least a few days (ideally a week) prior to the event. 

So that certainly encourages bringing the deadline up to a week prior to the game start.  Anything less means that players may end up with isolated characters who aren't written into anyone else's stories and while a few players can work with that, many wouldn't find it any fun.

Finally my 30 player LARP crosses a player number boundary.  Every LARP has a requisite number of players required to work well in their particular style.  Generally small groups work better for plot-heavy, skill-heavy and NPC-heavy module-style play while larger groups work better for self-sustaining games with a strong socio-political backbone. 

Think about it in party terms.  If you have a six hour party with ten guests you'll get a chance to have a real conversation with each of them but may need to have other activities and things to do to keep everyone entertained for that degree of time.  A 6 hour party with 30 players will be largely self-sustaining and any attempt to push that number of people into particular activities will be halting, irritating, and involve many delays.  You can do little side activities here and there to entertain small groups of interested party-goers but you shouldn't have anything too scene stealing among those little activities else you risk splitting the party completely.

It is a sliding scale, of course, but until you get between 15 - 20 players you really can't expect the party to sustain itself just based off character clashes as there aren't enough people to cause interruptions, misunderstandings and complications.  It's just too damn easy to cooperate and resolve issues in small groups -- which is why most workable teams are relatively small.

At present I have 10 players, which is a tidy number and 33% of total ticket sales, and there is still another five weeks to go.  However if the number doesn't increase by much, I'll need to adapt the plot so that a smaller player base will work out - which means creating additional props, puzzles, traps and NPCs.  This will, in turn, drop the player limit to 15 as a sudden influx of 8 players would make this new plot style unworkable.

Most LARPs get around this by setting a clear player minimum and then simply cancelling the game if that minimum isn't made.  This is a cleaner option as it means you don't need to have successive deadlines (unless you've got a pricey venue, that is).

I'm personally wondering if I can instead throw in an additional deadline ... if we don't get 15 players by BLAH date, then the player limit drops to 15 and we go with the different style of LARP.  Of course since most players are a bit nervous about leaping into games that might not work out, this might discourage a number of on-the-fencers and therefore create a self-fulfilling prophecy where we won't get any further players.  Who can say?

If the LARP does push over the 15 player mark before that deadline, I can work on the original plot lines and keep things looser and easier to handle for the larger group.

Any thoughts or comments on that?  How would you feel if a LARP were to declare that they would drop the player limit and go for a more adventure-style game should they lack the numbers for the other game experience?  Would you prefer a simple cancellation?  Or how would you work around it as a LARP organiser?

Elder Scrolls: Mage Spells

The Mage's Guild can teach the first dot in a magic discipline (each tome).   You may choose to charge 5xp per dot in a magic school (which includes a free spell) and then 2xp per spell.  Spell tomes also have a standard price in gold.  Novice spells are 50gp.  Apprentice spells are 100gp.  Adept spells are 350gp.  Expert spells are 700gp.  Mastery spells are 1400gp.

Spell Choices have been taken from the Mage: the Awakening book series.  If the details of the spell are in brackets than it's a made up spell.  If there are initials within brackets, it means it's not from the core Mage book.  Check this link to find out where they're from.  You can also add the ranking of the spell to each dice roll (i.e. you add +1 for a Novice spell and +3 for an Adept spell).

Destruction:

• Novice: Spark - Presence + Science (send a flash of flame 10 yards away, good for setting things alight) OR Shock - Intelligence + Science (cast in a grapple to use electricity to give you a bonus equal to spell successes on your opposed grapple check to get away - reflexive action) OR Frostbite (touch attack to provide a penalty equal to your successes to opponent's speed) OR Alter Conductivity - Intelligence + Science 
• Apprentice: Call Lightning - Strength + Athletics (M:tA - edited to work at anytime outdoors) OR Decay - Resolve + Intimidate OR Forensic Invisibility - Composure + Stealth  OR Telekinetic Push - Presence + Intimidation (GotU) OR Harm Spirit - Presence + Athletics (as the M:tA spell but harms incorporeal beings including both ghosts and spirits).
• Adept: Cloak of Decay - Resolve + Smithing (Adamantine Arrow) OR Enervation (Presence + Folklore OR Rotting Flesh - Strength + Intimidation OR Cutting Scream - Stamina + Expression (AA)
• Expert: Bag of Winds - Dexterity + Science (L:tA) OR Firebolt - Dexterity + Athletics (AA) OR Kinetic Ripple - Stamina + Athletics (AA) OR Thunderbolt - Stamina + Athletics.
• Mastery: Invisible Fire - Wits + Science (FC) OR Earthquake - Resolve + Athletics.

Alteration:

1.  Nightsight - Wits + Survival  OR Shadow Sculpting - Wits + Science OR Corpse Mask - Intelligence + Subterfuge  OR Influence Sound - Intelligence + Science.
2. Apprentice: Kinetic Blow - Strength + Athletics OR One Mind, Two Thoughts - Intelligence + Investigation OR Animate Shadows (Wits + Science) OR Floating Step - Resolve + Athletics (GoG).
3. Adept: Light Mastery - Composure + Science OR Personal Invisibility (Wits + Stealth) OR Burst of Speed - Wits + Athletics OR Containment - Wits + Smithing (Mysteries)
4. Expert: Shadow Flesh - Stamina + Occult (ToTM) or Suppress Own / Other's Life - Manipulation + Subterfuge OR Gravity Shift - Wits + Folklore (AA) OR Augment the Mind (Intelligence + Empathy).
5. Mastery: Sensory Deprivation - Manipulation + Intimidation (ToTM) OR Control Gravity - Intelligence + Science OR Nullify Gravity - Intelligence + Science

Mysticism:

1. Find The Hidden Hoard - Wits + Smithing OR Discern Composition - Intelligence + Science OR Speak With Dead - Wits + Folklore OR Aura Perception - Wits + Empathy.
2. Apprentice: Final Sight - Manipulation + Folklore OR Soul Jar - Presence + Enchanting (draw soul into an appropriate soul gem for later use in enchantment) OR Alter Aura - Composure + Subterfuge OR Magic Shield - Resolve + Folklore. 
3. Adept: Ghost Gate - Resolve + Occult OR  Find the Hidden Hoard - Wits + Crafts OR Voice From Afar - Manipulation + Expression OR Dispel Magic - Intelligence + Folklore.
4. Expert: Devouring the Living (Manipulation + Intimidation - Stamina) OR Quell the Spark - Resolve + Folklore OR Price of Hubris - Composure + Folklore (Banisher) .
5. Mastery: Transform Energy - Resolve + Science OR Create Sunlight - Intelligence + Science OR Annihilate Spells - Resolve + Folklore (Banishers) OR Supernal Dispellation - Resolve + Occult.

Illusion:

1. Alter Voice* - Manipulation + Subterfuge (transform your voice to sound like another person's - lasts for minutes equal to successes) OR Invisible Writing - Dexterity + Folklore (masks or reveals - with a clash of wills - the written word so that no one can read it except for specified individuals - lasts for months equal to successes) OR Animal Minion - Presence + Animal Ken  OR Emotional Urging - Manipulation + Empathy.
2. Apprentice Level: Invisible Object - Manipulation + Subterfuge OR Image of Striking Beauty - Presence + Expression (SL) OR Scent of Nature - Wits + Animal Ken (GoG) OR Incognito Presence - Wits + Subterfuge.
3. Adept: Perfect Mask - Manipulation + Stealth (GotV) OR Inspire - Manipulation _ Expression (GotV) OR Memory Hole - Composure + Empathy OR Diplomat's Protection - Wits + Expression (SL).
4. Expert: Disinhibiting Sympathy: Manipulation + Expression (GoG) OR Eternal Now - Wits + Subterfuge (Mysteries) OR Imposter - Intelligence + Subterfuge OR Telepathy: Wits + Empathy OR Love Spell - Presence + Socizalize (ToTM)
5. Mastery: Breach the Vault of Memory - Manipulation + Subterfuge OR Dream Traveler - Manipulation + Folklore OR Psychic Repogramming - Manipulation + Persuasion OR Possession - Manipulation + Persuasion. 

Conjuration:

1. Novice: Summon Familiar - Manipulation + Folklore (summon a spectral image of a wolf, use dog statistics from World of Darkness book, lasts 60 seconds) OR Bound Sword - Intelligence + Weaponry (summon a translucent sword that can strike both solid and incorporeal creatures just as well as each other - lasts for 120 seconds or until sheathed) OR Autonomous Servant - Intelligence + Investigation OR Lighten Anchor - Wits + Folklore (ToTM). 
2. Apprentice: Ghost Summons - Presence + Persuasion (see Mage: the Awakening, contains Control Ghost as well) OR Shadow Forged - Wits + Smithing (AA) OR Quicken Corpse - Presence + Persuasion OR Animate Object - Presence + Folklore (S&S). 
3. Adept: Self Repairing Zombie (AA) OR The Metal Dead - (GoG) OR Summon the Dead  OR Stone Servitor - Intelligence + Smithing (ToTM) OR Phantasmal Weapon - Intelligence + Smithing.
4. Expert: Revenant - Manipulation + Persuasion OR Fiery Servant - Stamina + Intimidation (L:tA) OR The Golem - Intelligence + Smithing (MT) OR Marionette - Intelligence + Subterfuge.
5. Mastery: Summon Chthonian - (Summoners) or Forge Tulpa - Wits + Folklore OR Universal Bane - Intelligence + Folklore (Banisher).

Restoration:

1. Cleanse the Body - Stamina + Alchemy OR Control Base Life - Manipulation + Animal Ken  OR Soul Marks - Intelligence + Empathy OR Heal Flora & Fauna - Intelligence + Folklore.
2. Apprentice: Healing the Dead Mind - Manipulation + Empathy (Mysteries) OR Self-Healing - Stamina + Athletics OR Self-Purging - Stamina + Folklore OR
3. Adept: Simulate Basic Needs - Stamina + Survival (GoG) OR Banish Plague - Wits + Survival OR Chemical Imbalance - Manipulation + Alchemy (ToTM) OR Healing Heart - Composure + Survival OR Inflict Agony - Strength + Intimidation (SotT)
4. Expert: Metabolic Suspension - Stamina + Survival (Mysteries) OR Accelerate Healing - Stamina + Alchemy (AA) OR Contagion - Intelligence + Alchemy OR Enfeeblement - Strength + Intimidation
5. Mastery: Regeneration - Intelligence + Medicine OR Vital Balance - Intelligence + Alchemy (GoG) OR Hone Form - Intelligence + Alchemy.

My Adelaide Vampire: the Requiem LARP

So I went and announced it a few days ago on various other forums and Facebook pages and I didn't even think to announce it here.  The first one shot is ready and waiting.  You can read more about it here or you can just mosey on over to Eventbrite and buy a ticket if you have $16 handy and can make it to Adelaide on the 22nd November.

There's been a lot of effort to get us to this point and now we're here I see just how much more work I have ahead of me.  More delicious, wondrous and thoroughly entertaining work.  I can't wait to highlight what worked, what didn't, and to give some ideas and thoughts to those planning on creating their own future LARPs using a largely Elysium-based setting and rules but with some Adventure Game-style skills and puzzles.

I can't wait!

Game Translation: Outlast

While everyone's opinion on what makes a game scary and tense will naturally vary, in my experience this has to be the scariest game I've ever played.  The mixture of vulnerability in the protagonist - highlighted by little touches like seeing his hands and hearing his whimpers - combines with events that feel unscripted and a seemingly randomised enemy pathing system, made the whole thing very intense.

Since I love horror games I thought I'd let it stew in my head awhile before discussing it which is why it has taken me so long to get to this point.

The game has a pretty simple premise.  Miles Upshur is a freelance investigative journalist who heads over to Mount Massive Asylum in Lake County, Colorado, due to an anonymous tip off from someone calling themselves the Whistleblower.  After finding his way inside, he gets a glimpse of the devastation and is soon eager to get out again.   Driven by the hope of unlocking the electronic EXIT doors, Miles must make his way through the asylum, hiding from the tortured inmates and piecing together the truth behind the asylum while trying to hold together the shreds of his sanity.

The game has some pretty simple mechanics.  You can clamber over low obstacles (i.e. desks), squeeze through narrow gaps (i.e. barricades), run away, shut doors, open drawers, climb ladders, hide under beds or tables, sneak into lockers, slither along ledges, and hoist oneself up into large ventilation ducts.  The only other action you can directly control is whether you rely on your own vision or use your night vision camera that lets you see in the darkness but which drains your batteries.

I list it all out because it points out one of the main difficulties between translating any movement-oriented stealth game and that's the little detail of timing.  It's tense running through a corridor only a few steps ahead from the bad guy and anxiously leaping up toward a vent.  It's nerve-wracking when you crouch beside an open door, wondering whether you should walk out into the darkness or not.

Making a series of dice rolls that all use the same Athletics or Stealth skill is not tense.  So we can't rely on that.

So here's how I would do it.  I would run this game with a single player.  If I had a number of willing players, I would just run the game several times and then have a chill out session where people could discuss their favourite moments.

I would also keep reinforcing the light rather than the darkness and shadows.  It's generally easy to remember what is well-lit and seen than what is unseen so by trying to force myself to think in terms of the unseen or hidden areas, I'd find it easier to remember that some parts of the room can't be seen without a camera.  Naturally light should be more restricted in reality ... the dark should be darker.  One lamp won't cast enough ambient light throughout a large room to provide much to go by.  How else can the PC sneak through and survive?

Naturally I'd use some kind of timer to represent battery power so that the player has a key decision to make - will they use the night vision camera or rely primarily on their sense of hearing?  Yes, batteries last for several hours or more in the real world but perhaps some supernatural aura drains the batteries in this place?

I also wouldn't pause the timer for descriptions.  Yes, I might take 15 seconds on a description, a full minute when answering questions, but it also takes longer for the PC to creep across a room than "I crouch-walk to the door".  Such a rule would also mean that we'd both have to keep things short, snappy and to the point.  If you're a chatty and verbiose GM, use this as a reminder to keep your own descriptions short and tense.  Any lengthy description will make the player cranky as you're eating into their battery time.

I would allow the player to use the environment to their best advantage but I wouldn't encourage it (unless they're a tactician type, in which case, welcome to how the game will need to run).  Why can't they make a barricade of their own?  Yes, there'll be noise and it won't last forever but it could work out if used in the right situation.  If I'm dumb enough to include a hammer, I'll just restrict the nails.   

Definitely do some prep-work on this.  You'll want a map (that you never show them), an idea of what the unchangeable boundaries are (can they break any of the windows?) and some idea of whereabouts the various threats are so that the players believe that the consequences are affected by their decisions and not simply GM whim. 

On the other hand, don't include a running list of all usable equipment in every room.  Just give a broad description of the room and let the PC decide what to do.  They can ask if there's a hammer in that tool shed.  You can decide on the fly if it would work best to do so.  You *don't* want to slow things down to painfully peruse a list.



Horrifying fates worse than death linger longer than mere death.

I'd avoid any form of combat stat.  The player should build a PC who wouldn't fight.  Just as you don't bring a pacifist into a D&D dungeon crawl, so should you not play a brawler in this one.  After all, the only reason why Miles survived for as long as he did was because he didn't fight everyone.  The enemies outnumber you.  Even if you only take one punch per bad guy (unlikely), you will eventually get a concussion and die.

You might want to include a few chips they can use on action scenes whenever they like that they can spend to get a room-length away from a bad guy or out of reach.  This could be used for those moments  like when Miles is creeping across a ledge in front of a prison cell and is grabbed by a patient before pulling loose.

Finally you should avoid making many rolls in general even though you might have a stealth or movement stat.  While combat rolls imply some form of decision making (all-out attack, dodge, move, types of blows which all have their own modifiers), movement and stealth stats are normally a single entity which is re-rolled over and over.  There's no decision to make in those instances. 

Therefore rely on decisions.  Left or right?  Up or down?  Under the table or in the locker?  Then you should make a roll to see where the bad guy checks.  If you use 1d6 you could increase the odds of being discovered depending on whether they've been spotted by that bad guy in a similar hiding place before, if the bad guy is more thorough or if the hiding place is closest to the door.  Once discovered, the PC should have a chance to run.

The main running mechanic could depend on player memory.  Remind your player at the start of the game that human memory becomes very unreliable during high stress situations so they won't get to pick their way via a map while they are running in terror for their very life.  Instead you'll throw out descriptions of what they can see as they're running and they need to choose.  Left or right?  Up or down?  Pass the room with the bookcases or enter?

The PC's health also shouldn't be worn down with randomised damage.  Each enemy should deal a precise amount of damage (1, 2 and 3).  The PC could then have 3 health points and three "lives".  Once they lose one set of health points, something terrible happens to them that they later escape and they then return to the action with another 3 health points and one life less.  Check your players boundaries before you decide on the "something terrible".  In some cases your PC might be able to deal with generalised torture, others are happy with amputation or even (in very rare cases) sexual assault.  Once the third life is "taken", it's game over.  The player doesn't get to see the ending.

Anyway, a campaign based around Outlast or including elements of it, should appeal to -

Explorers who love the horror genre will be the ideal candidates for this type of thing as they will poke into each and every room even when the safest path is directly from Point A to Point B.  They may even trigger events simply to see what will happen.  They're generally harder to scare but can help create truly terrifying tales.

Communicators will find the non-sadistic patients to be interesting figures and will want to have the chance to talk to them.  If they really enjoy horror, you can get a lot of mileage out of this.

Action Heroes will hate it.  Yes, there's room for adrenaline junkies but there's no opportunities for awesome moments.  The most Miles ever does is push someone away from him.  That's hardly an epic chance to shine for your average Action Hero.

Tacticians will potentially enjoy it but will likely feel the confines of the genre to be too confining.  They will want to find ways to crush enemy patients, lock them in rooms or otherwise neutralise them as threats.  They could make an interesting solo player but expect to be more flexible with them lest they grow frustrated.

Investigators would enjoy the slow discovery but they will want plenty of clues and handouts.  If you haven't read any Trail of Cthulhu or Call of Cthulhu BRP adventures, I'd recommend doing so first.  Give them actual physical representations of what they find to keep them keen.

So if you want to check out the trailer, you can find it here. If you want to read up on the TV Tropes you can find them here.

For the next Game Translation (which will be in a fortnight's time), you have a choice of these: Wastelanders 2, Wolfenstein, Vampire: the Masquerade (Bloodlines) or Deadly Premonitions.  If no one picks anything by next fortnight, it will be Deadly Premonitions.

If you want to see the list of games I've done thus far, you can find the Game Translation series starter over here.