Superheroes – Once upon a Time in 1967 – Issue 1 – Crimes and Crashes

With the current situation, our regular gaming has gotten quite disrupted.  We have been moving things online via Discord and Roll20, Google Hangouts and such.  It is trickier playing online and I feel that much of the ease of role-playing is lost but it is better than nothing.

We did our character creation session about three months ago, so now the first issue of the Freedom Five:

Cover: The team in dramatic poses with a silhouette of the NYC skyline behind. “Introducing America’s newest heroes!” is emblazoned across the bottom.

Opening page: Vulpix and her uncle, le Renard Noir, are looking out over Central Park from the family’s penthouse.  “So, Vulpix, you need to get your new team organized.  Show people what they can do under your leadership.”  Luckily le Renard Noir cannot see Vulpix’ expression of pure panic.

Tuesday Magic Item- Hofkapellmeister’s Rod

Voddick leaned back on the bench, letting the music wash over him.

“Remind you of home?” whispered Gollaon leaning in.

Voddick nodded.  “We had choirs there.  It is a good memory.”

“It is impressive, kind of them to invite us.”

Voddick nodded again.  “So, relax and listen.  It is rare to get to enjoy such a large orchestra.  They are expensive to maintain.”

It was Gollain’s turn to nod.  “Means they should be able to afford us.”

Hofkapellmeister’s Rod

These rods are usually simple wood except for the handle which is usually decorated with some sort of allusion to music and to the noble house which commissioned it.  The handle is usually wrapped in cloth or soft leather to make it more comfortable to use.  It is a sign of authority and skill among musician to be awarded such a title and object.

Using the rod make one more aware of the flow and harmony of music, and when such are out of balance, gaining a +3 resistance bonus to save against any magic that is part of song or music.  The user also gains a +4 competence bonus to Profession (composer) and Profession (conductor) or other similar checks as well as to all Perform (musical instrument or singing) checks when working with a orchestra that has been instructed by the rod’s owner.

Review – Shadowrun: 30 Nights

Shadowrun: 30 Nights is a Campaign Book for Shadowrun detailing Ottawa and setting 30 “Nights” worth of adventurers there. There is some good information and some interesting adventures, some of which can be adapted to other situations, but not a required book unless you want to play in Ottawa or need ideas for adventures set during the Blackout part of the metaplot.

Shadowrun: 30 Nights, is a Campaign Book for Shadowrun, Sixth World Edition, letting players experience the UCAS blackouts (as discussed in Shadowrun: Cutting Black) directly.

It begins with an introduction with describes the terrible things that happened in the 1977 New York Blackout and leads into a brief discussion of the layout of the nights/ adventures. Then there is one of the required fiction pieces. Next we get a description of Ottawa, UCAS, it is short (twelve pages) but useful including such things as talismongers and weird mana zones within the city but it is lacking a map of the city, which would be exceedingly helpful as places are continually referenced in the city description and the adventures that follow.

Tuesday Magic Item – Twinned Hearts Amulets

“It seems a long journey just to deliver a letter, a portrait and some jewellery,” said Voddick quietly while watching said items being presented to the local rulers.

“Such is the way of arranged marriages among the nobility,” replied Gollaon equally quietly.  “At least they are making an effort to make this a happy and pleasant experience for their children.”

“Yes?” asked Voddick curiously.

“The amulet is one of a pair, if both accept them willingly, it will help their love to blossom.”

“Hmm, I thought that magic could not compel love,” said Voddick.

“It is tricky but not impossible.”

Twinned Hearts Amulets

These amulets are always made in pairs, either matching or complementary and often bearing the coat of arms (or similar heraldic markings) of the families it was first made for.  They are usually made of valuable material, gold and gems, showing the   Due to their nature, of agreements and debits, fae enchanters are often tasked with the creation of such items.

Game Theory – Charming Morals (or the Morality of the Charm)

My, it has been a while since I did one of these.  I was reading a discussion on social media where it called out the original designers of D&D as essentially bad people for having included charm spells in D&D.  That seemed . . . well wrong to me. As I believe charms were included as part of the long tradition of such magics in myths, tales and legends not for any other reason.

Thus this discussion which is focused on the GM’s use of charm magic:

To start with, Charm spells and their variants (love potions, suggestion, dominate, and so many more) are troubling, deeply so in fact because they take away one of the primary aspects that make playing roleplaying games fun:

Agency/Autonomy, when your character is under the effects of such a spell, you (the player) are not getting to play the character you signed up for.  You are being forced to act against your will and it is just not enjoyable.  This is an extremely important point, such effects basically steal the character from the player for the duration and is very likely a “you do not have fun” moment for the player.  Do not do that, it is rude and will stress the social bonds of the group.

Now, some people will say, well just get rid of Charms all together.  This is an option but using magic to subvert peoples’ control / emotions / will has a long tradition in myths and legends and is a good indication that anyone doing so is evil.  Arguably, fear of such control is one of the reasons people have historically been so afraid of the idea of magic, if it can make you do things you do not want to do or want to do something so much that you violate laws and morality, it is something deeply terrifying.  Again, depending on your group, these may not be subjects they people wish to explore but they can be interesting and terrifying to encounter in a game setting.

Now, there are still ways to use Charm effects successfully in a game, but you need to warn the players and get them onboard first. For example:

The Big Bad has enacted a powerful ritual that gives them control over the Royal army, the characters are part of the army so . . . If the players agree, they get caught up in the spell.  Montage of autocratic control over the land and then the character end up somewhere that breaks them from the spell.  Now, they have to try an free their home from the Big Bad, possibly while being concerned with the safety of their former comrades, possibly (if people want to) grappling with the terrible things they did while controlled.

Or:

The Evil Noble wants to get the Royal to marry them and slips them a love potion . . . it works!  And the characters have to free the Royal from the induced false love before something terrible happens.  Or, the comedy approach, thing go wrong and one of player characters now has a Royal in love with them or has fallen in love with the Evil Noble (or both!).  The humor version requires a light touch on everyone’s behalf though.

Some players will still not be be willing to let their characters be charmed (or love potioned).  Do not force them, it is impolite and not being a good friend.  But others will enjoy the chance to try something different with their character.

As always, communication is king.  Talk to your players to learn what they want to see and try in your game and what they definitely do not want.

Notes: Another in my occasional discussion of game theory.

Image A strange portrait from “Spring-heel’d Jack: the Terror of London. A romance of the nineteenth century. From the The British Library.  Public Domain Mark.

 

Tuesday Magic Item – Sling Snake

“Not that I have anything against anyone keeping snakes for pets,” said Gollaon quietly.

“But many snakes for pets is a bit disturbing,” agreed Voddick, sipping at his beer and watching the people.

Gollaon shooed one away with their boot.  “I . . . am not a person who likes snakes as a general rule.”

“Well, we must at least pretend while we are here, it would not do to insult our hosts.”

“Indeed not and they seem to have done well by them.”

Sling Snake

These snakes are specially bred and fed a diet of magical treated food buy the Fae, they gain the ability to flatten themselves and they become docile in the hands of a bonded owner.

Tuesday Magic Item – Mirror of Three Kingdoms

“That noble did not seem that charming yesterday,” said Voddick in a whisper.

“Nor as clumsy,” mentioned Gollaon, equally quietly, as they almost tripped on the edge of a carpet.

“But that speech, its quite good.”

“Surprisingly so.”

“Something is up, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but I am not sure what,” said Gollaon studying the noble carefully.

Mirror of Three Kingdoms

These mirrors are always beautiful in unusual and unexpected ways, something about the design is just slightly off.  Which would be because the mirror was made in the fae lands.  The mirror will sometimes decide it is needed by someone else and will move of its own accord which has been known to cause all sort of problems.