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10/30/2019

Age of Ravens: The Dread Hangover

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It Does Not Stay in Vegas...
On this penultimate day of October, I want to present one of my favorite horror one-shots. 
I ran this several years ago using Dread. The set up, explanation, and summary use Dread's formula, but you can easily adapt this to other games. Below I go through how I came up with the idea, how it's set up, and how our session played out. I don't give specifics, but you can see from my session summary which way I went.  Note: this is a trimmed version of an early AoR post. 

The Premise
So you can start the players in an asylum in group therapy, waking up together in the middle of a police interrogation, or chained together in a house of traps. I knew I wanted to do something like that--the Dread questionnaire process does some of the legwork of building characters conflicts and relations. So how would that withstand some external threat? The three scenarios in the book played off of that but didn't have the blacking out. I was twisting around in about a dozen directions the morning of the game day when I finally figured out a device like this which would have some resonance. I would make The Hangover into a horror game. Not the most original idea, but something the players could buy into pretty quickly. I took some of the existing questionnaires from the book and modified them. Then I made up a set of cards, one for each player to be randomly distributed. They were as follows (they were in list form when I handed them to the players to make it easier):

You wake up...In just a bathrobe and silk pajamas; with a bag of white powder stuffed in the robe pockets; an aching left arm which reveals a badly bandaged gash; several packs of expensive imported cigarettes jammed under you; and a crumpled up parking ticket stuck in your sock. 

You wake up...In just your underwear; with a puking monkey sitting on your chest-he looks ill; desperately clutching a wavy and ornate dagger, the blade caked with dried blood; an empty bottle of absinthe in the other hand; and a really nice hair cut you didn’t have before.

You wake up...In your normal clothes but with a lot more blood on them; with a horrible pain in your hands from deep straight scratches across the palms; an access key-code fob you’ve never seen before; an empty and used large bore syringe with the label removed; and a half-finished book of Mad Libs.

You wake up...In some kind of haz-mat suit; with the taste and feel of jello shots covering your face; $30K dollars in poker chips stuffed into your pockets; bite marks and bruises on your hand; and the remote control for someone’s expensive TV in your pants.

You wake up... In a really nice outfit, but for the opposite gender; with a dead Blackberry you’ve never seen before in your hand; a vial of some brownish powder in your pocket; tribal tattoos drawn in permanent marker across your face; and a carefully arranged stack of tiny liquor bottles from the mini-bar.

You wake up...In a good-looking business suit with a strange odor, with burn-marks on your fingertips; the keys to a BMW rental car nearly impaling you where you lie; a bent and ancient keycard; and shredded paper stuffed up your right sleeve.


You can find the full play materials here. It's very improv based, what's actually happening can easily be adjusted to your favorite horrors and figuring out how the PCs caused everything. 

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Prep
Only after I assembled those and the questionnaires did I think about the game structure. I sketched some notes and incidents for about an hour, plus a list of NPC names. I knew how some of these things fit into my story, but I figured that I would connect most of it as we played. Finally, I set up the game room to support the atmosphere. I used a multi-head lamp aimed at a back corner to give a slightly dimmer light, enough to read by but less than the in-ceiling fluorescent. We use three 6' x 2 1/2' tables for gaming, two for the players and one abutted sideways against that as the GM’s space. I moved that back and brought down a high stool to sit on. That brought me closer to the players and at the same time elevated me so that I loomed over them.

Getting Started
Once everyone arrived I went through the basics of the game, the very basics. Dread has a few additional notes about resolution and so on but I stuck the key idea: pull if it is difficult. Horrors if you fail. I handed out the questionnaires and the "wake up" cards. I told them that we would be doing a horror version of The Hangover, but gave them little information beyond that. Setting up the premise (at least part of it) is necessary to allow the players a chance for creative and fitting answers to their questions. If I hadn't I think it might have been a lot more difficult. With their question sheets and details of what they found on waking, I left. I think this actually really helped. We usually get pizza for the game when we play at Kenny’s house and have it delivered. Since we played at my house, I ordered carry-out from a close by and better pizza place. That gave the players about fifteen-twenty minutes to look over their sheets and bounce things around with me looming over them or answering requests. By the time I got back, they'd built a pretty coherent set of identities.

Diverging from Dread
I should also note that I kind of went against advice given in the Dread rules at this point. First, the book suggests that whenever a player topples the tower-they're out of the game. Period. They're removed. You might have some "ghosting" but generally, they're gone. That might work at a convention where people have the ability to head out if they die or stay if they want to watch, but I was hesitant about it. I had never played Jenga, so I had no sense of how many pulls it would take to knock over--which meant I erred on the side of caution. I told the players something horrific would happen--not quite as powerful as getting knocked out of the game but still. The actual play of the session showed that my worries were misplaced. The second thing I did kind of works against the tone of Dread, building from a comedic premise. Dread specifically addresses humor as a venting device, but suggests curbing too much. I, however, wanted that contrast between the dark humor of the situation and the real darkness of it. I think I managed to provide a game where every time it got goofy, the players laughed and then recoiled from the horror around.

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The Game Itself
Note: this was a horror game, and a pretty gruesome one--so consider yourself warned, NSFW.
So the group woke up in a trashed hotel room, with all kinds of awfulness around. We had one wake up on the wet bathroom floor, only to realize it wasn't the tub which had overflowed. Chas flung the bag of white powder at Dave to wake him up, resulting in a brief cocaine freak-out for his character. The monkey induced fits in Dave, who had to be put down briefly with a golf club to the back of the head. They looked around, picked themselves up and began to search the room. They noted the absence of the groom, Bob Howard, and found a number of additional clues. Most notably, the DHS Agent who had wandered into one of the bedrooms and slit his own wrists with a straight razor. During this whole time--investigating, getting cleaned up, trying to put themselves right, realizing the power had gone out--a couple of them noted the deep yellow color to the sunlight coming in where they'd cracked the curtains open a little. Finally, close to forty-five minutes into play, someone opened the curtains and looked outside.

And saw the devastation which had rocked Las Vegas. Windows had been broken out, fires burned in various places, plumes of smoke rose upwards, the wrecks of cars jammed the streets of the strip, and the sky had a dark yellow cast to it, a sepia tone that colored everything. They saw some...things...more vague movement...in and among the car husks down below. Some settled on the idea of their having been a nuclear war, but others weren't convinced.

Exploration began, somewhat hesitantly. They saw half-open doors in the hotel halls but avoided looking in any of them. On the roof they found nearly a hundred pairs of shoes lined up at the roof edge--left behind by people who had leapt to their doom hand-in-hand. The weirdness meter continued to rise. They headed down to the garage to follow up on a parking stub and the strange keys. Along the way they saw bloody handprints, strange etched signs of a five inside a diamond, and other evidence of something horrible having occurred. Of course throughout this, they had no real light sources. If you've ever been to a casino hotel you'll realize they have no windows. Some emergency lights aided them, but by the time they got to the underground parking garage they were pretty freaked out. So when they found the pile of shucked human skins neatly folded next to the stairs, they kind of lost it.

In the words of Ward: "I'm sorry, what kind of nuclear bomb blows just the skin off of people?"

They headed down and decided to push the panic button on the car key fob. That allowed them to track the car down by the honking and flashing lights. Of course before they got there they saw a figure coming towards them illuminated by the blinking of the headlights. Have you ever seen those guys who put on multiple t-shirts until they look like a Sumo wrestler? Imagine that with human skin suits: sausage-like fingers, layers of lips, and great empty black corridors where its eyes should be.

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It lunged at Kenny. As did I IRL, which freaked Jacque, making her flinch and spill hot coffee on herself. A job well-done for me! The group knocked the Skin Collector down and ran for it. It scuttled along under the other parked cars Silent Hill-style, but managed to get to the car. They hit the gas and made a break for it, speeding through the garage until they came to the lowered garage door. Ward braked and stopped in time, managing only to set off the air bag. At that point they heard pounding from the trunk. They popped it and found Boris Elk, a hippie looking dude who told them they'd jammed him in their when they went to Kinko's last night. He seemed in pretty good spirits, having slept off a bender in the car. The group noticed the truck also had a shotgun and some clips for the Fed's gun, giving them some defenses and a few more clues. Elk asked if he could have his cocaine back and they told him they'd left it up in the room. Affable, he agreed to go check on that--and then got flying tackled by something and knocked between parked cars. The group made a break for it, with Dave pausing to look back just long enough to see the thing coming after them in Elk's skin.

The group made their way through the wreckage of Las Vegas on foot. They avoided awful beasties but I managed to spend some time getting across the horror and alien feeling. In Kinkos they figured out that they'd come there, used the scanning services and uploaded some things to Facebook. They fled out of there ahead of a Clive Barker-esque monster made up of tangled bodies. They followed another clue to an Animal Quarantine facility, which they discovered happened to be adjacent to the local DHS building. They also found Dave's abandoned SUV. A mob of monsters swarmed them and after some spectacular shooting, they fled into the DHS building.

There they found Emergency Channel 5 operating and broadcasting to every device in the region. It was a looped tape of them laughing and reading from an ancient tome. Clearly they'd obtained this and decided it would be hilarious to speak the words out loud. The tape loop ended with them still laughing and the Groom beginning to shake. It was about this time that the group realized they'd caused all of this, between broadcasting an invocation to Ylgonac and uploading scans of the mind-blasting tome to their Facebook page. Chas reached for a bible she'd brought in hope that it would help.

And it was here that the tower finally fell. You see Ylgonac's a pseudo-Lovecraftian figure who is all about infecting ideas, like books. So as Chas began to read, the ink on the pages ran out and infected her. And BOOM the other PCs killed her. Putting two and two together, they realized they'd infected Facebook in the same way. Suddenly they heard a broadcast over the DHS channels checking for survivors. They now had twenty minutes to get to the Luxor Casino for a landing pad pick up. With the Jenga tower rebuilt following Chas' death, I had them pulling like fiends for just about everything in the hope of getting it to crash again. Just before they got to the last level, Dave opted to crash the tower voluntarily, sacrificing himself to save the other four. The helicopter took off into the yellowed sky with the survivors.

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10/25/2019

Gauntlet Video Roundup - October 25, 2019

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[Gauntlet Hangouts logo]
Greetings, and welcome to the weekly Gauntlet Hangouts video roundup! Enjoy these new recordings of online games organized through Gauntlet Hangouts and the Gauntlet RPG community. These recorded sessions represent only a portion of the wide selection of games available every week, and anyone is welcome to join in the fun! If you'd like to play in new games (or catch up on the back catalog of recordings), check the links at the end of the post.

Gauntlet Con

At the time of this post, it's day 2 of Gauntlet Con! All weekend long we'll be growing the collection of recorded game session videos—plus recorded streams of panels and workshops—in the Gauntlet Con 2019 YouTube playlist! If you didn't get a chance to attend this year, start looking forward to next year, and remember that supporters of the Gauntlet Patreon get into Gauntlet Con for free!
Star Wars Saturday

Witch Squadron (Session 3 of 3)
Rich Rogers runs for Bethany H., Gerrit Reininghaus, Keith Stetson, and Sabine V.
The 588th Regiment board the Quisling to draw off Imperial forces in the Battle for Sullust. In the quiet moments of the battle, two pilots make an unexpected connection.

TGI Thursday

Mutants in the Night: Gauntlet TGIT (Session 3 of 3)
Lowell Francis runs for Chris Newton, Christopher Walborn, Jason Zanes, and Leandro Pondoc
After a near-tragic encounter with the police, the crew try to uncover the reasons behind an ongoing crackdown in the Mutant Secure Zone.

Gauntlet Quarterly

Masks: Prospect Academy (Session 7)
Leandro Pondoc runs for David Morrison, Ludovico Alves, Ryan M., and Sabine V.
A field trip to gain some heroing experience turns awry as a hole in time and space rips open and our heroes are forced to confront their deepest wounds. Zero-G is bent towards the will of an amorphous villain, Errant is nearly drowned by the legacy of Tsvetnovadred, Serenade is confronted by a ghost of their past deeds and Image learns that she can have more impact on the world through the application of force. Apologies to Wisconsin.

Gauntlet Comics

Masks: The Best Worst Things About Fall (Session 3 of 3)
Chris Newton runs for Alex, Leandro Pondoc, Sarah J., and Sawyer Rankin
While confronting a mysterious power that seems to be allowing masks to possess their wearers (including an adult superhero or two), our teenage supers encounter a more insidious nemesis: our rollforyour.party page!

Gauntlet Hangouts

The Veil Fantasy: Kriusthos (Session 4 of 4)
Ludovico Alves runs for David Walker, Marcolo, Maria M., Pearl Zare, and Toby
An alien intelligence invades the life of these five, forcing them to into a mystery full of difficult choices. The Tome is opened and a name is revealed - The Curator. Our apparatus has to save the life of the architect from copycats and find which is their relationship to the Curator and the society of contracts. As we drive to the conclusion to the confrontation of ideas, the true horror is revealed: the healthcare system.

Spectaculars: The Virtuosos (Session 6)
Mikel Matthews runs for Kyle H. and Steven desJardins
Interrupting a podcast, Spywn and Thunderstruck go to talk down the 9ers in Royale Hill because an escape pod landed from an alien ship that was under fire last session.

Free From The Yoke: Land of the Dragonslayers (Session 4 of 4)
Ludovico Alves runs for Greg G., Mikael Tysvær, and Sawyer Rankin
Autumn starts with an ominous court, as it becomes clear that there can be no peace. Promises are made, and the bounty of the earth coalesces into relics of power. Teachers and Horselords fight the first true war since the independence and tragedy struck. Winter arrives, and a rite like the sort that has not been seen in generations is attempted...

Urban Shadows: Vienna, 1950 (Session 4 of 4)
Alexi S. runs for Eli S., Leandro Pondoc, Pearl Zare, Richard Moser, and Sarah J.
A grand finale with a full cast brings our time in Vienna to an explosive close. Otto the Veteran steals a painting and finds himself on the receiving end of weaponized Cubism. Sophie/Johannes the Fae sings a bear to death, a café to life, and a fae birthday party into a riot of debauchery and violence. Cosima the Vamp faces her potential execution at the hands of Salomé the Tainted with a speech for the ages—Salomé is less sanguine about the result of her hunt. Emilie the Aware talks her way out of American military custody—and into the climactic shootout over art and magic at the Plaza of the Blind Shepherd.

Night Witches: Rudnya 1943 (Session 3 of 4)
Jim Likes Games runs for Eli S., Leandro Pondoc, Maria M., and Puckett
The Natural-Born Soviet Airwomen of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment conduct a harassment mission to keep the Nazis awake, under the command of a new Section Leader as they await news of the fate of their lost comrades.

Impulse Drive: Coriolis (Session 2)
Lowell Francis runs for Leandro Pondoc, Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Steven desJardins
The crew follows up on the missing archaeologists and finds an object which should not be. Which they immediately mess with.

Apocalypse World (Session 3 of 4)
Lowell Francis runs for John Campbell, Peter Mazzeo, and Steven desJardins
Recovering from their battle/rescue mission, the PCs regroup and consider what they've learned about who is behind the attacks, but when they confront an agent, they discover something more dangerous than they expected.

The Bat Hack: Ms October Game (Session 4 of 5)
Jim Likes Games runs for Bethany H., Catherine Ramen, Hayley, Jesse A., and Rich Rogers
The Gauntlet City Gals keep their Championship hopes alive in dramatic fashion, setting up Game 5 back in Detroit. Stunning defensive play from an outfielder returning from the DL provides the highlight reel.

Root: the RPG (Session 1 of 2)
Rob Ruthven runs for Ary Ramsey, Jeremiah Pena, Leandro Pondoc, and Philip
Meet our vagabonds - Brin, Jeem, Morning Song, and Oxley - as they help the denizens of Milltown deal with a group of mercenaries suspected of tampering with the town's crops, and maybe get a little extra coin in the process.

You can see all these videos (plus all the ones that have come before) on The Gauntlet YouTube channel playlists, and be sure to subscribe to catch all our great podcasts!

If you'd like to catch these sessions in an audio-only podcast, check out the community-run project at http://gauntlet.hellomouth.net/.

If you'd like to play in games like these, check out the calendar of events and the Gauntlet Forums where games are announced.

To support The Gauntlet, please visit the Gauntlet Patreon. Everyone is welcome to sign up for Gauntlet Hangouts games, but Patreon supporters get extra options like priority RSVP for Gauntlet Hangouts games and joining the Gauntlet Slack team where special events and pickup games are announced. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

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10/24/2019

Age of Ravens: Temples & Gold

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Following up from last week's post on creating playbooks for neighborhoods, I offer two more examples. 

TEMPLE DISTRICT PLAYBOOK
GENERAL SET UP
  • One central major temple
  • A scattering of smaller temples organized by some principle (power, region, aspects)
  • A divine mega-complex building with multiple shrines and worship locations
  • A market of faiths with buskers calling out for their gods
  • A divine bureaucratic hive where priest-servitors manage petitions
  • A long avenue with shrines arranged in size and spectacle based on worship and donations. 
  • Entryways to underground grottoes
  • A place of war where priests, retired avatars, and fallen gods engage in behind the scenes warfare for authority and power
  • Fresh temples built on the ruins of older gods and faiths
  • Courts of religious judgement and authority
  • Industrial workhouses for the business of prayer transmission and rebirth
  • Darkened streets and hidden doorways allowing worshipers to enter suspect temples to make bargains out of general sight.​

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QUESTIONS
What bounds the area? Aside from signage, what tells you that you’ve entered the temple district?
How does the city’s populace respond to those who don’t have a faith?
What’s the gift or sacrifice the city’s best known for?
Though it could vary from faith to faith, what do people commonly believe about how people become servants of the gods?
What’s the tension between a temple or the temple district as a whole and the masters of the city?

DESCRIPTORS
Worn down        Shining
Renovated        Decaying
Disorganized        Precisely Arranged
Bedecked        Unadorned
Festive            Solemn
Bustling        Abandoned
Welcoming        Regulated
Multicultural        Close Minded
Revolutionary        Authoritarian
Layered        Scrubbed Clean
Well-marked        Maze-Like
Strained        Relaxed

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​SIGHTS
  • Clouds of mana hovering over the street
  • Fallen divines begging for worship or coin
  • Fresh-faced temple acolytes seeking out the faithful
  • Guards routing unlicensed prayer givers from the public thoroughfares
  • Heretical graffiti
  • Ink-stained copyists on a lunch break 
  • Inspectors of Faith measuring doorways
  • Monk toughs getting ready for a rumble
  • Religious tracts of signs abandoned in the streets
  • Servants with umbrellas, masks, perfumes, or the like to keep patrons from violating strictures
  • Workers repainting religious iconography
SMELLS
  • Acrid purifying liquids
  • Cooked rice
  • Decaying honored corpses
  • Flower bouquets
  • Fresh paint
  • Perfumes
  • Pungent Incense
  • Rancid Oils
  • Salty tears
  • Smoke
  • Sweaty vigil keepers
SOUNDS
  • Calls to prayer
  • Clapping
  • Doctrinal arguments
  • Interrupted Chanting
  • Lost tongues
  • Perpetual drumming
  • Proselytizing 
  • Slamming Doors
  • Tolling bells
  • Unearthly voices
  • Unending weeping
LOCATIONS/SITES
  • Charity House
  • Coffin Maker
  • Conversion Specialists
  • Illuminator
  • Incense Shop
  • Mandala Artisans
  • Paladin Recruitment Stations
  • Pawn Shop Specializing in Religious Trinkets
  • Soul Assayer
  • Tailor for Ceremonial Attire
  • Tutors for Basic Rituals​

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NPCS & FRIENDS
Abragadra, Charity Keeper: Knows the various charities, alms houses, and philanthropic organizations-- who donates, what they do, how reputable they are. 
Castanna, Paradoxist: Tutors those who wish to join faiths with esoteric doctrines, converts advice into properly obscure forms, and helps translate prophecies and koans. 
Diasxun, Exorcist Consultant: Specialist in handling the removal of manifestations infernal, divine, or otherwise. 
Muzendra, Temple Bouncer: Politely clears out agitators, loafers, and heretics who overstay their welcome in various houses of worship.
Nobukason, Religious Apothecary: Prepares unguents, oils, incense, and other materials following the necessary ancient methods for purity.
Twincent, Gilder: Specializes in the restoration and re-lustering of religious implements and prized objects. 

FEATURES (pick one)
This applies to all of the temples/faiths/etc in the neighborhood

Militant: Temples here share a desire for action and sense that they have to battle against evils in the world. Gain +1 or an extra pick when you attempt to gain allies to aid you in a fight against a foe who would be in opposition to the faith’s tenets. On a miss you draw suspicions and religious ire from the faiths.

Many Libraries: All of the temples here pride themselves on knowledge--oral tradition, written recordings, divine inspiration. Gain +1 or an extra pick when you go there to seek knowledge. On a miss you lose hours if not days swallowed by the adherents desire to dive into minutiae.
 
Vital: The city gives weight to those with dedication and faith. When you make a show of worshiping or donating, gain a +1 Forward on interactions with cityfolk at any level. 

Sanctuary: The city has a strong tradition of respecting the sanctity of religious spaces. If you need to lie low or evade a foe, you can always go here. If you successfully convince a temple to grant you sanctuary, it will be inviolable by but those who want to go to war with the citizenry.  

MOVES
When you go to consult on religious doctrine,...
When you try to hire someone for a religious ceremony,...
When you go to offer prayers,...

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GOLD DISTRICT
GENERAL SET UP
  • A grand fortress fastness where the rulers hold court and remain rarely seen otherwise. 
  • A labyrinthine series of departments, agencies, and bureaus built to insulate rulers from petitions which might cause them worry or unrest. 
  • A decaying castle held by the last remnants of the old order, surrounded by younger offices actually handling affairs of the city.
  • Walled estates of the noble lines of the city, playing at diplomacy and charity to gain an edge over their rivals.
  • The mansions of kleptocratic merchant lords who hold livelihoods in their grip.
  • Workshops of senior guilders who work in tandem with neighborhood burghers and protectors. 
  • Houses and holdings of a group of elites possessing the power to consult and petition the true supernatural masters of the city.  
  • A spectacle of art and architecture, but merely the playground of the wealthy, with true power lying else. 
  • A menagerie of grand architecture, statuary, and arboretums which serves as a gathering point equally for the inspired and the powerful. 
  • Closed door financial institutions which have drawn a web of those who hope to benefit from proximity to wealth and power.  
  • Twin towers constructed families who claim power from blood and those who claim power from wealth, linked in an ongoing struggle for control. 
  • Buildings and homes in a state of flux following the exile of the old order and instatement of a new controlling elite. 
  • Just the old wealthy who’ve learned to keep their heads down, quietly patronizing artists and institutions to prevent the outbreak of a revolution. 
  • A glistening central court where the overlord holds sway, surrounded by estates they require nobles to occupy a portion of each year. ​

QUESTIONS
How does the populace feel about the wealthy? The nobility? Those truly in control?
How does the Gold District exert power over the rest of the city?
What spectacular piece of architecture draws visitors from all quarters?
What ceremony or festival happens here each year?
What method of displaying wealth is considered gauche or tacky?

DESCRIPTORS
Broad            Narrow
Clean            Decorated
Contained        Expansive
Festive            Hushed
Open            Gated
Opulent        Restrained
Patrolled        Guarded
Preserved        Deteriorating 
Resented         Beloved
Snaking        Straight-laned
Traditional        Novel
Varied in Form        Singular in Style
Verdant        Sterile
​
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SIGHTS
  • A gardener emerging from a thorny bush, their face painfully scratched. 
  • Accidental release of a flock of pet birds.
  • An unintelligible piece of sculpture which changes form over the course of the day.
  • Guards shadowing new comers in the least subtle way possible. 
  • Household staff working to scrub away defacements. 
  • Laborers constructing a scaffolding around a seemingly intact building.
  • Noble seemingly unaware of the knife wound in their side.
  • Packs of the animal declared under the protection of the rulers of the city.
  • Parent berating a child for their manners.
  • Passerbys gasping at someone’s scandalously out of fashion attire.
  • Several quiet gentlepersons surely not casing a location
  • Two coach drivers arguing over the right of way. 
  • Wizard artisan making the final touches on outdoor decorations for an event.
SMELLS
  • Burnt Sugar
  • Cut Grass
  • Dust
  • Lemons
  • Mint
  • Myrrh
  • Rosemary
  • Roses
  • Sandalwood
  • Scented Candles
  • Silver polish
  • Succulent Roasting
  • Tea
  • Wine
SOUNDS
  • Barking
  • Cart Wheels
  • Chimes
  • Clipping of shears
  • Cork popping
  • Enraged Instructions
  • Formal Recitations
  • Glass Breaking
  • Irregular hammering
  • Marching
  • Murmured pleas
  • Polite Coughing
  • Singing
  • Sizzle of oil
  • Sloshing of water
LOCATIONS/SITES
  • Abandoned Household of Legend
  • Astrologer’s Tower
  • Coachdriver’s Crossroads
  • Chamber of the Dissolute Diplomats
  • Discreetly Concealed Laundry
  • Dueling Academy
  • Finishing School
  • Foreign Petitioner’s Hostel
  • Grand Garden (with reflecting pool and villa)
  • House of Paper, Pens, and Bindings
  • Musical Conservatory
  • Ornate Familial Shrine
  • Pillar of Protestations
  • Street Pickers’ Catacombs
  • Vintner’s House​

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NPCS & FRIENDS
Davridin, Encyclopedist of Painting: Commissioned paintings often serve as a record of history, literature, and treaties and it falls to this one to know where all paintings of import are displayed (or stored away).
Ganmarith, Ceaseless Partier: Beloved for temper and antics, they’re often bribed to attend social functions to give them a spark. 
Last Arose, Sing Song Tutor: A certain lilt and rhythm of speech has come into fashion for public pronouncements and speeches, but it requires careful training.  
Shintari, Lucky Wanderer: Marked by some kind of prophecy or blessing, they’re allowed to wander freely throughout the district, in and out of galleries, bedrooms, and wine cellars. 
Wenquin, Security Consultant: It takes someone who has robbed the wealthy to protect them from other predators. 
Zemlaka, Exterminator of Discretion: No one wants an infestation of any kind to disturb them, even in the ridding of it. And, of course, such matters shouldn’t be talked about openly. 

FEATURES (pick one)
Patronage: It is always easy to find someone to support a particularly novel, adventuresome, or unusual project. When you do so, lay out your extravagant claims and what support you seek. Afterwards, the GM will begin a clock for your Patron, with one of the following results 1-2 Constant imposition of advice and direction, 3-4 Early demands for completion for completion regardless of circumstances, 5 Demands for someone insanely unqualified but valued by them to be part of what you’re working on, 6 Bizarre legal action.  

Entitled: The masters of the city make a small profit by selling titles, each with modest status (especially elsewhere) and smallish privileges (right to the first basket of peaches from any orchard, right of first refusal on any hippogriff slaying, etc).  
 
Long Daggers: Every family has a network of rivals. When you go here to find information on a highly placed adversary, take +1 Forward or an extra pick. 

Aggrandismo: The PCs can always sell their stories to the nobility. If they do so, in exchange for coin, they give up the right to claim those tales as their own deeds. The money’s good, but hearing their adventures told as another’s victories may rankle. 

MOVES
When you trace someone’s lineage...
When you work around the bureaucracy and find someone with real authority... 
When you make a grand entrance at a ball...

Age of Ravens: Community Character

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10/18/2019

Gauntlet Video Roundup - October 18, 2019

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Greetings, and welcome to the weekly Gauntlet Hangouts video roundup! Enjoy these new recordings of online games organized through Gauntlet Hangouts and the Gauntlet RPG community. These recorded sessions represent only a portion of the wide selection of games available every week, and anyone is welcome to join in the fun! If you'd like to play in new games (or catch up on the back catalog of recordings), check the links at the end of the post.

Star Wars Saturday

Witch Squadron (Session 2 of 3)
Rich Rogers runs for Bethany H., Keith Stetson, and Sabine V.
The pilots of the 588th Regiment finish their training at Rimcee Station. Those who survived, that is.

Gauntlet Quarterly

Masks: Prospect Academy (Session 6)
Leandro Pondoc runs for David Morrison, Gerwyn Walters, Ludovico Alves, and Sabine V.
Doubts fill the halls of Prospect Academy as the Silver Masquerade looms and its students ponder on what exactly makes a hero. Zero-G gets an unwelcome reunion from his worse days with an old friend, Princess Hollyhock tries to figure out how to reach an old friend, Kasey gets a much-needed boost from an old friend and Serenade is sick and tired of all this nonsense.

Gauntlet Comics

Masks: The Best Worst Things About Fall (Session 2 of 3)
Chris Newton runs for Alex, Leandro Pondoc, Rich Rogers, and Sawyer Rankin

Monsterhearts 2: Super Juvie (Session 3 of 5)
Rich Rogers runs for Leandro Pondoc, Misha B, and Peter Mazzeo
Three students of super juvie wake up in a shared dream, meet The Gauntleteer, and one of them throws an elbow at Flatline. That one? He's in deep trouble.

Gauntlet Hangouts

The Veil Fantasy: Kriusthos (Session 3 of 4)
Ludovico Alves runs for Marcolo, Maria M., and Toby
A dead friend haunts the Honorbound. Promises have been made, silver has been given to the needy. As one finds out that contracts, society and true knowledge cannot coexist, the group find out the answer to the question "what shadows inhabit the minds of the long-dead"?

L5R - Topaz Championship (Session 2 of 3)
Ludovico Alves runs for Josh H, Pawel S., and Stephen
The second day of the contest continues, after a late arrival and a suspicious sake house brawl.

Free From The Yoke: Land of the Dragonslayers (Session 3 of 4)
Ludovico Alves runs for Greg G., Mikael Tysvær, and Sawyer Rankin
There was the promise of a peaceful Summer. That was a lie. The grand Summer Festival of the Jeweled city is interrupted by a grand ritual and a tri-party duel. Stewards of ancient rites start a war and despoil a sacred site with a treasure. The stonecutters and smiths grow in influence as the season sets.

Sunset Kills: Monsters Will Never Hurt You
Leandro Pondoc runs for Alun R., David Morrison, Libby Horacek, and Will H
In the town of Sunset Falls, darkness hides monsters with real teeth. As the night brings in an out-of-town exorcist and demons from beyond the skin of reality, the fate of the town falls upon a motley band of defenders. Dante the Chosen shows off some sick flips and daggers, Stone the Monstrous tries to take on all the demons, Gideon the Occultist peers through time and space and Angie the Snoop risks life for a friend.

Rapscallion: The Leviathan Queen (Session 2 of 2)
Alun R. runs for Alexi S., Julie Rogers, Leah Libresco Sargeant, and Robert Angus
Captain Nightshade encounters an old flame so there has to be a sea battle; he wins, but then the loyal members of his crew must play 'Jonah' and are carried to the sunken Leviathan temple. There, Raku the Golem must convince the ancient sigils that have held the temple in the depths of a better life on the surface before helping the Captain hold off the tortured souls that guard the Temple. Meanwhile competing claims to the sacred Golden Pearl must be resolved in a three-way tussle between Jamie the Chronicler, Clance the Mountebank, and Clance's Demon, Abaddon. The Captain is just able to keep his pledge to the Leviathans before Jamie grabs the Pearl and a new Leviathan Queen is hatched... All in a day's swashbuckling for this exceptional crew... PS: there is also a real-life pirate hat and coat in this session... You have been warned!

Night's Black Operators: The Lisky Bratva (Session 2 of 5)
Alun R. runs for Pawel S., Puckett, Sabine V., and Stephen
After last time when they were out-classed by a creature they didn't understand on Josef Lisky's turf, the team's cover and contact are (literally) blown, leaving them little option but to flee Odessa in search of at least temporary respite. Transnistrian fixer, Mr Happy, provides that in return for a favour: a new signing for the local football team must not make a successful debut... Karl the Wet-worker pretends to be a famous fitness coach (knighted for services to British sport) to get access to the young prodigy so that Dylan can play 'homme-fatale' and ensnare the naive youngster in a night of passion and fitness training that leaves him exhausted in all kinds of ways. Meanwhile, Mia & Moshe unpick the leads Mr Happy reveals as part of his generous 'thank you'. The Vampyramid is becoming clearer...

Once Again We Return: Musical Madness Q1 (Session 1 of 4)
Sawyer Rankin runs for Ludovico Alves, Patrick Knowles, Puckett, and Sabine V.
We start the Recurrence with character creation and setting up the best, sweetest, nicest Pantheon that ever will Pantheon. We go through four performances in small time skips with our starting growth. Come see a barely remembered rave, a band show of combined musical styles, a thrash metal ACAB show, and a drugged out haunting hallucination.

Once Again We Return: Musical Madness Q1 (Session 2 of 4)
Sawyer Rankin runs for Ludovico Alves, Patrick Knowles, Puckett, Sabine V., and Saribel P.
The Recurrence gets underway with a surprise show in No Where, Nevada where the newest member of the Pantheon is incarnated before a group of yuppies. Our angry El Tunchi creates the Garden of Even and blesses it with Pasithea. Egeria and Echo have a moment that might be a meetcute? If they hadn't had already met. Then our newest deity Shango gets (easily) talked into rebelling in a grand music video experience in Brazil with El Tunchi while Pasithea goes sightseeing. Echo and Egeria find a rare fan of Echo and it seems the ancient one has enemies(?)

Urban Shadows: Vienna, 1950 (Session 3 of 4)
Alexi S. runs for Eli S., Leandro Pondoc, Pearl Zare, and Richard Moser
A busy day of deals, threats, and bad decisions made at the Café Marcus Aurelius, hotspot of supernatural intrigue in Cold War Vienna. Otto the Veteran tries to shake the cold from his limbs by striking a bargain with a fae princess of winter. Emilie the Aware leaves the café at gunpoint, confidant she can manipulate the wolf at her heel. Salomé the Tainted accepts two new hit jobs, one for duty and one for love. And Sophie/Johannes the Fae proffers help to everyone, reveals their feelings for Salomé, and briefly turns into monstrous tangle of tentacle-like vines.

Night Witches October 2019: Rudnya 1943 (Session 2 of 4)
Jim Likes Games runs for Bethany H., Eli S., Maria M., and Puckett
Politics is a stuka and the Byelorussian forest claims another of the people's aircraft, if not necessarily its pilots.

Hack the Planet: A Sky Reflected In Terror (Session 3 of 5)
Leandro Pondoc runs for Alun R., Josh H, and Parham Doustdar
Facing problems such as collapsing walls, reticaltrant extractees, and mysterious cybernetic attackers, the Comets meet each obstacle with gusto. Shadow learns the perils of wall-running after an explosion, Nova attempts to meet problems with explosives and Lincoln manages to cultivate trust with a reluctant researcher.

Night's Black Operators: The Lisky Bratva (Session 3 of 5)
Alun R. runs for Leandro Pondoc, Pawel S., Puckett, and Sabine V.
Heading into the shadow of the Carpathian Mountains the team have to pick up a 'minder' sent by their sponsor to get 'eyes on' - a charming Asset Handler with the immediate charm of a rottweiler. Confronted by the Lisky Bratva's people-trafficking Mia disables their truck and engineers a collision with its black escort SUV. Dylan offers to help the Bratva truck-driver (with a silenced automatic pistol) while Karl uses a rifle-grenade to flip the second black SUV in appropriate action hero style. Unable to ignore what may be going on at Dragovir Monastery, an investigation turns into a raid as they find solid evidence of a predatory supernatural power behind Josef Lisky...

Masks: Back to Basics (Session 1 of 4)
Jim Likes Games runs for David Morrison, David Walker, Donogh, and Pearl Zare
Welcome to Halcyon City! It's just survived being at the epicenter of the Apocalypse Sonata, and everyone is really hoping things will get back to normal. Unfortunately, our protagonists are superheroes here. This issue: SPARTA LLC bites off more than they can chew, and relationships get tested.

Masks: Back to Basics (Session 2 of 4)
Jim Likes Games runs for David Morrison, David Walker, and Donogh
School days and work days for our heroes, but both are interrupted by new problems.

Monsterhearts 2: St. Osana's School for Boys (Session 1 of 3)
David Morrison runs for Pearl Zare, Puckett, Sawyer Rankin, and Steven
This game is set in St. Osana's School for Boys, a boarding school in North Yorkshire in 1968 and is a loose sequel to my previous game in the same setting. We follow the exploits of four boys from Postgate Upper Fifth as Autumn fog creeps over the Yorkshire Moors. A lethargic air hangs heavy in the boys' prep room, as Burnley the Ghoul has a brief, intense daydream of his untimely demise. CF the Hollow has a far more enticing dream, lured out on the wiley, windy moors by the enigmatic Isaac Crowther. CF's dream, however, is soon interrupted by the Headmaster's son, Lovelace the Infernal. Lovelace's aloof disdain quickly melts to reveal the hot-blooded passion beneath, and the two share a moment of intimacy in the closet - though perhaps slightly less private than either of them realise. His Highness Karuna Singh the Mortal plans to sneak out of school for an clandestine rendezvous with Burnley, though his plans are delayed when he steps in to act the hero in his lover's place.

You can see all these videos (plus all the ones that have come before) on The Gauntlet YouTube channel playlists, and be sure to subscribe to catch all our great podcasts!

If you'd like to catch these sessions in an audio-only podcast, check out the community-run project at http://gauntlet.hellomouth.net/.

If you'd like to play in games like these, check out the calendar of events and the Gauntlet Forums where games are announced.

To support The Gauntlet, please visit the Gauntlet Patreon. Everyone is welcome to sign up for Gauntlet Hangouts games, but Patreon supporters get extra options like priority RSVP for Gauntlet Hangouts games and joining the Gauntlet Slack team where special events and pickup games are announced. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

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10/17/2019

Gauntlet Comics 101

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By Alexi Sargeant
What It Is…
Gauntlet Comics is a shared, comic book-style universe for Gauntlet Community games. As we play more series within the Gauntlet Comics label, a more and more sprawling comics continuity emerges—centered on the bustling metropolis of New Gauntlet City.

Like the DC universe or the Marvel universe, Gauntlet Comics contains multitudes. New Gauntlet City is home to an abundance of superheroes and supervillains, as you would expect from a city that anchors a comic book line. But it also has room in its dark corners and forgotten chapters of history for monster-hunting cops, harried medical professionals, hidden wizarding schools, demigods slumming it on earth, and so much more.

This means that, in addition to many superhero games like Masks: A New Generation or Hit the Streets: Defend the Block, we can play any game that could conceivably fit into a city with superheroes. Some games focus on the more down-to-earth trials and tribulations of people who see superheroes as colorful interlopers, such as the stressed out surgeons of the E.X.T.R.A. Care Ward (run in The Ward). Other games reveal the lives of super-villains or their distrusted offspring, like the inmates—er, students—at the New Guard Academy juvenile detention center (run in Monsterhearts 2).

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A few things hold true among all Gauntlet Comics games. New Gauntlet City is not a stand-in for New York City (unlike a couple other comic book cities we could name) but is rather located somewhere in the Midwest. It has played host to superheroes for three going on four generations. The Golden Age was a time of patriotic crimefighters like the Allied Angels, young women fighting saboteurs on the WWII homefront. The Silver Age saw powerful superteams form alongside government agencies dedicated to observing and containing anything superpowered, alien, or magical (AEON, the Agency for Extranormal Operations Nationwide, occupies a similar niche in Gauntlet Comics continuity to SHIELD in Marvel Comics). The Bronze Age was a time of darker and grittier characters shying away from idealism. Some of that ethos definitely informs the “gothpunk” supernatural heroes affiliated with the magical gathering point Coven Prime. The Modern Age of superheroes is still wide open, and many teams of teen heroes are jockeying to define it.

Though it can be fun to play around with continuity and callbacks in Gauntlet Comics games, you also don’t need to read up on anything in order to play. Like any comics line with multiple creators, Gauntlet Comics accommodates a wide range of approaches and tones, with room to reinterpret or retcon prior events as needed. There is a wiki collecting the characters, places, and events generated in Gauntlet Comics games. You can browse it for fun, and add to it if it strikes your fancy. But no pre-reading is required for Gauntlet Comics games, which like all Gauntlet games are fun, friendly, and Open Table. As Lowell Francis said of other shared continuity Open Table games, “References across games act as Easter Eggs rather than required information. But there’s an organic, emergent history there.”

A fun, but not obligatory, bonus to framing this all as a comic book line is the opportunity describe in-game moments using comic book imagery: cover gimmicks, splash pages, Kirby dots, etc. But if you don’t have that comic book vocabulary, again, no worries! We’ve all always got slightly different pictures of the game fiction we’re generating in our heads. The conversation around the gaming table helps bring our mental images close enough together to tell a good story and have fun while we do so.

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...And How It Came To Be
Rich Rogers recounts the origins of Gauntlet Comics thus:
Gauntlet Comics was an idea I pitched to Lowell Francis and Jim Crocker, a shared-world setting that we could all play in. In the Gauntlet, we often run games for three or four sessions and have to say goodbye to those characters and stories, so we cooked up a world we could all play in, and we set up a wiki for pooling all this canon.

Once we were all on board, we invited Brendan Conway, creator of Masks: A New Generation, and played a long session of a Microscope hack called Spotlight (the same one used to set up the world for the Protean City Comics AP podcast). We used Spotlight to lay down the generational heroes and villains and some of the major events of the timeline.

And since I know an amazing artist named Alex Prinz, I hired him to create our Gauntlet Comics logo!

Collector’s Editions!
There are plenty of great Gauntlet Comics series Actual Plays collected on our YouTube playlist for you to enjoy! I’ll plug a favorite one or two here, and a few other Gauntlet Comics regulars will share their favorites in the days to come.

I’ve played in lots of great Gauntlet Comics games, so it’s hard to pick just one. Jim Crocker’s Coven Prime series of Urban Shadows has been a huge highlight, though. It’s a series set in 1999–2000 New Gauntlet City, conceived of as a crossover title for a number of occult superheroes like those published by DC Comics’ Vertigo lines (home of Sandman, Hellblazer, and Swamp Thing). In the first Coven Prime series, I played a noirish private eye ghost named Inspector Spectre. In the later two Coven Prime series, I’ve played a monster-hunter that I built in tribute to another Gauntlet Comics character: I imagined what the tarnished modern heir to the monster-hunting legacy of Maddie Midnight from the Golden Age Allied Angels series would be like. It’s been great, gothic, grime-stained fun!

A favorite Gauntlet Comics series I ran was Hedgewick Academy. We took the Hogwarts RPG and transplanted it into New Gauntlet City, exploring a magical boarding school in the city that prepared young wizards and witches for the trials of Coven Prime. It was fascinating running a Harry Potter-esque game in a setting of our own, where we could decide on some different facts about the wizard school houses (here called Lionheart, Raptorquill, Burrowdown, and Serpentine) and have established magical characters from Gauntlet Comics turn up as teachers at Hedgewick Academy. We packed a lot of magical mystery hijinks into just two sessions, including sinister reappearances by artifacts and antagonists who’d previously been spotted in sessions of Masks and Urban Shadows.

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New #1 Issue: Perfect Jumping-On Point!
If you want to play games in the Gauntlet Comics continuity, you’re in luck: GMs are frequently adding them to the Gauntlet calendar, and every session is a jumping-on point! If you want, you can watch older videos and read the wiki—or you can simply join the fun and put your own spin on whatever corner of New Gauntlet City is being explored in that series.

If you want to run games in the Gauntlet Comics continuity, you’re also in luck: the list of folks who’ve run Gauntlet Comics games has slowly expanded, just like the ranks of writers and artists in a comic imprint. You might do what I did and reach out to Rich Rogers about running a Gauntlet Comics game. If you’re someone who’s played a couple of these games, he’s almost certain to give you his blessing. You might even get to name a new part of New Gauntlet City, as I got to name Undertaker’s Row in my Masks series. There’s still plenty of blank spaces on that map to fill with excitement, intrigue, and comic book adventures!

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10/16/2019

Age of Ravens: Community Character

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A CREW BY ANY OTHER NAME...
I’ve run two sessions of Mutants in the Night this month, a Forged in the Dark game about literally and figuratively marginalized mutant communities. X-Men stories across the decades treat this theme. I’m digging the game, but still getting my feet under me with the themes. I haven’t yet found my focus and some of our last debrief session dealt with shifting play more toward social issues. That’s a challenge; FitD’s mission structure means you have to shift from the directed play to introduce more rp moments. But I’m looking forward to the challenge.
 
I’ve run several FitD rpgs now and one of designer DC’s choices for Mutants in the Night struck me. In many FitD games you have a group shared resource: the Crew in Blades in the Dark, the Ship in Scum & Villainy, the Chosen in Band of Blades. They serve as a focus and bind the PCs together. Choices there signal to the GM what kinds of stories the group wants. MitN’s choice to skip this isn’t a bad one. For one thing it keeps focus on the community as a whole. But that absence got me thinking about shared resources which have playbooks.
 
STREETS OF PLAY
This connected to something I’d written about a couple of weeks ago, the factions as backdrops and the challenge of creating resonance for physical spaces. I think you could break down city neighborhoods by theme and give them playbooks. It’s a variant of what I’ve done with building campaign cities using Microscope (City of Gauntlets, VirtuaCon, Abashan).
 
My admittedly rough sketch of this consists of a big list for the central concept, several open questions, sensory element lists, locations/sites, NPCs, features, and moves. You can see my example below. The last items use PbtA terminology, but that could be changed. I’ve not yet worked on any moves, I only sketched triggers. I think there’s more you could add. For example, other games assign ratings to neighborhoods (security, wealth, cohesion, etc). I wonder if that’s a fruitful approach? Having ratings implies that these could change over time, but would they have a mechanical effect or simply be guides for the fiction.

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BIASED BLOCKS
One of the challenges here is my unconscious bias and assumptions. This approach assumes large settled populations. It also takes for granted they’re organized like the Western Medieval and Early Modern-inspired cities of most fantasy RPGs. I’ll need to go back and look for ways to add other touchstones drawn from a broader range of cultures. Lists will also have a “or make up your own” option. As it stands, the way I’ve approached these won’t have the specific flavor something like Yoon-Suin creates.
 
The other is a question of order. Should the neighborhood playbooks be built first, with a sense of the whole coming from reconciling those choices later? Or should you first fill out a broader city playbook with choices about locations, purposes, features, cultures, rule, etc? The former feels more “play to see what happens,” while the latter allows you to set up some of the framing.
 
USING THESE PLAYBOOKS
Neighborhood playbooks could be connected to character building. The next time I run Veil Fantasy, I will probably add a choice of neighborhoods to each playbook (probably two). In parallel to making their characters, the players would also build these places. If two players both wanted to work on the same type, they would collaborate. I’ve written up three neighborhoods so far (Temple, Magic, and Gold Districts). I have four others in mind (Workshops, Market/Public, Underworld, and Outcast/Strange). Academic is also a possibility.
 
On the other hand, Sherri suggested making the playbooks the core of some kind of other game. Perhaps something in the style of Legacy, maybe adapting the Mysthea rules to that. Her suggestion was more about players managing neighborhood needs in and of themselves. I’m not sure how exactly that would work, but I dig the idea. She also mentioned adapting it for Urban Shadows, where many PCs have a neighborhood or territory they protect, hunt, and/or manage.
 
Finally, I’m considering how to change this up for factions and institutions. Corporate playbooks in The Sprawl or The Veil could be a great way to define the setting’s foes. A mini-version could work for Blades in the Dark. I’m definitely going to use it for Hearts of Wulin, where players begin with a faction they’re connected to (raised in, exiled from, hunted by). It could be a great way to develop the setting’s backdrop and build player investment.

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MAGIC DISTRICT PLAYBOOK
GENERAL SET UP
  • A great and mighty magical workshop combining the talents of magic users across disciplines.
  • A complex bureaucratic stronghold regulating and guiding the lives of wizards across the city and beyond.
  • A sprawling school of magic riven by rivalries and intrigues.
  • A patchwork of stalls and booths where busking sorcerers sells their skills.
  • A handful of rival towers and chantries, each controlled by a notable archmagus.
  • A gated burial ground where petitioners can consult with the spirits of dead wizards or the bound caretaker liches kept there.
  • A ring of magic shops and offices encircling an ancient prison complex where potent forces are banished and restrained. 
  • A guild-managed neighborhood where wizards offer the most meager services, but in the shadows the informed can locate spell-blades and curse-throwers.
  • A loose network of covens based around families and lineages of mages who swing between bonds of loyalty and declarations of vendettas
  • Ramshackle collection of falling down magic shops and wizarding consultants where aged masters try to keep control over houses of half-trained apprentices.
  • Smartly decorated houses of arcane agents who negotiate contracts for their masters before leading clients through gates and doorways to far-flung sanctums.
  • A strict hierarchy of licensed wizards bound to another above them in a pyramid of mana transmission to an arcane overseer at the top.
QUESTIONS
How do magic-users mark themselves? How do they use that to demonstrate status?
Does the city acknowledge this area as different or is it treated as just another neighborhood?
What incident created the last great fissure between the district and the rest of the city?
Which wizard is spoken of in reverent tones? Which in hushed tones?
What changes about the area at night?
 
DESCRIPTORS
Ancient                                 Rebuilt
Artistic                                  Soulless
Chaotic                                 Patterned
Confusing                            Guided
Crowded                             Hushed
Dangerous                          Patrolled
Haughty                               Capitalist
Lush                                       Industrial
Magnificent                        Crumbling
Philosophical                      Mercantile
Sedate                                  Explosive
Skyward                               Subterranean
Tolerant                               Oppressed
Warded                                Uncontrolled
Wondrous                           Mundane

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SIGHTS
  • A bat-winged cape caught in the breeze
  • Alchemical smiths comparing lunches
  • Animated writing implements scrawling a mix of advertisements and profanity
  • Apprentices dragging a massive wooden box
  • Chained demons bearing a palanquin
  • Drifting vapors through which one can see an alien landscape
  • Drunken journeymen magi looking to undo self-inflicted curses
  • Familiars of multiple species conspiring in an alley
  • Magical formulae scratched into a wall
  • Puddles of prismatic liquids
  • Rooftops blanketed in butterflies
  • Specialist guards, their armor etched with wardings and protections.
  • Two wizards clearing space in preparation for a duel
  • Unsteady rack of vials, bottles, and flasks
SMELLS
  • Blood
  • Brimstone
  • Burning Hair
  • Cat Pee
  • Coffee
  • Honey
  • Old People
  • Ozone
  • Pipe Smoke
  • Sour Milk
  • Vinegar
  • Wet Earth
SOUNDS
  • Alien whispers
  • Apprentices grunting
  • Cockatrice screeching
  • Crackling like lightning
  • Cursing
  • Deep-throated pronouncements
  • Garbled chanting
  • Ghostly gossiping
  • Half-hearted beating
  • Hammering
  • Low-level giggling
LOCATIONS/SITES
  • Apprentice Refurbishment Charity
  • Arcane Translator
  • Component Hunters
  • Contract Law Firm
  • Custom Potioner
  • Discrete Scribes
  • Dream Cartographers
  • Magical Beast Seller
  • Magic-Powered Soup Kitchen
  • Post-Backlash Incident Cleaners
  • Specialist Pet Feed Preparer
  • Spider Silk Weaver

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NPCS & FRIENDS
Barreness, Ward Defuser: When wizards travel away or die, they often leave behind dangerous protections and defenses which must be taken down by others.
Ket, Ambassador to the Mundanes: For those who wish to navigate the complex politics of the magical world, a guide is indispensable. 
Mainmilla, Golem Architect: Many wizards can animate automatons, but fewer can plan out and build them for easy repair, to serve specialized purposes, or handle delicate processes.
Strophlaw, Retirement Planner: Magic takes a toll on its practitioners in stability, physique, and soul. Individuals and institutions need help with those who begin to pass into that twilight and become unstable.
Thurnturn, Alchemical Baker: Combining the talents of a master alchemist and pastry chef, they can produce magical confections for non-wizards and unenchanted treats for discriminating sorcerers.
Zophiri, Wizarding Arbitrator: When disputes between powerful arcanists spiral out of control, simple duels won’t suffice. Their peers will call in a specialist to create a binding resolution.
 
FEATURES (pick one)
This applies to all of the magical providers in the neighborhood
​

Overbooked: The mages here have an overabundance of apprentices. When you go seeking a magical henchperson you may choose to automatically obtain one of these younglings for pennies and a promise. Choose one thing they actually know: reading magical script OK-ish, magical lighting, identifying dangerous potions, treating burns, care and feeding of monsters, a magic rope cantrip, or a similar talent.
 
Arcane Forges: When you take a magical item to be reforged into a new shape or appearance, roll +payment. On a 10+ the new form is exactly as you requested and envisioned. On a 7-9, it is close but there’s one little bothersome detail. On a 6-, it is definitively not what you’d hoped for.
 
Logs of the Worthy: When you go to consult the mages here about a particular named magic user, take +1 Forward or an extra pick.
 
Component Hoarders: When you bring back materials from a slain magical creature to sell here, roll. On a 10+ there’s a bidding war and you get 50% more money. On a 7-9 it sells quickly at the usual price, no questions asked. On a 6-, you raise the ire of a preservationist, friend of the beast, or like entanglement.
 
MOVES
When you go to uncurse an item...
When you seek out a specialist in magical wardings and protections...
When try to pawn off your excess magic items... ​​

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10/11/2019

Gauntlet Video Roundup - October 11, 2019

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Greetings, and welcome to the weekly Gauntlet Hangouts video roundup! Enjoy these new recordings of online games organized through Gauntlet Hangouts and the Gauntlet RPG community. These recorded sessions represent only a portion of the wide selection of games available every week, and anyone is welcome to join in the fun! If you'd like to play in new games (or catch up on the back catalog of recordings), check the links at the end of the post.

Star Wars Saturday

Witch Squadron (Session 1 of 3)
Rich Rogers runs for Bethany H., Gerrit Reininghaus, Keith Stetson, and Sabine V.
The new recruits to the Witch Squadron make their first flights on rickety Clone Wars-era Y-Wings. Things break, a pilot washes out. Things don't go smooth.

TGI Thursday

Mutants in the Night (Session 2 of 4)
Lowell Francis runs for Chris Newton, Christopher Walborn, Jason Zanes, and Leandro Pondoc
Their shark-toothed fixer offers the crew several jobs and they opt to aid The Clinic again by retrieving stolen medicine from a wasp-filled gang bunker.

Gauntlet Quarterly

Masks: Prospect Academy (Session 5)
Leandro Pondoc runs for David Morrison, Ludovico Alves, Ryan M., and Sabine V.
As Prospect Academy rolls into October, the uhh prospect of a school dance, the Silver Masquerade, looms in the horizon as its pupils deal with schoolwork, time travel, a hostile school president and lurking, unseen anxieties. Kasey deals with the fallout of her mother's capriciousness, Mary grapples with the complicated nature of time travel, Serenade faces off against the new president and Zero-G battles Charles Dickens for a decent grade.

Impulse Drive: Coriolis (Session 1)
Lowell Francis runs for Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Steven desJardins
We do character creation and then set our new crew of artifact seekers off into the dark where they find a extraction stymied by a mysterious planetside conflict.

Gauntlet Comics

Masks: The Best Worst Things About Fall (Session 1 of 3)
Chris Newton runs for Alex, Rich Rogers, Sarah J., and Sawyer Rankin
Worst crew encountering people dressed even more ridiculously than a golden age superhero: commedia dell'arte stock characters!

Monsterhearts 2: Super Juvie (Session 2 of 5)
Rich Rogers runs for Joe Zantek, Leandro Pondoc, Misha B, and Peter Mazzeo
The students of New Guard Academy participate in a basketball game, plot and flirt, then wake up...on a beach?

Gauntlet Hangouts

Trophy Gold: Tomb of the Serpent Kings (Sessions 1-2 of 2)
Jason Cordova runs for Fraser Simons and Tyler Lominack

Ross Rifles
Stentor Danielson runs for Jeremiah Pena, Kristina, Maria M., and Steven desJardins
In which our scrappy band of Canadian soldiers check out the local ecology of no man's land and take a German prisoner, much to the consternation of Lieutenant McConnell.

The Veil Fantasy: Kriusthos (Session 2 of 4)
Ludovico Alves runs for David Walker, Marcolo, Maria M., and Pearl Zare
The group is asked to act as deal-brokers of a contract. They slowly pierce out that there is more to it than it initially seem and try to stop the same deal they are facilitating.

Apocalypse World: Rusted Trust (Session 1)
Sawyer Rankin runs for Christopher Walborn, Robbie Boerth, Robert Angus, and Steven
The group gathers together and we start piecing together a world of reclaimed nature, terraforming gone wrong, and animals which have mutated and gone Jurassic Park on us. Our world is a view of Bioshock on land, bridged together by a Battlebabe, a Brainer, a Hocus, and a Show. We start off with a religious picnic which goes wrong, find a hippie commune from the 70s era scare days, and end on what seems to be gunning for a Cult vs Cult battle.

Legend of the Five Rings: Topaz Championship (Session 1 of 3)
Ludovico Alves runs for Josh H and Pawel S.
Let's learn L5R 5th edition! Let's see what a Dragon and a Scorpion get up to in the village of Tsuma!

Free From The Yolk: Land of the Dragonslayers (Session 2 of 4)
Ludovico Alves runs for Greg G., Mikael Tysvær, and Sawyer Rankin
The First Queen leads the efforts against the rebellion, as the Teachers seek to profit from the instability. We unearth an ancient curse created by the forging of a crown and the breaking of a promise, as well as renew the vows between the Horselords and the Land. All while truces are settled and the First Queen Reborn is only increasing in power.

Lighthearted: The Tea (Session 1)
Kurt Potts runs for Barry, Lauren, Pearl Zare, and Puckett
In this session, we create characters and do an intro scene. Four college students at the El Camino Community College of Magic and Technology. Are drawn together by a professor. Next week we'll see what happens when your mentor spills everyone's baggage all over the table of a tea shop.

Spire: Ironshrike (Session 3 of 3)
Leandro Pondoc runs for Gabriel Robinson and Pawel S.
Somewhere within the tangled web of factions and desperation that comprise the market of Ironshrike, somewhere is the right combination of allies and enemies that could spark change into this corner of Spire. Varda is reminded of her duties as midwife to the drow and Nirvic prepares a con for the ages.

Rapscallion: A Night at the Opera (Session 1 of 2)
Alun R. runs for Alexi S., Julie Rogers, Leah Libresco Sargeant, and Robert Angus
Captain Nightshade's intention to steal two mystically engraved organ pipes from St Sucre's Grand Opera House is complicated first by a fire, and then by the rest of his crew. Clay Golem Raku is always eager to get things right and follows instructions (very) literally before losing its cool and swatting away a platoon of Marines. Clance, the only crew member possessed by a Demon (as far as we know), can't resist "all the shiny things" and finds himself between a fire and an angry crowd. St. Sucre's great and good, before cutting the rope securing a candelabra and shooting to the roof. Jamie, the ship's Chronicler, prefers a quiet read and keeps her angry djinn in its bad-tempered place, but seeing everyone's aura is a strain that she can't contain when confronted by a previous employer. Through it all Captain Nightshade keeps his cool (and his organ pipes) so they can help him chart a route through the Deathwaters next time in...Rapscallions.

Urban Shadows: Vienna, 1950 (Session 2 of 4)
Alexi S. runs for Eli S., Leandro Pondoc, Pearl Zare, and Sarah J.
Salomé, the Tainted outrider of the Wild Hunt, has arrived, so the party can get started! Tonight, Vienna will be rocked by poisonings, out-of-body experiences, and more-or-less inept attempts at seduction and assassination. Cosima acquires a very haunted cabinet. Emilie snoops her way into so much trouble that only letting out her inhuman side can save her. And Sophie/Johannes commits herself to aiding Salomé's hit job on an American colonel, whether she wants it or not.

The Bat Hack: All-American Girls: Mrs October (Session 1 of 5)
Jim Likes Games runs for Bethany H., Catherine Ramen, and Rich Rogers
We re-learn the ropes with a short roster as the Gauntlet City Gals head back to Detroit to face the Debs in Game 1 of the Championship Series!

Hack the Planet: A Sky Reflected in Terror (Session 2 of 5)
Leandro Pondoc runs for Alun R., Josh H, Parham Doustdar, and Rob Ruthven
A simple job: infiltrate a derelict lab, extract a brilliant gene-hacker and escape before Acts of God or well-armed scavengers get in their way. Terribly straightforward, yes? Lincoln evades the spotlights in the sky, Nova dives deep into the lab's security workings, Shadow dives through the sky with ease and Mellow confronts a strange, cybernetic attacker.

Lighthearted: The Tea Gets Dark (Session 3 of 3)
Kurt Potts runs for Barry, Lauren, Pearl Zare, and Puckett
In this session, we find out what Kyle's been up to and why Baylee got so upset with Dr. P in the previous session.

Night Witches: September 2019: Pashkovskaya/Rudnya (Session 4 of 4)
Jim Likes Games runs for Bethany H., Maria M., Mike Ferdinando, and Puckett
The Natural Born Soviet Airwomen of the 588th settle in to their new Duty Station with an unusual mission.

Night Witches: October 2019: Rudnya (Session 1 of 4)
Jim Likes Games runs for Bethany H., Eli S., Maria M., and Sarah J.
It was a Dark and Stormy Night for the 588th. Transfers to cover losses mean the return of former comrades.

Apocalypse World (Session 2 of 5)
Lowell Francis runs for John Campbell, Peter Mazzeo, Scot Ryder, and Steven desJardins
After the attack on The Mud Pit, the group looks into who is pushing the war brewing behind the scenes of the settlement.

The Bat Hack: Mrs October (Session 3 of 5)
Jim Likes Games runs for Bethany H., Catherine Ramen, Jesse A., and Rich Rogers
The Gauntlet City Gals face the Detroit Debs in Game 2 of the 5-game All American Girls Professional Baseball League Championship.

Trophy Gold: Tomb of the Serpent Kings (Session 3)
Jason Cordova runs for Fraser Simons and Tyler Lominack
Our treasure hunters meet their end as they push their luck against a basilisk.

​You can see all these videos (plus all the ones that have come before) on The Gauntlet YouTube channel playlists, and be sure to subscribe to catch all our great podcasts!

If you'd like to catch these sessions in an audio-only podcast, check out the community-run project at http://gauntlet.hellomouth.net/.

If you'd like to play in games like these, check out the calendar of events and the Gauntlet Forums where games are announced.

To support The Gauntlet, please visit the Gauntlet Patreon. Everyone is welcome to sign up for Gauntlet Hangouts games, but Patreon supporters get extra options like priority RSVP for Gauntlet Hangouts games and joining the Gauntlet Slack team where special events and pickup games are announced. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

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10/9/2019

Age of Ravens: Coriolis Drive

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DARK BETWEEN THE STARS
On Sunday we began a new Gauntlet Quarterly campaign, this time using Impulse Drive, a sci-fi PbtA rpg, to play in the Coriolis setting. I love the universe of Coriolis—it has a distinct look and feel that diverges from the traditional Western-looking sci-fi of things like Traveller, Star Trek, and Fading Suns. It has vibrant ideas, with a history that players engage with in the present.
 
But it also has some mechanical elements that haven’t worked for the way I run. I say this as someone fond of the core Mutant Engine which powers it. But Coriolis's implementation has issues. Darkness points don’t function well—both in accumulation and spending. Space travel is prohibitively risky and expensive, reflecting a core weirdness in the economy presented. And one of the core atmospheric elements, worship of the Icons, becomes a rote mechanical step for players, rather than something significant.
 
I played in Rich Rogers’ sessions of Impulse Drive with a Star Wars reskin and enjoyed the game. It has a lot of moving parts to it, but I enjoyed its basic feel. However it does take many cues from properties like Firefly, Dark Matter, and Killjoys (albeit with lots more aliens). So I spent some time tweaking and retooling some of the rules to fit the tone and feel of Coriolis.
 
MAJOR SYSTEM CHANGES
Renamed the stat “Alien” to “Weird.” Renamed The Abyss into The Dark in moves related to that. Coriolis has the Dark as a tangible force, so that fits well. Eliminated MVP end session voting as a way to distribute XP. I’ve hated that in other games. Eliminated rolling Disadvantage based on your hooks. Instead added new end of session XP question: Did you get into trouble as a result of any of your hooks? Clarified that using Recover move outside of hostile situations and without time pressure, allows you to ready a move, weapon, or piece of gear after a scene.
 
NEW MOVE: COMMUNE WITH THE ICONS
Once per session, when you reach out to one of the Icons to gain their blessing, roll with nothing.
  • On a 10+, name the Icon(s) and hold 2
  • On a 7-9, name the Icon and hold 1
Spend this hold to gain advantage on the move associated with that Icon (see below)
  • On a 6-, the Icon's silence is disturbing. Take Disadvantage forward.
THE ICONS
The Lady of Tears             RECOVER
The Dancer                         ACT QUICK
The Gambler                      ENGAGE/MOTORHEAD
The Merchant                   MANIPULATION              
The Deckhand                   KEEP YOUR COOL
The Traveller                      LEAN ON ME
The Messenger                SCOPE IT OUT
The Judge                           FIREFIGHT
The Faceless                      INTO THE DARK

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PLAYBOOKS
Renamed each playbook to match a role from Coriolis. Blended the two psychic playbooks from Impulse Drive into a new Mystic Playbook. Modified the Bounty Hunter playbook to make it more of a hustling captain-type character. Changed many hooks and relationships. Renamed many pieces of gear (shotguns become grape rifles, sniper rifle becomes accelerator rifle, etc). Modified several Calamities.

TRAILBLAZER (WAS BOUNTY HUNTER)
Hooks and Relationships
•________ can take a Zero-G roll without throwing up. Impressive.
•________ acts like they're in charge. I need to set them straight.
•________ knows my vices, and better keep quiet about it.
•________ Knows what to do when things go wrong. Someone to trust.
• My search for [Secret] that has made me the target of [Faction].
• Something from the Dark between the Stars has possessed me. It sometimes takes over, giving me seizures or memory loss
• I hate [Group], and will do anything to provoke one of them if they get close.
• I am terrible with birr and always immediately burn through them buying things, entertaining myself, or giving to charity.

Moves
Pursuviant (replaces Bounty Hunting): When you take the time to check a Board for current Job, roll with Volatile.
• On a 10+, you can find something good, hold 2 Leads.
• On a 7-9, take what you can get, hold 1 Lead.
• On a 6-, the only decent job involves undermining a crew member.
The SM will tell you who. That player will answer the task questions.
At any time during a Job, you may spend a Lead to say someone present is connected to it. Then ask 2 of the following questions. You may spend extra Leads to answer the questions yourself. Otherwise, the SM will answer the questions.
• How are they connected?
• Who has tied them to the Job?
• What do they know about the Job?
• Are they being hunted?
• What's my next, best step to finish the Job?
When you collect your reward, you gain 1 Payoff. Spend 1 Payoff to give yourself +1 to a Hey Big Spender roll.

Reworded Low Contacts Background: “You started at the bottom and clawed your way up. You know well how the underworld works.”
Removed Hunter’s Mark and Mark of Death, replaced with:
Ship's Master: This ship has been in your possession for many years. You roll w/Advantage on Keep Your Cool to do Spot Repairs.
Veteran: You've been around a long time and your experience means you are always prepared. You roll with Advantage on The Crew is Back in Town and Negotiate Terms moves.

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OPERATIVE (WAS INFILTRATOR)
Hooks and Relationships
•________ has a hidden agenda. I am going to find out what it is.
•________ can be trusted no matter what.
•________ is skillful, but naïve.
•________ is clumsy. Don’t let him/her near my stuff!
• I was trained by [NPC/Group], now they seek to [bring me back/destroy me].
• My paranoia means I can almost never trust anyone.
• I joined under false pretenses. They must never learn the truth.
• I’m addicted to adrenaline. I take risks just for the thrill of it.

Moves
Renamed Lethal Strike as The Hassassin’s Thrust.

SCIENTIST (WAS INTELLECT)
Hooks and Relationships
•________ is almost as smart as me. Impressive.
•________ has no clue. How can someone possibly be so dumb?
•________ makes me insecure. I don’t know how to interact with them.
• ________ is so beautiful. But they would probably never look my way twice.
• I just can’t stay off the kohôl. It makes me impulsive and erratic.
• Bounty hunters are after me, but for something I didn’t do.
• My cold heart means I would never help someone in need unless I would really benefit from it.
• [NPC/Group] has slandered my good name. One day I shall have vengeance.

Moves
Renamed Technician to Ship Worker.

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PREACHER (WAS MYSTIC)
Hooks and Relationships
•________ doesn’t understand your visions. A lost soul.
•________ could be steered onto the right path. You mustn’t give up.
•________ is probably an unbeliever. Stay clear.
•________ is a soulless killer that threatens our safety.  ________ needs to see that.
• I am beginning to think my order is misguided and I’m questioning my faith.
• I am supposed to be a bastion of peace and wisdom, but I cannot let go of my [Powerful Emotion/Vice]
• My order is hunted by [Group] for our beliefs, I must stay incognito.
• I have seen the power of the Darkness, and I cannot control myself when it is present.

Calamities
• You discover some ancient teachings or records of your faith.
• You have a personal vision from one of the Icons. They speak a terrible truth to you.
• Word spreads that one of your sect’s temples or strongholds has been annihilated.
• Your sect loses favor with a number of factions.
• Your sect is split due to political or philosophical difference, and you are called upon to choose a side.
• You suffer a terrible wound, illness, or debility. Describe what you have lost.
• Now or soon, you are called to the seat of power for your Order. When you return to your Order and share premonitions of the future, roll+Weird.
-- On a 10+, your sect sees times of danger approaching, and promotes you to be their leader.
--On a 7-9, a conflict with an oppressive faction or ancient evil has broken out and you are called to join your order to fight it.
-- On a 6-, your sect is attacked in their seat of power, and you sacrifice your life helping the survivors escape.

Moves
Renamed Scrying as Visions. Made this the starting move. Removed Suggestion.
Renamed Sages as Sufi. Renamed Knights as Militant. Renamed Fleshknitter as Medicurgy.
Discreet Techniques (Replaced Mystic Weapon Master): Your order has learned ancient, unique style of fighting that marks them. Describe it.  When you use your fighting style to avoid harm from a ranged weapon, you have advantage to Keep Your Cool.  You may Discharge this move to inflict 3 Harm, Skirmish on a living target.
Blessed: When you Commune with the Icons, you may roll with +Weird
Preacher: When your piety or radical proselyting confuses or disturbs someone, you or a crew member have Advantage going forward to interrupt their current course of action.
Repute: Your Order has fame and reach. Take Advantage when your roll Lean on Me. Additionally, you gain the Liquid Assets gear.

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NEGOTIATOR (WAS SCOUNDREL)
Hooks and Relationships
•________ and I have seen everything together, we’re closer than family. Nothing will pull us apart.
• ________ is easy to like. And easy to manipulate.
•________ is very blunt. We don’t understand each other.
•________ embarrassed me in front of everybody. I won’t forget that.
• I owe money to the [Group]. They want it back. Now
• I can’t resist engaging in a complex deception when the truth would work perfectly well.
• I get jealous when others succeed. It should be my turn now.
• I am a compulsive thrill seeker. If I see the chance to do something foolhardy, nothing can stop me.
 
MYSTIC (WAS MYSTIC AND TEMPEST)
Hooks and Relationships
•________ gets under my skin, I want to show them I’m better than they think.
•________ has seen me at my most vulnerable. I’ll make sure they never tell anyone what they saw.
•I can’t help my feelings for ________, but I can’t let them know.
•________ is someone I respect. I hope they feel the same.
• I betrayed my friend [NPC] who has sworn to get back at me.
• [Group], zealous Icon believers, are on my tail. They know about my powers.
• My powers cause me extreme pain, and there is very little that helps me manage it.
• I am at the mercy of my [Fear/Rage/Despair], and must struggle against its impulses.
Use Tempest’s Calamities.

Moves
Renamed Storm as Darkness throughout moves.
Renamed Brain Spike as Mind Spike. Renamed Telekinetic Force as Telekinesis. Replaced Fury Unleashed with Suggestion (the original Mystic role move).
 
SOLDIER (WAS WARHORSE)
Hooks and Relationships
•________ fought by my side and saved my life.
• ________ left me for dead. I will never forgive him/her.
•________ is highly skilled. A quality I respect.
• I’ll protect ________ from anything, even themselves.
• I am addicted to opor, and use it after doing things on the battlefield I would rather forget.
• War has numbed me to suffering, whether it’s my own or someone else’s.
• I have an unsettled score with [NPC/Group].
• Life on the battlefield gave me fears which I cannot shake.

Calamities
• A group of comrades arrive to help end a violent conflict, before moving on.
• You've hunted down a lead on some heavy duty armor. But getting your hands on it is going to be costly, illegal & dangerous
• You come face to face with the consequences of a poor choice you made in the heat of battle.
• You are given an opportunity for a great victory, but at the cost  of a part of your body: eye, limb, etc.
• Old comrades under siege call for reinforcements: you.
• You suffer a terrible wound, illness, or debility. Describe what you have lost.
• Now or soon, your wartime enemy corners you with overwhelming odds. When you brace yourself for your last stand, roll +Stalwart.
--On a 10+, you survive against all odds, and must return to the front lines, over a mountain of your enemy's corpses.
--On a 7-9, you manage to defeat them, but your wounds are severe. You retire or succumb to your injuries soon after.
--On a 6-, you're overwhelmed, but they pay a heavy cost.

Moves
Renamed War Eternal as War Machine.
Bonded Trooper (was Wardens): You have the proper licenses to procure restricted weapons and gear. You don't have to go through shady or dangerous channels.  This isn't the same as being permitted to carry them. Local regulations may still impact this, but you're likely given the benefit of the doubt in general places.

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10/8/2019

Trophy: A Community-Driven Project

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by Jason Cordova

We recently finished taking submissions for the Trophy incursion-writing contest. We recieved and incredible 50 entries!  You can read and discuss them on The Gauntlet Forums. 

What I want to talk about here are all the ways Trophy is a community-driven project. 
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Trophy is Jesse Ross’s game, no doubt, but it was developed with The Gauntlet’s publishing philosophy in mind, which is that no single person is an island of creativity. The Gauntlet’s design culture has always been to be very community-oriented. I’m sure there are lots of reasons for that, not least of which being The Gauntlet is a community that has play and, therefore, collaboration deep in its DNA. It's also because The Gauntlet is owned by a queer person of color. I think people who have experienced marginalization sort of naturally gravitate toward community-based outcomes. I know this is the case for me: in professional settings, for example, my value has only ever been acknowledged in my capacity to lift other people up, to be a “team player.” In my experience, only white men are typically allowed individual, personal glory. And you can see that in the indie game space, too—we valorize a small number of white men as creative geniuses, while most everyone else has some sort of qualifier tacked onto their success, or they are lifted up for reasons other than the brilliance of their game design. 

Anyway, that's getting a bit off track—my point is that Trophy came up in an environment that de-emphasizes the auteur and embraces community. It was nurtured in Codex, which has always focused on new authors and embraced crowdsourcing as a creative virtue. 

(And, to be quite frank, there are never any guarantees of financial success with TTRPGs, and so you have to be ready to find fulfillment in different ways. For Jesse and I, part of that fulfillment comes from creating something with lots of other people, something the community can be proud of.)

Here are some thoughts on Trophy as a community-driven project. 

Expansion material focuses on contributions from new authors
Jesse’s name is on the core rules of Trophy and he wrote the first 3 expansions. However, the next 11 expansions (both published and planned) are by new (or relatively new) TTRPG writers. This was something we decided on really early, that Trophy would be a platform to publish new voices. Through Codex and Trophy, we are not only able to publish new folks, but we can do so in a way that really honors their work, with slick graphics and layout, dev editing, and line editing. And, even better, our platform is big enough to get people to play their stuff. And when the Trophy standalone Kickstarter happens, we’re going to go one step further and make a second payment to those authors, in addition to getting their work in print. 

We think this approach is not only good for Trophy, but also great for the participating writers. There are lots of ways to break into the world of TTRPG publishing, and we think this is a pretty good one. We hope to see some of these folks move on with confidence to bigger and better things. 

Click here to see the full list of official Trophy expansion material.

Crowdsourcing the world of Trophy
The forthcoming Trophy standalone book will have a major setting component that only exists in wisps within the currently-published material. Our hope is to present a good portion of this setting material in tables, and we’re generating elements for those tables via crowdsourcing on The Gauntlet Forums. 

I love crowdsourcing because it represents another way in which the community can get invested in a project. This has always been the case with Codex, and we hope it will be similar with Trophy. Maybe you don’t have the time or confidence to write a whole incursion, but you might be able to come up with a few evocative details for the world tables. Regardless, in the end, you’ve put your stamp on Trophy, and we all get a world that is altogether more rich and intriguing than anything a single person could have written by themself. 

To check out the ongoing crowdsourcing threads, check out the master list posted on The Gauntlet Forums.

Contests 
We’ve only just received the 50 incursions for the first Trophy writing contest, but a quick skim of the entries tells the tale: Trophy just got A LOT bigger. There are so many new ways to enjoy the game, so many new dark journeys to take. A floodgate of creativity was opened up, and those waters are going to flow throughout the community, encouraging others to take a crack at writing their own stuff, further cementing Trophy as a game by all of us. With any luck, it will turn out like Dungeon World, which became so much more that what was contained between its covers because of the huge, active community of creators invested in it. 

And we’re not finished with contests! I’m going to go ahead and announce here an incursion-writing contest for Trophy Gold, the Trophy spin-off game for OSR-style adventures. The contest will be held in December and January (ending early February), and we’re SO excited to see what folks come up with. Start thinking of your themes now!

The Trophy SRD
Finally, Jesse has just released the Trophy System Reference Document, the newest way for the community to embrace this awesome little game. The Trophy SRD will allow folks to create their own games that are “Rooted in Trophy” (with thanks to Sabine V for that moniker). It’s the next logical step for Trophy, a new way for the community to make this game their own. 

Click here to find the Trophy SRD. ​

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10/4/2019

Gauntlet Video Roundup - October 4, 2019

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[Gauntlet Hangouts logo]
Greetings, and welcome to the weekly Gauntlet Hangouts video roundup! Enjoy these new recordings of online games organized through Gauntlet Hangouts and the Gauntlet RPG community. These recorded sessions represent only a portion of the wide selection of games available every week, and anyone is welcome to join in the fun! If you'd like to play in new games (or catch up on the back catalog of recordings), check the links at the end of the post

Star Wars Saturday

Bounty of the Week (Session 4 of 4)
Rich Rogers runs for Blaise, John Campbell, Rob Ruthven, and Will H
The team adds a Trainee, and they head to Naboo for a meetup with an old queen?

Gauntlet Sunday

Legacy Fantasy (Session 5 of 5)
Lowell Francis runs for Ary Ramsey, Patrick Knowles, Robert Angus, and Sherri
Lo the end comes and we witness the final days of this world as the truth of the divine terraforming finally comes to light and various families move to escape this doomed realm.

TGI Thursday

Mutants in the Night (Session 1 of 4)
Lowell Francis runs for Chris Newton, Christopher Walborn, Jason Zanes, and Julie Rogers
In the future, 20% of the world has been mutated and declared non-human. Confined to Mutant Safe Zones they have to find a way to survive...but some have an edge and have banded together...

Gauntlet Quarterly

Masks: Prospect Academy (Session 4)
Leandro Pondoc runs for Gerwyn Walters, Ludovico Alves, Ryan M., and Sabine V.
Diamond Dust vs. Mary Landry! A student debate for the ages, all for the prize of becoming student council president for the 11th worst superhero school in the world! Princess Hollyhock makes up for her chaos with glitter and magic, Serenade flushes out the weirdos throwing knives at them, Kasey helps out a friendless goth as she settles into her new persona and Mary gives it her best shot.

Gauntlet Comics

Monsterhearts 2: Super Juvie (Session 1 of 5)
Rich Rogers runs for Joe Zantek, Leandro Pondoc, Misha B, and Peter Mazzeo
We gather our juvenile delinquents and explore the New Guard Academy for some time. Oh, and someone spit in Mel's food.

Urban Shadows: Coven Prime Ongoing (Session 8)
Jim Likes Games runs for Alexi S., Chris Newton, Leah Libresco Sargeant, and Sarah J.
In the final issue of our second story arc, the occult heroes of Coven Prime try to recover and reconcile, but trouble somehow keeps landing at their door.

Gauntlet Hangouts

Band of Blades: Road to Skydagger Keep (Session 3)
Mikael Tysvær runs for Ludovico Alves, Parham Doustdar, and Will H
The legion get issued a mission to cleanse a temple of The Twin Gods of Aldermark and retrieve a relic of The Hunter God Gerholtz. But first they have to get rid of one of blighters infamous The Doctor who has taken the temple as a workshop to bolster the ranks of the undead army.

Trophy: The Spiral
Leandro Pondoc runs for Ary Ramsey, Pearl Zare, and Robert Angus
Fort Duhrin is in lockdown. A strange spiral symbol has begun to spread and, as a result, the Governor has ordered a reward for those who can solve the mystery. For Hence the thug/artist, Somewhat the symbolist sorceror and Vero the poet set against a debaucherous painter, it seems like easy detail. Not knowing that a serpent has room enough to swallow them all whole. NOTE: At 1:40:00, a player's camera turns sideways for the rest of the game.

The Veil Fantasy: Kriusthos (Session 1 of 4)
Ludovico Alves runs for Marcolo, Maria M., Pearl Zare, and Toby
We are back to the City, as we visit the Tribulations of its inhabitants. In a world of pacts, of veils and of shadows, the last member of an ancient order of lorekeepers tries to remain hidden from shadowy beings. In a place where Obligation and Vows were everything, a white-clad enforcer is confronted with a face of the past, by terrible memories that they had expunged. In a city where everything is for selling and privacy is premium, an architect of dreams and illusions yields the power of prized real-state to uncover secrets--and the most terrifying of them all may just have walked past his door. In a place where emotions coalesce into realms of wonder and turmoil, a barkeeper knows and senses more than it seems, and has just found a walking, wandering void courting fear and destruction.

Lighthearted: Quesadilla!!!
Kurt Potts runs for Blake Ryan, Sarah J., and Tomer Gurantz
3 college students navigate a rager in their run-down apartment building while dark mages conspire to acquire an unwitting keytar player. Quesadilla!!!

Night's Black Agents: Solo Ops (Session 1)
Lowell Francis runs for Sherri
Agent Layla Khan awakens in a Hungarian hospital with little memory of the recent past, save that she must move quickly to escape the thrall of her vampiric former master.

Monsterhearts 2: Ballhir: On Thin Ice (Session 3 of 3)
Donogh runs for Dan Pucul, Sarah J., and Steven
An awkward trio in the back garden as Eoin and Donovan wrestle with Phelim's attention. Muirín realises the truth of Malachi's true nature, and wants to retrieve her pelt to return home to the freedom of the ocean with him. That simple walk to Eoin's home unravels as Donovan sees how Muir Iasc has occupied Malachi's body and a fight breaks out!

Free From the Yoke: Land of the Dragonslayers (Session 1 of 4)
Ludovico Alves runs for Alun R., Greg G., and Mikael Tysvær
The Empire took you from lands, exploited your people and had you fight its wars and built its cities. You earned your freedom, only to return to a Land that resents and rejects you. We learn of the ages of tribulations endured by the Church of Our Lady of the Golden Pastures and the way their faith adapted to the local rites, the struggle and achievements of the Union of Stone and how they have build a new society, and the ancient unbroken legacy of the Unbridled Grey and how they seem to be on its way to become a power capable of rivaling even the Empire. Springs dawns on the First Age, as the Voice of the Land organizes a purge of the enemies of the land and rebels rise against the Houses. The Land itself asks the Union of Stone to manipulate the inner workings of the Church, as the Unbridled Grey faces a threat as the Voice claims to be their first Queen--returned by the Land to guide them to the future.

Achtung! Cthulhu Dark: The Depth of the Horror (Session 4 of 4)
Alun R. runs for Gerrit Reininghaus, Paul Rivers, Pearl Zare, and Will H
Picking up where the last session ended, with Arthur Blake, Sgt. Strauss, and Egglantine Chatfield in occupied Nieuport, watching action hero Reggie Wooster blow up a half-track and an ancient statue dredged from the bottom of the North Sea...they experience strange effects as the statue's latent power super-charges the Nazi Dream Gate in the next room. Reggie disappears in search of a safe rendezvous, while Adriana Carnap, the other member of the team, is briefed by Dr Turning at Bletchley Park: he has calibrated his computer, Colossus, to guide her astral projection to the very DreamLands into which the explosion has dropped the rest of the team. There follow opportunities for suspicion, confusion, hypnotic dream-shaping, a view of how a temple to the Nazi Occult might shaped by those that dream of such a thing, SS troopers with a strange look in their eye, and a confrontation with the Nazi Fish Witch, before friends have to make hard decisons, Gates are conjured, the horror of war threatens to swallow ... everyone, and a U-Boat crew is left with few options... This was A1 RPG from a great group of players it was a joy to watch work.

Spectaculars: The Virtuosos (Session 4)
Mikel Matthews runs for Alexi S., John Campbell, and Steven desJardins
Meltdown - They track down Alicia Bennet, who's trying to turn the nuclear power plant into a gate that will warp in something from beyond this dimension. They discover that there might be some other danger approaching that The Agency isn't being up front about and refuse to allow the Agency the captured mercs. At the end, something they've never seen before breaks atmosphere...

Downfall: Cat Edition
Stentor Danielson facilitates for Justin Ford, Kristina, and Steven desJardins
Another round of Downfall, this time with cats!

Urban Shadows: Vienna, 1950 (Session 1 of 4)
Alexi S. runs for Leandro Pondoc, Pearl Zare, Richard Moser, and Sarah J.
We meet our protagonists, four people navigating the shadowy, supernatural world of Cold War Vienna. Johannes/Sophie, the protean Fae entertainer; Otto Moser, the Veteran government functionary balancing Debts to all sides; Cosima Sörgel, the flesh-eating Vamp art connoisseur; and Emilie Landau, a young woman newly Aware of the supernatural thanks to her "creature of the night" girlfriend who first brought her to Vienna then up and vanished. Then we throw them all into a slightly suspicious gala.

Night's Black Operators: The Lisky Bratva (Session 1 of 5)
Alun R. runs for Pawel S., Puckett, Sabine V., and Stephen
The theft of a laptop from a NATO Conference in Sarajevo leads the team to a rural cemetery, where their pay-off goes wrong and turns into a job offer. Cut to Odessa from where the brutal and uncompromising Josef Lisky runs a criminal empire across eastern Europe, and where Donald Carrol briefs them on their operation: to follow a shipment of tagged military hardware from Odessa Sea Port to its destination. There follows some breaking an entering, some imaginative use of balloons and drones, and a confrontation with a creature with very strange properties...

Visigoth vs Mall Goths: Goat to Hell
Jim Likes Games runs for Joseph, Josh H, Kirk Rahusen, Larry S., Libby Horacek, and Pearl Zare
The Visigoths and Mall Goths search the mall for a missing goat statue and get embroiled in a high-stake skee-ball tournament. Just in time for Lucian Kahn's Kickstarter, running RIGHT NOW!

Heart: Playtest (Session 2 of 2)
David Morrison runs for Donogh, Jim Likes Games, and Leandro Pondoc
Morrow unearths a valuable secret that could lead to the Night's Cathedral deeper within the Heart, as the haven of Nightmarket begins to fall to Ishkran's machinations. Leaving Nightmarket before its collapse, they are joined by Scuttlebutt the Hound, a watchman fleeing from his past. They must face the clutching darkness, scuttling denizens of the Heart, and their own past before reaching their final destination. And when they arrive, something is waiting for them...

Hack the Planet: A Sky Reflected In Terror (Session 1 of 5)
Leandro Pondoc runs for Alun R., Josh H, Parham Doustdar, and Rob Ruthven
Character and crew creation in the rain-swept Shelter 1, last bastion in a world wracked by disastrous weather events known as Acts of God. Behind such sturdy walls, inequality reigns as megacorporations control life in the city. Within such strictures, our band of Glitches hope to thrive and improve the lot of others.

Kingdom: Dwarf Mountain (Session 4 of 4)
Michael Mendoza facilitates for Robbie Boerth and Steven
The fiery ghost of a dwarf king reclaims his throne and unleashes catastrophic forces for a noble exile and a kobold captain to survive.

Apocalypse World (Session 1 of 5)
Lowell Francis runs for John Campbell, Peter Mazzeo, Scot Ryder, and Steven desJardins
In our first session, we set the shit up and then throw the PCs into it, resulting in gunfire, flames, and running out of gas.

Apocalypse World: Loudness Wars (Session 4 of 4)
Sawyer Rankin runs for David Morrison, Puckett, Rich Rogers, and Saribel P.
We end the Loudness Wars with a bang. And the story of a bang gone wrong from Hella, whose new shit-kicker wagon is home and weapon in one. Dolly unleashes prime time violence and readies her family for war. What happens when Jackal leads its third slave revolt? Will Lace finally become an Idol? The conclusion to Gnashville plays out with shocking results!

You can see all these videos (plus all the ones that have come before) on The Gauntlet YouTube channel playlists, and be sure to subscribe to catch all our great podcasts!

If you'd like to catch these sessions in an audio-only podcast, check out the community-run project at http://gauntlet.hellomouth.net/.

If you'd like to play in games like these, check out the calendar of events and the Gauntlet Forums where games are announced.

To support The Gauntlet, please visit the Gauntlet Patreon. Everyone is welcome to sign up for Gauntlet Hangouts games, but Patreon supporters get extra options like priority RSVP for Gauntlet Hangouts games and joining the Gauntlet Slack team where special events and pickup games are announced. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

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