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(Via Story Games:) Rebecca Borgstrom has released "Unlikely Flowerings", the first part of the long-awaited Society of Flowers supplement for Nobilis as a 115 page pdf at Drivethrurpg for $5. It's also available for free at (the publisher) Eos' website, but "purchasing it from DTRPG will show your support for the author, her efforts and improve the chances of seeing the rest of the book."
Nobilis is also getting a reprint by Eos Press. The reprint will be revised and twice as thick as the 2nd edition, due to resizing the book to 8.5" x 11"; will contain new art, a new visual style, and content from The Game of Powers Live-action RP rules. (Which is ironic, since I always thought the rules in Game of Powers worked better for TTRPGs than the main rulebook's more LARPish rules.)
This weekend, Kate's in town and I wanted to have a social kind of gaming thing -- while both she and I game, we really haven't done much gaming together at all -- basically two games I've run had a few too many players and were both kind of chaotic (either as a result of the group size, or intentionally, or both).
So anyway, due to the super-creative nature of the player's we'd be doing this with, and the fact that the my regular group's history involves a fair amount of diceless stuff, I decided on running Mortal Coil, which I've been excited to run, and seeing what happened.
The problem: I haven't actually run MC before.
The solution: test run with two of my 'regular' players (Dave and Margie) to go through the whole 'pitch session', character creation, and a sample conflict to see where the hitches and questions arose.
The result: [AP] From the Casebook of Donne & Donne, Detectives -- lots of fun and, as you can see from my post to the Forge, lots of rules questions.
The whole thing DID prompt me to go back to the Mortal Coil section of RandomWiki though, and reread MortalCoil - Conflict Examples. These were all written by the game's author; I thought they were cool and useful before I'd run the game -- having now run it, I think they're damned near invaluable.
The CryHavoc ADRPG archives, formerly at http://average-bear.com/cryhavoc are now located on the GM's domain: http://nineblackdoves.com/cryhavoc/.
In my Palm, July 6th, 2003:
1st TiHE Game Session (not counting bidding war - 1997)
Six years ago... wow.
Something I've mentioned before: someone who took Nobilis and the League of Extradinary Gentlemen comic and came up with Convention game.
Nobilis: The League of Extraordinary Americans
The Newest Diceless Game: Marvel Supers.
Looks interesting. Some of the 'sliding around resources' mechanic sounds a lot like Nobilis' movement of points between 'effect' and 'penetration' for Miracles.
It also sounds like it's a little incomplete or at least in need of tweaks but seriously, to an Amber veteran that's the sort of blip that barely shows up on the radar.
(Via ***Dave)
I've been trying to figure how to do things where you might be inclined to pick up a secondary Estate just to get a specific feel for the character -- Frex, "J'hon Wu, the Power of Guns" might want to have doves burst into frame whenever he does an Aspect miracle of 4 or higher.
A 'book' example of this is Delerium of the Endless and her butterflies/fish/whatever -- a more subtle example might be the sound of wings whenever Death is around.
The problem is, even spending 1 point on something like this is a heck of a lot for a special effect.
Continue reading "Estate thought 2, Manifestations" »
Yep, more Nobilis posting.
Warning, this is not really fun fictional crap, but me thinking out loud about the kind of game-design stuff that I do all the time... if you don't want to talk nuts and bolts, don't worry about it.
I've run Amber extensively (duh) and I've run Everway a few times, and I personally think Nobilis has a huge advantage in the realm of Conflict Resolution over both systems. Sustaining Damage aside, Both Amber and Everway hit the (DnD-like) problem of everybody expecting their PCs to put forth the maximum conceivable effort for every single action, because there are no PC resources to spend or withhold (and yeah, I'm guilty of this as a player):
"You've just walked the Pattern, twice, when the House Manticore Chaosite ambushes you... his first swing narrowly misses beheading you, instead drawing blood on your sword-arm."
"WHAT? My Warfare HAS to be good enough to dodge that! I bear down, putting all my effort into winning, regardless of the cost"
"Just like you did for the last five opponents?"
"Yes, just like that."
Sure, a GM can work through the system and either use a subjective internal system for dealing with this or tack on an objective internal system, but that doesn't address the fact that said System is absent from the basic rules... it's not a huge failing -- like I said, it's been missing since the First of All RPGs (and even in games where penalties can be applied as you gradually get hurt, they are generally ignored, especially as the night drags into the wee hours).
What I like about Nobilis is that you've got your 'normal optimum' and those lovely little Miracle points that can be used to stage things up to a Greater Effect if you need it... you can't really said you've Given It Your All in Nobilis until You've dropped 8 MP's on a Word of Command whose very invocation ruptured your spleen. THAT'S effort :)
What I don't like is dealing with Penetration rules and Auctoritas.
-=-=-
Okay, I haven't got the larp rules yet, but based on something R. Sean mentions about how the miracle contests work in the LARP rules game and something I'm not particularly in love with in the combat examples for the Tabletop rules, I'm going to implement a house rule regarding powers/combat and how it works with Auctoritas (read Nobilis 101 if you dont' know what the hell I'm talking about... it makes this way clearer):
Way it currently works: An attack must have 'penetration' defined ahead of time or it goes poof if it hits any sort of Auctoritas (basically magic godling-forcefield equal to your Spirit), or if it hits an Auctoritas higher than the Penetration you decided to use.
Player one has Aspect 4, Spirit 1.
Player two has Domain (cold) 4, Spirit 4.
Way combat works now:
1. Player 1 punches player 2 as an Aspect 4 miracle. Player1 defines no Penetration on the attack, so nothing happens. Poof. P1 either has to declare (on the next action) that the attack was Aspect 0, Penetration 4 to get a crappy effect (and he probably has to make several attacks to "get the range": "I try penetration 1... no? how about 2? no? damn..."), or spend miracle points to keep the attack high and still penetrate. Ugh.
2. Player 2 uses a Domain Cold attack on Player 1. Domain 4, but no penetration. It goes poof. There isn't much Auctoritas there, but it's enough.
The Way I want it to work: Auctoritas interferes with any incoming miracle, moving it down in strength to a degree equal to it's strength... the remaining strength of the attack or effect gets through.
How it would look with the same characters:
1. Player 1 punches Player 2 as an Aspect 4 miracle. Player 2's Auctoritas of 4 pushes the punches strength down to an Aspect 0 miracle, which is basically a competent Mortal's punch, and that is what connects... a bruise at best, unless P2 is already hurt, and Player1 knows he's going to have to 'push himself' (spend MPs) to do serious damage.
2. Player 2 uses a Domain Cold (4) attack on Player 1 (who has Spirit 1). P1's auctoritas pushes the Domain 4 miracle down to a 3, which isn't enough 'miracle' for Lesser Creation of Cold (need level 4), so it basically becomes a illusory ghost miracle within P1's auctoritas, and P2 knows that he needs to pump it up a bit (but not by how much -- since "Ghost Miracle" is a level 1 miracle, the guy could have a Spirit anywhere from 3 to 1... if he'd had a 4, it would have negated even a Ghost Miracle.
Anyway, this means the players don't have to worry about declaring Penetration or crunching numbers at all. Here's what they see:
1.
"I punch him. Aspect 4."
"His auctoritas is strong, pushing out against every hostile move you make in his direction... you're landing punches, but they don't have any more oomph than a mortal brown belt."
"Damn... okay, time to push."
2.
"Freeze the area: lesser creation of cold... something like a sleet storm."
"The area is rimed in ice and several of the mooks are knocked to the ground by the slippery conditions and the incredibly painful slivers of ice blasting through the air, but the air around your main opponent contains only ghostly images of the effect... nothing real seems to be reaching him."
Both players know they have to spend MP's to make their actions stronger against the Auctoritas, but they don't have to declare penetration, just overall "Oomph". The net effect on their MP's is EXACTLY the same, but the combats play faster, with less focus on number crunching and less unrealistic 'range finding'.
Okay... tech-design talk off.
For those interested (and apparently some are), I have a "Nobilis 101" document available. It's about 15 pages printed, but considering that it's a solid breakdown of a 300 page book (enough to use to make characters and get a good idea of the setting), that's not too bad.
The original html document, written by a guy named "Ry" in 1999 (when there was only the first edition book out), is here. It is still a viable document and highly recommended. All respect is due this guy. it's a great document.
I (and ***Dave) fiddled with it because...
- The layout was pretty basic (circa 1999 straight text) and the 'tables' were hard to read.
- Some of the rules info has changed
- In fiddling with it, we both figured out the rules much better than we had before. I love the main rulebook, but when I was about thirty pages in, I stalled, and it was reading and editing the 101 document that really made things clear to me.
To the Nobilis, the symbology of flowers is strong -- they are one of the oldest associative symbols, and an almost inseparable part of sympathetic magical rituals. A tiger lily doesn�t just mean strength, it is strength, whereas magnolia is the flower of Nobility.
This is a story of Hyacinth and Ivy.
This is a story of Jealousy and Friendship.
-=-=-
[edited transcript version of intro session]
GM
You wake up on a psychiatrist couch.
Power of Lust
Actually, for me that makes all kinds of sense.
GM
Taking your own measure, you note that you are dressed in your typical...?
PoL
Leather.
GM
Right. Leather. You have an ornate but serviceable knife in your left hand -- both of which are coated in blood that has long-since gone tacky; in your right hand you hold a cell-phone whose screen indicates you've missed... ten calls. As soon as you register that, the phone starts to ring.
PoL
Answer it, sit up if I haven�t already, and look around the room.
GM
The room is typical Freudian fare: dark read leather and mahogany, heavy drapes over the windows. The female voice on the other end of the line is speaking somewhat loudly, her voice is filled with strain. You're not tracking the words however, as your attention is on the angel sitting in the traditional psychiatrists wing-backed chair across the shadowy room.
PoL
Angel? That�s what it is?
GM
He�s wearing the robes you associate with angel imagery. Also, the big white wings hanging over the back of the chair is a giveaway.
PoL
What�s he... doing?
GM
He looks quite dead: his chest has been split open and youre� fairly sure even from here that his heart is missing. The voice on the other end of the phone is repeating a name over and over, as though trying to get your attention.
PoL
Is it my name?
GM
You're not sure. You don't remember your name. *Can't* remember, actually...
PoL
Greaaat. What�s the name she�s calling me?
GM
Macy. It doesn�t exactly sound wrong.
PoL
�Who is this?�
GM
�It�s me, obviously. There are people watching my place and all kinds of crazy shit on the news. What happened?�
PoL
Is there a TV in here?
GM
Psychiatrist�s office? There�s a radio in the corner. It just happens to be on the hourly new summary. Massive fire at a Rave in Chicago, firefight in London. Some sort of massive power grid blackout in Malaysia. [assumes caller�s voice] �They said you were dead.�
PoL
�Who?�
GM
�Everyone. Where are you?�
PoL
... �where are you?�
GM
�My place, like a said; being watched.
[long pause. player waits]
New York.�
PoL
�Right.� Where am I?
GM
You glance out through the drapes. You�re on the second floor of a brownstone on a residential-looking street filled with dozens of other brownstones -- it almost has to be New York, although you could never explain how you know that.
PoL
�I�m... close to you. I�ll call you back when I�m closer.� Hang up. Wash off the blood from the knife and my hand, wipe it down and stick it in my coat or belt or something until I can dump it. I�m leaving. Oh, but before I wash up, I cut the angel�s throat, just in case.
Other Player
What?
PoL
It looks like I tried to kill him, but I don�t know what kills angels -- I don�t even understand how he IS one -- so I definitely want to make SURE, because right now there isn�t any little voice in my head that�s telling me �It couldn�t have been me!�, so I�m going to assume it was and make sure I do it right.
GM
... Umm... Right. Next player.
-=-=-
"Macy", Baroness of Lust, scion of The Fallen, is played by Jackie
Nobilis auto-generator: useful as an excercise in excel tweaking, if nothing else.
Okay, so I just picked up Nobilis a few weeks back, someone check me on this.
The Matrix is a Nobilis game
The Suits = Excrucians
Chancel = the practice contruct? Or possible Zion.
Mystic Earth = the Matrix
Prosaic Earth = starts out as the Matrix, til you take the red pill and then it's the 'real earth'? I'm a little shakey on the Nobilis terminology.
Neo is just the guy everyone's been waiting for who got killer ranks in Spirit. (Everyone has good ranks in Realm and Domain, I think, since that's just the program with the downside that none of it really works in the prosaic earth, but but the rest of it basically works.
Now that I'm done ranting about Diceless stuff, I'll say this: Mike's rules for New Mutiny are smart, elegant, clean, and probably the best SFSP Amber rules I've ever seen.
If I ever run an Amber game again, it'll be with those rules or some version thereof. (Hell, it's almost enough to make me want to run again, which is a hell of a feat, let me tell you.)
1.) Play while tired.
2.) Design warfare-characters for a game system whose combat system I despise (a word I chose very carefully).
3.) Promise to start a campaign when I honestly have no interest in doing so.
4.) Continue to run games I no longer care about.
5.) Get involved in any more games until I've finished up at least one that I'm involved in.
I've finally posted the log of the last TiHE session (the 91st) after thinking I'd lost it. You can read 83 to 91 right here.
In related news, The Hall of Mirrors, as a blog, has ceased to be (I'd had it up for over a year with only 18 posts, so I didn't really see the point). Diceless-related posts will of course still happen, they'll just happen here.
The page itself, of course, is still there.
Dave has used MT (and mad design skillz :) to come up with a great page for a character he's running for the Ill Met in Amber PBeM. Truly Excellent.
I wish I was playing in a game, so I could do something this cool.
Oh, wait. There's DAVE'S game. And RANDY'S game (except I sort of already have a page for that).
*wanders off to design a comic-book-style blog.*
I worked out something very interesting for Randy Trimmer's cry havoc :: amber drpg game. I'll explain it here, and you can go see the application of it at the link above.
Randy had hit upon the idea of using a blog tool (blogger, in his original conception) as a sort of posting board for player diaries and whatnot. While I applaud the use of the technology (especially when it's one of my less-techie friends), I'm no longer much of a friend of Blogger.
So, while we played last night, I set up a blog using Movable Type, and as it came into being, I found myself incorporating some features from some of my other blogs in such as way as to make a "one-stop campaign site".
The trick? Categories. I use them on this page (on the left, under the dated archives), and on Cry Havoc I inserted them automatically -- it makes sense to categorize all the entries that could be made -- background, NPCs, logs, quotes, journals, etc.
Well, look what I suddently realized -- by giving all the players and the GM appropriate access, setting up the categories correctly, and letting them type away, we've got a single blog page whose archives will automatically grow, via categories, into a clean, slick campaign source-site of the type I built for TiHE, complete with authorship tracking and date stamps.
Bonus: I don't have to get email, copy/paste, htmlize, ftp, save, edit and maintain. Neither does anyone else.
Once the templates are in there, 'maintenance' is done and we're ready to go. A great way to build a dynamic, group-grown campaign page.
(Of course, you have to use something like Movable Type, but that's the price you pay. :)
I haven't put an entry in here for so long that MT has removed all my other entries -- too old. So here's the Halloween update.
I'm leaving for Portland tomorrow for Amber Con North West (ACNW). The con runs 3.5 days, and while I participate in a con or gameday almost every month, this will be my first AmberCon. I'm fairly excited.
Fairly.
Jackie has been wondering why I haven't been more psyched. Here's a few reasons why most people might get excited and why I'm not.
- I'm going to be staying with Jon. This should be fun. Should. I haven't seen Jon in 5 years, however, so who knows. Maybe it'll be awkward as hell. On the right hand, I'm really glad not to be shelling out another couple hundred bucks on a hotel room, on the left, I sort of feel as though I'm missing out on some of the ambiance of the con by not rooming where everyone else is. The coordinator is local to Portland, and even she is staying out there.
- I'm going to be going to Con. Big Deal. I go to Cons all the time. I GM weekly, and when I'm not running something, I'm thinking about running something, so I don't fit the profile for the typical Amber Gamer -- most of these guys are not in regular games, and this con is one of thier big chances to hang out with people who share thier interests, and like the same game they do -- ADRPG is a fringe community within a Fringe community, as such... not a big following. In Denver, with the active RPGA membership, Cons are monthy, normal, dare-I-say boring events. At least boring in the fact that they are happening. So I'm not psyched just because of the con.
- Meeting new people. That's great, unless I don't gel with the group of people out there. Might happen, might not. I'm not short of friends, and unlike some, I don't think that adding to the list is something one needs to work on day in and day out for your whole likfe. I'm comfortable with my current list of friends, and I'm not counting on AmberCon to help me out in this regard.
- Get to Travel. BFD. I do that all the time. It's not exciting, it's just work. Ditto staying in a strange bed, eating strange food, in a strange town -- all these are things that I associate with work, not play.
All that said, I am excited as much as possible, and I'm sure I'll be even more psyched once I get there and start meeting people and playing. Here's my schedule:
Arrive Portland, 2:40pm PCT, Thursday.
Reception -- Thursday, 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Slot 1 -- Thursday, 7 p.m. - midnight (Castle of Crossed Destinies)
Slot 2 -- Friday, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. (Christmas in Amber)
Slot 3 -- Friday, 2 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. (All Cats Are Kings (Meera is using Swift to run this!))
Slot 4 -- Friday, 8 p.m. - midnight (A Comfy Nights Stay at the Happy Crossroads Inn)
Saturday: nothing going on until...
Slot 6 -- Saturday, 7 p.m. - midnight (Skeletons in the Closet)
Slot 7 -- Sunday, 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (eXcessive Force: The Tentacle Files -- this is supposed to end at around 2pm instead -- I need to make a character up for this one, still)
Depart Portland, 6:30am (!!) PCT, Monday
These are the times when Jackie is glad to have the 85 lbs. Great Dane/Lab roaming the house. I've seen him pick out intruders... it's imposing.
The main slot on Saturday was going to be where I would run a game, but I signed up late, so I didn't get enough people signed up, so I'm open. There's a guy I know in Portland who wanted to get together for lunch, but other than that, I've got nothing going on (other than needing to write some stuff for NaNoWriMo.)
The Sunday slot usually breaks up and ends up dissolving into a socialization event at the Inn's bar -- I'm down with that, since my flight doesn't leave til the next day.
I just found my free round-trip flight voucher that expires at the end of the year, and tonight is the last official deadline day to register for AmberCon Northwest.
Hmmm...
I need to rattle Simone's cage and see if there's still room.
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