Thursday, August 28th, 2003

Time	Event
4:24p	Zelazny Properties For Games A handful of Zelazny creations that would make interesting game settings. Changeling/Madwand An interesting world with interesting descriptions of magic, travel between worlds, a battle between science and magic, and several conspiracies. I've always wondered what Zelazny planned to do with this setting after the revelations at the end of Madwand. Jack of Shadows. A world divided between night and day. Superstitious superscientists and machiavellian wizards. Players could be from either side of the world. Imagine a scientific expedition bent on exploring the dark side. Dilvish the Damned/The Changing Land The world that was the setting for Dilvish's epic revenge quest was full of the standard fantasy trappings, but with an interesting Zelazny twist. Certainly GMs could do a lot with it. ROADMARKS This one is just a given. Creatuires of Light and Darkness Zelazny created an interesting universe for this battle of gods and godlike beings. It would be interesting to see what players and GMS did with it. Doubtless there are others as well. One could do interesting things, at least as one-shot or convention games, with My Name is Legion, This Immortal, and. A Night in the Lonesome October. The first five immediately stand out in my mind, probably because I long ago plotted Ambercon games for those settings but have yet to find the time to run them. (3 Comments | Comment on this)
4:51p	Romance in Ill Met in Amber Recent in-game as well as OOC events have me thinking about romance in IMiA. And the thought is this: in IMiA, the romances are tragic. Consider the backstories alone. One player has had several lovers betray her or die or both. One player was married against her will. One lost a husband. At least one has had to kill a lover. At least one has betrayed a lover. Almost all are keeping secrets. Consider the relations with the Royals. One could be seen as jilting a Royal. One almost married a Royal. One had a Royal lover who is one of the dead that Corwin mentions. At least one is dating a Royal. At least one has a romantic interest in a Royal. In at least one instance, a Royal has an interest in a PC. To complicate matters, some PCs work for the Royals. Some PCs have an interest in another PC. Or in several PCs. Some are interested in non-Royal NPCs or married to NPCs or pursuing them or being pursued by them. It's a bloody soap opera. And I mean bloody in the literal and not British sense. This can only end in tears. Hearts are going to be broken. Lovers are going to be betrayed or die. Or both. IMiA is a swashbuckling game, yes. But from day one, I said it was swashbuckling Noir. I think recent IC events have begun to remind people of this. It's going to be interesting to see what choices they make. (3 Comments | Comment on this)
6:01p	ADVENTURE! Blame Arref for getting me started on this today. I was going to post settings/plots for the BABYLON 5 RPG, but... Five of my weird ideas for ADVENTURE! games. Metropolis This setting takes inspiration from both the Fritz Lang classic and the anime. Inspiration comes also from Alan Moore's Tom Strong, Promethea, and Top Ten. Visual inspiration comes from all of the above sources as well as episodes of the Batman Animated Series and the original designs for the 1989 Batman movie. Add a dash of the short story "The Gernsback Continuum" in here as well. The time is the present. The setting is a city that I will refer to as Metropolis in homage both to the classic Fritz Lang film and the stomping grounds of a famous Kryptonian. The city is huge and labyrinthine. Great towers reach into the heavens while power plants and industrial centers reach deep into the earth. Roads weave through buildings. Cable cars carrying both passengers and freight traverse the city on spider web of cables running throughout the great towers. Dirigibles, both passenger, and smaller police units, fill the skies. Computers are rare. Atomic research is a fringe science. There is an art deco feel to the place. Call the look retro-future if you like. WW2 never happened. The League of Nations still exists. Its peacekeeping forces find themselves deployed around the world to keep the fragile peace. The characters are your standard pulp lot. Scientists and explorers. veterans of the last League war. Those who have traveled abroad and learned great secrets other men were not meant to know. The adversaries to are the standard stuff of pulps. Evil businessmen exploiting the workers far below them. Insane scientists conducting forbidden experiments. Those who have long schemed to make their country great again. The world is a powder keg. Adventure can be found anywhere for those brave enough to seek it. Stalwarts and Steam An Adventure! series set in an alternate Victorian/Edwardian time. A time in which most of the great inventions/events described by Verne and Wells and Doyle occurred. Travel from England to India is expedited by passenger artillery. Her majesty has recently unveiled new shock troops-brutish animal-like soldiers created by Dr. Moreau. Brave and heroic PCs seek to protect the British Empire from a seemingly endless number of nefarious foes. The Fantastic The time is the Roaring Twenties. The world is celebrating the end of the Great War. One brilliant scientist is determined that he will take mankind from the gutter to the stars. He and a group of his closest and most loyal friends blast off into space aboard his amazing rocketship. when they return to earth, they are forever changed. They become the earth's foremost science heroes and protect it from incursions from lost worlds, mad scientists, insane foreign despots, and alien menaces. Yes, it's The Fantastic Four gone pulp. It's a good fit, I think. I know I'd like to see a pulp FF deal with Ming the Merciless. The Great Game: Pellucidar Imagine what would have happened if the world powers of the Victorian era had discovered the existence of Pellucidar. Each nation would scramble to mount expeditions and the Great Game would have a new playing field-one with dinosaurs. PCs are heroic explorers and loyal agents of the Crown (or whatever government appeals to you) finding adventure in the Hollow Earth. They contend not only with foreign agents and spies, but with natives and dinosaurs as well. The Great Game just got a little more dangerous. WW2 In the last days of the Nineteenth Century, the earth was invaded by hostile creatures from the darkest reaches of the heavens. Their great war machines leveled cities. Their heat rays and black smoke killed millions. Their red weed choked the very rivers. Then, just as suddenly, they fell. But their war machines were left behind. As mankind recovered, the surviving scientists took apart the great machines while the doctors dissected the alien horrors. They adapted the technologies to their own uses. They rebuilt the cities. And they made plans. For they knew that one day the enemy would return. .This time they would be ready. It's decades later. The enemy has not yet returned. Its time to take the fight to them and show them we are the true masters of the solar system. Heroic PCs battle alien agents on earth or lead the attack on the red planet. WW2 is, of course, War of the Worlds 2. I've threatened to run a variation of this game forever. The recent proximity of Mars got me thinking about it again. (4 Comments | Comment on this)
7:20p	"The Last Best Hope" The arrival of the third season of BABYLON 5 on DVD has me thinking of what I'd do were I to run a B5 game. Now, someday, I'll read the new B5 RPG. But as i have no players for such a game (and a dearth of player to begin with), I see no point in reading it now. Consequently, I have absolutely no idea what sort of games it suggests. though as the core book only covers up until the end of season one, I suspect there will be little overlap here. Though, i suppose it is possible. Valen's War The last Great Shadow War took place a thousand years ago. It was a very near thing. Were it not for the appearance of Valen and his allies, the war would have been lost. Fight the war as one of Valen's first Rangers. Or battle alongside Valen as a member of one of the few alien races allied with the Minbari. Visit Ikkarra and see the last invasion that lead to the Ikarran bioweapon supersoldiers being developed. See soul hunters desperately trying to preserve the souls of the countless victims of the war. Discover who created the knowledge symbiots. Bargain with the mysterious techno mages. Travel to Narn and witness the Shadows slay the mindwalkers. Help G'Quan drive them off his world. The war goes ever, ever on... PCs are Minbari fighting alongside Valen. Or aliens allied with the Minbari. Persuasive players might convince the GM to allow a human character. Perhaps not everyone got off Babylon 4 after all. Or perhaps Sebastian was not the first human agent of the Vorlons. Imagine the Vorlons recruiting a crusader or knight-errant and turning him against the soldiers of darkness. "The Lion of the Galaxy" with thanks to Jason Durall At its height, the great Centauri Republic held the entire quadrant in its clutches. The Republic is a haven for intrigue and adventure. The players are royal guards, nobles, and courtiers in the Centauri Court. Think of it as Dumas and Brust meet Babylon 5. "The Interstellar Alliance"/"Legend of the Rangers" Set any time from the end of season 4 on. An Interstellar Alliance ship travels the galaxy. In the wake of the Narn-Centauri War, Shadow War, the Minbari Civil War, the Earth Civil War, and the Narn-Drazi-Centauri War (end of season 5), the galaxy is in sad shape. Civilizations were decimated by these wars. Someone has to restore order and help rebuild. It's up to you. Characters can be of a variety of races provided they belong to the Interstellar Alliance or can somehow justify their presence. The ship could be a standard White Star or could be something unique like the Excalibur. Plots range from bringing relief to protecting colonists from raiders and dealing with remaining soldiers of darkness and Shadow weapons. "Warlock" You are the crew of the Warlock class Earthforce vessel under the command of Captain Susan Ivanova. Characters would be primarily Earthforce personnel unless they can justify their presence on a military vessel. The game would begin shortly after the end of season four. This allows GMs and players to explore the issue of just what the hell Ivanova was up to during season five. Pit Ivanova's crew against the mysterious alien marauders in "The View From the Gallery". Put her ship in Brakiri space for "The Day of the Dead." Put the crew in the awkward position of having to deal with rogue telepaths and freedom fighters and bring in Psi Cops to make it even more painful. Move the ship against the Drahk controlled Centauri fleet. A lot can be done just by exploring the backside of events we saw in season 5. "The Telepath War" Let's face it, JMS is probably never going to show it to us. let's do what we did with old Star Wars games and write the prequels ourselves. In the case of Star Wars, most of our game ideas are better than what we saw in the new films anyway. Make it big and epic and galaxy-spanning. Allow characters of various races, but the plot will clearly center around a confrontation between humans with telepaths and non-telepaths fighting for dominance. Lyta and Lennier both die in the Telepath War according to the Crusade series bible, so bring on the drama. "Crusade" Like the Telepath War, it's a safe bet that we'll never see the resolution of crusade. Though the execution was awkward (not entirely JMS' fault) some of the ideas were interesting . The original concept of Rangers scouring the galaxy and searching the abandoned cities of the First Ones had merit. Throw in the Great Machine as a search engine with a wacky and cranky operator and you have vast potential of sending players off to strange and desolate and dangerous locales session after session. You have a wide variety of character choices including aliens either belonging to the Interstellar Alliance and aiding the mission or interesting persons recruited along the way. "The Last of the Babylon Stations" Sinclair was in command for almost 2 years. Sheridan for about 3. Lochely for about 6 that we know of (season 5 spans a year and she's still in command in Crusade which takes place 5 years later.) The station was decommissioned about 10-15 years later. That's a lot of time we don't know about. Certainly, Lochely wasn't in command forever. So who was? A PC, that's who. The players make up the command staff of Babylon 5 sometime after the events of the first and only season of Crusade. Depending on how soon you change commanding officers, there is a lot going on. If its during the five year period in which Crusade was to take place, you have the Drahk plague and the search for a cure and the quarantine of earth. Babylon 5 will be a busy place. Even if you set it later, the Interstellar Alliance is still relatively new. Babylon 5 doesn't become redundant for years. Lots can still go wrong there. The characters can be Earthforce command staff or alien ambassadors. This is probably the campaign idea in which the characters begin the game with such obviously important roles. The above are just a few rough notes on just a few B5 game ideas I've toyed with. Were I actually running any of these games, I'd sit down and do a frightening amount of planning and plotting to give the game the proper epic feel. If only I had players. (3 Comments | Comment on this)
10:38p	More on IMiA I have a mental list of which NPCs and PCs should live and die were IMiA to run the course of the Patternfall war. I'm not bound to it. The PCs fates are not written in stone. They constantly surprise me. For example, an exploding table never occurred to me. Even the NPCs are not bound to their fates. They could manage to avoid their canonical fates if the players are daring enough. Likewise, I have an idea of which PCs and NPCs should be romantically involved and which PCs should be involved with each other. Some NPCs have agendas which involve romantically pursuing, for whatever reason, various PCs. I have no control over what the PCs do with each other or which NPCs their characters will suddenly find attractive. I'm not going to share the details, but I'll give broad and cryptically worthless hints. Arryl. I've long toyed with trying to start a romance between her and a certain NPC. I've recently thought of another NPC who I might like to throw at her. I know of one player who thinks their character should get together with her. Something I had also considered. Course, in some ways, I'm moving that PC towards another PC. Cassandra. My, she needs a romance, doesn't she? Whether she does or not, another PC or two has thoughts that way. The GM has thoughts that point her toward a PC as well. Hell, in a weirdness sequence, I've married her off to Reggie. I'm not sure Jenn will soon forgive me for that. Juliana. She's married to Phillip. What else does she need? Well, she's having to deal with Eric for the first time in centuries and the major obstacle to that relationship-Oberon-seems to not be in the palace. Oh my. Of course, certain PCs have long had plans for Juliana. Phillip has non-romantic plans for them. Phillip. He's married to Juliana. What more is there to say? O'Donovan. I think the character was conceived as having an NPC girlfriend, but i believe that's gone by the wayside. That's good because O'Donovan is so imminently eligible. There are a couple of PCs he'd be good with. Of course, certain NPCs may be making moves on him soon. Madeline. There seems to be sparkage with Forrester. Well, there is in weirdness threads anyway. Reggie. Please. Don't get me started. Same with Elyssa and Max. Hobart. Well, Garrett keeps making passes at the Captain. Course, her exes seem to end up dead or worse. And people say the Royals are dangerous. :-) Eric. Poor, poor Eric. Uneasy lies the head and all that. Having to deal with Juliana again. And having to work with her husband as well. One PC is considering eyeing him. Another is worried that they are being eyed by him. Right now, the NPCs are staying out of the blast zone. Bebe. Everyone seems to be after poor little Bebe. Though if it is for romance or something more sinister, only time will tell. Genvieve and Varien seem to be hooked up together and this seems to be either out in the open or a poorly kept secret. Though how serious either actually is about the other is open to debate. Though what happens with their relationship after the incident at the pub remains to be seen. Evelyn. Doubtless just happy no one has noticed her yet. Edmund. Formerly involved with a PC. Edmund is currently dead. Though he has appeared to a few PCs of late. Make of that what you will. Oberon. King not appearing in this game. Not involved with anyone currently. At least not that anyone knows about. Dworkin. Mage appearing even less than Oberon. Not really lacking for company. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Benedict. Happily for him he is not appearing at all in the game except for in weirdness threads. Unhappily for him, those do not go well for him. Case in point, Cassandra removed his arm. I suspect he had a better time when Lintra did that. His happy news is that so far that hasn't happened either. Deirdre. There is a suspicion that she has a past connection with Phillip. No one is talking. Fiona. Has something going with Max. Who knows what she is up to? Bleys. Recently alleged to have fathered three children in a brothel. Kids now missing. Mothers dead. Brothel burned. Bleys' reaction sure to be interesting. Random. Well, there was that little unpleasantness with Morganthe. Currently, he is in Texorami. See TO LIVE AND DIE IN TEXORAMI for those gory details. I'm trying to remember if there is a female PC in that game who HASN'T slept with him... (32 Comments | Comment on this)

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