Monster Slayers: Heroes of Hesiod

I found out about this via Penny Arcade - it is a rules-lite version of D&D for kids ages 6 and up who aren't ready for the full rules-set (and who is, really?)

I'm really glad that they did this - it is similar in a lot of ways to what I've been trying to do in simplifying D&D while letting it remain D&D. This is simpler than I'd like to play personally, but looks like it could really work (though I think 6 years old might be a little optimistic - then again, I don't really understand kids).

Here is the link to the PDF, available for download from Wizards of the Coast:

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/MS_HeroesHesiod.pdf

The artwork alone makes it worthwhile. Who knew a bullette could be so cute?

Woo!

Thanks to gifts I've recently received, I am now the proud owner of:

In A Wicked Age

The Day After Ragnarok

Chronica Feudalis

Steampunk Musha

and the one I'm probably most excited about, Brennan Taylor's new game

How We Came to Live Here

Between them, I am prepared to be excited, humbled and inspired. With any luck, I can also convince some people to play with me!

Considering Adventure Paths

I'm considering doing something I've never done before - running a pre-made Campaign module. I've sampled from commercial adventures selectively, and even used promotional materials when demoing a game for customers in a store, but never actually run a complete adventure (let alone entire campaign) that someone else wrote.

The reason for this is simple: I like my ideas better than other people's ideas. I've always enjoyed the hours in between each play session plotting what I will throw at my players and how to develop the story. Sacrificing that control for what I usually think are inferior ideas from "the professionals" was never appealing. Until Pathfinder.

To be clear, I'd still probably have the most fun running an original campaign in a system other than a D20 clone. However, I haven't been able to do any roleplaying AT ALL in nearly 18months primarily because I don't have the time to put that work in as a GM. Furthermore, if I can get a group assembled I'll be starting with players who have little experience and would feel most comfortable in a class D&D style of game. Put these together and it makes a pre-made module more appealing.

What pushes it over the top, though, is the insanely high quality of Paizo's Pathfinder Adventure Paths. One of my primary gripes about pre-made adventures in the past is that they were usually cookie-cutter dungeon crawls. Paizo has outdone itself with the depth and story, character and originality of these adventure paths. It is the first time I can ever recall flipping through an adventure and thinking "damn, I wish I'd come up with that idea!"

I'm still working on assembling the players, but I have a strong feeling that when I have got a group we will pick up one of the Adventure Paths and give it a whirl. My current leaning is Curse of the Crimson Throne, but we'll see what the group wants. I will definitely be reviewing the modules here as I run them.

MMA Detour After UFC 112 and Strikeforce: Nashville

This blog is primarily about games now, but I don't have another place to really post my thoughts after UFC 112 and the fiasco of Strikeforce in Nashville. Between the two events, I think that a lot of rethinking has to go into most top 10 ranking lists I see out there.

First off, Frankie Edgar beating BJ Penn is huge. It wasn't a stunning victory in and of itself, having gone to a decision, but remember that weeks before the fight everyone was looking past Edgar and talking about BJ going up to welterweight again to make a run for that title as well (assuming someone has wrested it from GSP's iron grip).

Last night on Strikeforce there were three summary dethronings of ranking favorites in three profoundly underwhelming fights. All three title fights went to a decision - the most exciting fight by far was at the end when the brawl broke out between the entire Caesar Gracie camp and Jason Mayhem Miller.

Aoki, Mousasi and even Dan Henderson each got thoroughly spoiled by their opponents, surprising many if rankings before Saturday are any measure.

Aoki was touted as the number 2 behind BJ Penn in the lightweight division (before Frankie Edgar of course). Mousasi was talked about ceaselessly, fitting into Strikeforce's apparent plan of having one dominant "name" fighter in each division and then feeding them outmatched opponents. Dan Henderson we all know - he left the UFC as the only man to win a round against Anderson Silva in that organization, and was signed by Strikeforce to be their new juggernaut after Jake Shields makes his essentially inevitable move to greener UFC pastures.

And then Strikeforce: Nashville happened.

Now Aoki is exposed as a fighter who was overwhelmed by Gilbert Melendez on the feet and on the ground. Mousasi's total lack of takedown defense was finally exploited for another decision defeat.

And, amazingly, Jake Shields kicked Dan Henderson's ass for four long rounds. He spent so much time in Hendo's mount that he could probably receive mail there. He lived there like there was a zipcode.

As far as I'm concerned, the stock for these three highly touted fighters plummeted Saturday.

In thinking about these events, I thought I'd try my hand at top 10 rankings of my own. Here goes nothing

Lightweight

1 Frankie Edgar

2 BJ Penn

3 Gray Maynard beat Edgar but I don't think he could beat BJ

4 Kenny Florian

5 Tyson Griffin

6 Sean Sherk still injured but would handle anyone below this point I think

7 Gilbert Melendez

8 Clay Guida

9 Shinya Aoki

10 George Sotiropoulos I think the sky's the limit for this guy and he will steadily rise

Welterweight

1 GSP

...again, a wide gap - except for Silva and Daley, his only possible challenges are rematches

2 John Fitch officially is in the "Rich Franklin" position, dominating everyone but the champ

3 Thiago Alves

4 Paulo Thiago

5 Josh Koscheck his explosive striking puts him above Shields, his wrestling puts him above Hardy and Daley

6 Jake Shields I have a feeling his stiff standup might mean a fall on this list, but embarrassing Dan Henderson when you're a natural welterweight is serious business

7 Dan Hardy

8 Paul Daley

9 Nick Diaz

10 Mike Swick

This lineup has some awesome fights between neighbors: Imagine Diaz vs. Swick, Hardy vs. Daley, Koscheck vs. Shields...holy crap those would be amazing fights

Middleweight

1 Anderson Silva

...this space is reserved for the huge gap between him and all others. I feel like 2 should be blank

2 Chael Sonnen vulerable to submissions so he'll lose to Silva after he drags him to the ground but what an entertaining Republican

3 Nate Marquardt

4 Vitor Belfort could probably knock Marquardt out, would probably be taken down by him - toss up, but Nate has a much better record

5 Jake Shields <--- natural welterweight; take that Dan

6 Dan Henderson beat Franklin, gotta go here

7 Rich Franklin still deserves standing in this division, even now

8 Vanderlei Silva

9 Yoshihiro Akiyama

10 Patrick Cote remember him? Healed and training and coming back soon for another run at the title

Light Heavyweight

1 Lyoto Machida here until he's defeated, sorry Rua apologists

2 Mauricio Rua

3 Rashad Evans because I think Evans will beat Rampage

4 Rampage Jackson

5 Anotonio Rogerio Nogueria

6 Anderson Silva yes, he's here too, and on his way up I don't doubt

7 Thiago Silva

8 Randy Couture

9 Jon Jones

10 Ryan Baeder

Again, amazing fights among neighbors. Jones vs. Baeder, Silva vs. Couture, A. Silva vs. Little Nog...goosebumps just thinking about it

Heavyweight

1 Brock Lesnar

2 Shane Carwin I won't be surprised if he knocks out Lesnar in the first round and we have a new beast at the top

3 Cain Valasquez

4 Junior Dos Santos is explosive like Fedor, trains with the Noguerias, and unlike Fedor, actually fights the best fighters in the world

5 Fedor Emeliananko nowhere near the top while popping open tomato cans in Strikeforce

6 Frank Mir

7 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria lost to Fedor and Valasquez so here he goes

8 Randy Couture

9 Fabricio Werdum in the tier under Fedor, outside of the UFC

10 Roy Nelson yes, Big Country. I think he'll prove me right

Changeling the Lost House Rules

In planning on running a Changeling the Lost one-shot, I've come up with some house rules which I think enhance the game and also simplify it somewhat. What Changeling the Lost has is a lot of great fluff and atmosphere and color. What it lacks is a coherent system, seeming as if each power and special ability was designed by someone who only had cursory contact with the other designers. This is my little attempt to not only add some flavor but also to change some of that.

First I wanted to change how Virtues work in Changeling. It makes sense to me that Changeling Virtues and Vices would be a little different from the Thomistic ones presented in the base system.

Virtues
Love/Romance: for the most part, romantic love (Love is everything)
Joy: pleasure and happiness for their own sake or for others (Follow your bliss)
Honor: filial piety, fealty (Honor is life)
Wisdom: seeking knowledge, teaching, learning (Mind is sharper than steel)
Balance: peacemaking, something like temperance (All things in measure)
Hope: inspiring others, defying despair (After darkness, the dawn)
Courage: self-sacrifice (Never surrender)

Vices
Hatred: (Destroy your enemies)
Pettyness: squabbling without a larger goal (Accept no disrespect)
Lust: (Take your pleasure)
Gluttony: (There is always more)
Sloth/Banality: (Let others risk)
Arrogance: (Humility is weakness)
Despair: (Hope is a lie)

Next I changed the blessing and curse for each Seeming

Seeming's Blessing and Seeming's Curse are both handled differently. Each Blessing has a constant effect that is usually a roll-again. The player can invoke their Curse against themselves at one critical moment to gain one extra Glamour per session. They can invoke their Blessing once per session at the cost of one Glamour.

Beast: 9 on Wits; spend Glamour to speak to animals for a scene; gain Glamour when instinctual urges impose a dice-penalty (equal to Wyrd)

Darkling: 9 again on Manipulation rolls; spend Glamour to manipulate shadows for a scene; gain Glamour when bright light enforces a dice-penalty for a scene

Elemental: shrug off one attack per session; spend Glamour for Wyrd in bonus Health for one scene; gain Glamour when penalized trying to socialize

Fairest: 9 again on Presence; spend Glamour to charm one target for a scene; gain Glamour when their Clarity falls and -1 dice to Clarity pool

Ogre: 9 again for Strength rolls; spend Glamour to double Strength for one roll; Glamour for penalty to Intelligence/Mental skills for a scene

Wizened: 9 again on Dexterity rolls; spend Glamour improvise a device or tool for one scene; Glamour for times when equipment malfunctions around you and imposes a dice penalty for a scene

Kith's Blessing

To call on these, you call upon your Kith and drop your Mein for a scene. You hope that the Wyrd takes care of people who might see you.

[Beast]

Broadback: ignore 'encumbrance', lift and carry much more than usual

Hunterheart: unarmed lethal

Runnerswift: +2 Speed, +3 to Athletics rolls for pure speed

Skitterskulk: Dodge to triple defense rather than double it

Steepscrambler: +3 to climb and can try to climb anything

Swimmerskin: hold breath for 30 minutes and swim at normal move speed

Venombite: once per session, make an unarmed attack. If it hits, the target is poisoned

Windwing: spend Glamour to glide, take falling damage every 15 yards instead of 5

[Darkling]

Antiquarian: 9 again for Academics and Investigation

Gravewright: Changeling can see ghosts for one scene

Leechfinger: drain one lethal to heal one bashing or lethal or downgrade one agg per session

Mirrorskin: +3 to Wits + Subterfuge disguise attempts, can mimic anyone s/he has met

Tunnelgrub: can fit through spaces others couldn't and roll Dex + Athletics to get out of bonds

[Elemental]

Airtouched: add Wyrd to Initiative

Earthbones: add Wyrd to Strength out of combat for a scene

Fireheart: 9 again for Wits for one scene

Manikin: learn Contracts of Artifice as favored, Craft without penalty untrained

Snowtouched: 9 again on Intimidation and Subterfuge for a scene

Waterborn: breathe water for one scene (and not! air)

Woodblood: 9 again for Stealth and Survival outdoors with growing things

[Fairest]

Bright One: light for a scene, can be brightened to impose -2 penalties (-4 to Darklings) for any targeting the Fairest for a scene

Dancer: 9 again for Expression and Socialize using dance and +1 when dodging

Draconic: one extra Health that functions like armor

Flowering: 8 again on Persuasion and Socialize

Muse: grant +2 for a scene to Craft, Expression, Persuasion, Socialize, Subterfuge

[Ogre]

Cyclopean: have one handicapped sense but gets 9 again on Wits perception rolls

Farwalker: 9 again on Stealth and Survival to travel and get around

Gargantuan: add Wyrd to Size for one scene, granting temporary Health and bonuses for contested Strength

Gristlegrinder: bite for +2 lethal after a grapple

Stonebones: Wyrd as armor for one scene, subtracted from Dexterity rolls

Water-Dweller: hold breath for 30 minutes, no perception penalties for seeing underwater

[Wizened]

Artist: 8 again on Crafts

Brewer: ferment a brew of Glamour in order to store it for later use - brews up to Wyrd score at any one time

Chatelaine: 9 again when depending on proper etiquette

Chirurgeon: 9 again on Medicine, can improvise medical tools

Oracle: once per chapter, can fortell one event

Smith: tinker with a tool to get a +1 equipment bonus from it for a day

Soldier: 9 again on Weaponry

Woodwalker: 8 again on Survival, can eat poisonous plants

Mantle functions differently:

Blessing of the Green: Gain extra Glamour when harvesting

Challenge of the Black Spear: Gain Glamour for defeating an opponent

Harvest of Whispers: Gain Glamour from things learned during a session

Feast of Ashes: Glamour to Willpower

-->all limited by Mantle level per session