Cat Theft - Not a Victimless Crime

For me 2022 went out with a bit of a Fuck You.  Some scumbags stole my Cat

Catalytic converter theft is a growing problem

According to farsight blog over 16,383 catalytic converter theft incidents were recorded in the first 7 months of the 2021, that's an average of 2,340 cats being pinched every month!  I am not one to play the victim and despite being fully insured, my car was written off as an uneconomic repair.  Which is all well and good, but there is still a financial impact to the unlucky owner in the unplanned purchase of a new vehicle.

Turn Adveristy into an RPG Plot Hook

I have to stay positive and think of a way I can turn this adversity into a positive.  How about a plot hook for a Judge Dredd game.  Enter nefarious music producer Simon Power.

He has been working on putting together a super-group girl band called Kat Kitten and the Power Converters and he just hasn't been able to get their sound right.  None of the band can sing worth a lick but he stumbled on a rare psychometric study which postulated that a cats meow at the right frequency has a psychotropic effect akin to mind control.  His plan is to add this mysterious M note to the band's song "Don't Stop By Me Now"  

His backroom boffins have isolated the particular cat's meow that he needs to fill his lineup and has despatched teams of audio analysts to track down the right cat for the job.  They have been prowling the streets of MC-1 secretly recording pet cats and passing on the owners details to a a gang of catnappers.

Catastrophe

These pet pinching perpetrators have been getting away scott free until one particular owner catches them in the act and tries to prevent her moggy from getting manhandled and she falls to her death from her apartment balcony.

Jocelyn Wildenstein / Mr. Blofeldt
Ugly Competitor / Pet Cat

The victim is one Jocelyn Wildenstein, a famous ugly pageant winner and the owner of a prize winning pedigree pussy named Mr. Blofelt who just so happens to have the magical meow that Simon Power is desperately searching for.  Needless to say the cat is missing.

Ms Wildenstein's death has escalated the case of the missing moggies to a capital crime and the Judges will need to enlist the aid of Tek Division best to trawl through the hundreds of cases and thousands of hours of video footage to find the connection between the victims.  Or MAC can do the same job in about 6 hours.

The cats are all different species but the one thing that they have in common is their meows are all within a particular frequency.  

Having a Psi judge in your patrol squad will be useful when reviewing any vid footage of the missing cats.

As a backdrop to this plot hook the holo ads have been running thick and fast in the last couple of days promoting the release of the debut single from Kat Kitten and the Power Converters.

Some Potential Encounters

Record Store Riots - If the Judges don't get the connection before the release of the single, it will be fairly obvious that something is untoward is going on when the record stores run out of copies of the single due to its immense popularity.  Riots break out between crazed fans of the band as they storm record stores.

Live Concert Catatonic Conversion - Kat Kitten are appearing at an open air concert playing the B-Side of their single "Stop the World I Wanna Get Off" when the crowd suddenly go catatonic.  Reports start coming in over the air waves of mass reports of muteness among the population.  

Pop Mogul Protection - A baying mob attacks Elton John Luxy Apts the home of Simon Power and he needs to be rescued.  Attending his apartment, eagle eyed members of the patrol will notice the odd white hair laying on the sofa.  A search of the apartment will find a stash of synthi-cat food (Mr Blofelt's favourite flavour Liver and Tripe) in his kitchen.  Power will of course claim that he doesn't have a cat at all and that this is part of his diet regimen and even eat the cat food to prove it.  

Power keeps his secret musical weapon close and caged in a secret closet in his bedroom.  A member of the patrol with an allergy flaw, exceptional hearing or a Psi Judge will be sensitive to the cat's presence.  Of course if Power is subjected to cross examination with a birdie lie detector he will eventually crack.

Rounding up the Catnappers - Powers will give up the name of the gang he hired to steal the cats.  The Eartha Kitt Krew are an all female gang of catburglers who specialise in high rise heists using jet packs, skysurf boards, bat-suits, climbing gear and sucker knee pads.  

Their turf is in the lower levels of Adam West Block. They won't come quietly and are particularly adept at Martial Arts and also protected by a contingent of well armed heavies from neighbouring gang the Robinhoods out of Burt Ward Block.

Encounter by Encounter - A Nodal Design View of a Campaign

Nodal Design suits my way of scenario writing and I have explained the concept in articles before but maybe what I have left on the table is a real world example.  

In 2019 I ran a Judge Dredd campaign "Tales from Mega City" for a small group of 4 Street Judges using the Starblazer Adventures game system.  The campaign spanned 11 sessions and whilst everyone had a passing familiarity with the two Judge Dredd movies that was about all they knew about Mega City 1.  In this example each encounter is a node with multiple paths or options to their next encounter. 

Session 1 - Encounter 1 - Sector House Briefing

The first encounter does a number of things.  It establishes some characters (namely Judge Belloch) some world lore (weather control, sector 55) a location (Loop Plaza) and two future events (the super duper loop unveiling, the fidget spinner race) which the PCs should be aware of.

The players get to choose which of these events they want to pursue.  Which one they decide to follow is immaterial as whilst they are on their way there they will experience the next encounter.  Whilst some might misconstrue this forced encounter as a form of Railroading, when done in a sidetrek style, the GM has not removed any player agency just introduced another immediate encounter.  In D&D this would probably take the form of a wandering monster encounter or a sidequest.  

Session 1 - Encounter 2 - Roadblock

Whilst heading towards their chosen destination via Megway 5535 (location) they observe 2 Judges who have set up a temporary roadblock.  The PCs decide to stop and chat with them but could easily have passed them by.  The PCs all make observation checks but fail and get back on their bikes and continue on to loop plaza.  This was an opportunity for players to make their first skill check and learn a little bit about the game system.  In my experience if you let players go too long without rolling some dice they become disengaged. 

Further down the road they players all get to make another skill check, this time it a Law check.  Judge Holmes passes and gets rewarded with the info that Judge White's left knee pad was on upside down.  Once again it is up to the players what they do with that information.  Holmes decides it warrants further investigation and they return to the scene of the roadblock.  

Session 1 - Encounter 3 - The Security Guards

When they arrive at the scene the Judges are gone but their Lawmasters remain. Two security guards flag the Judges down and tell them that the Judges White and Greene requisitioned their van and sped away up the off-ramp to Meg 5527.  The guards also mention that they forgot to tell the Judges that they were carrying an explosive cargo which is sensitive to shocks.  This introduces a sense of urgency to the proceedings.   

The players also make a successful Law roll which gets them the hint that this feels like a case of Judge Impersonation and Road Piracy, both serious crimes.  However, the Judges bikes are the real deal which means that there are two Judges to be found and that could be the far more serious crime of Judge Homicide.

This is a lot of exposition but it is vital information which might influence the choices that players make now the are faced with multiple options.  Do they protect the public and chase down the van?  Do they try to find the real White and Greene? Or do they take the bold step of splitting up and doing both at the same time?  

One player asks if they can put out an All Points Bulletin (APB) on the van and is rewarded with a solid YES.  They can now focus on the immediate task of finding White and Greene.

Session 1 - Encounter 4 - The Tyre Tracks

A cursory search of the nearby roadside shows a set of tyre tracks leaving the road and entering an overgrown patch of vegetation.  Buried in the undergrowth, out of sight, is a small town car.  Muffled cries can be heard from inside the trunk.  Opening the trunk reveals Judges White and Green bound, gagged and stripped down to their regulation underwear.  The Judges reveal that they were taken by suprise by 2 assailants and knocked unconcious.  

Meanwhile one of the PCs investigating the undergrowth spots a rustling in the bushes and goes to investigate.  Parting the branches of a shrub they briefly spot a flash of yellow but the area behind the bush is empty.  This mini event is a piece of foreshadowing and introduces a potential sidetrek involving Pokemon which that PC might choose to investigate at a later date.  Giving individual players their own sidetreks is a useful way of keeping them engaged in the game especially in a "Detective" style scenario where one or two players may be actively questioning Non Player Characters and others are just standing around.

The encounter ends with a call from Sector HQ informing the players that the van has been spotted entering a Through-Way near Thatcher Towers.  With Judges White and Greene found the GMs job is now to get the players back into urgency mode and on the trail of the Jimps and the explosives.  Keeping the players "on plot" by using things such as radio comms or telephone calls is a perfectly legitimate way of reminding them that events they had the choice of following up are still unfolding and now need their attention.

Session 1 - Encounter 5 - The Throughway and Thatcher Towers

When the players arrive they find the van parked awkwardly on the roadside.  The cargo hold is empty apart from 2 Judge uniforms.  Successful observation checks from the players (it's been a while since they rolled some dice) reveals 4 CCTV cams belonging to Thatcher Towers block with good views of the van.  This naturally leads them to make their way to the block security station and the CCTV recordings. 

When they enter the block at level 250 (GM: establishing the scale of Mega City buildings) they encounter the BREXIT political rally and that there is someone called Nigel.  This is another piece of foreshadowing of the real plot to the scenario but it is intentionally glossed over as just a bit of scene setting.  If the players get involved and try to break up the rally then I would have let them do so. 

When the players get to the security station and demand the tapes, the security guard tells them that they weren't covering the through-way because they were focusing on the BREXIT rally.  Whilst this is the GM effectively saying "No" to the players, it is the first time and it is backed up with a solid reason.  This is also an example of an event which Must Happen.  The trail of the missing explosives must go cold at Thatcher Towers because their recovery and the possible arrest of the Jimps might lead to future events in the plot timeline not happening. 

Before any of the players can react to this Judge Belloch's voice shouts at them through their radios demanding that they get to Loop Plaza pronto.  This ends the session nicely but also reinforces the idea that events are going on around them which don't stop happening because of the choices that they make.  These Timeline Events are always going to be experienced from the perspective of the PCs so you will need to be either flexible about when they happen or the way in which the PCs experience them.  This might in real time, via a news report or in third hand witness statements.  The event still happens irrespective of the players actions.  Similarly if the players had chosen to patrol the Fidget Spinner Race then the message from Sector HQ would have been to attend the race.    

When all put together the nodemap for this session looks a bit like this:

When designing the scenario from scratch you may go through this process multiple times as you focus in on what is important for each session. In fact having a node map at the macro level is useful.  What I like about this particular style of scenario design is that you only need to do the detail work for the encounters that are highly likely to happen.

For example, I knew that there could be a potential shoot out if the PCs chose to "chase the van" and so would need a stretch of Megway battlemap and a few vehicles.  However, this didn't take place so there wasn't much effort wasted and I could always reuse that battlemap another time in another session.  

Inspired by Swedish Dicks?

A bit of a click-bait title I admit, but if you haven't seen the Netflix detective comedy Swedish Dicks then you are missing out.

Specifically I am referring to the plot of the episode "Floyd Cal Who" in which Ingmar (Peter Stomare) and Alex (Johan Glans) are hired by internet dating app millionaire Dave (Haley Joel Osment) to find the hitman he hired to kill him.  

Years earlier, before his dating app went viral, Dave was depressed and decided to end it all but couldn't face doing it himself, so he hired a hitman.  Now a succsessful tech entrepreneur he has millions of reasons to live so he wants the hit called off.

I thought this was a really interesting plot line and one particularly well suited to the sci-fi genre.  It would easily convert to any cyberpunk / modern game and promises interesting play on a number of fronts:

• Potential "hit attempt" encounters.
• Investigatory encounters
• Chase encounters 
• Lots of tension

Oh and I nearly forgot to mention that Swedish Dicks features both Peter Stormare and Keanu Reeves who were last seen together in John Wick 2 (2017) and one of my favourite movies Constantine (2005).

Ingmar (Peter Stormare) and Tex (Keanu Reeves)

Amoebaman - A Plantman PC idea for your RPGs

I came up with a silly idea and had to post it otherwise I would forget I'd had it.  Clearly too much cheese was consumed that day.

Ameoeboids

These complex vegetable organisms are humanoid in shape and come in a variety of heights and classes.  they have all the same stats as humans.  Their one distinguishing feature is that they reproduce asexually.

Yes every time they level up they immediately split into two distinct life forms with the same stats, skills and memories.

Go forth my Son (or daughter)

Of course whilst it sounds like a fun idea, it presents a problem for the party if they keep on their new recruit.  If this lappens every level by 4th level (assuming that they all survive) their will be 8 versions of it and the party will keep growing exponentially.  The player will have to decide which to put to the sword and which of his children to cast out into the cold unforgiving wilderness.  Tough love indeed.

In hindsight perhaps to prevent this getting out of hand reproduction should be capped at twice per lifetime.

Not at all Thought Through

I cannot be held responsible for my creation if you should choose to use it in your game.  It could be an interesting Invasion of the Body Snatchers style plot hook though if you use it as a benevolent monster NPC type which can also assume the visage of an unwilling party member.

DC came up with the Amoeba Man idea first - dangitt!

Mega City Mini Plots

Here are three Judge Dredd RPG mini plots to go along with those Sci-Fi Street Funtiture scenery miniatures.

Vending Machine Rampage

When "Call Me Kenneth" led the robot revolution (progs 10 - 17) the vending machines stood dutifully by serving their customers with hot beverages and even hotter Man Chow.  When a system update breaks their programming these metal boxes go on the rampage with hilarious results.

We have to make them mobile and I like the idea that the vending machines of the future are autonomous.  When empty they sprout legs, wheels, tracks or whatever locomotive device and trundle back to the factory to be restocked and repaired.

Eyeball Icubes
you can Buy them on eBay

How do they kill?  Well that would be dependant on the vending machine.  Drinks machines will of course fire cans or streams of super hot synthi-caf from their dispensers.  Snack venders will scoop you in through their front door and spear you with those spiral dispenser coils.  An ice cube machine will chop you and then freeze you into bite size ice cube chunks.

Why are they doing this? What are their demands? Who made the bad code? - These are all questions your Judge team will need to find out.

Carnivorous Mutant Wigs

Mega City One has a long tradition entrepreneuers releasing new products with unintended consequences.  It could be anything.  Legendary hairpiece designer Baldnomeor is selling their latest toupees which are actually a cultivated creature from the Cursed Earth.  The hair conditioner they sell along with the wigs has a sedative effect on the creature. 

However, should you run out of conditioner or forget to apply it daily, these things will wake up.  They have a taste for human brains and they are very, very hungry.

It's possible that a bad batch of the conditioner has worked its way into the vending machine system meaning that thousands of follicly challenged Mega City One residents are at risk.

This plot hook is in no way shape or form inspired by Donald Trump rather than by a Hairy Jungle Flannel Moth Caterpillar photo which resembles his Toupee which I found on the interweb.

Megalopygid Trump by @Phil_Torres

Vending Machines are Witnesses Too

Not so much a plot and more of a statement of fact.  I conceive that in the future vending machines will have CCTV just like today where all ATMs (or as us brits call them "hole in the wall" cash machines) have CCTV cameras embedded in them.  They will use face recognition to identify their repeat customers and be programmed with Artificial Intelligence for small talk.

You might want to give them access to citizen's medical records in order to monitor their intake of synthi caffiene, sugar or other substances which might have a potential impact on their health.  Of couse they have access to all your credit details, unless you are one of those off the grid citizens who still pays with old fashioned plasti-creds, so can advise you on other tempting offers which could be delivered straight to your place of residence.

With all this technology and if we assume that they are mobile (as in the first plot hook) the Judges will not be surprised when they are doing a spot of desk duty and a vending machine trundles into the sector house to report a crime.

Co-VID-55 The Latest Reality TV Show in Mega City One

There's a hot new vid show sweeping the sectors of Mega City One.  

Celebrities on Video (CoVID) is a new idea dreamed up by those crazy folk at Spunko-Pop.  The idea is simple it's a reality Vid show where celebrities are the stars but they don't even know it.

The producers fit every room with a secret hidden camera and you tune into your favourite celebrity and watch the action with hilarious consequences.

It's got everything...

Crime

Watch as your favourite celebs commit crimes all from the comfort of their own home.  How does Starlet O'Hara stay so young looking she's 85!  Well she's got a stookie hidden in a room behind a secret wall and she's glanding that poor alien like tomorrow was yesterday. 

Sex

On screen heartthrob Oscar Weiner is a huge hit with the ladies but behind closed doors he's a pansexual mutie from the Cursed Earth.  This guy can't get enough of it and his particular kink is getting it on with innanimate objects.  You'll be amazed and disgusted with what he gets upto with his partner in adventure Talkie the Talking Toaster.

Murder

It's gonna happen sooner or later.  Your favourite celeb gets offed live on camera.  We don't see the killer but there's plenty to watch in the aftershow spin off show Portrait of a Murderer.  Watch as we follow the Justice Department attempts to track down and get their man (or woman (or robot)).  Think your neighbour did it then call in and rat them out.  Take part in our "shot for shot" crime scene re-enactments. (Disclaimer: participation is done at your own risk and Spunko-Pop do not accept liability for any injuries or death).

Catch it Live

With this much going on its only a matter of time before it gets shutdown by Johnny Law.  Subscribe today for the low low price of 99.95.

Space Travel Plot Ideas

Inspired by Chris Treganza's recent post over at 6d6 here's another take on his 5 Ways to make Space Travel More Interesting

JMC Curry Carton by P2P via Deviantart

The Computer is Not our Friend

Travelling through hyperspace can do strange things to people but even stranger things to computers.  Even something as simple as the corruption of the crew file can lead to deadly consequences when the computer enacts its hi-jacking defence protocols after being boarded by what it thinks are unknown biological entities.

Upgrade Gone Wrong

Spaceship captains are reknown for their use of percussive maintenance and for begging, borrowing or stealing vital components and upgrades for their ships.  What would happen if they replace their computer with an upgraded version never meant for their ship.  Imagine how you would feel if you woke up one day in a body that wasn't yours, the familiar feel of your weapons arrays replaced by a chicken soup vending machine.  You'd have a mental breakdown wouldn't you.

Mirrorship

Their last trip through hyperspace was a strange one, the crew feel all twisted about inside, but weirder still is the fact that everything they know to be familiar is flipped, like a reflection in a mirror.  The computer voice is unintelligible everything is written back to front.  Up is down and right is left, how will they cope? is the damage permanent?  Fortunately the side effects of an Arcturian Brandy hangover only last for 12 hours but all sorts of things can go wrong by then.    

The N Space Worm

Coming out of hyperspace with a thunk the crew find that they've landed on a strange swamp planet full of dangerous life forms.  It wasn't on any charts and the computer can't get a fix on their position because there's no stars or anything to act as reference points.  The external sensors are off the charts with biological life, it's almost like they've landed on a Genesis world.  How long before they realize they're inside the stomach of an N Space Worm which swallowed them in hyperspace? Cue the Fantastic Voyage...

N Space Burglars

The crew wake up from hyperspace to find that they've been burgled.  The ship's computer has a gap in its memory, and they've lost some vital cargo and equipment, for god's sake they've even pinched the captain's chair.  Good thing those cargo pods have trackers on them. 

The Droste Effect: Has anyone used it in a game?

After downloading Tiles of the Dead: Games Room (Crooked Staff Publishing), I'm now thinking about running a one session game devoted to the Droste Effect.

Packaging for Droste Cacao

What is the Droste Effect?

Simply put the Droste Effect is a particular form of recursion when an image appears within itself.  It is named after a Dutch brand of cocoa powder which used the effect in it's advertising but has been used by artists from M.C.Esher to Jan Van Eyck for hundreds of years. 


Scenarios which use a Droste Effect are largely going to be dependant on the exact characters in the game but everyone needs at least two things:

• A Focus - This is essentially a portal to each level of recursion, deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole.  The floorplan I mentioned above has a typical RPG table (complete with character sheets) which acts as its focus, but this could just as easily be a photograph (or a woodcut) on a mantlepiece, a window or even the PC's own shadows cast in their torchlight. 
  
  Whatever you choose, as soon as the players notice the Droste Effect in the image then they should feel that the world has gone a bit wonky for a moment.  How long it takes for them to work out that this a'int Kansas anymore depends largely on how obvious you make the differences between realities or how quickly the next recursion happens.
  
  
• A Pivot Point - The Droste Effect revolves around it's pivot.  Locate the pivot point within the scenario and the players just have to work out what the correct outcome is and "hey presto" the Droste Effect will resolve itself and the world resets with no lasting effects on the PCs.  Get it wrong and you need to find the focus again and enter the next level of recursion.

Some Scenario Ideas

Mirror, Mirror - A great way of introducing a Droste Effect into any game is to use a mirror as portal to a mirror universe.  PCs will find that adventures in a mirror universe will have a peculiar set of complications; backwards writing, driving on the opposite side of the road, guns with ejection ports on the other side throwing hot casings into your eyes, you can see where I'm going with this.

Evil Kirk - Throw the players off by replacing one of their PCs with an Evil version of themselves.  To make it harder for them to spot, just replace one of their personality traits with it's diametric opposite.  Your normally grumpy or pessimistic Dwarf, becomes cheerful and eternally optimistic, just see how long they can last before they drag him kicking and screaming back to where he came from.  The pivot for this could be that all the PCs have to become Evil for the Droste Effect to collapse.   A more sadistic DM would make sure that injuring your Evil counterparts had some sort of penalty like reflective damage.

Uppa, Groundhog Style - Whatever the genre, the groundhog day scenario forces the players to repeat their actions until they hit on the right solution (aka the pivot).  This could become tiresome for players until they work out what the pivot is, so make sure that you let them fast-forward through the non-relevant bits.  This is probably the closest to a traditional Droste Effect as each day is one level of recursion.

Everyone is Everyone Else - When the PCs encounter the Droste Effect, make each of them pass their character sheets to the player on their left.  They must now try to play the character in front of them in the style of the characters owner.  Best played in an established group where no-one takes themselves too seriously.  Each time they encounter the Droste Effect they pass their character sheets to the left until everyone has had a turn, the pivot for the scenario is simply that everyone must play everyone else until their original character sheets come around.  Of course once they work this out they will try to quickly resolve the Droste Effect by "Goal Hanging" so you make it harder by moving the focus around making it more of a treasure hunt.

One of our PCs is missing - Each time the PCs encounter the Droste Effect one of their number is missing and they will remain trapped in this Droste until they locate the missing PC.  You could rehash another meme (Final Destination), by making the missing PC die in interesting ways just as they are found, thereby triggering a new Droste Effect.  The pivot is that you must prevent the missing character from dying.

Have you tried it?

If you have any ideas, suggestions or experience of using the Droste Effect in your own games, feel free to comment below.

The Arnolfini Marriage
(Jan Van Eyck 1434)

close up of mirror, inscription reads
"Jan Van Eyck was there 1434"

Goodbye to all that

As a child growing up in the North of England in the 80s, it was hard not to have an opinion about Margaret Thatcher aka The Iron Lady.

Her funeral today marks the end of an era and demonstrates her ability to divide the nation as much in death as she did in life. 

Many words have been printed and broadcast about the issues surrounding protests (both physically and via iTunes) at her funeral in the last few days.  This had me thinking about using it as a situational plot in RPGs.

The Funeral of a Divisive Figure

The PCs are in a large town or city (doesn't have to be the Capital) in the day(s) preceding the funeral of a divisive figure.  The city officials (or family) have decided to mark the funeral with great pomp and circumstance and at significant cost during harsh times which has resulted in unrest amongst certain population groups.

• Protestors Plans - The inn in which the PCs are staying is also being used by a group of protestors planning their direct action.  The PCs overhear significant amounts of information which would be of use to local law enforcers tasked with keeping the peace.  PCs might also wish to give the protestors the benefit of their experience during the planning process, act as messengers to feed information to the public, or disinformation to law enforcers.
  
  
• Taking Sides - Depending on the role the divisive leader has played in the PCs lives, they may choose to abandon their party loyalties temporarily and join the ranks of the protestors and/or the law enforcers.  Warning, this may result in PCs being pitted against each other.
  
  
• Caught in the Crossfire - The inn in which the PCs are staying becomes the target of rioters attention and the inn keeper asks the patrons to defend his establishment.  For added peril, make one of the inn's guests relevant in some way to the deceased.
  
  
• Patron Escort - A chance encounter leads to the PCs being hired by a patron who needs escorting through one of the cities protesting hotspots.  The patron's identity may be unknown to the PCs but of relevence to the divisive leader and the protestors (ie: the deceased's heir or close relative, their right hand man, their biggest critic or opponent, their lawyer, the priest officiating at the funeral).  The patron's final destination could also be of relevance to the days events, feel free to have the PCs charge headlong into a state funeral pursued by a mob of angry protestors.
  
  
• Exit Stage Left - The PCs could stumble upon the truth that the divisive figure is in the process of attempting to stage their own public funeral to avoid past consequences.  The divisive figure turns patron, offering the PCs hansom reward if they can facilitate their safe egress from the city.  Equally useable if you prefer the figure to be loved by the people who form a lynch mob on learning about their idols deception.  Do the PCs handover the individual to the mob or aid their escape?

Enjoy...

Two Birds, One Stone

Buy it on eBay

On Good Friday I stepped into the breach to run a filler game whilst our regular DM was absent, and I used the opportunity to complete two firsts.

One was to run a game of TOON RPG, which I enjoyed playing for the first time a few months back, at Dragonmeet 2011 and the other was to attempt to GM my first session using an iPad.

TOON

Having only played TOON was no real barrier to GMing, but I did kind of struggle with writing the scenario until I found THE TOON ADVENTURE GENERATOR in my copy of TOON SILLY STUFF. 

Clearly, I was overthinking this whole thing and as I recalled the game I played, the players pretty much drove the whole plot with their character choices and actions. 

With this in mind I just came up with the plot synopsis:

Save The Cows Save The World The PCs are all farmyard animals who have to save the cows on their farm from being rustled by an invading Martian with a penchant for strawberry milk shakes.  - Download it Today

I grabbed an image of a farmyard from googleimages and drew a rough map in inkscape to give the players an idea of what was on the farm.  This then gave me enough to start fleshing out some of the zones to give the players enough ammunition (literally) to see off the bad guys.  This was then converted into a PDF and loaded onto the ipad. 

A quick search of the interweb rustled up MP3s of the opening and closing credits for Looney Tunes which would help get my players into the mood.  I also stumbled on a great site with some free sound effects (http://www.freesfx.co.uk/) which I hoped to use during play and these were installed in the usual way via iTunes.

Using the iPAD

I've been trialling a few RPG apps on the iPad (which I'll cover in another post), but the most useful ability is to read and annotate PDFs and after a few false starts I found eDocReader Multiple PDF.  As the name suggests this app allows you to open multiple PDFs at the same time as tabs in the same application, allowing you to have a copy of the rules open as well as your scenario.  The simple annotation tools enable you to make notes directly onto your scenario by either typing or writing with a finger or stylus.

The Experience

The game ran very smoothly which was surprising as all my players were TOON newbies, but from the opening credits to the "that's all folks" they let their imaginations run riot.  The PCs were a duck billed platypus in search of a mate, a dumb but incredibly fast guard dog whose kennel sat atop a subterranean hi-tech lair, a machinating pig who had been ordering ACME products for years and last but not least a bull whose sole mission was to impress the 5 dairy cows with his muscle poses.

All the classic cartoon capers occurred; the pig dressed up as a female Martian to woo the bad guy into eating strawberry looking grenades, the bull became enraged by anything red and broke open the yellow barn to reveal an Indiana Jones style warehouse full of ACME crates, the platypus dropped a gigantic fake bomb on the pond squishing the piranha and the dog and his Martian double ended up having one of those cloud fist fights.

However, the playback of MP3s in the Music app was troublesome, particularly having to stop the iPad from playing the entire playlist.  There are lots (and I mean lots) of SFX pad apps in the appstore but no free ones that allow you to allocate your own custom sounds to buttons as triggers (please correct me if I'm wrong).  I am also on the hunt for ways of embedding sounds into my scenario PDFs so I can play them back from within the PDF Reader as I read out the relevant description text.

Although this first experience wasn't an unquallified success, the main advantage with the iPad is that you can GM with just an iPad and a few player handouts, so the days of carrying whole libraries of books around with you everytime you want to run a game are definitely over.  My new motto from now on will be "Have iPad... will GM".

Judge Dredd: New Crazes Part 1

The unemployment rate continues to peak at 87%, and so in our latest column were going to look at some of the newest crazes to sweep the streets of in Mega-City One.  Let's just hope they don't end up in our readers being swept off the streets.

Anti-Grav Base Jumping

Most of you will have one of those boring old Anti-Grav Chutes in a closet somewhere in case of a fire in your block.  Well the kids down at Keanu Reeves Heights have been putting them to good use with their new extreme sport of Anti-Grav Base Jumping.  They just strap on a chute and hurl themselves off the top floor of the block.  Spotters below track their progress and jumpers score points equal to the Block level number that they pass when they pull their chute.  The jumper with the lowest score wins, but don't forget to pull your chute or you'll be painting the ped-ways red.

Scratch-n-Laff

Those crazy guys at Channel 666 have come up with a new Tri-D comedy show called "Die Laughing" which promises to be the latest hit in really real TV.  Participating viewers use the patented Scratch-n-Laff cards at the indicated points in the show and if your chuckle volume beats the score on the Chuckleometer then you win big prizes.  Guaranteed to be a hell of a show, so make sure you sign up with the 666 team and get your Scratch-n-Laff cards today.

Star Blazer Adventures Random Scenario Generator, or How I Wrote a One Session Scenario in 30 minutes.

I was scheduled to be playing a one session scenario last night when I received an e-mail that the GM had pulled out at short notice due to illness.  In a moment of madness with 3 hours till I had to jump in the car, I offered to GM the slot with a Star Blazer Adventures (SBA) game.  2 hours of random internet surfing later I decided I'd better write the scenario.

Fortunately chapter 25 of SBA's monster 627 page rulebook contains a plethora of random tables to help you generate ideas for your games.  The results of my rolls were:

Mission 1		Mission 2
Mission Nature:	Corporate	Mission Nature:	Diplomatic
Objective:	Industrial Espionage	Objective:	Hostage Negotiation
Complication:	Military Intervention	Complication:	Travel Difficulties
Who:	Mobster	Who:	Alien Race
Reason:	Mistaken Identity	Reason:	Training

Nothing immediately flowed from this so I decided to break the scenario down into 4 scenes and roll randomly for each:

Scene 1		Scene 2
Location:	Town / Village	Location:	Stock Exchange
Bad Guy Encounter:	Traitorous Politician	Bad Guy Encounter:	Corrupt Soldier
Good Guy Encounter:	Unexpected Ally	Good Guy Encounter:	Enemy of My Enemy
Reason:	Heresy	Reason:	Past Embarrassment
Scene 3		Scene 4
Location:	Hostile Fleet	Location:	Refinery
Bad Guy Encounter:	War Criminal	Bad Guy Encounter:	Murderer
Good Guy Encounter:	Judge	Good Guy Encounter:	War Criminal
Reason:	Blood Feud	Reason:	Recent Defeat

Putting Meat on the Bones

By now the creative juices had started to bubble now so I decided to select parts of the random generated scenes above and began to flesh out my scenario:

Scene 1 - The PCs are the crew of a Star Patrol cruiser currently stationed on Zorb 3 and investigating the disappearance of some medical supplies which have been misappropriated by the  corrupt Mayor of the town.  During the course of this first scene the PCs are alerted to an incident at the planetary stock exchange and immediately re-assigned to investigate.

Scene 2 - The PCs arrive at the stock exchange in the planetary capital only to find that an assault has taken place and a prominent corporate figure has been kidnapped.  A snatch squad has blown a huge hole in the side of the building and made their escape in a warp capable freighter.

Scene 3 - The PCs exit a warp corridor into the middle of the Mercenary Pirate fleet of Desiderous Black, disgraced Star Patrol Officer and War Criminal.  They are engaged and end up flying their crippled cruiser into a hanger of the pirate fleet's flagship The Medusa.

Scene 4 - The PCs land at a refinery on an uninhabited world where they attempt to rescue the corporate hostage in a final showdown and capture the terrorists with the aid of the War Criminal Desiderous Black.

Scene Transitions

Clearly these scenes needed fleshing out, which would occur during play, but more importantly, they needed transitions from one scene to another:

Scene 1 > Scene 2 - During their journey from the town to the stock exchange they narrowly avoid a collision with a blue and yellow freighter which is heading out of the capital.

Scene 2 > Scene 3 - The PCs hastily follow the jump coordinates of the fleeing freighter without knowing where the warp exit point is located.

Scene 3 > Scene 4 - Desiderous Black reveals that he is in fact still a loyal member of Star Patrol and has been on a deep cover mission to wrest control of the pirate fleet away from its rag tag band of mercenary captains and to use its immense power covertly in situations where Star Patrol cannot operate publicly for political reasons.  With the mission now complete he wishes to "come in from the cold" and going off on a wild goose chase following the promise of hostage treasure is a credible escapade which befits his reputation in the the eyes of the other pirate captains.

How it Played Out

The game began at 7:30pm and finished at 2:00am which is quite long for a one session scenario, but fair considering that I had no pre-gen PCs and the players are relatively unfamiliar with the slightly obtuse character generation process that the game requires.

Scene 1 - The PCs were in the town running computer checks on the batch numbers of the medical supplies with the assistance of a low level admin clerk who refused to give anything other than minor assistance as he was in fear of losing his job.  They successfully identified the serial numbers which had been tampered with and eventually the identity of the user involved.  However, they triggered some file alarms which resulted in the Mayor making a run for it in his hover-limousine.  The PCs gave chase and attempted to communicate with the occupant of the vehicle but in-advertantly caused it to lose control and crash.  Whilst they inspected the wreckage for the body of the Mayor, he slipped into the cargo bay of their cruiser unnoticed.  They were in the process of recovering the medical supplies from the wreck when the call came through to re-assign them to investigating the incident at the stock exchange.

Scene 2 - On their way to the scene, they narrowly avoid the freighter as they enter the emergency lane splitting the cities incoming and outgoing air-traffic.  When they review the external security footage they realise that the freighter used in the incident is the same one they encountered on their way to the stock exchange.  They use up some fate points to make plot declarations ensuring that they have access to the jump coordinates for the fleeing freighter.

Scene 3 - Coming out of warp they are attacked by five fighters and although they attempted to jump straight out of the situation, I frazzled their warp coils with some treknobabble about warp static.  They engage the fighters and without suitable heavy weapons themselves attempt to use the enemies own missiles to cripple the flagship.  They succeed in punching a hole inside the hull of the ship but resist the temptation to crash their vessel into the hole, seeking the safety of a conveniently located hanger on board.  With the warp coils frazzled they need to locate suitable replacements from onboard the enemy flagship and assemble an away team to go investigate.  During this mission the away team is captured and the star patrol ship boarded.  Desiderous Black reveals his secret to the Star Patrol Captain PC and offers to assist by accompanying them for the final leg of their mission on board the captured Star Patrol vessel Aggamemnon.

Scene 4 - This was a straight up dungeon bash inside the atmosphere refinery where I gradually whittled down the Pirate Captain's lackeys until only the PCs and Black were left.  The PCs located the corporate hostage who was tied up and swinging from the claw of an overhead crane whilst the kidnappers leader laughed maniacally from its controls.  Getting the tension just right was key and when the leader was killed there was a chance that the mission would go pear shaped resulting in the death of the hostage.  One of the PCs was playing a mysterious alien with a secret "fugitive time traveller" aspect and I allowed another PC to trade a fate point in order to tag this thereby saving the day.

Things I Would do Differently

Overall the exercise was a big success, but the bulk of time wasted during the session occurred during character generation and it's something I've seen players struggle with before.  The freeform concept of aspects and legends and the complex list of skills is a little daunting to first time players and not at all helpfull if you are putting on an impromptu game.  What would be useful is a set of archetypes with all the stat blocks filled in for a wide range of standard space opera types such as the crew of a star patrol ship, a bounty hunter, a law enforcement robot... etc... etc... (sounds like a project for the New Year...).

Merry Christmas everyone.

Coinage, Nationhood and the defacto Gold Standard

Irrespective of your particular flavour of FRPG the Gold Piece is one of the defacto fantasy standards, and is accepted the world over (whichever world it is that you play in).  The implicit reliance on a Gold Standard, the intrinsic value of gold itself, means that a GP acquired in one nation has an equivalence to one acquired somewhere else ensuring trade is not stifled and that PCs can still buy what ever they need irrespective of what nations coinage they choose to use.

But what if that wasn't the case, some interesting plots and fun could be had from playing around with the Gold Standard and the ubiquity of the GP

1.  Gold is Commonplace - The Gold Standard only really works because gold is rare and therefore valuable.  In a society where gold is commonplace its value will be reduced and some other rare commodity will take its place.  This concept is explored to a degree in post-cataclysm Dragonlance where steel currency replaces gold.  However, this is the case throughout Krynn rather than just single region.  Consider a party visiting a nation which has access to vast amounts of gold (like the conquistadors encountering the Atecs), the PCs will no doubt struggle at first and will need to convert their existing wealth into whatever is used as the local currency.  Greedy PCs might try to exploit the difference in commodity prices by frequent trips across the border which could bring them to the attention of local law enforcement or worse border bandits.

2.  Not Legal Tender - Imagine that two bordering nations are in dispute over something or other and their respective governments refuse to accept their neighbours coins as legal tender.  A coin minted in one nation does not automatically become worthless on the other side of the border, as it still has an intrinsic value thanks to the gold standard, it just becomes really hard to spend it and stay the right side of the law.  Local law enforcement may be on the lookout for strangers trying to infiltrate or subvert the locals with coins from across the border.  PCs may be forced to turn to the blackmarket in order to buy simple provisions.  They could even be approached by criminals offering to launder or re-mint their illegal coinage for a fee.

3.  This gold's been watered down! - We've all seen those pirate movies where a character tests a coin by biting into it.  This crude form of assaying tests that the coin has the correct amount of gold in it, but if a nation state changes the amount of gold in its currency this be reflected in the gold standard for that currency.  For example Nation X is going through tough times financially and its unscrupulous leader decides to change the gold content in the GP it mints.  Everything goes swimmingly until import prices start to go up and the population is in revolt.  Enter the PCs with a fat wedge of foreign "pure" gold and suddenly the corrupt local sherrif is looking at ways he can relieve them of their burden and smelt it down for a fat profit.  However, the local sherrif might be the least of their problems if the Thieves Guild's coin clippers and forgers find out that they're loaded.

4.  Ripped Off! - Wandering into a town over the border can get PCs into all sorts of trouble when they are trying to spend unfamiliar coin with the local merchants and their chances of getting ripped off increase dramatically.  Any difference in size or shape of a coin will result in differences in the coins value and exchange rate.  One nation's GP might be twice the thickness of anothers and therefore worth twice as much.  The first time they get a handfull of change, they might be pleasantly surprised or falsely accuse a merchant of ripping them off. 

5.  Accused of Forgery - The Gold Standard ensures that the intrinsic value gold is preserved but that doesn't mean that the local merchants gleefully accept foreign coin and trust it like their own.  They might try to take advantage of the situation and accuse the PCs of forgery, particularly if they are using coins acquired from a distant land and not a neighbouring one.  If the case goes to trial the local magistrate may be in on the swindle.  This is also where an Adventurers or Merchants Guild can provide a valuable service to its patrons by operating a coin exchange program, for a fee of course.

Scenario Writing: Non-Linear Plots and Node-Based Design

A fine post from Justin (The Alexandrian) about Advanced Node-Based Design with respect to scenarios made me realise that I'd been been doing this for years without realising that there was a formal theory surrounding it.  In an earlier article I described some of the techniques I've used to write linear plots, which can also be described in this node-based design approach like this:

Although the example is deliberately simple it demonstrates how taking this approach can and does prepare you for almost any eventuality and may even reap rewards in the design stage by focusing your writing (in a similar way to a mind map) and offer other plot possibilities that you hadn't thought of initially.  Why does the patron want the artifact? Can it be used to control the Evil?  Was the patron behind the event which threatened the PCs life?

However, this node-based design approach works best with non-linear adventures, particularly those where investigation is required and the DM has left clues which send the PCs off in one direction or the other as in this example:

Again the deliberately simple diagram above only details Two Clues per node and I cannot reccomend enough the importance of following The Three Clue Rule lest your scenario grind to a halt in a choke point.  However, as you can see, the PCs may take any route through the scenario they choose and you will have already done the hard work of designing each node in advance and be prepared for most eventualities.

As Justin quite rightly points out these do not have to necessarily be clues, they can be events, objects or rumours which PUSH players into moving to the the next node or equally their desires can PULL them in a particular direction.  It's quite fun to watch your players sweat over equally enticing possibilities or for them to choose what they think is the easy option only for it to turn nasty.

Dinosaurs, Myths, Monsters

This was the title of a fascinating programme on BBC Four in which historian and novelist Dr. Tom Holland charts the alternative history of Paleontonlogy.  

 

The premise being that the fossilised bones and footprints which make up the fossil record have been misinterpreted by different cultures across the ages, from the early Chinese Dynasties through Ancient Greece to the Victorians.

I was aware that the origins of many western dragon myths lay in the discoveries made by earlier civilisations, but not in any level of detail.  The Greeks believed that they were descended from the Gods and Titans and that paleontological evidence uncovered during this age was ascribed not just to mythical beasts but to the Gods and demigods themselves.  Holland recounts that the successful conquest of the city of Tegea by the Spartans who recovered a Mastodon leg bone which they mistook for the leg of the giant hero Orestes.

Every bestiary I've ever read has had it's fair share of mythical beasts or giant this, that and the other, so much so that that you don't think twice about their origins.  Players also take for granted that if their patrons say their village was attacked by a dragon, they ask "did you see what colour it was?"  This blase approach to the origins of mythology got me thinking about some plot options which I could throw at my players.

Leg-endary Hero 

The villagers have long revered their most treasured artifact a leg bone of a giant hero which they keep in their long house and bring out on feast days.  During one such feast day, the village is attacked by a dragon who has caught the scent of the bone and swoops down to attack right in the middle of the festivities.  The hero's leg bone is in fact that of another dragon which even though it is hundreds of years old, still contains plenty of tasty marrow.  

 

For the PCs there's a village to be saved, a dragon to be hunted and a precious artifact to be recovered.

Skeletal Jigsaw 

A scholarly wizard contracts the PCs to recover the final piece of his paleontological puzzle which he has pieced together over many decades.  He is now far too old to go digging around in the mud himself and pays handsomely for the party to recover and escort the bone from the dig site to the university where it will be installed along with the other bones in a reconstruction of a giant mythological beast.  Unfortunately the wizard has gotten his reconstruction all wrong and has put the bones together in the wrong order.  

 

When the all the pieces are in place, the mage has unwittingly reunited the bones of some terrifying ancient magical beast which rearranges itself in its correct configuration before going on a rampage.

RMS Titanic

Less of a fully blown plot more of a plot outline suitable for a one or two session Steampunk or Alternate History game.

The PCs are a mix of passengers and crew aboard the RMS Titanic on it's maiden journey from Southampton to NewYork when it finds itself on a collision course with an iceberg.  The captain and crew give the iceberg a wide berth only to find some hours later that the iceberg is following them.

The iceberg is infact the cleverly disguised ocean going mothership of the twisted genius Fu Manchu who launches his attack on the Titanic in the guise of manned mini submarines.  These small submersibles are designed to punch a neat hole in the side of the ship and disgorge their contents, blood thirsty Malay pirates, into the bowels of the ship and take it over from the inside out.

The PCs must:

• overcome the pirates
• discover what Fu Manchu wants with the ship
• ensure that it completes its journey.

No Monday Motivations this week

Sorry folks, but there's no new Monday Motivations this week as, in the words of the Fast Show's Jesse "I are mostly been having... a campaign arc breakthrough".  Once it's safe to spill the beans I will let the idea loose on this blog.

Scenario Writing - The art of the one session scenario

I've run one session scenarios in the past, mostly on special occasions like holidays, birthdays and halloween.  Here are a few of the techniques I've used:

Holiday Theme - If you're running a game on a holiday then use it for your plot inspiration.  There are plenty of plot hooks buried in the characters, myths, folk lore and cultural references of the various holidays.  Such as:

• Good Santa / Bad Santa - Saint Nick has a split personality (how else could he make informed choices about whose Naughty or Nice?) this year his bad side has gotten the better of him with all the personality defects that go along with it.  The PCs are elves (or charity / department store santas) whose job is to keep him on the straight and narrow so he can deliver all those presents in time or maybe the world needs to do without this year.
   
• The Easter Bunny's been kidnapped - A bunch of do-gooding dentists and dieticians have teamed up to rid the world of the Easter Bunny.  Kids all over the world have suddenly lost their appetite for chocolate.  Willy Wonka is in despair and has hired your paranormal detective agency to find the culprits and set the world straight again.
   
• Halloween Jack - A notorious psychopath has escaped from a secure facility and the PCs are on the tube, returning from different fancy dress parties, when the power fails.  No-one knows each other but one of them is Halloween Jack, the cops are on his trail but all they know is he's disguised in a fancy dress costume.  Oh, did I forget to mention that you're all dressed in the same outfit with a Jack 'o' Lantern for a head.

Birthday Boy/Girl - Make the player whose birthday it is the center of the action.  If they're up for it you could turn them into the villain of the piece, depending on the player, you might want to let them know where you're taking the story and maybe even set up some cues for them to trigger some events.  It's nice if you can factor in a few "in jokes" or references for each of the other players, they'll really get a kick out of it.

One location - when the PCs are trapped in one location the focus turns to escape. Your job as DM is made easier as you just have to think of all the ways they're going to try to break out.  Having some of the more mundane "what-if's" pre-thunk means that you can concentrate on the more bizarre suggestions that players inevitably come up with.

• Internet / TV / Telephone / Mobiles - Do they exist in the genre and if so are they working, If not why not.  If you've let the PCs have access to a phone and diall 999 (that's the UK version of 911) will the cops come and if they do how do you get rid of them.  I really like using this as a tension mechanism, you can have them come out look around and leave as though nothing is wrong.  Or you can kill them in some bizarre or predictable way. Watch the looks on the players faces as they realise that they're responsible for luring them to their deaths.
   
• Outside - Can there an outside?, can they see it?, Can it see them?  If your players are trapped it won't be long before they start to think about what's happening in the outside world, you can play with their minds by making their prison a wrap around universe.  A player manages to escape a room through a door only to re-enter from the opposite side of the room or down the chimney.
   
• You are not alone - Don't leave it too long before you start hinting that they might be sharing their reality with someone or something else.  Maybe they put an object down moments ago and now it's moved or vanished entirely.  Perhaps it's a spirit hopping from one body to another, give each of your players a secret message containing instructions when they start playing the spirit.
  
• Horrible history or location - Take an event or location that your players know very well and twist it into an evil or sinister version.  You can be as wild as you want as long as you don't warp it beyond recognition otherwise the players may miss the gag.
  
• Player Secrets and Paranoia - If you want to ramp up the tension you can give each PC a piece of knowledge about one (or more) of the PCs at the beginning of the game. Later on that piece of info might be pertinent and the player must decide to act on the information.

Body Swap - Your players have passed into a parallel universe and inhabit each others bodies.  They now have to find the secret to swapping back otherwise they'll be stuck forever.  This works best if the players are randomly swapped multiple times, everyone should get a chance to play each other.  Pick 3 good and 3 bad traits (don't be too cruel though!!) about each player and sit back and let the fun begin.

Survival Game - If in doubt run a survival themed game.  My players always react well to a bit of zombie slayin'.

How do you do it, share your thoughts, tricks and ideas.

Cliche avoidance... or 4 ways I've put a party together through enforced captivity.

I know I've been guilty of using the "Bar Brawl" or the "Adventurer's Noticeboard" cliche's every once in a while but here are a few of the other ways I've brought a party of PCs together:

"It's a lovely summers day and the grass is even tastier than it was yesterday."

This was the opening line in a Justifiers RPG scenario where the PCs were all beta-humanoid sheep. They had been on a mission, to investigate the dissappearance of a fellow Justifier team, which had gone horribly wrong and they began the adventure in a pasture having been subjected to a neural wipe without any memory of themselves, their past or their species. Over a couple of sessions they gradually discovered their identities and skills as the neural wipe wore off.

"The guy in the unseasonal outfit seems to have wires running from his sleeve to something in his hand..."

In this Squadron UK scenario (see Project Daedalus postings) the PCs are the only survivors of a terrorist dirty bomb in Trafalgar Square.  The bomb awakens their latent superpowers (the genetic legacy of their grandparents) and during their recuperation in a secret government facility they get to know one another and explore their new found powers.

"You notice that the ship's motley crew are carrying short lengths of chain with manacles at each end.  Something tells you that you should start running..."

I started one of my The Lands of Dual fantasy campaigns by collecting together each of the players from their respective homelands with a slave pirate ship.  It's amazing how quickly a party bond with each other when they're chained together rowing for 18 hours a day!!

"You best be getting up to the Castle before the Siege starts..."

In this campaign opener the PCs were press ganged into becoming siege defenders by the Baron of a coastal town.  The PCs were unaware that the Baron was being controlled by the forces of darkness and that the King's forces, massing on the hills outside of town, were being led by a particularly devout Warrior Priest with strict instructions to erase the castle and it's inhabitants from history.

Project Daedalus: Pt 4 - The return of "D Platoon"

Once the PCs have managed to locate the Nazi research facility they mount an infiltration attempt.  Inside they discover a large hanger equipped with two UFO's, an airstrip, factory complex, drawing office, barracks and a prison.  Inside the prison are the remaining members of "D Platoon".

The PCs must gather as much evidence of the Nazi UFO Research and return to their own time.  The question the PCs must answer is do they attempt to release their own grandparents from the clutches of the evil Nazis and in doing so change their own futures?...