Sunday, August 30, 2020

The Carriages of Zyan

Immortal Zyan is a mazy city, with hollow, hill, and cliff a plenty, and meandering streets opening onto covered arcades, networks of alleys, or stairways and tucked-away courtyards. It is convenient for those who can afford to spare their feet or are unsure of how to reach their destination to employ alternate means of transportation. 

By Boat

In some places canals cut through neighborhoods, as the weed-choked Blisterfish Canal winds through Turnabout, bleeding into swamps and fens until it reaches the Sink, a sordid sewer harbor. Here the clan of Piquant Bosuns ferry passengers in simple canoes or rotting barges along its messy course for a pittance. In Chimes, the Glistertwist flows in summer months from Finchleech, a beautiful reeded pond in the wooded western end of the neighborhood. Here the antique clan of Estimable Ferriers still operate their flat-bottomed gondolas wearing ancient masks, passed from one generation of rower to the next, beneath preposterous hats of the latest fashion. Such rides are free to members of neighborhood clans, who pay the Estimable Ferriers a fixed fee, but cost a pretty penny for visitors. They will, under no circumstances, transport riff-raff, puppet hooligans, or other ruffians. 


By Palanquin

Because the waterways are limited, other modes of transit are more popular. Most commonly used are the palanquin porters. Palanquins come in all shapes, sizes, and degrees of opulence, from simple wicker biers to compartments of gleaming dark wood veiled by perfumed silk curtains. Different clans use different designs and decorations. Competition between them is fierce, and sometimes leads to palanquins being upset in street brawls. Here are only a few of the dozens of clans of Palanquin Porters: 

  • The iron masked clan of Forgotten Beasts carry plain wicker palanquins with little fanfare. Their symbol is a black stencil of a shaggy beast.  
  • The yellow masked clan of Forward Anglers aggressively courts passengers whom they transport in simple open boxes. Their symbol is a colorful fish. 
  • With masks of painted silk, the clan of Thrice Denied Courtiers carry black lacquered enclosed palanquins with silk curtains. Their symbol is a man spurned at a dance. 
  • The pearl-veiled clan of Aria Runners carries passengers in opulent domed palanquins with glass windows. They are always accompanied by an opera singer. (These palanquin songs are a memorable feature of the soundscape of Zyan.)


By Carriage

Next in expense come the carriages. Many clans operate them, such as the Upright Ecru Coven and the clan of the Manifold Wheel. The least expensive carriages, often of plain black wood, are pulled by the tremble-legged Usquin, zebra-striped giraffes with ant-eater heads. Their legs snap, going lame with alarming frequency and delaying rides, but they reproduce even faster and feed on garbage, so a surfeit of replacements is always on hand. More expensive are those solid carriages, often metal with golden filagree pulled by striders, many legged white sinuous giant caterpillar beasts. 

For travel in dangerous neighborhoods, carriages sometimes employ security, provided not infrequently by recruits from the Sons and Daughters of the Vigilant Watchers, an ancient mercenary clan of Zyan specializing in the protection of transportation. While carriages cannot travel into the broken paving and soggy fens of Turnabout or up the precipitous steps of the higher reaches of Volish Hill, and are perilous propositions in tilted Cusp, they are more comfortable and secure than most other modes of transit.  


By Nimbus Barque

But the most remarkable means of conveyance are, without a doubt, the Nimbus Barques. The Endless Azure Sea that surrounds Zyan on all sides can be heard breaking upon the tumbled rocky shores beyond the wall of cusp, or crashing against the cliffs beside the Observatory of the Horoscops. In the Azure Sea, clouds float like islands, some partaking more and others less in solidity. In the halcyon days of the Incandescent Kings, sorcerers knew the art of binding of the clouds to service. Although this knowledge is lost now, a few such remarkable vessels remain in Zyan.

Blusterio  

White and grey, with roiling and flashing depths, Blusterio sometimes drizzles a fine rain on pedestrians beneath. Atop is a small deck, lined with sturdy seats with buckles to strap in riders, and many fine red sails atop small masts. It is captained by Hartoon of the clan of Notorious Oyster Climbers, who wears a white bearded mask and is gruff. The barque is blown by Hexifan, a spirit of the air, bound by antique contract. His billowing breath fills the sails, and send the cloud lurching at alarming speeds across the sky.  

Starlingheist 

Fluffy and white, trailing wisps. Atop is a gleaming platform with a fine filigreed bannister and small interior cabin for rainy weather. This more gentle vessel is captained by merry Fambilwan of the clan of Animal Dancers. He wears a green mask and fez, and sits a seat at the front with the reins of the cloud. The barque is pulled by a flock of charmed starlings in tiny harnesses. The murmuration of this flock of steeds is nearly deafening.

Roseferry

Pink and rosy, a delicious little cloud at sunset. The top of this barque has no deck, but is soft under foot like calfskin, and is strewn about with luxurious cushions. It is captained by gentle Ayelas of the clan of Airy Tremblers, who wears a vertical half mask of a cherub. It is powered by Zephyr Harmony, a magical harp on which Ayelas plays dulcet melodies that send the cloud smoothly sailing over Zyan.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Memories of the Ship


In Jorune: Evolutions, during character creation, a player creates their home village. Their village is a piece of the setting over which they have authority. It is a natural extension of the way a player get to determine narrative facts about your character (background, traits, history, appearance, personality) in traditional D&D. Think of the creation of the village as part of the character creation process, representing a PC's background and origin. It's a little piece of the world that the player gets to contribute at the outset.

This is a possibility that is under-utilized in most retro-games. In some retro-games, like Beyond the Wall, or Mutant Year Zero (not really a retro-game but adjacent), there is collaborative world-building of the home village or elements of the setting. But what I'm doing here is different insofar as the individual player has control over the creation of this element of the world. To be clear, I think this happens naturally in games, since for example, a player will often have narrative control over their family or circumstances of upbringing. You could think of what I'm doing here as formalizing and extending the unintended spillover of individual character creation to facts about the setting.

Once a player has developed their village by answering the prompts below, the village exists in the game world. They may from that point on choose to have new characters come from this village. If anyone else wishes to bring a new pc from the village, they must the creator's permission to do so. You will find below a series of tables players can roll on for inspiration in answering the prompts. But they do not need to roll on these tables! They may instead simply make something up, select the results from the tables that please them, or use the tables as templates and sources of inspiration for their own imaginings. The village is theirs; they may make of it what they will. 

The four questions, or prompts, about your village are:

1. Through what honest trade do the people of your village eke out a living?
2. What memory of the ship does your village preserve?
3. What is noteworthy about your village?
4. What is your village’s name?


Question 1: Through what honest trades do the people of your village eke out a living? 



By Dyson


Through the sweat of their brow and their craft, handed down from each generation to the next, the villagers eke out a living from this alien world. What honest trade do the villagers practice? These trades come with some kind of bonus, usually a skill. 

1d100
Honest Trade
Bonus Skill or Item
Region
1-10
Durlig (giant turnip) Farming
Frentren
Gauss Valley
11-20
Jorune Crop Farming
Indivee
Gauss Valley
21-24
Earth Crop Farming
Storytelling 
Upper Sobayid
25
Flower Farming
Biology 
Upper Sobayid
26-28
Brewing or Winemaking 
Contact (Tavern Owner or Wine Connossieur)
Sychill
29-34
Hunting and Trappping (Forest)
Survival (Woods) 
Glounda 
35-37
Hunting and Trapping (Marsh)
Survival (Marsh) 
Upper Sobayid

38-45
Logging
Melee Weapon Proficiency (Heavy)
Glounda
46-50
Foraging
Limilates
Glounda
51-60
Fishing
Sailing
Lusail
61
Pearl Diving
Tikoq
Lusail
62-66
Crystal Miner
Crystals
Khodre
67-75
Miner (Metal or Stone)
Caving 
Upper Sobayid
76-80
Thombo Breeders
Riding (Land) 
Glounda
81-82
Bochugon (big pack animal) Breeders
Melee Weapon Proficiency (Whipping)
Upper Sobayid
83
Talmaron Breeders
Riding (Sky)
Essanja
84-88
Pottery 
Contact (Collector) 
Essanja
89-90
Silk Weaving
Start with 500 gemules worth of cushindell silk to sell
Lusail
91-95
Blacksmithing
Start with any metal weapon
Upper Sobayid
96-00
Tanning
Start with light armor (leather)
Glounda


Question 2: What memory of the ship does your village preserve?





Your village carries with it some memory of the Ship. This is some ritual, practice, game, story, or object that has been passed down through countless generations from the original travelers. It is misunderstood and shrouded in antiquity, a distant echo of life of the travelers, a half-memory of humanity’s futuristic past. What is it? This table can get you started by telling you what kind of thing is remembered, but the details are up to you. 

1d10
Memory of the Ship
1
Holiday 
2
Ritual (Mourning, Birth, Marriage, Rite of Passage)
3
Convention (Naming, Vocabulary, Modes of Address)
4
Sport or Game
5
Art or Craft
6
Knowledge
7
Cuisine
8
Fashion 
9
Story
10
Relic 


Question 3: What is noteworthy about your village?





There is something (other than the memory of the ship) that sets your village apart and makes it noteworthy (not necessarily in a good way). Think of it as a shorthand through which people might refer to the place you are from, e.g. “Oh, you’re from that village by the abandoned chalk mines where everybody died of white lung?”

1d20
Unusual Feature
1
Remarkable natural landmark nearby 
(waterfall, cenotaphs, rock formations, etc.)
2
Memorable statue or (possibly ruined) buildings
3
Famous explorer or military hero from the village
4
Great storyteller or skilled artisan lives in the village
5
Potent muadra lives in the village or nearby
6
Talented inventor (iscin) lives in the village or nearby
7
Mind-numbingly poor
8
Extreme prejudice against post-humans
9
Very tolerant of post-humans 
10
Mixed human/iscin race population
11
Mixed human/post-human population
12
Harsh and overbearing drenn lords it over village
13
Forward looking drenn encourages many village “improvements” 
14
Village Kimmit run democratically, somehow not drenn dominated
15
Strong isho religion
16
Strong kerrel or etton religion
17
New age cult in or near the village
18
Frontier settlement subject to cruagar (cougar people) raids 
19
Site of historic massacre (by ramian, cruagar, or human)
20
Friendly relations with enemy of humanity (cruagar, acubon, or ramian)


Question 4: What is your village’s name? 



Lastly, you need to give your village a name. The names of some villages follow the same pattern as the names of people. So, the names of Earth cities and towns, possibly mis-spelled (e.g. "Monerey"), are fair game, or Barsoom fantabulous names (e.g. "Ardoth", "Miedrinth"). Another possibility is to give your village a utilitarian or literal name, like Crossroads, Harvest, or Bitter End.  


A Sample Village


Here is a sample village I just rolled up with these results: 

  • Honest Toil: logging
  • Memory of the ship: naming convention
  • Noteworthy Feature: forward looking drenn encourages many village "improvements"
  • Name: I decided to call it Zydor, following the barsoomish naming convention. 
Here's my writeup of it.

Zydor


Zydor is a small isolated village on the outskirts of Glounda Forest. The villagers are mostly lumberjacks, logging pine and redwood from the outer rim of this vast and dangerous wood, on the watch for scrabbling tarro infestations and the deafening roar of the dhar corondron. The town of log cabins is built around a central square, the House of the Tablet, a colorfully painted, wooden shrine. Within a holy artifact, the Tablet of the Elements, is displayed. It is a large rectangular piece of shining silver metal, hard but surprisingly light. It has been painstakingly scored, likely with a beam cutter, to depict a series of boxes arounds words and numbers. The Keeper of the Tablet teaches that these are the true names of all secret essences mastery of which allowed the travelers to transmute one element into another. Each person in the village takes a first name from Tablet of the Elements upon reaching maturity. The village kimmit is dominated by Selenium Rogers, a former tauther from the village who thinks of himself as an intellectual and amateur iscin. He has tried to "modernize" many of the practices and traditions of the village, which he calls "superstitions and blind custom", with mixed success at best. His most recent scheme involved the importation of expensive earth crop seeds--many years worth of cletch--that he cajoled villagers into planting and tending on the theory that they would grow into abundant crop of rare and valuable fruits in this soil. All died but for a few stunted apple trees in what the village now calls "Selenium's Orchard".  

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Standards for Reviewing Zines



Over the years, I've done a few zine reviews on this blog. But I've never made clear my standards for evaluation (including to myself). I've also only written reviews of things that I liked, and which hadn't yet received much attention. In that sense, all my reviews were in the mode of recommendation or "signal boosting". I think it's time to move past those limitations and start reviewing zines in earnest. Every reviewer has their own angle. Here's what I'll be focusing on.  

(1) Heart
Zines are labors of love produced by hobbyists, in collaboration with other hobbyists, for consumption by hobbyists, usually spread by word of mouth (digital mouth these days) in small circulations. They're not slick soulless corporate affairs. That's one of the main reasons to love them. In some zines this really shines through. You get a lot of leeway from me if your zine has a lot of heart. 

By Studi MacBeth

(2) Layout, Form, and Construction
There's a lot of space for pure DIY creativity in the use of the zine format. This includes innovations in construction or materials, like Jack Shear's painting little fangs on the black cardstock covers of his gothic zine. But it also might include innovative layout, or clever use of illustrations. There's a balance to be walked here. On the one hand zines are scrappy DIY affairs and they shouldn't be criticized for not being professionally put together. On the other hand, there's such a thing as making obvious layout blunders that could be avoided by anyone (on one side) or ingeniously making the most out of the humble resources you've got (on the other side).  I'll especially be looking for generalizable or repeatable innovations, and also howlers that are easy to avoid. 

By Sabuda 


(3) Conception 
What is your zine all about? Is it a whole world in a bottle? Is it a mystery adventure? Is it a rules-hack? Definite bonus points for a cool concept for a zine. 

(4) Imagination and Aesthetics
And no matter what the concept, I will consider the aesthetics of its execution in the broad sense. If you're going to send me a world in bottle, I'll be asking whether the world is gripping and why. How evocative is the writing? How incandescent are the ideas? How compelling is the vision and how successfully is it conveyed? As highly individual and idiosyncratic creation, zines are a place where quirky and imaginative takes on game materials can and should proliferate.   

By Richard Sala


(5) Utility
And, of course, I'll talk about what you actually get in the zine and to what uses it might be put. How is the zine intended to be used? Are there things that get in the way of using the zine in that way? Are there changes that would be make it more useful? Who will find the zine useful and for what gaming purposes? Here I will often say how I might use the zine myself, for example, to set up a campaign. So some of my reviews may have a bit of my own contribution in a spirit of collaboration. 



At the present time I'm not soliciting "review copies", since my time doesn't permit me to even provisionally commit to reviewing anything in advance. So I'll pick up anything I'm going to review myself. Here are some zines currently on my docket to review in the near future (not necessarily in the order listed), either because I just read them, or am about to read them, or because I read them a long time ago but I have something to say about them: 

  1. You Got a Job on the Garbage Barge!
  2. Genial Jack
  3. Pound of Flesh
  4. Low Country Crawl
  5. Visitor's Guide to the Rainy City
  6. Pariah
  7. A Doom to Speak Zinis

But if there's some other zines you'd like to see reviewed, by all means, post them in the comments below! Be warned that since this blog is a retro-gaming blog, and that's the type of play I mainly do, I'll have the most productive things to say if the zines you recommend are compatible with retro-gaming play (i.e. play focused on exploration, overcoming challenges, and open-world sandbox play, using a relatively rules-lite ruleset).

Saturday, August 15, 2020

Weapon Types for Classless OD&D (Jorune Evolutions)


This post is about how you can combine the flat 1d6 damage of all weapon types in OD&D with some flavor for different weapons. Furthermore, it's about how you can do this in a classless system where there is no fighter class. It's a genuinely novel system, I think. It's also the next post in my series on character generation in my OD&D inspired hack of Skyrealms of Jorune. I talked about race and stats here, and in my last post I discussed the classless "point buy" system of skills

Any player may use any weapon or wear any armor in Jorune: Evolutions. As an OD&D hack, all weapons do a flat 1d6 damage. To differentiate weapons, I have taken an idea that I have seen best worked out in Gus' HMS Apollyon ruleset. The way weapons are differentiated is by having one or more tags that comes with a special benefit. I combined Gus' idea (and a lot of his details) with my skill system by saying that weapon proficiencies unlock the benefit of weapons with that tag. Those without the proficiency can use the weapon, but without the benefit of the tag. Note that the differentiation by tags and the different classes of armor also allowed me to introduce a little bit of the flavor of weapon vs. AC from AD&D but in a MUCH simpler form.


Gygax at his most obsessive.

Ordinary weapons have only one tag, but special weapons can have multiple tags. These would normally be a unique splendid item that a player had commissioned and crafted by a master artisan as a downtime action. This is probably the closest to magical weapons you'll get in this game. When wielding such a multi-tag weapon, you receive the benefit for each tag in which you are proficient. Such unique weapons allow a skilled warrior to double-dip on benefits provided by multiple types. 

Armor proficiencies work a little differently, giving you a slightly better armor class when wearing that class of armor and allowing you to use a slightly higher agility modifier. Special armors can also be commissioned by artisans. Some armor can be made to absorb a limited amount of isho, by studding it with special crystals, or by using the shell of the locure, a grey giant beast with a shining shell like an armadillo. The most legendary armor of all is Thailarian Platemail, hard as steel but light and translucent, made from the thailer (breastbone) of the dhar corundon, the apex predator of jorune. 

One of the primary ways to advance in fighting skills is to learn more weapon and armor proficiencies through downtime actions. I envision fighting-type characters as carrying multiple weapons for different situations or different sorts of missions, and advancing further by finding or having crafted weapons crafted that bear multiple tags or other special properties. I have included a weapons and armor equipment list at the end of this post to show you how this might be applied. 

Note: this is a different approach to advancing in fighting arts than I presented here, since everything goes through weapon-types rather than general fighting styles. But it's similar in spirit in its emphasis on learning discrete skills and its a la carte approach to improving in combat.



Armor Proficiencies


Those who wear armor without proficiency reduce their AC and max agility modifier by 1. 

Light Armor
Those with proficiency receive AC 13 and a max Agility Modifier +2. Note that most tough animal hides count as light armor.

Medium Armor
Those with proficiency receive AC 16 and a max Agility Modifier +1

Heavy Armor
Those with proficiency receive AC 18 and a max Agility Modifier +0

Shield
Those with proficiency receive AC+2 and a max Agility Modifier +2

Note: thick animal hides count as light armor. Among human-derived races, the use of medium and heavy armor is rare, because metal is rarer on Jorune, and so very expensive. Who knows what kind of Earth-Tec armor may exist out there somewhere...


Melee Weapons


Anyone can use any melee weapon and all melee weapons do 1d6 damage. But melee weapons belong to types that have special features. Only those proficient in that type of melee weapon can use the special feature. 

Gouging
+3 to strike unarmored foes

Sharp
+3 to strike lightly armored foes. 

Crushing
+3 to strike moderately or heavily armored foes. Crushing weapons are two handed and may not be used with a shield.

Reach
Strike from the second rank and set against charges (double damage). Weapons with reach are two-handed and may not be used with a shield.

Close
Has disadvantage on damage rolls (with or without proficiency), but automatically does damage every round while grappling

Silencing
Like a close weapon, but can only be used in grappling. On a successful grapple, opponent is silenced

Thrown
Can also be used in ranged attacks

Elegant
May opt to do either +2 to hit/-2 AC or +2 AC/-2 to hit

Whipping
Disarm foe on a natural 19-20

Stunning
Stun foe for one round on a natural 20

Overpowering
If you kill someone with a melee attack, you may roll a bonus attack against a single adjacent foe

Heavy
Receive advantage to damage rolls. Heavy weapons are two-handed and may not be used with a shield. They also incur an initiative penalty. If you're using team-based initiative, the wielder of a heavy weapon always goes as though their side lost initiative. (If you're using segment initiative treat the attack as taking 2 segments instead of 1.)

Vibro
Dream on. You cannot begin with a skill in Earth-Tec melee weapon types, since you are not drenn.


Missile Weapons


Anyone can use any missile weapon and all missile weapons do 1d6 damage. All missile weapons belong to types that have special features. Only those proficient in that type of missile weapon can use the special feature. If a missile weapon has multiple types, you receive the ability for each type you are proficient in when firing it. 

Rapid
This missile weapon has a rate of fire of 2 shots per round, provided you take a full action to concentrate solely on shooting

Devastating
This missile weapon gets +3 to hit unarmored foes

Piercing
This missile weapon gets +3 to hit lightly armored foes

Penetrating
This missile weapon gets +3 to hit moderately or heavily armored foes

Sniping
If you spend a round aiming, on the next round, this missile weapon gets +3 to hit against any foe

Point Blank
You may use this missile weapon against foes while in melee combat

Beam, Pulsar, Field Ram, etc.
Dream on. You cannot begin with a skill in Earth-Tec missile weapon types, since you are not drenn.


Equipment Lists


Keep in mind that metal weapons and armor are expensive on Jorune as metal is significantly rarer than on Earth. Again, keep in mind that players may find weapons with multiple tags (or new tags) or have them crafted for them. Unlike in ordinary D&D where there is nothing to buy after the early game, in Jorune: Evolutions there are many options to pursue.

Melee Weapon
Cost
Tag
Range
Knife or Thike (Spiked Gloves)
50
Close
NA
Garotte
60
Silencing
NA
Spear or Polearm
70
Reach
NA
Hand Axe or Star Blade
80
Thrown
10/15/20
Whip
150
Whipping
NA
Mace
200
Stunning
NA
Morning Star
250
Gauging
NA
Sword
300
Sharp
NA
Rapier or Sabre
350
Elegant
NA
Scimitar
400
Overpowering
NA
Two-Handed Sword
500
Heavy
NA
Warhammer or Military Pick
550
Crushing
NA

Missile Weapons
Cost
Tag
Range
Atlatl
80
Piercing
15/30/60
Bow
100
Rapid
20/50/80
Longbow
350
Sniper
30/60/120
Crossbow
400
Point Blank
20/50/80
Hvy Crossbow
500
Penetrating
30/60/90

Armor

Cost

AC

Ag Mod

Move

Shield

100

+2

+2

12

Light (Leather or Gambeson)

250

13

+2

12

Medium (Ring or Chain)

1000

16

+1

9

Heavy (Platemail)

3500

18

+0

6

 


Note 1: The values listed are for those proficient in the armor type. For those not proficient AC and Max Agility Modifier are each one lower.

Note 2: I'm not sure about the "Silencing" tag for weapons. Part of me thinks it's too specific for this system. Another part of me thinks it might be fun to let funky weapon types proliferate.