Extra Short Stories (For Those Who've Been Enjoying My Audio Offerings)

Folks who have been enjoying my fiction releases recently have likely noticed I've been putting together a lot of short vignettes and flash fiction series when it comes to my audio dramas. And while the ones most folks see are taken from the introductory material in my TTRPG supplements, there are some longer, more in-depth stories out there. Some bigger, complete tales that are just waiting for you to come check out.

And if you haven't given them a look yet, I'd highly recommend stopping by my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary, in addition to following the Azukail Games YouTube channel.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

A Few Examples From "The Rejects"

Most of the audio dramas I've put together, like the one above, are only a few minutes long. Typically they're dramatized versions of vignettes that set the scene for a supplement, but even when I put together a series of these little shorts they can feel more like eating several small, bite-sized candies instead of a meal.

However, for folks who don't know, I write more than just TTRPGs. In addition to the nearly 200 supplements and games with my name on them, I've also written several novels, and even a few collections of short stories. And in my free time a while back, I started dramatizing some of the short stories from my collection The Rejects, which is a book that features all the short stories I wrote that kept almost getting chosen by publishers, but which were ultimately passed on.

 

EDIT: Both of these tales have been moved over to the new YouTube channel The A.L.I.C.E. Files, which I highly recommend checking out if you haven't yet! 

 

The first story is Dead Man's Bluff, a weird Western. A ghoulish little story that features a game of cards between an itinerant gambler and a mysterious young man, the twist at the end is a particularly dark one. The moral of this story, of course, is to never cross a witch, and be careful where you bury one if you do.

 

 

The second story is Suffer The Children, which gives us a glimpse into the dark underbelly of a modern fantasy setting subtly unlike any other you've come across before. We meet Malachi, an angel walking the shadowed back alleys and nasty streets of Los Angeles, as he attempts to stop a cult of child stealers. This is, technically, the second story featuring Malachi and his adventures, but it gives readers a glimpse into the sort of hard, nasty choices he often has to make. While I haven't added to Malachi's world since this tale, there were plans for more stories (as well as a few novels) featuring additional cases that he had to handle. If it turns out more folks are interested in Malachi's saga, though, it's something I could squeeze in if folks wanted to hear/see more!

What Other Stories Would You Like To See?

My original plan with these tales was to give my readers (and potential readers) a little taste of the stories that could be found in The Rejects. However, I would like to dramatize at least half of them, leaving the other half as a mystery for readers to uncover for themselves... but which stories would you like to get this treatment?

Would you like to hear the tale of the young boy, his uncle, and the dark, dangerous secret no one else would ever believe that we see in Bloody Bones? Perhaps the gritty, sword and sorcery tale Champion For Hire is more your speed, with weaving steel and dark plans in a city desperate to avoid a bloody war of succession in its underworld? From the steampunk gruesomeness of Eyes, Hands, and Heart, to the strange, harsh reality of The Mark of The Legion, there are a lot of options in this book... but which ones would you like to hear?

And, lastly, if you haven't left a review of this book yet, please consider dropping by Amazon and leaving me some stars and a review so more people can find these stories!

What's Next on Table Talk?

That's it for this installment of Table Talk! What would you like to see next? I'm listening for your comments and votes!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archives, as well as the YouTube channel for Azukail Games or the ongoing audio drama channel The A.L.I.C.E. Files! Or, to check out books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, my hard-boiled noir series featuring the street beasts of NYC in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, or my recent short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, as well as on Pinterest where I'm building all sorts of boards dedicated to my books, RPG supplements, and greatest hits. Lastly, to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little donation can have a big impact.

Dead City Blues: A Potential Second Season For "Windy City Shadows"

Every month the Azukail Games YouTube channel gets a little bit closer to that monetization goal. Though we recently debuted the new show Tabletop Mercenary (which is also available on my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary, in case you haven't followed me there), and we are still about 1,000 hours off from crossing that initial finish line, I'm still tinkering with the idea of the interconnected Chronicles of Darkness podcast Windy City Shadows as a way to celebrate that achievement by doing something bigger and more involved than what our audience has seen in the past.

While I talked about what I'd like to do for season 1 in Windy City Shadows: A Chronicles of Darkness Podcast Proposal back in July, I've also had an idea for a season 2 rolling around in my noggin... and for the time being, I'm calling it Dead City Blues.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

Dead City Blues, Johnny Hammer, and The Six Gun Saint

While I've made a lot of little audio dramas over the years, perhaps the most cohesive series outside of the shorts for Changeling: The Lost has been the saga of Johnny Hammer and The Six Gun Saint. They first appeared in the intro text for my supplement 50 Geists for Geist: The Sin Eaters. In Russian Roulette, former Chicago hitman Johnny Hammer gets gunned down in a back alley outside of the bar he was working in under an assumed name in Philadelphia. He manages to kill the assassins who came for him, but he's dying when the black-cloaked shade of the Six Gun Saint comes for him, and offers him a deal... Johnny will get to keep living, but he's gonna have to do some killing on the Saint's behalf.

The follow-up to this initial tale was not found in another Geist supplement... rather, it was in my first Mage: The Awakening splat book. In the introduction to 100 Shadow Names (And Their Meanings), Calling Up Bones, we learn that Tony Gracchus, the mafioso who'd taken over as the head of the Chicago family Johnny used to work for, has awakened as the Mage known as Cyprian. He sent the hit squad to tie off Johnny's "loose end," and though he killed all the hitters, their ghosts report back to the necromancer. Tony learns that not only did the operation go wrong... but that Johnny is now a much greater threat than he was before. A skilled gunman is bad enough... one with the backing of a creature as dangerous as the Six Gun Saint might be a threat even to a mage.

The third installment of this cross-over story is taken out of the supplement 100 Mediums, which is meant to be used as a general NPC list for various World/Chronicles of Darkness games. In Under The Hammer we see that Johnny has come back to Chicago, and he's visiting the home of another retired hitman. Alonzo Delamorte threw himself on top of the old head of the family, saving him from a bomb blast, and losing his sight for his trouble. Something happened, though, and now Alonzo can see the world of the dead, which is just the sort of help Johnny needs. He knows that Tony is stealing souls, and recruiting an army of the dead to protect him... and Johnny plans to fight fire with fire. Chicago is a haunted city, and if he can convince enough of the unquiet dead to help him and the Saint in their cause, then they may just be able to do the impossible, and take down the necromancer.

So Where Would The Story Go From Here?

My original intention was to keep the back-and-forth between Mage and Geist supplements going, and to keep playing out a little more story each time until we'd reached a full conclusion of this story. However, as I mentioned in Why I Will Have Fewer Community Created TTRPG Products Coming Out, it has become financially unfeasible for me to keep writing supplements for this setting (short version, my publisher gave me a raise in pay, but that raise doesn't apply to community-created supplements, and I can't afford to take the pay cut). Initially, this looked like it was just going to leave the story hanging with a completed prologue, but nothing else to show for it.

But with the stage set, Dead City Blues would be able to pay off on all this lead up!

The early parts of this season would focus on Johnny attempting to locate allies in this fight. That will likely mean reaching out to other mediums, and putting the word on the street to any Krewes of Sin Eaters who might want to help him. He'd have to contend with the various orders of Mages in the city, as well as their politics. Tony has made his share of enemies with the way he uses his power, after all, but he may also have allies willing to protect him. Powerful ghosts might be persuaded to weigh in as well, creating a powder keg that's ready to blow... and the Six Gun Saint is holding a lighter.

Why is the Saint so hellbent on Tony Gracchus's death? Is the young Mage responsible for killing the Saint's previous Bound host, leaving it adrift in the world? Did the Saint make Tony an offer that he refused? Or has the necromancer meddled with powers he doesn't yet understand, earning himself the enmity of the violent geist?

I know the answers to some of these questions. But if you want to go on that journey with me, I need you to help me make this show a reality!

What You Can Do

First and foremost, subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel, and watch our videos. YouTube requires 500 subscribers, which we have, and 3,000 hours of watched content... which we don't. What we need most are eyes on our content in order to help us cross that threshold so that the videos I make generate income for the publisher, making it more likely for them to greenlight (and then help fund) something bigger and more expansive like Windy City Shadows.

On that note, likes, comments, and shares on social media are also appreciated to help us overcome the inertia of the algorithm so we can find a larger audience.

Additionally, there are currently 37 videos on the Audio Drama Playlist, so if you enjoy my little stories and want to see them expanded, go give that list a listen! Additionally, if you particularly like a story, check out the supplement it comes from, and consider getting yourself a copy. They're all listed in the video descriptions, and every sale shows that these products (and their tie-ins) have an audience who wants us to keep going.

What's Next on Table Talk?

That's it for this installment of Table Talk! What would you like to see next? I'm listening for your comments and votes!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archives, as well as the YouTube channel for Azukail Games. Or, to check out books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, or my recent short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, as well as on Pinterest where I'm building all sorts of boards dedicated to my books, RPG supplements, and greatest hits. Lastly, to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little donation can have a big impact.

My Sci-Fi Audio Drama Trilogy is Complete!

As regular readers are no doubt aware, I've been putting together little audio dramas on the Azukail Games YouTube channel for a hot minute now. It all started when I began adding introductory vignettes to my gaming supplements, and I wanted to give readers some kind of preview as to what they were going to be getting if they picked up a copy. So while you might argue these are glorified commercials, I thought I'd try something a little sneaky and string together some of the stories into a single, continuous plot.

I first did this with some of my Changeling: The Lost supplements, but those are kind of niche as far as gaming interests go. So I thought I'd go a little bit bigger with a series of sci-fi shorts, given that the supplements they were attached to seem to be quite popular.

And in case you haven't seen them, I didn't want anyone to miss the update!

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

A Trilogy of Tales

This whole thing began with the supplement 100 Spacer Superstitions, which was a sci fi response to the popularity of 100 Superstitions For a Fantasy Setting. A relatively short tale, it gives us some insight into the world of long-haul space transport, and the adjustments one can have moving from military life onto a simple ice hauler. It also has a warning about the sirens that dwell in the void, and the strange things that might (or might not) lurk out in the deep black.

That story was originally just a stand-alone piece, not really meant to go anywhere, but both the video and the supplement were so popular that I decided to expand on them, and go a little grander with the next installment. In 100 Sci-Fi Cults (which was the answer to 100 Cults To Encounter) we find that the ice hauler from the first story has been set upon by space pirates. All seems lost, until a single boarding torpedo delivers them their salvation, in the form of a member of the Knights of The Void.

The last part of the story takes place in the middle of a warzone. In the intro story from 100 Knightly Orders For a Sci Fi Setting (which follows on from the fantasy supplement 100 Knightly Orders), we find a squad of Titansworn Knights, and their colossal war machines defending the space port our ice hauler was bound for... and they are in for one hell of a fight!

Would You Like To See More?

I've been interconnecting my stories more and more frequently as I write more TTRPG supplements. I mentioned I've done it with Changeling, but there's also a deliberate plotline that starts in my 50 Geists supplement where a former hitman named Johnny Hammer makes a deal with a creature called the Six-Gun Saint, and we follow that up with the tale from 100 Shadow Names (And Their Meanings), where the mafioso who took over Johnny's family is revealed to be the Moros known to the Mage community as Cyprian.

I would like to expand this part of my work, though, and do something a little grander.

This video, for those who aren't familiar with it, is something I put together a little while ago. Suffer The Children is a modern fantasy short story taken from my collection The Rejects, and it follows an Old Testament angel Malachi as he stalks through the bloody back alleys of Los Angeles. Old gods and new sins lurk in that place, and he does what he can within the rules he's been set. He bears witness to the worst humanity has to offer, but when a kidnapper takes a child under Malachi's protection, he intervenes before it's sacrificed to one of the true powers that claims dominion in Hollywood.

This is one of several videos I'm intending on sharing on my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary, so consider stopping by, following, and giving me some likes and comments if you have the time!

The question I have for folks this week, however, is do you want to see more stuff like this? If so, what form would you like to see? Would you be more interested in:

- More vignettes (which will likely just be more audio versions of supplement short stories).

- Longer, complete short stories (stand-alone pieces like Suffer The Children, and others).

- Longer, connected series (likely in the form of a podcast).

Lastly, if you have a preference, would you like to see more content for:

- World/Chronicles of Darkness

- Call of Cthulhu

- Golarion

- Sundara

- Unspecified Sci Fi Setting

- Stories not related to pre-existing TTRPG content/settings

Please leave your thoughts in the comments, as well as on my social media channels! I like to try to give my readers things they're actually interested in, and I don't want to put in the hours making something folks don't really want to see... or hear, as the case may be.

What's Next on Table Talk?

That's it for this installment of Table Talk! What would you like to see next? I'm listening for your comments and votes!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archives, as well as the YouTube channel for Azukail Games. Or, to check out books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my recent short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, as well as on Pinterest where I'm building all sorts of boards dedicated to my books, RPG supplements, and greatest hits. Lastly, to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little donation can have a big impact.

What Corner of The World of Darkness Would You Like To See Me Touch on Next?

Folks who've been following my output for the past several years know that I've been delving into the World of Darkness pretty regularly. Whether it's big things like my 100 Kinfolk Project (available as a bundle where you can get over 1,300 NPCs) for Werewolf: The Apocalypse, or smaller entries like Buyer Beware: 10 Goblin Markets for Changeling: The Lost and 100 Resources and Rumors To Find on SchreckNet for Vampire: The Masquerade, I try to offer supplements that are going to be useful to a variety of players out there.

I also try to add a little extra fun, like this dramatization of "Missed Connections" over on my Daily Motion channel for folks who enjoy audio dramas!

Background Music From Tabletop Audio: Secret Facility

Neal Litherland's Social Media:

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NealFLitherland
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nlitherl
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/neallitherland/

If you'd like to support my efforts to keep making content like this, consider leaving me a tip, or becoming a patron!

- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theliterarymercenary
- Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/theliterarymercenary" />

As I sit here on the spookiest day of the year, though, I find myself wondering what folks would like to see me cover next? So I figured I'd open up the floor, and see where the conversation went!

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

The Darkest Corners of The Setting

The World of Darkness is one of the places I feel most comfortable as a player. While I may lack the deep lore knowledge of some of the old hands (I didn't show up until right after the reboot that would become the Chronicles of Darkness was released), I never get tired of all the beautiful, horrific nonsense the games have to offer. Even games that aren't so much my bag are ones I at least try to read through and learn about because they're another facet of the setting that I enjoy.

However, WoD/CoD supplements are a much dicier proposal (pun very much intended) than a lot of the other stuff I work on. Because while the setting maintains popularity to some degree, that popularity is split among a lot of the different game lines, then split even further among the different editions of those game lines. Because for some reason players tend to find their comfort zone in this setting, and then only play that one game, rarely branching out to any of the near-dozen other options one might find... which is why a lot of the supplements I make tend to at least be usable across editions of a game, if not throughout the entire setting (like Evil Incorporated: 10 Pentex Subsidiaries which may crop up all over the original WoD setting, as an example).

Folks who are familiar with my work (check out the World of Darkness Supplements board on my Pinterest for a complete list) know that as of time of writing I've created content for Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Vampire: The Masquerade, and Changeling: The Lost. Most of it has focused on creating NPCs for STs to use in their games, along with rumors and resources players might find, and occasional strange things they might encounter for you to use as set dressing, plot devices, or both!

But what would you, my regular readers, like to see?

Would you like to see less-loved games like Promethean, Hunter, or Geist get some fresh material to spark interest in them? Do you feel like Apocalypse and Masquerade have enough content out there, and you'd like to see content for Forsaken and Requiem instead? Or are you one of the various folks who just want as much Mage content as they can get no matter what edition it focuses on?

That's what I need to know.

So take a moment and leave your thoughts where I can see them. Put them in a comment below, or leave them on social media where you found this post. Reach out to me on Twitter or Facebook, and let me know what you want to see. I listen when people ask me for things, and I take ideas that crop up repeatedly when people contact me.

With that said, I just just one caveat; don't ask for a product you aren't interested in purchasing.

Money is tight, and we're all very choosy with our gaming budgets, but generally speaking I put weeks of daily effort into creating a supplement, and then my publisher has to do layout, acquire art, and get everything arranged, while putting the product up for sale. It's a lot of work, and a lot of energy, to produce even small supplements, and nothing is worse than people saying they want something, then not actually getting copies of it when the thing finally drops.

Please, keep that in mind before you make you requests.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my personal channel over on Daily Motion. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Looking For a Change of Pace? Grab a Copy of XCrawl!

We've all had those moments when our group has been on a little hiatus. Maybe it was end-of-campaign burnout and everyone needed a break, or life stuff happened and some members had to move, change jobs, or handle any of a dozen other things. But when you're looking to get the gang back together, you often want to do something a little different to bring some zest to your next game. Something a little off-the-wall. And if you've been looking for a spark to re-invigorate your group, then might I suggest trying out XCrawl if you haven't done so yet?

Seriously, this thing is a ball!

Before we get into it this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

What The Hell is XCrawl?

Some of you may have come across this game before, or seen me talk about it in older entries on this blog. However, if you're utterly unfamiliar with this game, the elevator pitch for XCrawl is that it's what happens when WWE has a baby with DND. In a modern fantasy version of our world, dungeon crawling has become a major, televised event with Dungeon Judges lording over their arenas, and "crawlers" becoming one part celebrities, one part athletes, and one part stage persona as they compete for the public's viewing pleasure.

And as they say in Gladiator, you aren't the best because you kill quickly... you're the best when you win the crowd! Which is why crawlers tend to have signature moves, grandstanding and mugging checks (for playing to the audience or the camera, depending on), ring personas they can build up like legends in the minds of the audience, and why it's just as important that you look good when you win as it is that you win in the first place!

And the crowd is hungry for entertainment!

That is a pitch that sticks in your head. Especially when you consider that XCrawl is set in its own version of the 1980s (ish) where you add in elements of The Running Man, the rise of corporate power, and all of the social pressures going on in the American Empire outside the arenas themselves. This can give it a feeling that's almost akin to Shadowrun, especially if you start getting into political corruption, the false face of sports empires, market backstabbings, and whether the games are being used for nefarious purposes. So while you can run a campaign that's just televised dungeon crawls, you've got options for things you can do beyond that as well!

Now, I found the XCrawl core rulebook sitting in my hobby store years ago, and it was for the 3.0/3.5 version of DND. However, Goodman Games has ported this setting to a variety of different systems, including one for Pathfinder Classic for folks who want all the conversions done for them. There's also add-ons that cover additional aspects of the game and the setting such as XCrawl: Sellout which has additional information on gear, agents, fame, and more for players, along with adventures like Dungeonbattle Brooklyn for GMs who just want to pick up and play.

A Few Episodes or a Season, It's Up To You!

I've run XCrawl on and off over the years, usually as a one-shot for a convention game because its premise is absolutely wacky enough to get folks to sit down and play, but it doesn't wear out its welcome by the time the final boss falls. It's also flexible enough that you can make up shows, such as the one-shot I ran that I titled Jersey Shore: Undead! as a way of making fun of both reality TV and the way The Walking Dead had utterly saturated pop culture with zombies.

However, the current idea came from a line in the core book that I'd seen before, but forgotten about. To paraphrase, it recommends starting characters off at level 3 if they're going to be a Division IV team (which is where the death games come in). While you could run a Division III game if you feel you could make it interesting and engaging, the stakes are much smaller in arenas that are geared to be less than lethal.

And since I was still rolling with ideas after my Let's Talk About Non-Lethal Damage in Pathfinder post, I figured I'd actually go against the rulebook's recommendation and start my team off at the beginning of their story in the games. A Division III event called the Mall Crawl!

And you thought YOUR Black Friday sucked...

Because while the world of XCrawl is absolutely bonkers, I wanted to bring a gaggle of new players in at the bottom rung. They're discovering who they are, forming their team (in order to gain access to the precious Mojo that lets you spend resources for bonuses during the game), looking for sponsorship, and getting their feet under them... sure, that hobgoblin might not kill them, and that booby trap they set off is likely to be a firehose instead of a spiked pit trap of death, but they're going to have all kinds of stuff to deal with... like the judgment of the crowd when a bunch of nobodies step into the ring!

Anyway, I wanted to talk about that this week because I'm digging through the rulebook for the first time in a while, and whatever your preferred edition of the game, I think this is a setting that more people should really check out for themselves!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

World of Darkness Storytellers, Don't Forget The Mortal Side of Things!

Henlock Headbreaker frowned down at the missive in his thick hands. The Fall Queen had bid the ogre fulfill an errand, and send notice of her wroth to their neighbors, and it had taken him some time to complete. All he wanted now was a quiet night on his old sofa with a cold beer or three, and maybe some Netflix, but his door wouldn't open.

"Past due..." Henlock could feel his teeth grinding, and he tried to let go of the breath he'd been holding. If it wasn't one goddamn thing, it was another. He set his hands on the door, and made himself take slow, deep breaths. It was just fiberboard and paint, and he knew he wouldn't get any satisfaction of kicking it in... but it still took all his willpower not to do it.

He took out his phone, and carefully pushed the buttons with his calloused fingertip. He was sure Darlene would let him crash at her place tonight... as for clearing the balance, he had friends who owed him a few small favors. He hated to call them in over this, but sometimes you didn't have a choice when details slipped through the cracks.

All right, Agnes, I was out of town. Can I get you the back rent on Monday?

The Supernatural Should Be The Spice, Not The Meat

Before we go any further, I want to make one thing clear; I love the World of Darkness and the newer Chronicles of Darkness settings. Monsters are some of my favorite things, and games where you specifically get to play vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein-like creatures, fey-touched changelings, and more will always be my cup of tea.

However, the setting and text can only go so far. Often it's the storyteller that can make or break an experience, and there is a trap that a lot of STs fall face-first into time and time again with these games. I've seen it in everything from Vampire to Mage, and from LARP to tabletop, so I wanted to talk about it this week.

In short, a lot of STs forget that all of the insane supernatural shenanigans happening only make up one half of the coin. If the mortal world isn't a factor in your game, then you're only playing with half the deck, so to speak.

You need contrast for these games to work.

The first reason the mortal world needs to be an active part of your game is that it constitutes the majority of the setting. The whole conceit of every World and Chronicles of Darkness game is that you are part of the secret world. You are the things that live in the shadows, and you need to hide who you are and the things you do from the world at large. But if your werewolves spend all their time in the umbra and on werewolf territory, if your vampires only ever have scenes at Elysium and in secluded places under their control, then you are only spending time in those deep shadows rather than out in the setting at large.

The result is there's no contrast in your game; it's just the fantasy elements, which are supposed to be the marshmallows in the cereal. And while that can hurt the setting overall, it also results in players only paying attention to half their characters. Because one of the central questions that always accompanies these games is finding balance for the PCs as citizens of two worlds. If they never have to interact with the mortal world, never have to go to it, and never have to worry about it, then you end up with characters that are all fantasy, no modern.

That can lead to shallow characters, but it has another effect on the game... suddenly every challenge the PCs face (whether big or small) also has to live in those shadows.

And this can quickly cause you headaches as an ST.

You Don't Do Surgery With a Sledgehammer

Problems from the mortal side of things never seem like "real" problems to a lot of STs (and even to a lot of players). After all, if you're fighting against the supernatural engine of the apocalypse, trying to outmaneuver the political machinations of enemies you've had since Rome was pushed back across the Rhine, or if you're tooling up to hunt the creature who lurk in the darkness, dealing with purely mortal concerns can seem petty an unimportant.

When the players are faced with supernatural problems, the gloves come off. All sides know the score, they know the truth of the setting, and they can pull out all the stops. War form transformations, insane blood magic, ripping portals in reality, calling on pacts made with the elements of the world... everything is on the table!

But if players have to deal with mortal problems, they often have to do it more quietly. This means they often have to get more creative, and be more focused in their application of force/resources if they expect to succeed.

Perhaps an example would help?

If you're running an old world werewolf game, and the PC garou are facing the threat of a black spiral dancer pack, there's no mystery that needs to be preserved. No code of silence that has to be observed. Both sides know what the other is, and understand what they're out for. And if they're fighting out in the wildlands with no witnesses, or throwing down in the Umbra, then there's no need for them to play it quiet. They can bring the biggest gifts, the most ridiculous weapons, and use all their abilities to go absolutely wild on one another.

And that's not a bad thing. Games should have some of those scenes from time to time. They're fun, tasty marshmallows.

But now let's take that same werewolf pack, and face them with a problem where they can't take the gloves off. Maybe there's a corporation trying to put a pipeline through their land. Maybe there's an audit of their holdings going on, and the false documents they used to legally secure the caern aren't holding up in court. Maybe the dark past of some of the members are catching up, and there's police sniffing around, or even a team of bounty hunters looking to make an impressive collar. If the latter doesn't seem like a big enough threat, add in a reality show TV crew following the bounty hunters that the pack now has to deal with.

You can apply these mortal problems to basically any sphere, too. Is the changeling singer who uses her celebrity to collect glamour from her audience being stalked by a crazed fan who, though he might not be dangerous to one of the fey-touched, is someone who might see behind the mask and find out what she truly is? Is the careless brujah leaving too many witnesses, and too many bodies, in certain districts, and now homicide detectives and tabloid journalists are out in force, which is making things harder for everyone else? Has a mage's "magic act" drawn too much curiosity, and too many witnesses, all of them digging into incidents that had been covered up and forgotten until now?

You can't just march up to those problems, fangs-bared and powers roaring (most of the time). You need to think around them, deflect them, or hush them up quietly. And generally speaking the less subtle a group is in its day-to-day doings, the more of these kinds of problems should crop up in their wake.

Don't Forget To Make It Personal

While a lot of the mortal issues that crop up in a game should be as a result of the actions of your players, as an ST you should also keep in mind that characters are supposed to exist in the mortal world, as well as the supernatural one. Often times they have jobs, homes, friends, family, and histories that exist in the mortal world... and those things are ripe for the kind of drama that can pull players deeper into the narrative.

A glimpse behind the mask.

If you have a character who is a member of a police force, what does that expose them to? If they use their powers to investigate and clear cases (a changeling who talks to the dead, a werewolf who uses their enhanced senses, etc.), do they draw suspicion from internal affairs on just how they discovered certain evidence? If a character doesn't have a job, as such, then where do they live, and how do they earn money? If they don't, do they make their homes in abandoned or forgotten places? If the latter, what happens when new development comes knocking on their doors, or urban explorers find the former sewer tunnels of their lair? Do they allow other people forgotten by the modern world to live under their protection? Or have they become some kind of weird, urban legend the street people tell each other to keep newbies out of certain places?

Everything, from an enemy coming after a PC's friends (who may not realize what they truly are beneath the skin), to someone accidentally discovering the character's secret life (the roadie walks in and discovers the pale heavy metal singer is an actual blood-drinking vampire), these sorts of things can really impact the game for players... but you don't get any of these story beats in your game if you just ignore the mortal world because it isn't as much fun as all the dark, nasty, supernatural threats you've got lined up.

For folks looking for more ST advice, don't forget to check out Want To Run Better World of Darkness Games? Then Watch John Wick! And if you find yourself in need of a bunch of NPCs for a Werewolf: The Apocalypse game (or really any WoD game), you should check out my 100 Kinfolk Bundle. These NPC lists cover 13 werewolf tribes (100 NPCs each, and 200 for the Black Spiral Dancers), giving you 1,400 NPCs total... more than enough to populate any game! And if you want the encore piece that was released this year, don't forget 100 Stargazer Kinfolk as well.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Like Urban Fantasy? Take 6 Minutes To Watch "As They Continue To Fall"

As some regular readers have no doubt noticed, there's been a spike in the amount of content I'm writing for more modern, urban fantasy games on this blog. Stuff like my post Want to Run Better World of Darkness Games? Then Watch John Wick!, for instance. Simply put, I needed a bit of a break, and you all seem to enjoy those posts. As such, I figured I'd make an effort to put a few more of them out there.

That's why this week I figured I'd provide a little inspiration for all the fans of modern, secret-world style games. All you have to do is take a couple of minutes to watch the short film As They Continue To Fall.

Intriguing, right?

What The Hell Did I Just Watch?

That video stuck with me the first time I saw it, leaving me full of questions about what strange world I just caught a glimpse of. It was written by C. Robert Gargill, the pen behind Doctor Strange, and directed by Nikhil Bhagat. Sadly, though it feels like a tantalizing taste of something bigger, there was never a full film made for this project (though there was a Kickstarter, which has since been deleted), so this is all we're going to get... for now, at least.

Personally, every time I watch this short it makes me want to start a Hunter: The Reckoning or a Hunter: The Vigil game. Not overly picky, as anything that would let me play a wandering, unseen badass in a crumbling city full of unseen monsters would go down just fine after that little film.

The other reason this particular short came up recently is that I've been working on my 100 Kinfolk project with High Level Games, and I'm elbow-deep in the Bone Gnawers list at the moment (so far I've finished the Get of Fenris, Black Furies, and Glass Walkers over the past few months). So if the idea of people wandering the fringes of society with a blade up their sleeve and a blessed bullet in their pocket is the sort of thing you want to see more of, stay tuned for that as well!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. Hopefully you enjoyed the film, and it provides you all with the same sort of inspiration it did me!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal and Gamers archives, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Odam's "Of Dreams And Magic" Review (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly)

As anyone who regularly reads my blog knows, I tend to mainline Pathfinder. In fact, I even went so far as to write a post titled Why Pathfinder is My Game of Choice to clarify my feelings and opinions. However, while I doubt I'll ever get tired of Golarion, I do play other games. Sometimes it's because I want to do something new, and sometimes it's because a new game plops in my lap and I decide to give it a read.

And that's kind of how I ended up reading "Of Dreams and Magic".

If you're not familiar with Odam Press's game "Of Dreams and Magic", it came out around 2015 after a successful Kickstarter campaign. In this game, the world is controlled by a force called the Doubt, which has convinced humanity that magic isn't real. Of course some people awaken to this lie, and embrace the truth of magic. These dreamers, known as Anima, can channel the power of their dream self into the real world, taking on extraordinary powers. They can also walk in the worlds of dream, fighting great battles in realms their fellow sleepers would never even guess exist. This has angered the Doubt, though, and it sends its agents to undo these Anima at every turn, spawning nightmares and reavers to crush their spirits, and force them back to sleep.

The Good

First things first, let me say unequivocally that the concept behind "Of Dreams and Magic" is a knockout. The idea that regular people can embrace the pure magic of dreams, and use it cast off the chains of a nebulous, gray, uncaring enemy feels like a modern fantasy version of The Neverending Story. With laser rifles and fireballs. Or, for World of Darkness fans, it feels like what you'd get if Mage: The Awakening knocked up Changeling: The Lost. It's flowing, free-form, and it allows you to bring a huge variety of concepts to the table. It also means you might have a party made up of a caped superhero, a fire-breathing demon prince, a shape-shifting hunter, and a haunted detective with a possessed gun.

In addition to the game's flavor, "Of Dreams and Magic" uses fairly simple (and unique) mechanics. You roll two ten-sided dice, one that's positive, and one that's negative. You figure out the result of your roll, add it to your bonus, and that determines whether you succeed or fail. There is also a unique mechanic called CAP, which is used to allow players more narrative control over their character. If you exceed the difficulty of the check, then every point you exceed it by is a point of CAP. You can then spend that CAP to modify the results. This might make attacks hit harder, make spells go further, or even allow your hacker to penetrate a firewall in seconds rather than minutes. As a mechanic for rewarding player success, and letting the table pick up the narration baton, that's quite unique.

The Bad

With that said, everything is not all rainbows and gumdrops for this game. There is a lot of number tracking, including your conviction (the stuff you use for powering your magic and abilities), your CAP, your wound penalties, and dozens of other factors. It's fairly reminiscent of the World of Darkness in this regard, but rather than keeping track of half a dozen hit boxes, and between 1 and 10 points of magic, you've now got hundreds of points to keep an eye on and maintain. It's not a deal breaker, but it is an annoyance.

The game also uses roll-off combat, which is an adjustment for a lot of gamers. Simply put, if you want to roll to hit an enemy (or to take any kind of contested action), that enemy also rolls to dodge, duck, block, etc. your attack. If their parry/dodge/whatever beats your hit, then you miss. Additionally, for every additional action you take, you suffer a cumulative -5 penalty. So you might be unbeatable on your first attack, but if you get mobbed and have to roll several defensive blocks, then you're going to go down fairly quickly. Again, this is not a deal breaker, but it is important that DMs who are used to systems like DND or Pathfinder where you roll against a static defense number keep very careful track of who is doing what, and in what order. Otherwise it's extremely easy for one bad guy's defense to get mistaken as their turn, and screw up the initiative order entirely. If you've ever run a Pathfinder or 5e game where someone had the parry ability, you're pretty much running a game where everyone has that now. As a result, combat is going to involve at least twice as many rolls, and can easily turn into a slog.

The Ugly

There is no nice way to say this... the base book for "Of Dreams and Magic" is in desperate, dire need of an editor. While the game's mechanics are fairly straightforward, the actual text of the rulebook is confusing, poorly laid out, and tends to use game jargon and abbreviations that haven't been clearly explained instead of clear-cut examples and simple language. The glossary is a joke, and if you want to answer basic questions about things like magic items, dreamscapes, etc., you're going to have to look in five or six places before you find the answer you want.

If you're the kind of gamer who doesn't mind doing a few cover-to-cover reads, and who is okay asking the empty air, "what the hell does that even mean?" twelve or thirteen times while trying to find an answer to a question, this won't be a problem. But the book's dense, unintuitive layout is a serious hurdle players will have to get over before sitting down at the table.

In The End

"Of Dreams and Magic" is a game with a lot of potential, but it has some serious flaws in its presentation. If you can overlook the lack of polish, and occasional head-scratching denseness (since I'm sure it made perfect sense to the designers and play testers, but I had hour long discussions with the Dreamweaver over what certain rules actually meant, and how things work), then the sheer flavor, freedom, and gonzo concept makes the game worth trying out. But if you're used to more mainstream games like Pathfinder, Dungeons and Dragons, or even most World of Darkness games, there is going to be a fairly hefty adjustment period. Take a deep breath, and remember, you only have to learn a new system once. It's always easier after the first dive.

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday update. Figured I'd spread the word, and try to leave a complete, balanced review. If folks liked this, let me know, and I'll consider doing it for other games I come across. For more content from yours truly, check out my Vocal archive, or head over to the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio where I work with other gamers to bring the world of Evora to life. To stay up-to-date on all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you'd like to help me keep Improved Initiative going then head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to leave a little love in my cup. Even $1 a month goes a long way, and it will earn you some sweet swag as a thank you.

The "Modern Adventures" Kickstarter Has Begun!

Admit it, we've all had that thought. That thought that goes, "what if we could take all the stuff we like in this fantasy RPG, but set it in the modern day?" You know, so you could have elf politicians arguing against term limits because they're prejudiced against long-lived races. Or gangs of goblins on the lower east side that you need to either fight, bribe, or win Diplomacy checks with to make your allies against greater dangers. Maybe you want to see dragons protected as an endangered species, or ask what it would be like to see a team of orcs play football.

Rather than hammer your head through the table trying to adapt Pathfinder to do all those things, check out the Kickstarter for Modern Adventures.

Your otyugh problem's fixed. Bathroom's a mess, though.

Now, I haven't read the rules myself, but it looks like a project worth checking out.

What Makes Modern Adventures Different

So what's the big deal about Modern Adventures? Well, the most obvious change is that it takes place in the modern era. That means guns are pretty common, Internet exists, and you can still go down to the corner cafe to get a grande latte. The difference is that your barista might be a gnome, and you might have a halfling correspondent on the news, telling you about the day's happenings.

Weather's great out in Shire, California. Back to you, Cliff!

The other big difference is that this game isn't set in Golarion, or any other fantasy world you'd typically play Pathfinder in. It's set on Earth, and it's meant to reflect the reality we know through a slightly fractured lens. So, while the ancient Persian empire still happened, it's possible that the Immortals were, in fact, a contingent of full-blooded orcs. There may be elven veterans who remember, and talk about, the American Civil War. And when urban blight gets bad, it might create a home for aberrations, monsters, and dangerous creatures, in addition to opening the doors to drug abuse, poverty, and all the ills we see from our purely human civilization.

Is It Worth A Look?

I repeat, I have not seen this book. I have not read the changes it made to the skills, and I haven't see what stats it created for heavy weapons, kevlar, etc. I have not see what explanations the game makes for how we got to the modern world we're all familiar with, even with trolls, magic, wizards, and clerics who can call upon the divine to turn belief into fact when it comes to religion. Nor have I seen how the game eliminates spell levels, and instead gives all spellcasters control over a kind of pool of power.

I do know that all those things have been promised. I'll be withholding judgment on the game as a whole until I can look at the content, but I know that some of the things I might think of as flaws would be features to other players. So, go look at the Kickstarter, and see if Modern Adventures is a game you've been looking for.

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday installment. Hopefully you find something worth chatting about, whether or not you become a backer. If you're looking for more content from yours truly, check out my Gamers archive. It's growing all the time. To stay up-to-date on all my latest content, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. And if you want to help support me and my work, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron. All it takes is $1 a month, and you'll be helping me out in addition to getting some sweet swag as a thank you!

The Social Bruiser

Anyone who's been reading my Unusual Character Concepts posts has likely noticed a pattern. They're all high fantasy, and they're typically geared toward level-based systems. A lot of the time they're also exclusive to Pathfinder. So I thought, this week, I'd do something different to give us all a change of pace. This week I'm going to talk about a concept that fans of the World of Darkness can bring to their table (or a LARP) to start turning some heads.

Wait a minute... you're telling me THAT guy is a Ventrue?

Subverting The Social Stereotype in The World of Darkness

Anyone who's played a World of Darkness game, old, new, or otherwise, knows it's not a level-based system. Instead, characters earn XP, and then spend it to buy the abilities they want. When a character is created, though, the player has to assign a primary, secondary, and tertiary area of influence to the Social, Mental, and Physical parts of the character. Not only that, but if you're playing any kind of supernatural character, there is usually some group you belong to. And each group is typically associated with a focus on one of those three areas. For example, Ventrue, Fairest, Silver Fangs, etc. are all stereotypically associated with social skills.

Just because you can be social, though, doesn't mean that's all you can be.

Darkness comes in many forms.

 

Examples work best, so picture this character from Vampire: The Masquerade. Christopher Blood roared into Chicago on the back of an iron horse, with a gang of leather-clad criminals at his beck and call. He's bold, brash, and crude, swaggering wherever he wants with a threat on his lips, and a gun never very far from his hand. And, if someone tries to call his bluff, the combination of lightning fast speed and his ability to soak up punishment like a fanged sponge makes him exactly the wrong kind of man you'd want to start trouble with.

Between the thick mane of hair, the preference for leather and chains, and the "come at me" attitude, most people would assume Christopher was a Brujah. A few might go so far as to think he's a Gangrel. But, despite attitude and appearances, Christopher was a Ventrue. Because, while he might have been a bloody-minded thug, he was the head bloody-minded thug. He was the road captain, and he gave the orders. He didn't wear a business suit, or keep millions of dollars in offshore accounts, but when it came to asking who stood among the Lords, there was no doubt that he was king in his own territory.

Don't Be Afraid To Be More

There are a dozen ways you can subvert the "social character" stereotype when it comes to World of Darkness games, while still remaining true to the themes and stats of your character's clan/tribe/seeming/etc. If you're playing Changeling: The Lost, what could be more social than a Spring Court Fairest? Or more terrifying than a draconic in full armor atop a mechanized steed, ready to ride you down with lance and magic? If you're playing a Silver Fang, everyone expects you to act like you're entitled to a position of authority and importance, while not having skills that deserve respect among a warrior people. But what if you were a late bloomer, and you didn't have your first change until you were on a mission as a special forces soldier? So now, on top of being an airborne paratrooper who's an expert in explosives, you also have the ability to transform into an 11-foot tall war beast.

It really isn't fair on anyone else.

 

Now, that sort of subversion of the "standard" character type isn't required by any means. Nor do you have to go in the more aggressive/violent direction. You could, instead, choose to play someone that's both beauty and brains, combining a forceful personality with academic excellence. Instead, you might make a physically skilled warrior who is also a learned thinker and philosopher.

You're not limited by class levels in the World of Darkness... so why let yourself be limited by preconceptions of what certain organization members, creature types, or even skill specialists have to be, when the only true limit is your math skills, and creativity?

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned For More!

That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my alley cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my most recent collection of short stories The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

The Best Roleplaying Games (You've Probably Never Heard Of)

Pathfinder. The World of Darkness. Call of Cthulhu. All Flesh Must be Eaten. These are the heavy-hitters every gamer has at least heard of, even if it isn't a particular player's game of choice. However, it's important to remember that while these might be some of the most popular games on the market, they are far from the only games available. For players looking for something a little bit different though, Improved Initiative is here to point you toward what might become your new favorite games.

Grimm

Boy is it ever.

Originally released as part of the D20 Modern series, and re-released by Fantasy Flight Games with a stream-lined and simplified rule system, Grimm is a game of terrible tales and adolescent adventure. Players take on the roles of children (no younger than 9 and no older than 12) who have passed into the Grimm Lands; a place full of every monster and myth the brothers Grimm sentenced into their book of stories. They have to travel through the checkerboard kingdoms, seek out ancient items of power and try to find their way back home again.

Grimm's major advantages, aside from the great flavor of the world and the novelty of playing children who can take things like "Bully" and "Dreamer" as classes, is that the system is simple and easy to both play and run. There's no XP to grant at the end of a session, there's no complex feat choices, and all of a character's abilities are very simple and straightforward. All players, and the storyteller, need are two six-sided dice and the base handbook. That makes Grimm a relatively cheap investment, in addition to being something that can almost literally be run at the drop of a hat.

Lastly, and I feel this must be said, Grimm can be as dark or as cutesy as you want. If you want to have a Disney-fied game because players are a little younger, then that's perfectly possible. However, the game itself trends toward the dark and the traditional, with child-eating witches, murderous lunatics, and capricious magic that end up destroying sanity and warping flesh. Just because characters are children, that doesn't make this a children's game.

Spycraft 2.0

D20 Shaken, Not Stirred

For players who want to get more use out of their dodecahedrons, Spycraft is a game that's gotten very little love over the years. Whether someone wants a full-on "Mission Impossible" style team, or they want to take their cues from shows like "Leverage", Spycraft is the ideal game for players who would like something a little more complicated than just kicking in the door and killing the monsters.

What this game lacks in knights in shining armor it more than makes up for in the variety of roles and the sheer possibility of missions. Storytellers can run a Call of Cthulhu style game where government agents send in investigation teams to uncover and deal with extraterrestrial encounters and their associated cults of worshipers. On the other hand it's equally possible to run a Hong Kong action theater style game where a team of mercenaries goes toe-to-toe with a drug cartel in an exotic locale. The Cold War, World War II, Vietnam, nothing is off limits in Spycraft. The system is solid, and it makes a refreshing shift from monsters in dark alleys and riding through the woods to the next goblin raid.

X-Crawl

This is how we roll.

XCrawl did something that no other game had ever tried to do before; it combined the dungeon crawling aspects of traditional Dungeons and Dragons with the glamour and drama of professional wrestling. The result is a modern-fantasy-gladiatorial-death-match-reality-TV-show that runs of the base of any D20 system the storyteller prefers.

In all fairness, XCrawl is less of a game and more of a skin. It can work with any edition of Dungeons and Dragons, but it can also be paired with D20 Modern, Pathfinder, or any of a number of other systems. If it involves a 20-sided die and all of its compatriots, then XCrawl can invigorate players' imaginations and present them with something so far outside their normal sphere of play that it gets their hearts pumping while it kicks their roleplaying up a notch. The game requires showmanship, number crunching, and a dose of off-the-cuff bravado, but if a party can put that together the results will be stories that get told for a long, long time.

Pie Shop

It is exactly what you think it is.

The last entry on this particular installation (I'm sure there will be others) is Pie Shop. For those of you who've seen Sweeney Todd, the title is a bit of a spoiler. You play a serial killer; that's it. There's no magic powers, no higher goal, you're just a group of deranged sociopaths looking to let a little blood and have a good time.

Pie Shop is refreshing in its sheer brutality... but it has one fatal flaw (aside from not being able to find the book too terribly easily). That flaw is that getting a group of serial murderers to all work together, unless they have a shared psychosis, is really difficult. The very act of creating a plot can sometimes mean putting together a scenario so ridiculous that it undermines the realism of the game. The government is capturing serial killers and using them as black ops agents? Sure! The mafia is recruiting dangerous, unpredictable mentally ill murderers as a special hit man squad? Eh, why not?

On that note though, if a storyteller can get over the hump of finding the right premise, Pie Shop is a game unlike anything else out there.


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