fredag 3 november 2017

Greetings once more!

Greetings once more from the Tabletop Multiverse!

Apologies for my absence, but it has been a very busy time for me between work, getting married, putting a lot of effort my tabletop RPG project, and much more.

I hope I will be able to return to posting on this blog again now. Exactly how often I will be able to post remains to be seen, and will most definitely depend on what is happening IRL for me.

This will most likely be a short post - meant more as a sign of life than anything else really.

So this means no new RPG-related news from me in this.

In my absence I did take the time to pledge for a Kickstarter from Free League - their new game Forbidden Lands which I think looks amazing. :) I really can't wait to give it a try once it arrives!

As I mentioned earlier, I have been spending time working on my own tabletop rpg project as well. I've been developing a game system as well as a world. It is far from finished yet. I guess you could say it is still in alpha. I do enjoy the challenge and the process of writing it though. It would be a dream to get it published some day for others to enjoy as well, but at the moment I am far away from being able to do that.

I'll return and write more about the project and what I am doing in a future post.

For now, it is time for this weary traveler of the Tabletop Multiverse's many winding paths to go rest his head for a bit and enjoy that thing widely known as "sleep".

Until next time!

måndag 17 april 2017

Green Ronin has announced plans to launch a new fiction line

Greetings fellow travelers of the Tabletop Multiverse!

A day or so ago I was made aware of a press release from Green Ronin Publishing which details their plans to start work on their new "fiction initiative", as they refer to it.

In the press release we can read:

Green Ronin aims to include novels, anthologies, and both stand-alone and serialized short fiction in their releases, tied to the rich and varied worlds of their many tabletop roleplaying properties. Early releases will include fiction set in the romantic fantasy world of Aldea from the Blue Rose Roleplaying Game and tales of superheroic adventures set in the world of Earth-Prime from Mutants & Masterminds.
As part of this fiction launch, Green Ronin has come to an agreement with author and editor C.A. Suleiman to publish and distribute his previously existing fiction anthology Tales of the Lost Citadel in electronic and deluxe print formats. Tales of the Lost Citadel will be the first release for the new fiction imprint.

Sounds like they have big plans for this, and I admit it will be very interesting to see it all come to fruition. :) Personally, I can't wait to see how they tie it in with their existing worlds.

To help them in this endeavor, they have brought in some experienced help by bringing on board Jaym Gates, who has previously worked on anthologies such as 'Eclipse Phase: After the Fall', 'Vampire the Masquerade: Endless Ages' and the 'Strange California'. She has also written fan fiction and/or setting material for things such as: 'Blue Rose', 'Firefly: Smuggler's guide to the Rim', and many other things.

Green Ronin says:

Leading this effort as Fiction Line Managing Editor will be Jaym Gates, author and editor, whose guiding hand has recently been evident on projects such as the Strange California anthology and Eclipse Phase: After the Fall, among many others.
“I always said that if we started a fiction line, we needed to do it the right way, and that’s precisely why we’ve brought Jaym on board,” says Green Ronin President Chris Pramas. “She has the chops and the experience to make this line sing.”
“I’m excited and honored to work with the Green Ronin team,” says Gates. “I’ve been a fan of their stories for a long time, and look forward to the opportunity to help bring new stories to life in their worlds.”

In Jaym Gates, Green Ronin has found themselves an experienced Fiction Line Managing Editor, who has previously worked with companies such as Paizo Publishing, and 'The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America'.

All in all it sounds promising, and I have no doubt that Green Ronin will deliver the goods!

Until next time folks!

fredag 14 april 2017

Kickstarter for Journey to Ragnarok for 5th edition D&D

Greetings once more from somewhere within the Tabletop Multiverse.

History is one of my great interests in life, along side world-building, role playing games, and a few other things.

When it comes to my interest in history, one of the things I have read the most about is the Viking age. Not that strange really, since I am Swedish after all. The viking age was part of my people's history. There's a lot more to it than just plundering "heathens", going out killing and raping for fun. That's not a very accurate description of the "vikings" (though I much prefer to call them Norsemen, so I will do so henceforth).

Anyway, this isn't a history blog, so let's connect this to something tabletop-related.

I've played a few Viking-based tabletop rpgs in my days, for example games like Viking (a swedish game), Yggdrasil (by Cubicle 7), as well as GURPS viking supplements, and a few others. I might come back to those in a different post (or a few posts), as well as games based on other historical periods, because I do think some of the games are really good.

What I want to talk about today though is a new supplement for 5th edition D&D that is up on Kickstarter called Journey to Ragnarok, where you get to be part of a story that culminates with Ragnarok itself. The video on the Kickstarter mentions you fighting side by side with the gods themselves.

From the Kickstarter page:

The idea behind Journey To Ragnarok was to merge our biggest passions: the 5th Edition of the most famous roleplaying game of all time and, of course, Norse Mythology.
Every single event, NPC or encounter that will cross Adventurers' path is the result of more than 15 years of love and research, readings and travels.
Our intent is to let the Adventurers discover and explore the true origins of Norse Mythology, that has deeply influenced Fantasy literature, games,comics and movies.
It will be very interesting to see how they have handled the mythology and what, if any (though this is D&D so there will probably be some at least), fantasy elements they've worked in.

Then again, Norse mythology is full of enough uncertainties that there is ample room for that. :)

Either way, I am looking forward to seeing how it goes.

Currently (at the time of writing this), they are already more than 4 times over their goal, with 22 days to go on the Kickstarter. If you think it sounds interesting, or already know enough about it and want to help them unlock even more stretch-goals, head over to the Kickstarter and check it out!

I'll see you all again, somewhere on the winding roads of the Tabletop Multiverse!

söndag 26 mars 2017

Kickstarter for Karvosti - The Witch Hammer

Greetings, once again, from somewhere within the Tabletop Multiverse.

Today we're diving into the world of the Swedish tabletop RPG sensation known as Symbaroum. Or, more precisely, the campaign they currently have on Kickstarter, namely: Karvosti - The Witch Hammer. It is for the english translation of the adventure, which is already out in swedish.

It's been up for a few days, but still has 15 days to go on it's Kickstarter run. Not that it really needs it as it has already been funded several times over. Then again, that also shows how much people are looking forward to its release. I think it is also a general indicator of the popularity that Symbaroum in general has been enjoying ever since its launch - and with good reasons! It is a great game to play, and has garnered a lot of interest. As a result it has already been translated in a few languages.

Did you enjoy adventuring in the Chronicle of the Throne of Thorns campaign? "Karvosti - the Witch Hammer" is a freestanding sequel to that campaign, following the "Thistle Hold - Wrath of the Warden" which was the first. It is going to be 152 pages of adventure.

From the Kickstarter:

Karvosti – The Witch Hammer is the second episode in the Chronicle of the Throne of Thorns. The 152 page book is a freestanding sequel to Thistle Hold – Wrath of the Warden and will be followed by five other episodes.
It is through these campaign and adventure modules that we will keep building the world of Symbaroum; aside from an in-depth introduction to a specific region in Ambria, Davokar or beyond, each book will introduce new optional rules and features: abilities, (monstrous) traits, mystical powers and rituals, creatures, artifacts, elixirs and much more.
Looking at this second episode in particular, it focuses on the cliff of Karvosti – the age-old thingstead of the barbarian High Chieftain, located deep within the forest of Davokar. The module is divided into three sections…
The Kickstarter is doing really well. With 15 days to go they have, at the time of me writing this, 418 backers, and have so far amassed SEK 327,429 (SEK = swedish kronor). Their goal was SEK 50,000.

Take a look at it if you haven't already, and if you like it give it a pledge. It'll help them unlock more stretch goals for what I think will be another really good product from them.

And if you haven't checked out the Symbaroum game, you can do so here.

Until next time!


söndag 12 mars 2017

Player influence on the setting & GM dice rolling trends

Greetings from somewhere inside the infinite expanse of the Tabletop Multiverse.

There's been a trend in the last few year - or longer? I'm honestly not sure - to make the GM's side of playing RPGs more 'lightweight' and streamlined, putting more of the focus on the players and giving them a greater influence in helping to build the world they are playing in. Some games even put the dice rolling in the hands of the players in order to free up the GM to focus more on the storytelling.

Generally speaking I am ok with this. Though I am not sure I understand it fully. As a GM, I am generally able to focus on the storytelling anyway. The rolling of dice has never really struck me as something that detracts from that. Though others might view it differently, of course. To me, it just feels like a natural part of it, that the GM rolls for the NPCs etc.

Then again, I fully agree that dice rolling should NEVER get in the way of the storytelling. Generally speaking, unless it actually matters you don't really need to roll dice for it. I am not going to make my players roll dice for walking down the street or do something that is routine for them unless there are external factors - like stress, gunfire, slippery surfaces, jumping over a chasm, or other things - that warrants them actually making rolls.

Having players be part of the world-building process through the medium of their characters is also something that feels kind of natural to me. It generally helps to build a fantastic world in the end, that will be more memorable to all due to the natural connection that the players, and their characters, feel to the world having had a part in shaping it. Also as a GM I find that it can be beneficial as it helps bring the world to life and someone else might think of something cool that you didn't think about. Only thing to keep an eye on is really to make sure that what they, the players, want to put into the world actually fits with the setting. If you can't justify a giant mech in your fantasy setting, don't put it in just because a player thinks it would be cool. Just saying. Then again, you might be able to re-flavour it into something that could fit a bit better. Taking the mech from the example above you might be able to re-flavour it into a golem or magical construct of some sort. In the end, you as a GM have the final say, and responsibility, to make it all fit together.

If you haven't tried letting your players have a say in the world-building, I would recommend it. At least give it a try and see what you think.

Granted, I don't always do that either. I think it depends a bit on who the players are, and also some projects you want full control as a GM. For example, I am not going to let the players help me design a dungeon for a dungeon crawl. I want it to be a surprise and give them the full experience of the dungeon crawl.

I think player influence is good, but I am personally not convinced by the whole 'putting all the dice rolling in the hands of the players' thing. Granted, there are games out there who does it really well and have a well thought out system and mechanics for it. I enjoy those as well, but I think my preference will always be for the GM to be able to roll dice as well. If that makes me 'old school' by today's standards, then so be it.

Nothing can make the players nervous like the GM suddenly rolling a few dice, silently nod to him- or herself, and then continue on with the storytelling as if nothing had happened.

Then again, to each their own. I would highly recommend you try a few different systems out to see what kind of system you and your players like best. That goes regardless of whether you are relatively new to the whole tabeltop roleplaying thing, or if you have played for years but mostly stuck to the same small group of games. Nothing wrong with the latter, but it can always be good to try and experience new things.

Until we meet again, somewhere in the vast expanse of the Tabletop Multiverse.

måndag 27 februari 2017

A good actor has left us

Greetings from somewhere in the Tabletop Multiverse.

Today's post will be a short one, unfortunately. But I will hopefully return soon with more.

As many of you probably know, Bill Paxton passed away yesterday, at the age of 61.

Why am I bringing this up here? Well, because Private First Class William L. Hudson is one of my favourite characters of all time, in one of my favourite movies of all time. I am a big Alien fan, and the second movie 'Aliens' is my favourite movie of the bunch. One of best things about it was Bill Paxton's portrayal of Hudson.

So many memorable quotes and scenes came from that character.

I've even made a couple of characters for tabletop RPGs that were directly inspired by that character. In fact I am about to play a Hudson-inspired character in a few weeks time. Should be fun! :) Though I had no idea this would happen when I first created the character, I am now even more determined to try and make it justice.

I know that Bill directed and played in other movies as well, and I have loved his roles in those too, but being the big Alien fan that I am, and considering that the second movie 'Aliens' is one of my favourite movies of all time, the role of Hudson is one that I will always associate with Bill Paxton, and it is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the actor.

He also remains one of only two actors to have been killed by an Alien, a Predator and a Terminator. The other one being Lance Henriksen.

So, I salute you Bill Paxton. Thanks for giving the world William L Hudson and many other memorable roles and movies. You will be missed.

Until next time.

lördag 25 februari 2017

Kickstarter for Lex Occultum (formerly Götterdämmerung)

Greetings travellers, and welcome to another entry from somewhere in the Tabletop Multiverse!

This time I have turned my attention to a Kickstarter from Swedish tabletop game developer RiotMinds (link goes to the Swedish website). They are running a Kickstarter for their new game Lex Occultum, which as far as I have been able to find out is a new version of their old game Götterdämmerung.

The game has won the "Game of the Year" award in Sweden, and this Kickstarter aims to fund an english version of the game as well. So far, they have already beaten their goal, with 26 days to go, so hopefully they can get enough to reach some of the stretch goals. :)

As for the game itself, it takes place in the 18th century, and deals with the occult and supernatural. You get to fight against supernatural creatures with your flintlock and lantern. Originally this game was going to precede the company's other major game Trudvang Chronicles for an english translation and release, but the company swapped them around. Now however, they are getting around to Lex Occultum again, and it should be one to look forward to! :) It is a really good game game, full of flintlocks, mysteries, secret societies, occultism, magic, and much much more. All taking place in the 18th century, as I said. This is a dark game, with a dark atmosphere.

This is from the game's Kickstarter page:

"Europe, 18th century. The church is losing its grip on men struggling with old beliefs and dogmas. Alchemists, occultists and secret societies dig deep into old mysteries and ancient obscurities. Enlightenment is not only about breaking free from old institutions and structures, but also about discovering what has been hidden for hundreds of years, even millenniums. Illuminati, Freemasons, the old Templars and other secret societies hide in dark chambers plotting for a new world order, or to just uncover the dark arts and ancient wisdoms.

The nobles and aristocrats is a dying breed living in full decadence and excess while the common people suffer in poverty. This is the era of Enlightment, but also ignorance. Few know anything about the growing darkness; the vampires and offspring of the devil, and while conspiracies grow under the surface, kings and priests preach about submission and obedience. But who is to save men from the twilight of the gods, from falling into the darkness and be consumed by evil? Is it true that the apocalypse is soon to come?

LexOccultum takes place in a fictive historical 18th century, where the occult and supernatural is real but not yet in full bloom.
This is a game about flintlock pistols, filthy grave diggers, lanterns, werewolves, wine and decadence, secret societies, conspiracies and mysteries too dangerous to uncover. It’s a game about explorers battling the raging seas, the truth about the Templars, holy bloodlines, a quiet war between men and beast. Discover the corrupt Paris, the smoke filled London, "gin craze" and alchemists search for the Philosopher's stone. Dig deep into the cabbala system and ancient mysteries of old Egypt."

 As I mentioned earlier there are 26 days to go on the Kickstarter. If what you've read above sounds interesting to you then you should definitely go check it out!

Until we meet again, somewhere on the long and winding paths of the Tabletop Multiverse.


lördag 18 februari 2017

The Norsemen Cometh

Ah. I'm glad you could all join me around my campfire. Traversing the many paths of the Tabletop Multiverse, one needs to set up camp from time to time and hope that the warmth and light of a well-lit campfire will bring other travelers to it. Shared merriment and good company is invaluable, in my opinion.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the Norse-inspired part of the world I am creating. And, more precisely, the pantheon, mythologies, and traditions that shaped that society into what it is. I have come to the conclusion that I want to choose my path once an for all, when it comes to that. So far I have had three distinct paths I could have taken with it (in no particular order, really):

A) Go with the actual pantheon (as far as we know and understand it today) and mythology that existed. Granted, we don't have a 100% complete picture or understanding of it, but you can probably fill in the 'blanks' with stuff that at least seem to fit. And if not, then just remember that this is a fantasy world so things might have evolved slightly differently anyway.

B) Take what we know about the gods from the post-Ragnarok world - essentially those few who survived Ragnarok - and use that as a basis for creating something new. This is a very interesting option as well, and not one I believe I have seen done very often, if at all. It probably has been done but in that case I either haven't seen it or can't remember seeing it. Anyway, I find this to be an interesting option as well as it gives me more freedom compared to option 'A'. If we know little about the Norse pantheon, we know even less about their beliefs about the world post-Ragnarok. 

C) Ignore everything and start over. Basically this is about creating a whole new pantheon and mythology that could work in a Norse-inspired fantasy setting. Or at least for the part of the world that actually IS Norse-inspired.

I've always had a big interest in the Norse era. I hesitate to call it the viking age as that is a very limited time-frame framed between two events that took place on British soil - essentially the time between the first and last 'viking' raid on British soil. However the culture was around before and after that as well, in one form or another. Sure, they were Christianized around the end of the viking age, but still. Anyway, I am not here to discuss the Norsemen of old in any great detail. Just to say that I enjoy learning about them - how their society works, the lives of the everyday people, the mythology, their traditions and culture, etc. 

Now, what I am trying to create with the Norse-inspired part of my world-building isn't a faithful re-creation of Norse society and beliefs, because frankly I can't and it wouldn't fit into the world as a whole anyway. What I have done instead is something that is based on Norse society and their way of life. Granted, I know I am far from being the only person in history that has done something like this. Still, it is a fun little project and I have been enjoying it very much. 

No, my norsemen don't wear winged or horned helmets, other than possibly for ritual purposes (possible if I go with option 'C' above. We shall see).

No, I'm not calling them "Barbarians".

As for the options listed above, I have lately been working on options 'B' and 'C'. There's still much work to do, followed by a lot of thinking and tweaking. But as it stands one of those options will most likely be the one I will end up going with.

Well then, I see a new sun rise above the infinite horizon of the Tabletop Multiverse. Time to put the campfire out for this time, and continue on my travels. Well met travelers, and until we meet again I wish you all happy journeys.

Until next time!

lördag 21 januari 2017

Another broadcast from somewhere in the vast Tabletop Multiverse

Greetings from the far reaches of the tabletop multiverse. I hope I am finding you all in good health and a merry mood! :)

It's been roughly two weeks since my last transmission... eh, blog post. It's been busy weeks, but also good ones.

Sadly nothing new to report from the 3.5 game I wrote about in my last post (you can read about that here). It has been on a sort of unplanned mini-hiatus since then, due to IRL things popping up for various people and having to postpone it until next time. I am hoping we can get back to it in the coming week though.

In the meantime I have actually finished a second D&D 3.5 character - a catfolk, knight/bard/inventor/rifle-user (it's my DM's world and my character belonging to a knightly order essentially has turned him into... that. XD lol ). It seems like it will be a fun character to play though. It's going to be a Saturday game, that will be a bit on/off, so not every Saturday. Essentially, I have no clue how often we'll play. I am just going to wait for my GM to tell me when we play. I am looking forward to it though, and to trying out playing this character. I had a lot of fun playing my Shugenja character in the other 3.5 campaign, and I am sure I will enjoy playing this one as well.

One of the 'features' I am looking forward to trying out with the new catfolk character is the fact that he delivers most of his spells via the medium of magical bullets from his flintlock rifle. Now, I have played a 'gun mage' before, in the Iron Kingdoms RPG, though I have a suspicion that this catfolk character is going to be less broken in combat than my IK character was. XD lol I won't go into too much detail about it. It is possible that in a different campaign that character would have been less broken in combat. After all, when I played her we were all new to IK, including the GM!

It can be difficult getting new games off the ground though. I have a Mutant Chronicles campaign sitting there waiting for an opening (using 1st and 2nd edition MC), as well as some other ideas that probably will have to wait even longer. The problem is all the players need to find the time for it, but generally when some have time other's don't. Though I guess this is an issue all GMs & DMs face at some point in their lives. There's no rush for me though. We'll get around to it whenever we get around to it. The campaign isn't going anywhere.

Right. I think that will be all from me for today.

Until next time!

lördag 7 januari 2017

A new game

Greetings friends! Good to see you all again on this side of the new year. Let's hope this will be a really good year for all!

Recently, I got involved in a D&D 3.5 game which has its basis in a fantasy version of the Chinese story Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I don't think we are trying to faithfully follow the story, mind you. It is more the setting we are using, with some minor tweaks. Never the less, it looks like a very interesting setting and I think we will be in for a fun ride! :)

Anyway, we are using the Oriental Adventures books for it, and I am playing a female Shugenja character. A class which I have never played before. We've only had one session of it so far, which ended up being roughly 6 hours long. I have to say that for that session at least, I was really enjoying playing a Shugenja!

At the start of the session we had our first battle. My Shugenja had a bit of a difficult time noticing what was going down though, because of some really bad dice rolling. Eventually though, she noticed something and went downstairs to see what was going on. Now, before the session I wasn't sure how I was going to enjoy playing a Shugenja. But once we got the session going and I got into my first combat, I felt much better about it. Her beam-type attacks and the flaming sphere really showed me she could be fun to work with. I do think though, that she will be better against several enemies rather than targeting a single enemy. We shall see though. She also has some out of combat utility spells that I am hoping she will find uses for. Though that will depend on what kind of game it evolves into being. If it is a game that focuses a lot on combat I might not be able to 'waste' the spell uses outside of combat, in which case I might have to re-build her a bit. But we shall see how it goes.

I think I will have a lot of fun with the character, though I am still trying to figure out her personality and such, and I need to get around to actually writing down a backstory for her. So far, all I know for certain is really that she is 20 years old, she's from Japan, she's a Shugenja, and she is nobility. She is also travelling with two other characters, one PC and an NPC, both of which are Samurai. I'll see if I can return with a better description of her here on the blog once I have her more fleshed out as a character.

Anyway, that will be all for me for this time.

Until next we meet, somewhere in the tabletop multiverse!