First Impressions - Mausritter RPG

The digital edition of Mausritter is PWYW at itch.io

I'd read some comments about Mausritter, and was curious to find out what was creating all this buzz. I picked up the Pay-What-You-Want version from itch.io and ended up ordering the boxed set pretty soon after I'd read it. The thoughts here are all based on the PDF copies as I'm about a week off the boxed set arriving.

TL;DR: I'm hugely impressed with this game; it has everything you need to have fun and perilous adventures in a setting that's both dangerous and whimsical. Simple mechanics, clearly and beautifully presented, underpin a game which has more depth than you'd first imagine. As a gamesmaster, I found myself immediately scribbling maps down of our back garden and surrounds, thinking of how I could run this. I did immediately think of running it for the kids, but it'd work equally well with adults. I liked it enough that I ended up ordering the gorgeous looking boxed set from Games Omnivorous.

In concept, Mausritter reminds me of Mouseguard, in that it's about the adventures of mice in a dangerous world, and that it would easily be suitable for younger players. Settled mice live on the edge in a dangerous world; a cat, bad weather or human activity can easily cause their world to be destroyed. However, there are brave mice, adventurers who can make the difference between death and survival. The game is focussed around the (often brief and violent) lives of these mice.

Written by Isaac Williams, the game wears its influences on its sleeve, building on work done in 'Into the Odd' and others (all of which are referenced at the start). It has a simple and effective game engine, and summaries what players do in a set of best practice guidelines (which Powered by the Apocalypse games would call an agenda):

"Ask lots of questions - make notes, draw maps
Work together - devise schemes, recruit allies
Dice are dangerous - clever plans don't need to roll
Play to win - delight in losing
Fight dirty - Run, die, roll a new mouse" 

There are three core attributes - strength, dexterity and will. These are rolled on 3d6, taking the highest two dice for each. You can swap any two around. The attributes are used for the core mechanic of the game, the save. You roll a d20 to get less than or equal to the attribute to succeed. You can roll with advantage or disadvantage if appropriate. If you are in an opposed roll, the lowest successful save wins.

You have a level of hit protection, rolled on a d6. Once this is burned through from damage, your attributes are reduced directly. You also have a number of 'pips'. These are currency in the mouse world and track experience. Like Into the Odd, you cross-reference the hit protection against the currency (number of pips) and that gives you a past career, which gives you equipment. If your best attribute is less than 9 you'll get extra equipment to provide some balance. You also get torches, rations and a weapon. Character generation rounds out with a birth sign (which influences your mouse's behaviours), details of your coat, and some physical detail about how your mouse looks and stands out to others.

The online mouse generator, which is a delight.

You can roll a character manually, or you can use the online generator, which is great fun. Inventory is important; you have a limited amount of slots you can carry things in. There are four that are immediately to hand (usually used for weapons and armour) and a further six that need an action to access. Most items of equipment have a maximum of three uses.

The inventory system is clever and effective.

If you take a condition (damage or some other negative effect such as poison or magic) then it will occupy an inventory slot. It describes what its impact is (for example, being injured gives disadvantage on some saves) and what you need to do to recover from it (for example, a long rest). 

Combat is dangerous - weapons typically do between d6 and d10 damage depending upon the type. If you achieve surprise, then you go first; otherwise, you need to make a DEX save to go first. Attacks always hit, and you roll damage immediately. It can be reduced slightly by armour (typically a single point), but the remainder is applied to hit protection. If this is all used up, STR is reduced, and you must make a save against the current value. If you fail, you take critical damage, an injured condition and are out of the fight until tended to by an ally in short rest. If you don't get attention in a set number of turns then you die. It's a short and brutal life for your mouse adventurer if you aren't careful or lucky.

Time is broken into rounds (which are under a minute and used in combat), turns (around ten minutes, all combat is assumed to take a turn in total) and watches (36 turns, or six hours) used for wilderness travel. 

Experience is based upon bringing treasure and useful goods back to your community; if you send them to support the community then you gain extra XP. If you level up, you get to roll to improve your attributes, and also to roll a number of hit dice to increase hit protection. If your dice roll above the current value, then your HP is increased to the highest level rolled, otherwise you increase HP by 1. A second level or above, you get Grit. Each point of Grit allows you to ignore a condition's effects by placing it on special grit inventory slot (but you will still need to clear it to remove it).

Magic is through casting spells, which are living spirits trapped by runs in obsidian tablets. A mouse can choose to cast the spell at different levels of power to create different levels of effect. However, the more power that is used, the more likely that the spell's energy will be expended; if it is, then certain conditions will need to be met to recharge the spell (for example, a light spell needs to catch the first light of sunrise and the last light of sunset for three days). The expenditure rules are simple; a d6 is rolled for each level of power used and a roll of four or more results in usage being marked. A roll of six results in a miscast, causing d6 WIL damage and a WIL save. If you fail the save, you get the mad condition.

There are simple rules for recruiting hirelings (if you can afford them) and also forming a Warband of twenty or more mice. Warbands are important because some creatures (such as cats) are too powerful for a small group of mice to fight. Warbands are given attributes like a player character and need funds to keep together.

There are also rules for construction; building rooms, tunnels and more, should your mouse want to invest in the community or build their own home.

All these rules are presented in a really focused and clear thirteen pages (which include three pages of play examples). It is a fantastic example of brevity and focus; it's a shame that many roleplaying games aren't this well written.

The gamemaster's section has a separate set of best practices:

"Make the world seem huge
Create situations, not plots
Present the world honestly
Telegraph danager
Reward bravery"

These are expanded on, giving the agenda for running the game very clearly. The guidance is clear that saves should only be used because of a player's action or choice and when there are consequences to failure. The consequences should be obvious to the players. There is an option for a luck roll if a save is inappropriate (an 'x-in-6' chance of success).

There are rules for tracking time (and torch usage). Overland travel, including weather, the terrain, foraging and rest is covered with simple and effective rules. Guidance is given for encounters, including how to build an encounter table, along with reactions from those they meet.

There is a well-developed bestiary; each creature has attributes, a summary of their wants and a random table which may give powers or agendas.

There's a great section on building your sandbox to play in; the hexcrawl toolbox. It walks you through the process and has some random tables to spark your imagination. This is really useful. It included the development of factions with their own goals to make the world seem real. Examples of such are given using the creatures from the bestiary; a Cat Lord has many resources, not least its terrifying presence, hired mercenaries and bandits and exorbitant wealth. Goals could include raising bribes from settlements, kidnapping mice as servants and subjugating a settlement. 

An example hexcrawl is given, the Earldom of Ek. This includes the 'Honey in the Rafters' adventure site included in the boxed set. Even if you just get the PDF of the game, the adventure site is work picking up as it is a masterclass in clever design which also shows how the game expects situations to be presented rather than plots.

An example random adventure site generated using the online resources.

There's a similar toolbox for creating adventure sites, including random tables to create and stock a site. You can even generate them randomly on the Mausritter website. There are tables for treasure and magic items. The section rounds out with an example site, Stumpsville, which ties back to the examples of play. In two pages, there's enough for an evening or two of play.

The book rounds out with some 'useful tables'; random tables for creating non-player mice, a d66 table for adventure seeds (creature - problem - consequence) and finally tables for the weather in each season. This includes seasonal events which can easily set up situations for play.

The last page is a short summary of the rules for players.

I'm hugely impressed with this game; it has everything you need to have fun and perilous adventures in a setting that's both dangerous and whimsical. Simple mechanics, clearly and beautifully presented, underpin a game which has more depth than you'd first imagine. As a gamesmaster, I found myself immediately scribbling maps down of our back garden and surrounds, thinking of how I could run this. I did immediately think of running it for the kids, but it'd work equally well with adults. I liked it enough that I ended up ordering the gorgeous looking boxed set from Games Omnivorous.

The Boxed Set.

Recommended.

Useful links.

• The game's website - https://mausritter.com/
• PDF version plus extras here - https://losing-games.itch.io/mausritter
• EU hardcopies here - https://gamesomnivorous.com/
• USA hardcopies here - https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/mausritter-rulebook?_pos=1&_sid=b1bab4018&_ss=r

29 November 2020

On the Run

First attempt at running in a long time!

I used to be pretty active, regular badminton and swimming, not to mention getting out and about on site. The arrival of the kids cut into some of this, but I still enjoyed getting out irregularly, especially for swimming. And then lockdown #1 arrived back in March and my activity levels crashed.

Reached a point of dissatisfaction last week, and decided that I was going to try and do something to be more active. I'd been watching my better half heading off, doing a couch to 5k programme (which she's finding quite challenging as she's quite asthmatic), so I started to think about whether I should do something myself. Swimming was out, as were most of the sports I enjoy. Site visits are out, with lockdown #2 and living in a Tier 2/3 area. With some trepidation, I looked at running.

If you know me well, you'll know I hate running. It's never floated my boat; I've always prefered activities where you run for a reason. Well, needs must. My reason is to feel more healthy and to lose some of the lard lockdown has added.

I downloaded the BBC Active Couch to 5k app, bought myself some new bluetooth earphones (as I couldn't find my existing set after two days of looking) and picked the celeb coach to try and encourage me. I ended up with Sarah Millican (whose comedy I've always liked and whose expressed preference for cake I can emote with).

Set off on Wednesday night (after a bit of route planning) and was out for about 35 min. The initial week starts with a 5 min brisk walks and then alternates 60 seconds running with 90 seconds walking, followed by a 5 min walk at the end. Made it through okay, although around run 3 I was thinking 'why am I doing this?'. I knew the answer. I slotted some Faithless onto Apple Music, so had energy from that, and the delightful Sarah kept on popping up with direction and encouragement which kept me on track. I felt reasonably good at the end, but was definitely aching on Friday. 

Run #2 - slightly faster, further and better.

The challenge is to keep going and do the rest of the week; there are three runs at this rate and then I level up and I guess it gets harder each time.

I hate running, but it definitely felt good to be active, and the app makes it a lot more focussed. I'd recommend it. It has great tips for non-runners on preparing and what to wear etc.

28 November 2020

Rules and Rulings

There’s a debate running at the moment in RPG circles about rules vs rulings. Here’s my two penn’th:

Rules are science. Clear statements about reality hopeful established through empirical (play)testing. Sometimes theoretical and needing to be proven in reality.

Rulings are engineering. Applying the science you know to make things happen in an imperfect world, often pragmatic and working to a principle of 'that looks/feels about right' based on past experience. Sometimes they are technical expressions or extrapolations from rules.

First Impressions - Warlock! Griff's Vale

Griff's Vale - be sure to pack for bad weather.

The gaming presses at Fire Ruby Designs have rolled out another book for Warlock! which must make it one of the best-supported lines out there at the moment in terms of rate and quality of production. Griff's Vale is a seventy-six page hardback book, available through DriveThruRPG's print-on-demand service. This is a setting book, like the excellent Kingdom book. Production quality, layout and trade-dress match the previous release.   

TLDR: Griff's Vale is well presented and continues the Warlock! approach of leaving spaces for the players and GM to explore. It doesn't excite me as much as the Kingdom book did, but that's because I'm a sucker for a city setting. If you like the idea of a frontier adventure, remote from civilisation, where the character's actions can cause significant effects, then this may well be a great setting for you. As an aside, because this is very light on system details you could easily lift it as inspiration for other fantasy roleplaying games.

Written by Eric Brimstein and Greg Saunders, the book provides a sandbox setting, with a linked adventure hook to draw the characters in. Griff's Vale is a region of hills and forests on the western slopes of the Black Spine mountains. The closest town is Rebeck (which suffered in the war with the Traitor), but you have to skirt the northern edge of Lake Gossenham to get there. It's wet and windy, with fogs common. The cover does a great job of capturing this feeling.

The area has a shrine sacred to the Thrice-Blessed where the hero Temple Knight Griff drove off hordes of Goblins who had been ravaging the area under the banner of the Dragon Wrath. At the end of a ferocious battle, Griff struck down the Statue of the Dragon at the shrine that Goblins worshipped before dying himself. Having broken the goblin horde and seized control of the area for humanity, Griff was declared a martyr by the church, and a shrine founded that has become a key destination for the pilgrims.

The history is presented ambiguously, and it's not clear if the goblins were actually there first and Griff destroyed their kingdom. Griff's exact burial site has been lost in time.

The town of Griff's Bluff is ruled by Marcher Lord, Baron Edrick of Hillsbrow, a veteran of the war with the Traitor, a situation which greatly displeases Countess Yestre of Rebeck who believes that this should be her domain. The Church of the Thrice Blessed controls Broken Dragon Shrine through Sister Greta of Pomperburg, from her Church in Griff's Bluff. Goblin bands still menace the area.

The book presents key locations with a variety of maps and floorplans, including the Keep, The Lone Watchman inn,  and the Church. Random tables are given in the usual Warlock! style to give ideas for encounters and background. The areas through the vale are all fleshed out in a similar manner, and there are descriptions of the main goblin band and some of their rivals. As usual, this is gaming gold, with enough ambiguity and space to make it your own setting.

The second part of the book is a campaign outline called 'Past Best Forgotten', where the characters are engaged by Ruabin the Lesser, a descendant of Griff who has been sent by factions within the Church of the Thrice Blessed to find artefacts or the mortal remains of Griff. They seek his canonisation as a saint, as he is a potent symbol of the strength of the Church. By default, this adventure is set in autumn as the weather draws in. The actions of the characters will likely upset the power balance of the region, and give them plenty of reasons to travel in the area and meet people. Stats are presented for the key NPCs and creatures. This is very much an outline for a set of adventures; how they work out will very much depend upon the actions of the players as they trudge through the mud and rain on their quest.

I like this book; Griff's Vale is well presented and continues the Warlock! approach of leaving spaces for the players and GM to explore. It doesn't excite me as much as the Kingdom book did, but that's because I'm a sucker for a city setting. If you like the idea of a frontier adventure, remote from civilisation, where the character's actions can cause significant effects, then this may well be a great setting for you. As an aside, because this is very light on system details you could easily lift it as inspiration for other fantasy roleplaying games.

My other Warlock reviews are here:

Warlock! Core Rules

Warlock! Compendium 1

Warlock! Compendium 2

Warlock! Kingdom

Reflections on running Warlock!

Warlock! Griff's Vale

Warlock! Goblins!

Warlock! Phantasmagoria

Warlock! Three's Company

Warlock! Black Edition

Bonus: Warlock! VTT sheets for Role

23 November 2020

WOTB: T-62A Ammo-rack

 

Poor T-62A. But didn't he think that I'd pre-aim once I knew he was there?

Oops, They Did It Again! - ENWorld continue their Witchhunt against the Dee Sanction

Having managed to publish a misleading and erroneous piece on the Dee Sanction Kickstarter (ends today) making it out to be all about witch-hunting, ENWorld seemed to try and make it right by first editing the piece badly (leaving the errors in), then pulling it and eventually doing an interview with Paul Baldowski (the creator) about the project.

However... 

Their latest weekly digest doubles back down on the whole witch-hunting push, which is bizarre.

• Morrus interviewed Paul Baldowski about the Elizabethan witch hunting RPG Dee Sanction currently on Kickstarter.

To quote Paul Baldowski on the Gaming Tavern where conversation had sprung up following my previous blog post about this:

I am lost for words. Nowhere — in my Kickstarter, my website, my Twitter account or anywhere — has witch-hunting ever been mentioned. Ever.

It makes you wonder what ENWorld's problem with the Dee Sanction or Paul is? Is this having the last word, or is it just a continuation of superficial and poor journalism?

Anyway, as I write this it doesn't seem to have harmed the project, which is on track to hit £25,000 against a target of £3,000. If you want to back it, you can find the project here.

ENWorld haven't covered themselves in glory with this witch-hunt obsession.

22 November 2020

Curse of Strahd - S2E6 - Three proposals and a Funeral.

     

Everyone present tonight, which was nice, especially as we thought that Alex wouldn't make it originally. We enter the game with our newly levelled up characters, now at the giddy heights of level four. Of course, the threats have also risen...

Our dramatis personae:

Ser Alys de Rouge (a half-orc Fighter with a soldier background, currently the leader of the town militia of Daggerford), played by Tom (Guvnor). Lawful Neutral. Imagine a slightly greener take on Grace Jones...

Kelwarin (Kel) (a half-elf Sorceror flush with the powers of wild magic, an outlander), played by Graham (First Age). Chaotic Good.

Gaddock Teeg (a halfling wizard and former prizefighter), played by Alex (Doggetay), Neutral Good

Ser Adon of House Starbright (a half-orc Paladin, from a knightly background, with two human retainers and a priest), played by Paul (dr_mitch). Lawful Good.

November 12th

Overnight at the Blue Water Inn, Vallaki. A good night's sleep. Over breakfast, the party discussed the prophecy, trying to glean what it was all about. 

Madame Eva dealt five cards on the table, and this is what she saw.

2 of Coins — The Philanthropist
This card tells of history. Knowledge of the ancient will help you better understand your enemy. Look to a place where sickness and madness are bred. Where children once cried, the treasure lies still.

7 of Glyphs — The Charlatan
This card tells of a powerful force for good and protection, a holy symbol of great hope. I see a lonely mill on a precipice. The treasure lies within.

2 of Swords — The Paladin
This is a card of power and strength. It tells of a weapon of vengeance: a sword of sunlight. I see a sleeping prince, a servant of light and the brother of darkness. The treasure lies with him.

Queen of Clubs - The Raven 
This card sheds light on one who will help you greatly in the battle against darkness. Find the leader of the feathered ones who live among the vines. Though old, he has one more fight left in him.

King of Hearts - The Ghost 
Your enemy is a creature of darkness, whose powers are beyond mortality. This card will lead you to him. Look to the father’s tomb.

They decided that the landlord of the Blue Water Inn, Urwin Martikov, must be the focus of The Raven and that they needed to find a way to talk to him about whether he would oppose he who can't be named in this town (by the Baron's order). Ser Adon suggested that they had a conversation after the funeral of Alana Martikov, the woman who they had found murdered and partly transformed into a raven, at the gallows beside the River Ivlis crossroads. She was the cousin of the family here, and they suspected that she may have been a lycanthrope, perhaps a were-raven. After a short debate between Ser Alys and Ser Adon as to whether Ser Adon should wear his best tweed clothes or his armour, they headed to the Church of St Andral.

The form of the funeral service, led by Father Lucian, was familiar to the party, despite the words and the name of the deity differing. The service invoked the protection of St Andral against evil and the Morninglord's guidance. After the service, Ser Adon respectfully asked Danika Martikov if they could talk, later on, only to have her young son, Bray, the bolder of the twins start to ask his mother why she was talking to the people whose fault it was that Alana had died. She apologised and gave the child a ticking off. 

Urwin Martikov approached Ser Adon and Ser Alys, asking if they were holy warriors. Ser Adon announced that he was [much mirth amongst players as Dr Mitch managed to get his character's god's name confused with Kelwarin]. Urwin said that Father Lucian would like to talk to him then, and invited the party to join the wake back at the pub afterwards.

Talking in the sacristy, Father Lucian asked for help. Someone had stolen the reliquary and bones of St Andral, an item of holy power that protected the church from creatures of evil. The party examined the hidden spot in the floorboards which gave access to the small crypt and Gaddock ascertained that the damage to break-in looked like it could have been done with a shovel, perhaps like that used by the groundkeeper Milivoj. Father Lucien told the party that the only other person who knew about the crypt (which had been concealed years before and was a secret of the priests who tended the church) was Yeska, the young (16) altar boy whom he hoped would follow him into the priesthood. He'd told him of the power of relic when he was terrified after an attack against the town. He'd questioned the boy and was convinced he'd told someone but he wouldn't say who it was.

Ser Adon committed to help the priest and find the missing relic. After this, everyone headed back to the Blue Water Inn, where they joined in at the wake. Gaddock persuaded Yeska to come outside for a discussion, and then cast a suggestion spell, making the boy admit that he'd told Milivoj about the bones of the saint which protected the town when the older lad was in a dark mood, to try and lift him the same way that Father Lucian had done for him. He pointed out Milivoj to Gaddock; as the wake ended, Kel and Gaddock slipped out and followed the dour looking lad. Kel noticed that he'd taken a large amount of food off the tables which had been laid out. Using Gaddock's familiar, an owl, they followed the boy. He stopped at a poorly maintained house in the eastern part of the town, handing the food to several younger children. He then turned back towards the west and the Church so Kel and Gaddock moved to intercept.

Unfortunately, Milivoj noticed that they were following him, and he turned and ran. Gaddock made a rude joke about the boy's mother, casting Tasha's Hideous Laughter, but the boy resisted the spell. A running chase through the city streets ensued and eventually Gaddock and Kel managed to grapple the boy and stop his escape. Kel drew himself up to his full height and told Milivoj that he'd better tell him where he'd stashed the reliquary if he knew what was good for him. Cowed, the boy began to tell his story...

Meanwhile, Ser Adon and Ser Alys enjoyed the afternoon air and some more excellent wine, noticing a commotion in the street with the guards heading down to deal with it. Adon stuck his head in the kitchen, and asked Danika if they could have a word with her and her spouse. After most of the guests had left, they sat down at the kitchen table and drank a toast to Alana. Alys and Adon made it clear that they opposed Strahd and were looking for allies. The conversation delicately moved around matters of trust. Urwin said that they would need to talk to his father, who managed the family vineyard if they wanted overt support from the Martikovs. Adon noticed a conflict in Urwin as he said this, and he suspected that there were some points of disagreement between father and son. Urwin suggested a way that they could prove their worth; he would give them a letter of introduction and they could head out to the Wizard of Wines vineyard to collected the overdue delivery of wine. The two warriors agreed to this; as they drank more Urwin confirmed that Alana was a were-raven and that others in his family had the same ability. They had been covertly helping those that oppose he who can't be named in Vallaki.

Alys and Adon continued to make small talk, and Danika asked how long they'd been married. All of a sudden matters came to a head, with both of the half-orcs admitting their love for each other and Ser Adon going down on one knee and proposing, and Ser Alys accepting. More drinks. A discussion on when and where to wed; they decided that Vallaki would be a good place, as it had a church and good still prevailed. The Martikovs sent for the priest...

...Milivoj admitted that he'd sold the bones of St Andral to Henrik van der Voort, the coffin-maker and undertaker. He'd often bought small items from the boy before (often procured from the bodies of strangers who had died in town) and the day after he had found out about the reliquary had turned around and asked for the boy to get it for him for silver. He'd done this so he could feed his younger siblings as his mother was gone, and his father incapable. 

At this point the guards arrived, and asked what was going on, and why these strangers were accosting one of the priest's retinue. Desparate not to have to admit his crime to the guard and end up in the stocks for a few days, Milivoj tried to cover for what had gone on, and between Kel and Gaddock they succeeded. Their papers were checked and stamped, and the guard went on it's way. 

Gaddock gave the boy all his remaining gold (2GP) and told the boy not to skip town. Kelwarin added another gold piece, and the boy went away happy. As he left, the two of them noticed a dark haired, thick-set man watching them. He turned and disappeared into the crowd. A quick talk between Kel and Gaddock, and Kelwarin went invisible, gently fading away into the background and set out after the rogue. Gaddock headed back, but used his owl to guide Kelwarin.

Kel caught up with the suspicious character, and followed him into what he later found out was the Wachterhaus, the home of Lady Fiona Wachter. He followed the man to a study, where a dark haired, quite severe looking middle-aged noblewoman discussed what he had seen. This was Lady Fiona; her agent was Ernst Larnack. She told him to watch the characters further, so that they could understand if they would be useful to help overthrowing the Baron. She also asked if he'd found the butler, who had absconded some days before. As Ernst set back off, Kel lingered and saw an imp emerge from under the desk and onto the shoulder of the noblewoman. He decided that discretion was the better part of value and headed back out of the study.

Kel decided to check out some more of the house; he peeked upstairs and heard a girl scratching and calling 'here kitty kitty'. At this point, he decided to leave. He successfully followed a servant out through a door and went back to the pub. He arrived at the kitchen to see Gaddock drinking a toast and lamenting that Ser Alys' strong thighs were now lost to him. Apparently the former wrestler admired the half-orc warrior. 

The wedding date was set for 3pm on the Feast of St Andral, two days hence. More drinks. Kel asked about Lady Wachter. Noble, doesn't attend the festivals, the Baron seems a little afraid of her, anyone else would have ended up in the stocks. Has an agent, Ernst Larnack working for her. Two sons, Nikolai and Karl who were layabouts and often at the Blue Water Inn. Apparently Lady Fiona has a book club and is a very irregular attendee at church. Her butler Haliq has disappeared. Her daughter, Stella, has not been seen since her engagement with the Baron's son, Viktor, was broken off. Idle speculation whether the Butler had run off with Stella or perhaps it was Gertruda?

A plan was hatched to go in and charm the undertaker into handing the bones back the next morning. if this didn't work out, they'd use force... 

18 November 2020

GM Notes: I forgot about Ireena and Ismark, and Rictavio, but there was already a lot of stuff going on in tonight's session. They've now entwined into three of the four main plot threads for Vallaki, and the wedding just tops it off. A fun session, albeit with lots of moving parts.

The three proposals? Find the Relic, Pick up the Wine, and Ser Adon to Ser Alys...

Curse of Strahd will return on 2 December 2020

The reviewer appears to be a bad egg...[updated x3]

Shockingly poor journalism

What the Reviewer says...

WHY SPOTLIGHT THIS CAMPAIGN? This RPG spins out of a historic persecution of witches, the 1563 Act Against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcrafts, combined with a sanction allowing witchcraft used in the defense of the realm. This 60-page RPG utilizes an original system similar to The Cthulhu Hack. Set in late Tudor England, you’ve been pressed into using your powers to serve the Queen for good or ill. This concept falls into murky historic territory as these persecutions resulted in thousands of real life legal murders by the state, to which you’ll play a collaborator. While I’m in no way implying that this game or its creators are trying to offend with this project, it’s important to keep in mind that your table may have varying degrees of acceptance of this setting and premise. One way or the other, using a real world witch genocide as the basis for this RPG is a bold move likely to engender discussion of the mindset of Elizabethan England.

What the Kickstarter says...

Story - Face the threat of the supernatural as a traitor with a chance of redemption in the service of Queen Elizabeth I, in an alternately historical tabletop RPG from the creator of The Cthulhu Hack. When Elizabeth Tudor succeeded to the throne in 1558, she found herself under assault from all sides, paying for her father's arrogant machinations, and the weakened barrier between worlds his split with Rome had caused.

As magic and creatures of the supernatural proliferate throughout the land, the Queen passed an Act Against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcrafts, making the punishment for acts of magic more severe than others, but in many cases drawing the line before a death sentence. In 1564, John Dee and Francis Walsingham convinced the Queen to pass an amendment to the Act — The Dee Sanction — permitting the practice of magic in defence of the realm. You are an Agent of Dee; not out of choice, but out of some twisted sense of self-preservation. Somewhere between conscription and penance, you work for Walsingham and Dee to make amends, with a faint hope that you can use your talents to earn your pardon and absolution. You can see light at the end of the tunnel. If only you can outrun the shadows of your past and the horrors of the present… This is The Dee Sanction. 

 

The Dee Sanction is a tabletop roleplaying game about serving Queen and country in the late Tudor period, in a time where kingdoms vie for power, the Church splinters under the pressure of reform, and creatures of folklore emerge from enforced hiding seeking revenge against those who imprisoned them. You're a bad person — sentenced to hang for dabbling in magic — given a chance to redeem yourself and earn freedom in service to Queen Elizabeth's newest line of defence.

What the historical facts say...

513 witches were put on trial there between 1560 and 1700, though only 112 were executed. The last known execution took place in Devon in 1685.

The last trials were held in Leicester in 1717. Overall, some 500 people in England are believed to have been executed for witchcraft.

Conclusion...

• The review is extremely poor and misrepresents the Dee Sanction.
• The game described above by the reviewer is not the game described by the Kickstarter campaign.
• The reviewer significantly exaggerates the number of deaths for witchcraft in England and employs hyperbole by using 'genocide'[1] to describe this.
• When questioned about this on Facebook, the reviewer ridiculed the people questioning this and didn't answer the questions. For someone who is showing such concern about people being offended by the Dee Sanction, they seem to have no problems with offending people with their own writing.

I can only conclude that they are a bad egg, and their reviews cannot be trusted.

12 November 2020

Edit - I have highlighted some text in the review, which has been added. The reviewer has also removed a comment that the game was about witches vs. witches which was raised as an issue. They have left no reference that an edit has taken place on the page. They continue to misrepresent what the game is about.

Edit2 - the entry on the Dee Sanction has now been pulled by ENWorld.

Edit3 - ENWorld have now run a decent interview with Paul Baldowski, the author. https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-dee-sanction-investigate-the-supernatural-as-an-agent-of-the-elizabethan-court.676505/

[1] "the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group."

Second Thoughts - Reflections on running Warlock!

Warlock! on Discord

This afternoon saw my delayed one-shot of Warlock! I'd originally planned to run over my birthday weekend, but my mother passed away just before so I delayed the game as I really wasn't in a place to run it. Fortunately, despite the delay, everyone still wanted to play so this afternoon we sat down and played using Discord for AV and Google Docs for the character sheets. Overall, I think we had a fun time.

I'd set up the game in Grim Biskerstaf, the port city beside the River Vessen described in the Kingdom supplement. It had resonated with me when I read it, perhaps because something about it reminded me of Liverpool, a city where I spent part of my childhood. It had just the right amount of spaces for my GM-brain to start to wonder how to explore it. Bizarrely, I settled on riffing a little bit on the BBC sit-com "Bread". This screened in the 1980s and - over seven series - explored the fortunes of a working-class family on the hustle to make ends meet. 

I cheekily stole the character names and traits to build around and created the characters using the expanded systems in the second Warlock compendium. This meant that - as well as traits - the characters had passions and talents. These definitely added something to them. I used Google Docs for the character sheets because the updated Compendium 2 sheet isn't form-fillable. I also wanted the players to finalise their own characters. I provided name, talent, traits, passions and career, and they built up the skills to their own taste. This seemed to work well (except for a moment of confusion where I'd typed 'starting skills' rather than 'career skills' in the guidance).

I spent 10 minutes at the start showing the map of the Kingdom and giving a quick run through what was nearby, and then ran through a whistle-stop tour of Grim Biskerstaf.

The plot was simple; the character's father - Freddie - had appeared back after absconding and 'borrowed' the cash for the rent for an investment that had been organised by his old school mate and sailor chum, 'Uncle' Reg. Unfortunately, he hadn't told his wife (from whom he was separated) so she set four of the family off to find him before the rent was due, or they'd get thrown out. The rest of the plot had two legs (find Dad, find Reg) which came together with shades of Sweeney Todd. The end offered a chance for the family to get away from immediate financial worries.

I'd deliberately printed a sheet off with each of the character's passions, traits and the two random elements that each career gets off so I had things to riff off. I drew on this if things started to flag and also to make sure that each of the characters had something to do.

Eventually, the characters ended up in the sewers (for which I repurposed a map from the 2016 Dyson compendium) and there they surprised me, deciding to avoid the obvious fight and instead negotiate with the Ratmen ('You can keep the body, we just need to check the pockets for something that's been lost') which was secured with a fantastic roll.

The game engine was light and simple enough to fade into the background. As it was investigation-led, I deliberately didn't block clues behind rolls. Instead, I decided to make the roll to decide the quality of the information that they obtained. It's something I've done for a long time, not something I learned from Gumshoe's "innovation"[1]. The players had sussed that combat looked dangerous and deliberately avoided conflict where they could, negotiating, sneaking and running away. We had one attack roll, when the 'angry young man' of the party got angry with a warehouse guard who was - frankly - doing his job.

The characters got to meet their father's love - Lil Moloney, who was lying low because she was a 'medium' (necromancer). The use of a glamour spell brought a new meaning to 'putting my face on'. They ended up getting her to call the spirit back to a severed head to find out exactly what was going on. The game ended with a handoff of the loot to the Gutter Queen, Lady Alice, and a negotiated removal of the price on the head of the brother who was the 'man of the family'.

The game had moments that went pure Ankh-Morpork, combined with a medieval Dickensian vibe. Overall, it was quite a gentle game; the avoidance of violence made it a lot less nasty than it could have been and I never had to get the spare character out.

I think I under-used luck rolls and I initially got the mechanic wrong (but corrected it before we actually rolled). We used Passions and Pluck (both worked well). There was a discussion as to why Pluck used a 2d6 roll rather than a 1d20, but I realised after the game that it mirrored the critical tables in what it was doing, so it made sense.

The rules faded into the background and the setting was fun to play in. In the end, everyone was of the opinion that they'd happily play in this setting and system again. Perhaps we'll have a Christmas Special Episode...

In conclusion, I had a fun time and would like to do it again. It has the same kind of feel of slight incompetence and risk of failure that Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay does, but far less system overhead, which is a massive win from my perspective. You can focus on making the setting breathe, and it has the spaces to encourage that. Great stuff.

8 November 2020

[1] To be fair, Laws/Pelgrane probably formally codified it first.

My other Warlock reviews are here:

Warlock! Core Rules

Warlock! Compendium 1

Warlock! Compendium 2

Warlock! Kingdom

Reflections on running Warlock!

Warlock! Griff's Vale

Warlock! Goblins!

Warlock! Phantasmagoria

Warlock! Three's Company

Warlock! Black Edition

Bonus: Warlock! VTT sheets for Role

Curse of Strahd - S2E5 - The road to Vallaki

   

Everyone present tonight, which was nice.

Our dramatis personae:

Ser Alys de Rouge (a half-orc Fighter with a soldier background, currently the leader of the town militia of Daggerford), played by Tom (Guvnor). Lawful Neutral. Imagine a slightly greener take on Grace Jones...

Kelwarin (Kel) (a half-elf Sorceror flush with the powers of wild magic, an outlander), played by Graham (First Age). Chaotic Good.

Gaddock Teeg (a halfling wizard and former prizefighter), played by Alex (Doggetay), Neutral Good

Ser Adon of House Starbright (a half-orc Paladin, from a knightly background, with two human retainers and a priest), played by Paul (dr_mitch). Lawful Good.

November 11th

In the morning, Kelwarin was looking more pale and interesting than usual, and the puncture wounds on his neck were obvious; Ser Adon laid on hands and brought the sorcerer back to his normal chipper self. Ismark discussed with Ser Alys and Gaddock whether he should stay behind to protect the people against the Devil Strahd with Father Donovich and his own father being dead, but they soon persuaded him that this was foolhardy; he should protect his sister and if he stayed behind he risked that he could be used against her. Chastened by the fact that Strahd had ensorceled him the evening before, Ismark agreed, and by 9am in the morning they were all on the cart, heading west out of town, with Gaddock driving.

As they left town, they came across an old lady selling pasties from a cart. She was knocking on doors in town to sell her wares. Ser Alys visibly brightened up and bought eight of the pasties, even though they cost her eight gold pieces. The lady promised that they would give her sweet dreams. Enthused, Ser Alys started to munch on one immediately and - soon after they left town - she fell asleep. Ser Adon managed to get her in the back of the cart. The others wondered if these were healing pasties.

Gaddock had other suspicions, as he had overheard the conversation that the seller had at the house in the next street. It seemed like the people there wanted a pasty, couldn't afford cash, so there was a scuffle and she may have taken a girl or a boy in lieu of payment. Certainly, he'd heard the cries of both. He didn't mention it because he wanted to ensure that they all got to Vallaki safely in daylight. He knew that Sir Adon would want to investigate and that this would delay them, so he took the call not to tell.

The Old Svalich Road wended it's way up out of the valley towards the Tser Falls bridge. As they reached the fork in the road that led to the Vistani encampment, the mist revealed a corpse hanging from the gallows. Ser Adon realised that it was a woman, so he and Kelwarin got down to investigate. Kel found a necklace, torn off, made from intertwined holy symbols of good deities, including those from the Sword Coast. The woman appeared to have died horribly; blood had been sucked from her wrists and her throat and she may have been tortured. Ser Adon cut her down and soon realised that she had actually been killed by slashes to her chest with what could have been a scimitar. Perhaps the same blade that Strahd's ally had used on Father Donovich. They realised that the victim's hair had feathers growing from it, as did her arms and back. The nails were part turned into talons. The party realised that the woman could be a lycanthrope, perhaps a were-raven, and she had died as she tried to transform. They'd never know which way.

After a short discussion, the body was wrapped in the tarpaulin to save time and slung in the back by Ser Alys (still sleeping with joyful dreams). They pressed on, passing a junction which led up towards an old windmill. They soon crossed the high bridge above the falls some thousand feet below and then reached another set of gates like the one that they had passed when they originally entered Barovia. This time they were let through and the gates remained open. Ser Alys awoke as they approached this, fortunately. She spotted two mountain people watching the cart and suspected they had planned a robbery. However, when they realised that she had seen them they decided to turn and leave.

The cart descended and the crag with Castle Ravenloft in was lost from sight. For the first time since they arrived it didn't dominate the landscape. The sun was starting to go down as they passed along the south shore of what they later found to be called Lake Zarovich. It's dark, still, waters looked attractive and calming. They passed on to the town.

Approaching the gates of Vallaki, Ser Adon and Lady Ireena got them safe conduct to the pub and the church, although the guards were very concerned at the mention of the corpse. They were told to go to the Church of St Andral quickly so that the body could be laid to rest safely. Ser Adon and Ser Alys undertook this, while everyone else check-in at the Blue Water Inn. The welcome was much warmer than Barovia, and the Innkeeper, Urwin Martikov was much more interested in the character's and looking after them. They soon had rooms - Gaddock and Kel sharing one, and Ser Alys and Ser Adon the other (so they could play late night games of... chess(?) or so they said). Martikov had two boys and a wife. The party also saw a strangely dressed gentleman reading and drinking wine at a table, and two hunters who were responsible for the wolf steaks which were on the menu.

At the Church, the warriors met wit the groundkeeper, a dour young man called Milivoj, He directed them to Father Lucian inside the church. The priest was preparing the evening service and the Church, dedicated to St Andral (whose relics were there), was in good order and seemed to be well attended. Explaining the situation, Father Lucian blessed the body, but also noted that it looked like one of the innkeeper's relatives. He directed the knights to take the body to the undertaker - Henrik van der Voort - to get the body in a coffin; the altar boy Yeska went with them to show them where to go. Ser Adon said he would inform the innkeeper. 

The undertaker - or more accurately 'coffin-maker' - was hidden away in his shop which was in darkness despite night having fallen. Ser Adon banged on the door and yelled intimidatingly until he came out. He looked very nervous, measured the body and brought out the coffin before returning into the shop and bolting the door. The two knights and Yeska got the body into the coffin and took it back to the church. They then returned to the Inn and told the innkeeper, Urwin, that a member of his family may have been killed. They went with him to the Church, and he identified the body as his cousin, Alana Martikov, who had been to Barovia 'on business'. He was clearly upset and arranged a funeral the next day. 

Once they got back at the inn, they had a hearty meal in a place of warmth and light. The guards from the gatehouse arrived and took their details, registered their weapons and explained about the festivals where attendance was mandatory if you were in town. It was mentioned in passing that the Vistani had an encampment south-west of the town, but they were especially welcome. The conversation and wine flowed, and the odd-looking gentleman, a half-elf called Rictavio came over and talked to them to find out about their journey. He was a circus ringmaster who had been out to recruit new actors when he was drawn into the mists, entering from the west. He'd not found a welcome at Kresk, and ended up staying at Vallaki, paying his way with tales and some of the money he had in reserve. After they'd exchanged stories, he headed up to bed, leaning on his silver-handled cane.

Ser Alys and Ser Adon retired to bed to play chess. Kel and Gaddock went up to their room. Gaddock had found a print of a Barovian town that they hadn't heard of (Old Berez) when they asked about settlements. He also pondered that although Rictavio didn't seem to be lying, he also seemed to be holding something back. There were tells in the way he made his story. Just before they settled for the night, Gaddock told Kel about the old woman in Barovia; they both concluded that she could have been a witch or a hag, and they were lucky not to have encountered her, as Ser Adon would have wanted to make a point.

GM Notes: We reach a transition point; today was a change of scene as they left the first major location of the adventure and headed to another. The characters levelled up to Level 4 now that Ireena has safely reached Vallaki. But is she really safe? They've decided to stay a few days in town, check out the festival and perhaps decide whether it's okay to leave Ireena here. Gaddock plans to work the shops the next day and find out about Baron Vargas and why he's organising all these festivals. Whatever could go wrong.

Vallaki is a pretty complex sandbox in a sandbox with multiple plot threads which bear several visits. I've enjoyed mining the subreddit for Curse of Strahd for inspiration. The players will need the fourth level going forward and were genuinely surprised when I told them they could level up. Of course, all the big fights happened last session and they have learned a lot, they just don't understand it yet. They have already drawn the conclusion that they may be safe from the Count here... this may be optimistic.

There are a lot of balls in motion now.

Curse of Strahd will return on 18th November 2020 

4 November 2020