Zatannurday: Celebrating Monday

It might be Zatannurday here today, but we can also celebrate Monday!
In this case cosplayer Jettie Monday!

Visit her on her Facebook fan page here, http://www.facebook.com/jettiemonday

And here is some of her recent appearances as Zee.

Pathfinder Witch

I am reading through a bunch of playtest notes and it has occurred to me that I have never played much beyond 1 session of the Pathfinder version of the witch.

That is quite disappointing really.

New Charity at DriveThruRPG

I can't even begin to fathom this one.

There is new a charity set up at DriveThruRPG.  They do this every so often, RPG publishers bundle some items together and you get them at a reduced price and the money goes to the charity.  It is really a win all the way around.  You get a bunch of new PDFs, the charity gets money and the publishers and DTRPG get the benefit of the good karma.  I know I have bought things from publishers because of their past involvement in these.

But this one just leaves me speechless.

For $15  you get a lot of really good PDFs.  But more importantly The Wayne Foundation gets $15 to stop child sex trafficking.  That's right. Children being sold as sex slaves.  And you get to stop it.

Frankly I would have given them the money and not cared what was in the bundle.  This is so beyond my experience and thought process that my first reaction is that this can't be true.  But I am old enough and bitter enough at humanity to know it is true.

So please. Help out this charity.

Here is the link for the PDF bundle.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=94966&affiliate_id=10748

Click on it to at least see what they are offering.

DCnU the new 52: Batwoman

Picked up the new #1 for Batwoman today.
First time I have bough a comic on the day it has come out in a really long time.

It is really good.

I like the team up of Kate and Bette. I like that Kate and her Dad still have issues.
I like the banter between Kate and Maggie.

The Top Bat makes an appearance at the end, but it obvious that this is not his story.

I think I'll continue to get this one.

My only gripe is Kate is WAY too damn pale.
I know that is part of her character identity, but it looks like she has been colored in properly.

Even when she and Bette were training it looked weird.

Speaking of that scene, this is my favorite part:
Bette: Uh Kate, where's my Flamebird costume?
Kate: I burned it.

Hope JL Dark is as good.

Modern Systems, Part 2

So.

I am burned out on Unisystem.  There are a few very good reasons that I just don't want to get into now, but the bottom line is the same.  I am burned out on it and what to try something else.

Not just play or run, but write about. Maybe even publish somethings for it.

I have had in my mind now for a while the idea that I want a game that would simulate modern supernatural/urban horror, and there are a lot of systems that can do this well, Unisystem at the top of the list really.  But I want to be able to do more with it and have something that I could if I choose, publish stuff for it.  So that rules out many of the systems that would otherwise be fine.
Also I want the focus of the game to change from "killing things and taking their stuff" or even "we are saving the world again, it must be Tuesday".

I am looking for something where people can play supernaturals or normal humans side by side with out too much of an issue.  A goal would be to have it be able to emulate any modern supernatural TV show or book you can think of.  Well, not Harry Potter, that is a different animal completely.

Here are my choices so far.

True20 - I am inordinately fond of this system.  It is easy. It is simple and it gets out of the way while playing.  I am not thrilled with levels, but I have an idea about that.  I have already done a lot of work with True20, both here and in some unpublished material that I can now use.  While it's support is also next to nothing and the fan base is thin, the rules are solid and I can use them thanks to the OGL.  Though one of the issues with True20 is that humans basically start at 1st level and a vampire or werewolf is much higher.  Plus there is no system of Drawback or Complications in True20 (though I have written one).

Fate/Fudge - Another open system with a lot of support.  I am just not overwhelmed with it.  I suppose I could go the route Icons did and use numbers.

ORCS - Jason Vey's system in Spellcraft & Swordplay. Flexible and has many advantages.  I would though end up making it look more like True20 in the end, which is why I put True20 on the list.

Mutants & Masterminds - Now this is an interesting choice.  Nearly everything I need is here.  The system is open and with Superlink I can even do more.  I would need to redo the magic systems a bit to be honest.  4Color/superhero magic and urban fantasy are not really the same.  It has the things I like in True20 and Orcs, plus it has a ton of support.

Savage Worlds - Not a fan of this system, even though it is good and has a ton of support as well.  Again, I'd need to redo the magic system to get it to my liking.

"Power of Three" - you have not heard of this one.  It is a system that I have been poking around with for a couple of years.  The name comes from the three basic abilities all the characters have, Body, Mind and Spirit.   Yeah similar to Tri-Stat, but the mechanics are different.  It is also based on the Charmed game I'd like to write one day.  Of course the system is perfect for what I want to do except for the little problem that it is not done.  It's not even in a playtestable shape yet. So much for that.

The one thing all these games have though is the means to support a lot of mini-campaigns or min-campaign worlds.
Here is what I have in mind. This is not all of them, nor are these even set in stone.

Generation HEX - the most developed of the three mini-worlds. Lower powered, kids in a magic high-school

Ordinary World - Supernatural creatures trying to live in modern suburbia and trying to blend in.  That doesn't always work so well.

Power of Three - My "Charmed/Witches of Eastwick/Rachel Morgan" homage.  Witches saving the world.

Daughters of Death - The children of the old gods are walking the earth again and not all of them have humanities interests in mind.  This includes the stats for the eponymous daughters.

Each world then would have additional rules to support their respective views.  So Gen HEX would need to scaled for magic school high jinks (Jinx High?), Ordinary World would need rules for hiding powers and suggestions for stories to tell.

One thing though, I am going to avoid using Lovecraft/Cthulhu type stories or monsters.  The exact thing that he was trying to do the werewolves, vampires and ghosts of a past age have now been done to his creations.

I'll keep thinking about this.

Modern Systems

Just a quick one.  What system do you all like for modern games?

I am getting burned out on my current system.

This is not a good sign

I wanted to start a new blog over on WordPress to cover the Education work I do.  For my job, classes (taking and teaching) and working on my second Ph.D. program.

The trouble is that WordPress keeps eating my posts.

Might be sticking with Blogger.  Even if I am not a fan of the new interface.