Player's Handbook 3

I wasn't originally going to pick up the 4th Edition Player's Handbook 3.   My DM is not using the new Hybrid rules and we both felt that the Skill Powers were neat as an idea, but not something either of us would use.  Plus I was not thrilled with any of the new races (we now have animal, vegetable and mineral) and two of the psionic classes.

But I am glad I picked it up.

The book is cool for a few things.  First off the Monk is just way cool.  The type of game that D&D 4 is now the monk just fits right in.  More so even that it did in any previous version of the game (especially 2nd Ed).  It has a different flavor than the 3.x monk.  Adding the Githzeri is just the icing on the cake there.  Can't wait to try out a Githzeri cenobite.  I will need to rework my whole "Monks are from Blackmoor" ideas.

I also like the inclusion of the Far Realm stuff as a reason for Psionics.  Right up my alley.  If the Far Realm is supposed to be the Cthulhoid alien/gods from Beyond then that is pretty awesome stuff.  Of course I do the same thing in my WitchCraft RPG games.  Plus the cool thing with this and the Githzeri is you can imagine the Githzeri on their lonely outposts fighting off the minions of the Far Realm/Mad Gods.  

The Hybrid stuff is still nice. Been doing that for a bit though. There are some nice ideas on good hybird choices.  Most is no brainer stuff, but still nice to see.  I am working on a Dragonborn Monk/Sorcerer hybrid now just to see how it works.

The Skill Powers are neater than I gave them credit for at first.  A nice way to customize each character.

There is still a lot here I am not going to use.  The Psionics stuff is neat, but I never liked to mix psionics and magic all that much.  The Minotaur are ok and since I just added Ansalon to my world I know where they come from now.  But in a world with Goliaths and Half-Orcs and Dragonborn the niche they fill is kind of taken.

I now count 25 classes (which includes the Assassin) and over 30 races (more if you get creative with the Monster Manuals).  That's a lot.  Maybe even too much.  I'll have to set some limits in my own 4e games.

The art is still fantastic and I only saw a couple of reused pieces.  More as I read more.

New Layout

Playing around with the layout here.
Have a new section called "Pages" to the right.  ->
That is for more static pages and links.

I also added the old background image from my "The Other Side" website.  I like it. What do you all think?

Review: It Sucks to Be Me

Sucks to Be Me

Mina Hamilton is your ordinary 16 year old girl who has ordinary problems.  She is worried about her Chemistry test, whether she can get Nathan, the boy she has liked since forever to like her back, or even notice her, there is Prom coming up and oh yeah, her parents are bloodsucking undead creatures of the night. Well...an accountant and a middle-school teacher, but still undead.
Yeah, Mina's parents (an her weird uncle) are vampires.
And now she has to decide if she is going to become one too.
In a few weeks.
Or else.

And that begins the tale "It Sucks to Be Me" by new(ish) author Kimberly Pauley.  I got the chance to read this book while on vacation and frankly I was very, very pleased.  Ok a few disclaimers out of the way.  Yes, I know this book is aimed squarely at the Young Adult crowd, and I do know Kim.  But all that aside, this is a really good book.  Lets look into it.

Ok, the hero of our tale is Mina Hamilton the aforementioned 16 year old.  Her parents are vampires, something she has known all her life (it happened just after she was born) and it no big deal to her.  It becomes a big deal when the Northwest Regional Vampire Council (think the Camarilla with more red tape) finds out.  Now Mina, on top of everything else, has to decide whether or not to become a vampire.  She has to take Vampire Classes (not even remotely as cheesy as it sounds, and it is supposed to sound cheesy) and learn all these laws of the undead.  All the time she can't even tell her BFF about it.  Sure it's teen girl melodrama, but Kim really  makes it work well.

I will be honest here, I liked it. A lot.  I am not the target audience, and neither are many of the people that read this blog, but it was a well written, funny book that never takes the vampire myth too seriously but you can tell that Kim really knows her stuff.  I bet she could turn out a vampire tale worthy of Laurel K. Hamilton or Anne Rice and be a thousand times better than Stephanie Meyer.  But I get the distinct feel that that is not where her muse or interests lie.  I think it is obvious that Mina here is running the show so to speak.

Mina is an interesting character.  Like so many Urban-Fantasy-Supernatural / Chick-Lit books out there today Mina is a strong female-or at least she is going to be.  She is still only 16 and all the insecurities and hang-ups related to that. She doesn't know all the answers or even really what the questions are.  She is not entranced by the whole "vampire culture", thinking that some of it is kinda gross, and is more concerned with what and older heroine my consider trivial.  That though is her charm really, and the cleverness of Kim's writing.

Things I liked, in no particular order.
- Weird Uncle Mortie.  One day I need to ask if he is based on a real person, her characterization of him was too vivid. I know exactly what this guy looked like from the moment he left his giant yellow Cadillac.
- Mina's book report on "Dracula".  Very clever and I actually wanted to read more of that.  But that is the teacher in me.
- The author of the vampire books.  She was a kook and she was the one who wasn't a vampire.
- The Black Talons. Are we going to see more than them?  They are certainly not kiddie fare and closer to something like a "Black Court" vampire.
- Can't wait to see more of Mina in the next book.
- Great debut novel.  Some novels from first time authors read like a lot of really cool ideas strung together with a thin plot.  Not this one.  The plot gets into high gear right away and brings you along for the ride.
- I loved that Mina's family was so central to the tale.  I get tired of books where the family is missing, underused, or outright killed off.  Mina's parents (and Uncle Mortie again) are just as important to the tale and to Mina.
- A quick and easy read.  Perfect for vacation or just a nice afternoon with a book.

So. what can you, the older gamer, get from these books?

Well there is a bit actually.  It is good to see a new(er) take on vampires that does not make them into some sort of fetish object or make them sparkle.  In fact this book pretty much dismisses those points of view completely.  Ok, so Mina's parents and uncle are not the vamps from Dusk till Dawn (her favorite movie) either, but they certainly seem the exception rather than the rule.  Or, maybe they are just laying low.  It is easy to see that this book could take place in a larger universe similar to that of any modern supernatural game.  My own "Mayfair's" would work well as a "Blood Bar" in this universe too.

But most importantly I think the book is just a fun read.  When the kids have graduated Harry Potter, and they haven't yet (or won't) moved on to Twilight, then this is perfect.  Actually this is much better than Twilight.

This book is the perfect antidote for angsty, sprakly or otherwise gothier-than-thou vampires.  I look forward to more of Mina's (mis)adventures and a whole new list of why it still sucks to be her.

Links

• Kimberly Pauley's website, http://www.kimberlypauley.com/my-books/sucks-to-be-me/
• Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Sucks-Be-Me-All-True-Confessions/dp/0786950285
• Wizards of the Coast/Mirrorstone page, http://ww2.wizards.com/books/mirrorstone/Product.aspx?doc=219237200
• Good Reads, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2506250.Sucks_to_Be_Me_The_All_True_Confessions_of_Mina_Hamilton_Teen_Vampire

Vampyres Week: Wrap-up

Vampyres Week: Wrap-Up

So that was my week for Vampyres.

Here are the links for future reference.

- Introduction
- Chill, 1st Edition (Pacesetter)
- C. J. Carella's WitchCraft RPG
- Mutants & Masterminds
- Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM) 3.0
- Witch Girls Adventures

Some Facebook discussions:
- WitchCraft RPG
- Witch Girls Adventures

I have had requests to do nWoD versions and I might also do one for  Hellcats and Hokey Sticks.
Any other systems?

The Week in Review (and then some)

Back from vacation.  I had the Blog on Auto-post all week, so sorry if I did not get to respond as quickly as I would have liked.

So what do I know?

- Gary Con.  Sad I missed it.  I really wanted to go but was on a plane at the time.

- TARGA/DnDWPS dust up.  That was a bunch of suck.  I am going to miss Chgowiz's blog, having met him in person recently.  I still like TARGA and what they do, and I still enjoy the hell out of Zak's blog.   I just find it all odd really.  Reminds of the time my mom told my brother and I that she hated it when we watched horror movies full of killing. She said she would rather see us watching porn because at least that was some positive.  So we went out and brought a bunch of porn home.  I think Dad was happy.  So people that play a game that is basically about "killing people and taking their stuff" have some issues with some occasional dirty talk and maybe a boob?   Not getting it. Sorry.  But that is all I want to say on the issue, I don't want to add fuel to a fire that is almost out.

Reminds me of another story.  I was supposed to go to a party to meet up with a bunch of the people that I hung out with and lived with in college (this was back in like 1990).  But my buddy Scott and I had gone out and proceeded to start drinking without everyone first.  We drank, listened to the Who for a while and were generally in a really fantastic mood (it was "springtime in Carbondale!" three words that held so much meaning back then, and "Face Dances" is much better when you are little off).  We showed up at the party and we were smashed and happy and loud and there had just been a HUGE fight between one of my roommates and his girlfriend and everyone there was so not in the mood for me or Scott.  That's what I am trying to avoid here.  We left and finished drinking on the steps of the local Lutheran Church because we felt at the time the Lutherans were the most accepting of all the local churches. Especially of a drunk atheist and neo-new agey whatever Scott was at the time.

Oh, and put me in the crowd as someone that would like to see Chgowiz/Mike bring his blog back.

- Vampyres. Yeah that was fun.  I love that stupid little flick. Might be a reflection of my immaturity or (as I prefer to think of it) my esoteric tastes in horror cinema.  Plus I got to try it out in a bunch of systems.  Might be a bit before I do that again; doing a bunch of systems at once.  I have nothing else up my sleeve unless I want to drag out Willow & Tara again, and you all might be tired of hear about them from me.

- Succubi week. I post my Sympathy for the Succubus post right before and then I see a bunch of other posts.  Mostly related to succubus pic from the Monster Manual.  Cultural Zeitgiest? Collect Subconscious? Naw. Doubt it, more like it is gamers for the most part are pervs.

- Blog Persona vs Real Life. This is an interesting one. I have a some people that read this blog on the website and others that read the redirect from Facebook.  On Facebook I have friends, family, co-workers, people I know from the gaming world because I like their stuff, people from the gaming world because they like my stuff and a bunch of others.  So, how should I "present" myself?  I mean I have people at work now telling me they had read my blog and commented on some of the things I have said.  Sometimes I even get a call from my mom and she comments on something I have said.  All I have really have to say about all of that is, well, you people are supposed to know who I am by this point. ;)
I am not planing to put anything here that I wouldn't figure my mom, my wife or my boss would read and get me into trouble.

- Books & Reviews.  I FINALLY got around to reading some the books and products sitting on my "to read" pile since before Christmas.  Expect a round of reviews to start coming in.

- What Scares you the most?  During my feverish time while I was sick it came to me what scares me the most.  Look forward to a post on that too.

- Orcus.  I am going to agree with Zak on something else here.  Orcus is the most Metal of all the Demon Lords.  If I ever get a chance to re-run going to Orcus' plane in the Abyss it needs to make "Tomb of Horrors" look like "Candyland".  Then I am going to ask James Raggi to tell me how to make it more metal.  This would fill that desire I have to an adventure that has EVERYTHING in it that all those critics in the 80s said D&D was about (and were wrong).  Childish of me?  Maybe I think it is actually that part of my brain that is attracted to medical dramas and really bad movies that part that says "how bad can this get? And then what can happen to make it worse?".  In other words, I want to turn it up to 11.
Maybe I could make it something like an OSR community thing.  Contribute one thing you would find in Orcus' lair, I don't care how sick, twisted, cruel or profane. Or I could just listen to Iron Maiden for about a week straight till something pops in my head.

Vampyres: Witch Girls Adventures

Witch Girls Adventures

This one is a bit harder, not so much due to the system, but rather the subject matter. One doesn’t typically merge “Magic School Girls” with “Lesbian Vampire kill fest” unless this is Cinemax late night. But it be can made to work especially if the Director needs up the ante on a particular plot.

Using Mayfair’s, tone down the “strip club” aspect of it and make it more openly a nightclub for supernaturals, a very dangerous one at that. The stars have to go to Mayfair’s because they believe they will get information they need. Maybe some of the other students have gone missing and this was the last place they were seen. Suspicion can obviously fall on Fran and Miriam, but I think it is more interesting if the they are not involved directly but do know of someone who is. WGA has vampires and in their magical world vampires and witches can make for good adversaries or allies. Fran and Miriam can be reoccurring “guest stars” that have information that the stars will need every so often. Of course the teachers and headmistress of the star’s school has complete forbidden them from ever going to Mayfair’s, we all know how well that one works out.

I am not saying here to make Fran and Miriam into “sparkly vampires” or even into “good guys”, but certainly they should have their own agendas and killing the stars and drinking their blood might not be one of them. That’s what I wrote Elizabeth Bathory up for. Fran and Miriam are dangerous yes, but their role is more of the information broker, the devil that can give you information but at an unsure price. I am sure Fran would love to hire a couple of the stars, once they are older and have “grown-up” a bit and she would not be too amiss to mentioning this. Miriam might take this the wrong way of course and that can lead to all sorts of other problems.

Fran, Vampire
Rank: 4
Body: d8 Mind: d6 Senses: d8
Will: d10 Social: d10 Magic: d6
Life Points: 16 Reflex: 11
Resist Magic: 9 Zap Points: 12

Skills: Acting +2, Athletics +3, Basics +2, Dancing +2, Fighting +1, Gossip +3, Hear +1, Leader +3, Look +2, Magic Etiquette +2, Mundane Etiquette +4, Mysticism +2, Mythology +4, Streetwise +5

Abilities: Beautiful, Mysterious
Heritage: Vampire
Common Vampire Abilities


Miriam, Vampire
Rank: 4
Body: d10 Mind: d6 Senses: d10
Will: d10 Social: d10 Magic: d6
Life Points: 20 Reflex: 13
Resist Magic: 9 Zap Points: 12

Skills: Acting +3, Athletics +3, Basics +2, Dancing +3, Fighting +2, Gossip +1, Hear +1, Leader +1, Look +2, Magic Etiquette +1, Mundane Etiquette +4, Mysticism +2, Mythology +4, Streetwise +5

Abilities: Beautiful, Jaded
Heritage: Vampire
Common Vampire Abilities

Vampyres: Big Eyes, Small Mouth 3.0

Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM 3)

Vampyres in BESM
The girls work best in a modern horror setting. So Imago is a good choice, but so is good old Earth. Given how much English flavor the movie has, keeping it on Earth is the best idea. That is not to say Mayfair's is not in downtown Tokyo.
Use Mayfairs as above, but instead of filling full vampires and demons, use Sex Ninjas, Anime Porn Stars and/or Modified Battle Maids. Or have them there in addition to the vamps and demons.

Like in Mutants & Masterminds, Fran and Miriam are not big threats to the characters.  They are on the weaker end of the vampire scale.  Their importance to characters and the game come from their knowledge and their situation as information brokers.

Fran
Template(s): Vampire
Genre: Modern day occult horror



BODY        10                HP: 110                ACV: 10
MIND        8                EP: 95                        DCV: 10     
SOUL        11                SSV: 22                Dam: 5

Attributes                                Level        Cost        Notes
Attack Combat Mastery +1 (        +10)
Combat technique (brutal) +1 (+2)
Defense Combat Mastery +1 (+10)
Features: Appearance +2 (+2)
Heightened Awareness +1 (+2)
Heightened Senses (hear, smell) +2 (+4)
Illusion (limited body only) +2 (+3)
Mind Control (humans, depletes) +2 (+13)
Regeneration +1 (+10)
Special Defense +11 (+22)
(ageing 2, disease 2, freezing water 2, freezing cold 2, lack of air 2, poison 1)
Special Movement +2 (+4)
Tough +1 (+2)
     
Skills Level (Cost) (Modern-day Occult setting)
Acrobatics +2 (+4)
Area Knowledge +2 (+2)
Climbing +1 (+2)
Cultural Arts +3 (+9)
Disguise +1 (+2)
Etiquette +3 (+3)
Foreign Culture +3 (+3)
Languages +2        (+4) English, French, Spanish
Occult +2 (+6)
Performing Arts +4 (+4)
Seduction +5 (+10)
Sleight of Hand +1 (+2)
Social Sciences +3 (+6)
Stealth        +3 (+6)
Street sense +3 (+6)
Urban Tracking +2 (+4)
Wilderness Survival +1 (+1)
Writing +1 (+1)

Defects (Cost)Notes
Bane Sunlight (-3)
Bane Mirrors (-2)

Notes: Can move about in the daylight, but is very weakened. When sleeping or in her crypt she appears to be dead.

Miriam
Template(s): Vampire
Genre: Modern day occult horror




BODY        11                HP: 115                ACV: 11
MIND        8                EP: 95                        DCV: 11     
SOUL        11                SSV: 23                Dam: 5


Attributes Level (Cost)
Attack Combat Mastery +1 (+10)
Combat technique (brutal, lighting) +2 (+4)
Defense Combat Mastery +1 (+10)
Features: Appearance +3 (+3)
Heightened Awareness +1 (+2)
Heightened Senses (hear, smell) +2 (+4)
Illusion (limited body only) +2 (+3)
Mind Control (humans, depletes) +2 (+13)
Regeneration +1 (+10)
Special Defense +11 (+22)
(ageing 2, disease 2, freezing water 2, freezing cold 2, lack of air 2, poison 1)
Special Movement +2 (+4)
Tough +1 (+2)

Skills Level (Cost) (Modern-day Occult setting)
Acrobatics +2 (+4)
Administration +2 (+2)
Area Knowledge +1 (+1)
Artisan +2 (+2)
Cultural Arts +3 (+9)
Disguise +1 (+2)
Etiquette +2 (+2)
Foreign Culture +2 (+2)
Gaming +1 (+1)
Languages +2 (+4) English, French, Spanish
Law +1 (+1)
Occult +2 (+6)
Performing Arts +2 (+2)
Seduction +4 (+8)
Stealth +3 (+6)
Street sense +3 (+6)
Urban Tracking +4 (+8)
Wilderness Survival +1 (+1)
Writing +2 +2

Defects (Cost)
Bane Sunlight (-2)
Bane Mirrors (-2)

Note: Miriam can move about in the daylight better than Fran and she waken from her torpor easier (her lesser sunlight defect).