#RPG – FATE – Motherfuckin’ Science Ninjas, beotch.

“Konichiwa! I am Doctor Science, and I have had my robots kidnap you and bring you here for one, very important purpose.

Our planet is in grave peril! Lizard Men, fleeing environmental catastrophe on their home planet of Venus, have come to Earth in a fleet of Ark ships and plan to destroy our defenses and venusiform our planet, using a series of ever-more-improbable giant monsters!

The military is helpless! I was laughed out of academia!

Only a group of radical teenagers, with precocious martial arts skills, equipped with skin-tight spandex and giant robots can hope to meet the menace! You are those radical teens, I have the giant robots. Will you answer the call?”

– Doctor Science Phd

Sentai is the name of type of Japanese action series, one that has gone on – in its main form – (with some vague sense of continuity) for a very long time. That longest-running series is what gave its name to the genre as a whole, Supa Sentai Shirizu, along with its huge number of imitators, spin-offs and re-dubs.

You may know the genre from its western form, Power Rangers, or from anime such as Voltron, or G-Force. Personally I always had a soft spot for X-Bomber (Starfleet).

Sentai means ‘task force’ or ‘squadron’, and the genre has some pretty consistent conventions that will probably be familiar to you.

• A skillful team of oddballs.
• Who can transform into superheroes with some unique powers and weapons.
• Who are colour-coded.
• Who often have mecha, or transforming vehicles.
• Which can often combine into one giant robot.

It’s high camp, high adventure, full of imaginative strangeness, monsters, giants and drama. The sheer creative chaos of the whole thing is inspiring, energetic, and a lot of fun. Well worth playing in RPGs.

I’m going to suggest that you base your game off Daikaiju Die, which, while it is more geared towards Pacific Rim or Giant Robo style games, is more than capable of standing in for Sentai, and scaling from teenage martial artists, to super-suit wearers, to mecha drivers, to giant robot combat.

There’s a few changes that need to be made, however.

New Skill

Synergy replaces the Interface Skill found in Daikaiju Die. Rather than complex systems of rolling, Synergy just provides you, flat out, with a number of additional FATE points that you can tap into, while you’re occupying your personal or combined mecha.

Mecha and Skills

In Daikaiju Die, and in this game-sketch, Mecha have their own skills, as they have a sort of personality and psychic connection with their driver. However, driver and mecha’s mutual skill interrelate with each other.

• When driving a Mecha, you use your FATE points (and Synergy) to empower its stents and so forth.
• If a character’s skill is higher than the Mecha’s skill, then that skill counts as one higher.
• If the character’s skill is lower, then the Mecha’s skill is reduced by one.
• When Mecha combine, you take the average of the Mecha skills (rounding down), and modify by the highest pilot Skills from the team.
• Combined Mecha can use the FATE/Synergy points of any of the pilots to power its moves and special abilities.

Characters

FATE often uses a group or team-oriented character creation method. I’m not usually much of a fan of this approach, but for a Sentai game it makes a lot of sense. There should be some sort of commonality between the team’s members, both in terms of their overt purpose as super-sentai, and their cover story.

Sentai teams have been many things in the past. You might be able to draw some inspiration here for the theme of your team. This is just a handful of examples, including both their cover identities, and the themes of their outfits and abilities.

Athletes, Cards, Countries, Cyborgs, Dinosaurs, Elements, Fashion Models, Gemstones, High School Students, Inventors, Martial Arts Team, Ninjas, Olympians, Planets, Predators, Race Team, Rhythmic Gymnasts, Rock Band, Scientists, Secret Heritage, Siblings, Special Police Unit, Students.

It’s also a good idea to take this opportunity to define the source of the threat that they are coming together to fight. Some examples include:

Alien Invaders, Crime Syndicate, Demon Clan, Dimensional Invaders, Evil Magician, Evil Scientist, Evolved Dinosaurs, Ghosts, Hollow Earth Empire, Ninja Clan, Space Pirates, Spirits, Terrorists, Time Travellers, Vampires.

Example: Inu Burasage is the Black Ranger in Science Ninja Team Matsukaze. The team is made up of three Science Ninjas, who are also stuntmen – their cover identity. The Black Ranger is joined by the white and grey rangers, who combine their Mecha to form Robo-Matsukaze to take on larger threats. Together they battle alien infiltration and terrorism conducted by Tokage No Ō and the Lizard Men from primeval Venus.

Making Your Character

Creating your character proceeds as normal, though you should try and make sure your character fits, at least minimally, into the group theme.

• One Concept Aspect, one Trouble Aspect, three free Aspects.
• 20 skills. I prefer free-spend, with a limit of +4 for a starting character, but you could go 1×4, 2×3, 3×2, 4×1 if you prefer a more forcefully rounded persona.
• 3-5 Stunts. These typically provide special, permanent bonuses of +2, allow the automatic invocation of aspects, or the manifestation of new capabilities.
• Refresh is 5, minus the number of Stunts that you have.
• Characters typically have 2 Mental and Physical Stress boxes, and three Consequences in each category. Sentai tends to be combat heavy, and while it’s not shy of killing off characters I’d still suggest upping the base Stress to 3. Additional Stress boxes (and Consequences) can come from Skills and can come from Stunts.

You’ll also get your colourful, skin-tight Sentai suit and helmet, that counts as Armour +1 (Skintight) by default, and can be summoned from your ring/belt-buckle/watch. You also get a basic sidearm that’s Weapon +1 (Laser Accurate). Special Sentai weapons will have to be paid for with Stunts or gained during the game – you have to have room to grow.

You’ll also need to create your personal Mecha!

Individual Mecha

Your Mecha is just as important as your character. When you’re creating your Mecha you need to also consider how it fits in with the other characters and their Mecha. Sentai Mechs typically have a running theme, like a type of animal, or fit together as different aspects of the same thing.

• Scale: A personal Mecha is usually Scale 1 (Motorcycle), 2 (Car), 3 (Tank) and not bigger.
• Concept Aspect: Just like a character, but portraying the Mecha’s true essence.
• Trouble: A drawback that the Mecha has, such as ‘slow to turn’ or ‘weak underbelly’.
• Bonus Aspect: A free extra aspect for the Mecha.
• Stunt: Mecha start with a single Stunt.
• Skills: You have 20 points to buy Skills for the Mecha, but these can only be spent on Athletics, Fight, Notice, Physique and Shoot. You can, however, also spend from this pool to buy additional things from the list below.
• Bonus Items: Armour (1-4), Weapons (1-4, each weapon has a free aspect), Extra Stunt (3 points), Bonus Aspect (1 point per Aspect or weapon Aspect), Independent FATE Pool (3 points per point).
• Stress: Mecha only have Physical Stress, but besides the Skill bonus you also get to add the Scale as additional Stress boxes.

Combiner

Combiner Mecha have to have ‘Combine’ as a Stunt, if it’s a major theme of the campaign you might want to let the players have it for free.

Mecha combiners are typically comprised of five mecha (two arms, two legs and a body-head), but they can be less (Dai-X: legs/body/head) or more (Super Turbo Robo: Legs, arms, body, armour). Combination Mecha can consist of as few as two, or as many as sixteen Mecha. Player groups are best kept at 4-6 players, so you may either want to be flexible, or plan around that.

The combined Mecha generally has a Scale of one higher than the individual Mecha that came together to form it. When it is beaten, it dissolves into its individual Mecha, but they’re no more damaged than they were when the Mecha combined.

• Scale: Constituent Mecha scale +1
• Skills: Take the highest Skill level in each skill from each constituent Mecha and count that, once, for the combined Mech, modified by the Skill of the leader (typically the guy in the head).
• Aspects: Aspects equal to the average of the Mecha making it up, rounded down. Give it new Aspects.
• Weapons: Re-Spend half the constituent Mecha’s weapon investment as new weapons.
• Armour: Take the average of the constituent mecha and round down.
• Stunts: Total and halve the number of Stunts from the constituent Mecha, and choose new ones.
• The Combination Mecha can use FATE points from any of its pilots.
• The Combination Mecha has its own stress track.

Inspiration

Black

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	Reliable Lieutenant	Bitter and Jealous	Killer Instinct	Unfailingly Polite	Dutiful Perfectionist
2	Does the Dirty Jobs	Dark Past	Whirlwind of Destruction	Graceful Elegance	Stylish Dandy
3	Silent Ninja	Unsettling Presence	Intimidating Glare	Unfailingly Loyal	Smooth with the Ladies/Men
4	Driven to Mastery	Hyper Competitive	Terrifying	Radiates Respect	Hidden Soft Side
5	Upbeat Comedian	Childish Joker	Utterly Fearless	Adventurous Soul	Uncommonly Strong
6	Deadly Warrior	The Worst Luck	Hardened by Trauma	Natural Tactician	Freakish Agility

Blue

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	Reliable Soldier	Clumsy Shild	Inner Calm	Natural Acrobat	Inspired Daydreamer
2	Experienced Veteran	Prone to Tantrums	Stable Minded	Affinity for Water	Memory for Detail
3	Sober Rationalist	Hotheaded	Heavyweight Fighter	Peaceful Heart	Brave Explorer
4	Wise Mentor	Germaphobe	Holds Himself Back	Sport Lover	Lifelong Learner
5	Pure and Incorruptible	Cold and Detached	Exotic Gourmand	Inventive Mind	Level Headed
6	Scrupulously Worker	Represses Everything	Dancer’s Grace	Friend to Children	Great Determination

Brown

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	Humble Helper	Never Volunteers	Father Figure	Spirit of Bushido	Affinity With Wood
2	Strongman	Don’t Know my own Strength	Eager to Learn	Bound by Honour	Warm and Loving
3	Unbreakable Stoic	Lunk-Headed	Patient Teacher	Natural Homemaker	Wholesome
4	Wilderness Hunter	Lost in the Past	Well-Traveled	Comforting Presence	Solid and Reliable
5	Tough Survivalist	Inscrutably Taciturn	Fighting Spirit	Keeps things Simple	Gifted Healer
6	Spiritual Exemplar	Rather Old-Fashioned	Warrior’s Heart	Mean Cup of Tea	Aura of Honesty

Gold

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	Noble Bloodline	Arrogant Narcissist	Sentimentalist	Always Alert	Playful Nature
2	Religious Scholar	Hidebound Zealot	Talent for Magic	Rites and Rituals	Rulebreaker
3	Mystical Guru	Pseudo-Intellectual	Legendary Reputation	Irrepressibly Happy	Anti-Authoritarian
4	Musical Prodigy	Lost in Daydreams	Cool Headed	Wabi-Sabi	Hidden Emotions
5	Sword Saint	The Battle is All	Superior Confidence	Antifragile	Man out of Time
6	Warrior Philosopher	Cod Philosopher	Sixth Sense	Knack with Machines	Adaptable Chameleon

Green

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	I Work Alone	Bad Teammate	Affinity for Nature	Excellent Teacher	Punishing Training Regimen
2	Brave Warrior	Brashly Overconfident	Lucky Devil	Uncommonly Precise	Brooding Charm
3	Bold Strategist	Takes too many Risks	Young and Vital	Accurate Shot	Suave and Smooth
4	Bionic Commando	Coldly Mechanical	Vigorous Energy	Merciless to Enemies	Always in Control
5	Mission Focused	Tunnel Vision	Hard to Kill	Kind to the Innocent	Nimble Fingers
6	Finding His Way	All at Sea	Deductive Reasoning	Inner Reflection	Burning Curiousity

Grey

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	Martial Arts Champion	Awkward	Resolved	Brave of Heart	Nuanced Thinking
2	Always Improving	Old Injury	Fearless	Traditional Values	Chi in Balance
3	Sword Saint	Overconfident	Impartial	Strong in Body	Luck of Fools
4	Shinobi	Incurable Romantic	Unflappable	Healthy Constitution	Spiritually Centered
5	Manga-Ka	Pushover	Diplomatic	Furious Power	Chivalrous
6	Artist	Shy	Nimble	In Balance	Creative Genius

Orange

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	Renaissance Man	Forever in Love	Dead-Eye Shot	Straight Shooter	Strong Family
2	Professor	Curiosity Killed the Cat	Knack for Science	Carefree	Strong Friendship
3	Doctor	Tragic Orphan	Classical Tactician	Animal Lover	Natural Healer
4	Savant	Inveterate Gambler	Natural Rhythm	Dark and Brooding	Weapon Savant
5	Loving Caregiver	Always Protects the Weak	Machine Touch	Eagle Eyed	Police Training
6	Sharp as a Tack	Formerly Evil	Soul of Light	Personal Armoury	Friends Everywhere

Pink

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	Animal Wrangler	Prissy Princess	Effeminate	Unbearably Cute	Natural Dignity
2	Fashion Model	Eww, Gross!	Dirty Fighter	Childlike Wonder	Nose for Liars
3	Sex Kitten	Youthful	Dancer’s Grace	Comforting Presence	Tomboy
4	Bionic Woman	Healthy	Athletic	Motherly Love	Dedicated
5	Karate Renshi	Inappropriate Joker	Gifted Teacher	Sisterly Solidarity	Meditative
6	Intelligence Agent	Lewd	Empathetic Heart	Pulchritudinous	Top of Her Class

Purple

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	Royal Bearing	Selfish Pig	Compassionate	Eccentric	Circumspect
2	Natural Leader	Impulsive	Caring	Enigmatic	Respectful
3	Fierce Fighter	Mean and Strict	Reserved and Careful	Past Life Memories	Naturally Cautious
4	Wanderer	Vindictive	Confident	Headstrong	Master of Deception
5	Berserker	Forgetful	Calculating	Courageous	Well-Loved
6	Big Brother	Compulsive Liar	Linked to their Crush	Independent Minded	Knight’s Honour

Red

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	Commander	Young and Inexperienced	Master of Disguise	Driving Zen	Quick Thinker
2	Master Tactician	Never Satisfied	Finds any Weakness	Nature Lover	Hard Worker
3	Sharpshooter	Overshadowed by Predecessor	Astronaut Training	Deeply Passionate	Rock and Roll!
4	Gold Medalist	Under Pressure	World Traveler	Very Responsible	Ace Pitcher
5	Leads from the Front	Out of their Depth	Urban Explorer	Emotionally Invested	Self-Sacrificing
6	Paladin Knight	Easily Bored	Mountain Climber	Stubborn Grit	Upbeat and Happy

Silver

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	Super-Scientist	Unreliable Prototype	Perfectly Precise	Green Thumb	Rapid Runner
2	Martial Arts Monk	Quickly Exhausted	Bleeding Edge Tech	Highly Empathetic	Pin-Up Idol
3	Masterless Samurai	Risk-Taker	Pool Hustler	Drives others to Greatness	Gives no Quarter
4	Sensei	Fish out of Water	Musical Talent	Carefree	Powerful Strength
5	Mysterious Warrior	Stuck-Up	Breathtaking	Sense for Evil	Sense of the Dead
6	Pop Musician	Too Sensitive	Monk	Hard to Hit	Unemotional

White

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	Intellectual Scholar	Mournful	Well Educated	Ideal Mother	Serious Focus
2	Brilliant Surgeon	Cold and Distant	Sweet and Caring	Keeper of Secrets	Unbridled Enthusiasm
3	Flamboyant Playboy	Scold	Sensitive to Others	Capacity for Mercy	Fast Reflexes
4	Brilliant Battle Planner	Spoilet Brat	Encyclopedic Brain	With you in Spirit	Reliable Friend
5	Computer Brain	Stickler for Manners	Thrill Seeker	Free Spirit	Cool-Headed
6	Wealthy Heir	Prim and Proper	Experienced Veteran	Unfailing Optimism	Discerning Palate

Yellow

Roll	Concept	Trouble	Aspect	Aspect	Aspect
1	Genius Mechanic	Treacherous	Sacred Aura	Shoulder to Cry On	Photographer’s Eye
2	Judo Champion	Lover not a Fighter	Big Strength	Emotionally Strong	Puckish Trickster
3	Scientist Inventor	Big Eater	Stout Toughness	Sneaky Shadow	Infuriates Bad Guys
4	Expert Botanist	Terrible at Puzzles	Lightens the Mood	Impeccably Dressed	Big Loving Family
5	Farmer	String of Bad Luck	Bonded Twin	Loyal Lieutenant	Facility for Languages
6	Wrecking Ball	Comic Relief	Mischief Maker	Perfect Pitch

Weapon Ideas

Axe (+2, chopping blow)
Ball (+1, Knock Down)
Battle Rifle (+3, Powerful)
Bazooka (+4 Cumbersome, Exploding)
Boomerangs (+1 Return to Sender)
Bow (+2 Payload)
Clubs (+1 Beat Senseless)
Crossbow (+3, Slow, Payload)
Dagger (+1, Stab Deep)
Darts (+1, Accurate)
Fan (+1, Deflecting)
Hammer (+2 Slamming Blow)
Nunchuks (+2 Intimidating)
Ribbon (+1 Entangling)
Ring (+1, Multiple Attack)
Sabre (+2 Slashing)
Sap Gloves (+1 Knock-Out Punch)
Shield (+1 to Defend/Deflect rolls, Unbreakable Aspect).
Sickles (+1 Hook and Cut)
Sidearm (+1 Colourful Beam)
SMG (+2, Autofire)
Staff (+1, Double-Blow)
Throwing Knives (+1, Deadly)
Throwing Stars (+1, Multi-Throw)
Whip (+1 Entangling)

Example: Inu Burasage is the Black Ranger in Science Ninja Team Matsukaze. The team is made up of three Science Ninjas, who are also stuntmen – their cover identity. The Black Ranger is joined by the white and grey rangers, who combine their Mecha to form Robo-Matsukaze to take on larger threats. Together they battle alien infiltration and terrorism conducted by Tokage No Ō and the Lizard Men from primeval Venus.

Concept: Daredevil Motorcycle Stunt Man
Trouble: Hey baby, how you doin’?
Aspect: Grew a Thick Skin from a Tough Past
Aspect: Unfailingly Loyal to his Friends
Aspect: Freakish Level of Agility.
+4 Skills: Drive
+3 Skills: Synergy, Athletics
+2 Skills: Physique, Fight, Shoot
+1 Skills: Notice, Provoke, Stealth, Resources
Stunt: One with my Bike – +2 on Drive checks when using his motorcycle
Stunt: Ladykiller – +2 on social checks with women
Stunt: Silent Communication – Burasage can convey a great deal of meaning with a look, an eyebrow and hand gesture, without having to speak
Refresh: 2
Mental Stress: OO
Physical Stress: OOO
Gear: Black Sentai Suit +1 Armour (Skintight), Blackblaster sidearm +1 (Laser Accurate).

Mecha: Onyx Mecha Bike
Scale: 1
Concept: Fast as a Bullet
Trouble: High Maintenance
Aspect: Flip Out, Like a Ninja
Stunt: Transform – Motorcycle to Battle Suit (Free Stunt).
Stunt: Combine to form Robo-Matsukaze
Stunt: Summonable.
+4 Skills: Fight (+3)
+3 Skills: Athletics (+3)
+2 Skills: Shoot (+2)
+1 Skills: Notice (+1), Physique (+1)
Weapon: Darkblade +3, Armour Piercing
Weapon: Fire Breath +1, Burning Blaze
Armour: 2
Physical Stress: OOOO

Robo-Matsukaze
Scale: 2
Concept: Hot-Rod Mecha
Trouble: Mind of its Own
Aspect: Loud as Fuck
Stunt: Clouds of Exhaust – Can blast out an obscuring cloud of -2, choking exhaust
Stunt: Quick off the line – +2 to out accelerate, or rapidly change speed
Stunt: Wheels – Can move as fast as a car or motorcycle on roads, as though having giant rollerskates
+4 Skills: Fight
+3 Skills: Athletics, Shoot
+2 Skills: Notice, Physique
Weapon: Fire Katana +3, Razor Sharp, Flaming
Weapon: Ice Wakazashi +2, Razor Sharp, Freezing
Weapon: Heat Ray Gaze +3, Burning, Melting, Sustained Beam
Armour: 2
Physical Stress: OOOOO

I might work this up into a longer version with more details and examples for Autopsy, and if there’s sufficient interest, into a more full game for FATE like Daikaiju Die.

#RPG – Love, Death & Robots Sonnie’s Edge (Daikaiju Die!)

Love Death and Robots came out a while ago on Netflix. It’s a worthy successor, in many ways, to Heavy Metal – the series, the anthology comic and the movie. It can be a bit hit-or-miss, many of these kinds of shows can be, but it’s more hit than miss. One of the stand-out episodes was the first one, based on a Peter F Hamilton short story, where bio-engineered mini-kaiju battle it out in underground arenas.

That would make a great premise for an RPG campaign, and carries implications with it – around the technology – that could form a broader and more varied set of RPG scenarios. The technology would be unlikely to only be used in the underground and the military applications of producing cybernetically controlled monsters, organically, bypassing a lot (but not all) of the normal industrial infrastructure necessary for war machines.

Creatures bypass a lot of the real-life issues around giant robots, and engineered and bio-printed organisms, stitched together from cybernetics and vat-grown organs are – in many ways – a lot more plausible.

My FATE-based game, Daikaiju Die! Has the basis for people able to run such a game, with a few tweaks.

Scale

• Fighting monsters should be scale 2-3 (vehicle or tank).
• Scale adds to physical Stress.
• If you’re attacking something bigger than you, the difference in scale counts as two points of extra armour for them.
• The other way around, the difference in scale is added to damage.
• If you’re shooting at something smaller than you, the difference in scale is a penalty to the roll.
• If shooting at something larger, the difference in scale is a bonus to the roll.

Fighting Kaiju Creation

Concept: Overall idea behind the creature.
Codename: Start with a codename for your Fighting Kaiju. Something that sums it up in one go.
Aspects: Concept Aspect, Trouble Aspect, Bonus Aspect.
Stunts: Fighting Kaiju start with a single stunt.
Everything Else: Fighting Kaiju also have Skills, Armour and Attacks to buy. These come out of a starting pool of 12 points.
Skills: Fighting Kaiju have Athletics, Fight, Notice, Physique and Shoot skills. Buying them is 1/1. Don’t forget to increase stress according to their Physique as per the main rule book.
Armour: Fighting Kaiju are naturally very tough, but some are tougher than others. 1 point of armour costs 1 point, 2 points of armour costs 4 points and 3 points of armour costs 9 points. For Fighting Kaiju, armour also adds to stress.
Weapons: Fighting Kaiju’s weapons must be natural, claws, teeth, biological acid vomit and so forth. Weapons cost one point per bonus point of damage, up to a maximum of +3. You can also buy aspects for a weapon for one point each.
Bonus Stunt: A Fighting Kaiju can have a second stunt at a cost of 3 points.
Bonus Aspect: A kaiju can have additional aspects at the cost of two points each.

Rules

The Interface skill works as normal, but there is only ever a single ‘pilot’.

The connection is direct and at the speed of light and is essentially lagless out to a distance of 225km. The operator suffers a -1 penalty for every 100km distance or part thereof beyond that.

A civilian transmitter typically only has a maximum range of 500m before connections start to drop out, less in built up areas or inside structures.

In both competitive and military settings, the relative loss of operational effectiveness and the use of upgrades follows the same rules as per normal.

Khanivore

Concept: High velocity predator.
Concept Aspect: Lithe and Twisty.
Trouble Aspect: Relatively Weak.
Stunts: Split Attack – After making a successful head-tentacle attack, Khanivore can spend a FATE point to split the tentacles, making four strikes instead of one, at -1 damage each.
Skills: Athletics 3(4), Fight 3(4), Physique 2.
Weapons: Claws +1, Teeth +1, Head-Tentacle +2.
Bonus Aspect: Skin in the Game.
Scale: 2.
Physical Stress: OOOOO

#RPG #TTRPG #WeirdHookMonth – Small People

The Hook

A storm washes you up on a strange shore, close to a miniature town. What it really is, is a port town of The People’s Republic of Blefuscu, a totalitarian state of tiny people that wants to use them as kaiju against The Republic of Lilliput. Both states have modern technology.

Suggested System

FATE, The Description System.

#RPG #TTRPG #WeirdHookMonth – Mind Fuckery

The Hook

In Fantastic Voyage, a crew are shrunk down to minute size to heal a blood clot. What if, instead of the body, people were ‘injected’ into minds to remove trauma and alter personalities. What if they stumbled on the repressed memories of a serial killer, who is now all too aware?

Suggested Systems

FATE, The Description System.

Art by Yuuki Morita

#RPG – FATE/@ctiv8 – LET’S KILL TRUMP

Obviously don’t actually kill anyone, but plenty of people all over the political spectrum don’t reckon much to ‘The Donald’ and it’s not like America doesn’t have a history of killing the same people it elects into office.

Rarely has the US been so divided and rarely have so many people wanted to engage in the power fantasy of taking out a head of state.

How hard would it be though? What would stand in your way? How would you penetrate ‘The Beast’, bring down Airforce One or assault The White House?

Now you can! Only not really, this is just a game – a game about political activism and hardcore intervention, but only a game nonetheless.

Due to the political content (though it’s really just information to inform a freeform scenario) this cannot be sold, so please make $0.65 donation to grim@postmort.demon.co.uk or via my Patreon. Patrons get to suggest Youtube video topics and get discounts on Postmortem Studios products every month.

DOWNLOAD ‘LET’S KILL TRUMP’ HERE.

You can get a copy of @ctiv8 2.0 HERE.

#RPG – Postmortem Studios September Update

Here’s a quick monthly update on the current state of affairs here at Postmortem Studios.

Personal

I could really use your help this month, even if its just reviews, reblogs or mentions on social media.

It has been a really, really shitty month. Gencon always sucks money away from small and foreign companies that don’t get to go abroad. I’ve had some issues with promotional tools and – on top of that (and the malicious censorship of Hentacle at the end of July) I have been having internet issues for the past three weeks, making it virtually impossible for me to work reliably or to offer most of my normal freelancing services. I now have internet – but slower than it should be (especially uploads). The problem still isn’t fixed and I’ve lost a great deal of money due to the problems.

Now, then, would be a good time – if any – for some of you guys to subscribe to me on Patreon. It would be greatly appreciated, would help fill the hole caused by these issues (we freelancers are rather vulnerable to them) and would help me continue to produce totally rad content in the future. I have thousands of Twitter followers, hundreds of blog followers, hundreds of Youtube followers. If just one-in-ten of you subbed for $1 a month I could do so much more. You could also make a one-time donation via Paypal to grim@postmort.demon.co.uk

It would also be a great time, if anyone has any work available, for me to freelance. My available services are listed a little later.

If you want to show me support, there’s Patreon but there’re other ways too. Follow me on social media, subscribe to my Youtube channel, retweet my stuff, leave reviews if you’ve bought anything of mine. It all helps and this kind of publicity (especially social media and good reviews) is the lifeblood of any creative person.

If you have a podcast or Youtube channel of your own and would like me to appear on a hangout or similar I’d be happy to and am also available for guest blogging or contributions, or to run RPGs online.

Work Update

 

This month has been shite. I have gotten very little done other than getting Daikaiju Die! out, which has done reasonably well for a small, FATE release. You should buy it, it’s a lot of fun.

I have restructured my schedule as best I can to cope with the internet issues and while this likely means I won’t be able to do any more audiobooks or new releases this month (unless they’re small) it does mean that when things are fixed things should pick up fast.

Gor-wise I’ve said I won’t make any more promises until I’m sure. Other than remaining layout my part in the project is done. We are still waiting on art, but the delay is nobody’s fault. I honestly think the project is cursed.

Once Gor is done I intend to crowdfund my next project, a dark and deadly city-adventure sourcebook for 5e with lots of undead, grotesque monsters and dark and nasty material. Old School nastiness and deadliness with 5e compatibility. A city of the dead. The crowdfunding will be split between paying me to have the time free to devote fully to it, and to the artists. The more money raised, the more art – is basically how this will go.

Services

Currently, my plate is clear and free for freelancing and consultancy after last month. Despite my internet issues I should be able to complete any work, it just may take a little longer than normal.

I am a 15+ year veteran of the tabletop game publishing world with experience in freelancing and self-publishing. I’ve worked for Wizards of the Coast, Steve Jackson Games, Nightfall, Cubicle Seven Entertainment and more. I have also written fiction and worked on social media computer games, packing a lot of meaning into short pieces of text. As a self-publisher, I have overseen every step of the publication process from concept through to publications including writing, editing, layout and modification. I also produce Youtube material and have begun producing audiobooks.

Here’s some of the services I can offer, and the minimum prices offered – though anything is negotiable up or down depending on the client. I will work pseudonymously if that is a concern for you, however stupid that situation is.

• New writing (raw text): $0.03c/word (minimum)
• Proofreading/Light Editing/Commentary: $0.01c/word (second and third deeper passes are possible).
• ePublishing/RPG Publishing consultation Skype/Hangout/Call: $20/hour.
• Consultation on your game project: $20/hour.
• Layout (InDesign): $11 an hour.
• Stock Art Shopfront: Postmortem studios have a huge stock art catalogue from multiple artists and we’d love to add you to that storefront. If you’re an artist who wants to sell your stock art but doesn’t want to deal with the accounts and uploads etc with your own storefront (which would be my first recommendation) then I can do that for you for 50% (I round up your payouts though).
• Voice Work: If you find my dulcet tones to your liking, I’m available for voice over work and narration.

Recent Products

Clipart Critters MEGABUNDLE:  A once in a lifetime offer (at least until September the first) this is ALL of Brad McDevitt’s stock art – up to number 400 – at a HUGE discount. This is basically a company start-up resource which will provide you with plenty of fantasy, horror, science fiction and modern images to kickstart your company into progress with low initial overheads for art. It’s also a fantastic resource for existing companies. THIS WILL NOT REMAIN ON SALE MUCH LONGER! BUY IT WHILE YOU CAN! IT’S A FANTASTIC BARGAIN!

Diversity Dungeons: Despite claims to the contrary from all sides involved this is intended as a fairly serious examination of diversity issues in gaming from a world-building/game design and publishing perspective. It outlines the obstacles and methods to overcome including (or not including) diversity in your games and some material – from bitter experience – on the current febrile atmosphere around games publishing.

The Cathedral of Misogyny: An affectionate piss-take of 4chan, internet culture wars and hyperbole via the medium of a comedic 5th Edition D&D adventure, based upon a scenario I wrote as an introduction for a new player coming in from computer games. Part of the scenario was played online and there’s a Youtube video of it here.

Daikaiju Die!: Daikaiju Die! is a game about beating up monsters in giant mecha (called Ridders). The players take the part of mecha pilots and their support crew. They will fight giant monsters and walk in their shadow. They will establish rivalries and defeat villains.
They will uncover conspiracies and lead the fight back against what seems to be a world itself in rebellion against humanity. Mostly, though, they’ll smash giant monsters to pieces in epic, destructive fights.

Fifth Fantasy – The Brock: A whole new race for you to use in your 5e games. The Brock are a reclusive, grumpy people with a pragmatic and dogged mindset. Fierce warriors, they protect the forests and occasionally venture out into civilisation – usually to be disapproving. This is a whole new race and culture for you to add into your games and comes with a set of Brock-centred magic items to use as well.

Our entire catalogue (other than the newer items) – easier to browse than the online sites can be downloaded for free HERE. http://www.rpgnow.com/product/176399/Postmortem-Studios-Publisher-Catalogue-2016&affiliate_id=50144

Social Media & Contact

I’m always open to contact, discussion, ideas and more. If you have questions, queries, suggestions or feedback – good or bad – please do get in touch.

• You can comment here on the blog (Postmortemstudios on WordPress)
• You can find me on Twitter @grimachu
• You can find me on Facebook (James Desborough)
• You can find me on Youtube (PostmortemVideo)
• If you want to ask questions (or troll me) anonymously I have an Ask.fm (Grimachu)
• If you want to support my writing, games design and other work I have a Patreon (Grimachu)
• I’m also on G+ (JamesGrimDesborough).
• I’m on Minds.com as Grimachu

Second Hand Books & Old Stock

I have a number of old books and stock available for sale. £5 for small format books, £10 for large format books + shipping (UK only).

100 Conspiracies
Adventurer’s Vault 4e
Agents of SWING: Agent Casefile
Ant Assault (Cardgame)
Black Rock Bandits (4e adventure & Map)
Bloodlust RPG (French)
Bloodsucker: The Juice
CTG: Isle of the Mighty
Cthentacle (Hardcopy)
d20 Mecha
Dark Conspiracy: Darktek
Dark Conspiracy: New Orleans
Darktown RPG
Desecration (Pathfinder adventure & map)
DK System (French)
DM’s Guide 2 (4e)
DM’s Guide to Immortals (Basic D&D)
Dog Town RPG
Exalted: Return to the Tomb of Five Corners
Hentacle
Inferno (Boardgame)
Legend of the Five Rings LRP Rules
Mantel D’Acier (French)
MET: Antagonists
MET: Book of the Damned
MET: Dark Epics
MET: Journal No 4
MET: Laws of the East
MET: Laws of the Night Camarilla Guide
MET: Laws of the Nightmares
MET: Laws of the Wild Changing Breeds 1
MET: Laws of the Wild Second Edition
MET: Liber des Ghoules
MET: The Masquerade Second Edition
MET: The Shining Host
Monster Manual 2 4e
MTA: Akashic Brotherhood
MTA: Blood Treachery
MTA: Book of Shadows
MTA: Cult of Ecstacy
MTA: Dreamspeakers
MTA: Initiates of the Art
MTA: Masters of the Art
MTA: NWO
MTA: Progenitors
MTA: Sons of Ether
MTA: The Loom of Fate
MTA: Verbena
MTA: Void Engineers
Ninjas & Superspies RPG
Old, Fat Punks (Novel)
Palladium The Mechanoids (Rifts Sourcebook 2)
Player’s Handbook 2 4e
Red Box Basic D&D
The Sting (Pathfinder adventure & map)
Traveller New Era: Fire Fusion & Steel
V:TM 2nd Edition
Victoriana 1st Edition
VTM: A World of Darkness
VTM: Berlin by Night
VTM: Blood Bond
VTM: Blood Magic, Secrets of Thaumaturgy
VTM: Chicago by Night
VTM: Children of the Nightmares
VTM: Elysium
VTM: Ghouls, Fatal Addiction
VTM: Guide to the Sabbat
VTM: Midnight Siege
VTM: Milwaukee by Nightmares
VTM: New Orleans
VTM: New York by Night
VTM: Storyteller’s Handbook
VTM: Storyteller’s Screen 2nd Edition
VTM: The Anarch Cookbook
VTM: The Hunters Hunted
VTM: The Succubus Club
VTM: Thrashing Dragons
VTM: Time of Thin Blood
VTM: Ventrue
WOD: Combat
WOD: Outcasts
WTA: Axis Mundi – The Book of Spirits
WTA: Corax

Comics

I have a near complete run of 2000AD from 315-1386 and Judge Dredd Megazine from 4(1992) to 72(2000) for sale. Entertaining offers on runs or singles, but preferably for the whole lot from someone who can come get them (all packed up ready for transport).

#RPG – Daikaiju DIE! – RELEASED!

Buy it HERE.

Daikaiju Die! is a game about beating up monsters in giant mecha (called Ridders).

The players take the part of mecha pilots and their support crew. They will fight giant monsters and walk in their shadow. They will establish rivalries and defeat villains.

They will uncover conspiracies and lead the fight back against what seems to be a world itself in rebellion against humanity.

Mostly, though, they’ll smash giant monsters to pieces in epic, destructive fights.

Hardcopy option available HERE.

#RPG Kingsman for Agents of SWING

Sooner or later a new version of SWING more compatible with the new version of FATE will be Kickstarted. In the meantime…

Kingsman for Agents of SWING

This is based on the film, rather than the related comic, as honestly this is one instance in which the film really is better.

Kingsman’s concept operates very much like that of SWING in the game, a third-party, private espionage organisation trying to stop great powers from kicking off a new world war and also operating against massive threats, outside the laws and treaties that – theoretically – bind other espionage agencies.

Their sheer access to money (old and new), contacts and the ‘Old Boy Network’ of the British establishment and banking system gives them truly global reach which, when combined with their massively high standards and cut-throat training regimen makes them a small, but formidable force.

Failed candidates for ‘Knight’ positions seem to fill other roles within Kingsman’s organisation such as guards and support staff on a global basis (satellite offices are mentioned). So there is scope for playing characters who are not ‘Knights’. Merlin appears to be the head of the tech/support staff and training program but there’s certainly scope for others and given the success of Roxy (albeit in a minority) there’s no reason to think there aren’t plenty of women at work in the organisation – no matter what their codename.

Possible Arthurian Codenames

• Arthur (Head of Kingsman)
• Guinevere (Support – Medical?)
• Merlin (Head of Support – Technical)
• Morgana (Support – Personnel?)
• Taliesin (Support – broker/deal maker?)

 

• Agolvale (Knight)
• Agravain (Knight)
• Bagdemagus (Knight)
• Bedivere (Knight)
• Bercilak (Knight)
• Bors (Knight)
• Bruenor (Knight)
• Cador (Knight)
• Calogrenant (Knight)
• Caradoc (Knight)
• Claudin (Knight)
• Dagonet (Knight)
• Daniel (Knight)
• Dinadan (Knight)
• Ector (Knight)
• Elyan (Knight)
• Erec (Knight)
• Esclabor (Knight)
• Feirefiz (Knight)
• Gaheris (Knight)
• Galahad (Knight)
• Galehault (Knight)
• Galeschin (Knight)
• Gareth (Knight)
• Gawain (Knight)
• Geraint (Knight)
• Gingalain (Knight)
• Griflet (Knight)
• Hector (Knight)
• Hoel (Knight)
• Kay (Knight)
• Lamorak (Knight)
• Lancelot (Knight)
• Lanval (Knight)
• Leodegrance (Knight)
• Lincoln (Knight)
• Lionel (Knight)
• Lucan (Knight)
• Maleagant (Knight)
• Mordred (Knight)
• Morholt (Knight)
• Morien (Knight)
• Owain (Knight)
• Palamedes (Knight)
• Pelleas (Knight)
• Pellinore (Knight)
• Percival (Knight)
• Safir (Knight)
• Sagramore (Knight)
• Segwarides (Knight)
• Tor (Knight)
• Tristan (Knight)
• Urien (Knight)

Characters

Unlike SWING characters, Kingsmen are cut from similar cloth and have a similar degree of competence.

Kingsman characters must spend at least the following points in the following Skills.

Athletics 1
Drive 1
Fists 2
Guns 2
Endurance 1
Resolve 1
Resources 1
Weaponry 1

Leaving 10 points for further customisation.

Gadgets

Similarly, gadgets are also standard issue in a way they are not for SWING.

Umbrella: The reinforced and gadget-packed umbrella makes for a good close-combat weapon. Its hook gives it the aspect ‘Entangling’ and as a close combat weapon it does +1 damage. The umbrella itself projects onto itself what is behind it, so you can take cover behind it. When taking cover the umbrella provides +2 Armour to the agent behind it, but they cannot move as they must brace the umbrella for it to be effective. The shaft of the umbrella also houses a number of bullets which can be fired with lethal force (+2) or non-lethal force (+1, and confer a ‘dazed’ aspect if they hit).

Sovereign Ring: The sovereign ring holds a powerful electric charge, good for one solid punch doing +2 damage and conveyed the ‘shocked’ aspect.

Kingsman Pistol: The Kingsman pistol is a custom-modified firearm with an underslung single-shot, shotgun barrel – reloaded by break action. The pistol does +2 damage, while the shotgun, with a standard shot, does +2 damage and has the aspect ‘spread shot’. It imposes a -1 penalty to hit, however, due to its short barrel. Specialist shotgun rounds are available, but not detailed in the film. Presumably these would include:

1. Standard Shot.
2. Solid shot (+3 damage, no spread aspect).
3. Incendiary (+1 damage, confers aspect ‘on fire’ and 1 stress damage per turn.
4. High Explosive (+4 damage with an area explosion).
5. Armour Piercing (+2 damage, ignore up to 2 points of armour).
6. Rock Salt (+0 damage, confers ‘in pain’ aspect).

Bulletproof Suit: The bulletproof, double-breasted suit confers two points of armour, but only against bullets and impact weapons.

Blade Shoes: With these a kick attack can be made doing +1 damage. On the following turn the target suffers a damaging poison attack with a potency of +8. The oil on the blade is only good for a single attack and the damage is not ongoing.

AR Spectacles: The AR spectacles can take pictures, provide an augmented overlay (+1 to Alertness rolls) and provide a live feed back to HQ. As standard, everything is recorded.

Watch: The Kingsman watch, as well as being a £5,000 top of the range watch can fire a number of amnesia darts (potency +8, forget the last hour) or a single shock/bola dart which does +0 damage, has the aspect ‘entangling’ and confers the aspect ‘shocked’ if it hits and does damage.

Poison Pen: The ink from the pen can be used as a powerful, ongoing poison. Normally harmless, it can be activated by the pen (if within a few metres range) after which it is a Potency +4 poison with ongoing effect.

Lighter: The Kingsman lighter (gold, naturally) can be used as a single-shot flamethrower (+2, confers the ‘on fire’ aspect and 1 damage every turn, or as a grenade. Doing +5 damage with an area explosion.

#RPG FATAL Highway: Road wars and post-apocalyptic mayhem for FATE RELEASED!

Get it HERE on PDF.

This is a quick set of tried-and-tested rules for vehicles and vehicle chases in FATE. The original iteration of these rules can be found in Agents of SWING and aspects and versions of it can be found in other recent FATE products or fan-books I’ve written including Pacific Rim: FATE of Mankind and @ctiv8 2.0. This version contains some ideas written up for a FATE version of ‘45: Psychobilly Retropocalypse.

This booklet is all about cars, chases, crashes and some post-apocalyptic inspiration for those who want to play road warriors.

#RPG Granular FATE

FATE is a very adaptable and useful system but it does lack some aspects (ha, ha) that limit its usefulness in some regards. As a pick-up-and-play system it’s accessibility is worth a great deal but for more experienced players or those who enjoy a bit more system granularity or grittiness it has a few issues.

Here’s some idle thoughts on how to possibly address some of these issues.

Granularity
In order to increase granularity in the system, it’s necessary to increase its ‘range’. As standard, FATE rolls four FATE dice (or 2d6 one taking away from the other) giving a range of +/-4 (or 5) from your starting point. Doubling this range simply means doubling the amount of dice rolled, eight FATE dice or, if you prefer 2d10 (one taking away from the other) giving a range of +/-8 (or 9).

Difficulty on The Ladder would range from +15 to -4.

Granular games tend to be aiming for a more ‘realistic’ or ‘simulationist’ approach and as such bonuses and rules for FATE points and Aspects should remain the same, rather than being doubled. As such, Refresh, number of Stunts and so forth should also remain the same.

Characters
Characters have the usual Aspects and Stunts. They get double the normal number of skill points (40) and if you use the pyramid it would break down like this.

One +8 Skill.
Two +6 Skills.
Three +4 Skills.
Four +2 Skills.

Stress (Physical and Mental) starts at 4 with the usual number of consequences, though their value is doubled.

Each two points in Will of Physique adds one point of Stress to its appropriate Stress track, at 10 an additional Mild Consequence is added.

Shifts  & Style
Succeeding with style (five or more shifts) has all the usual benefits, but additionally can be used to smack enemies with temporary negative aspects or to do two points of damage (filling in the next lowest available stress box, if there is one, next highest otherwise).

Weapons & Gear
Typical weapons range from 1-8, which allows for a greater range of effect. Where, for example, in normal FATE a dagger and a shortsword might both be rated at 2, with the extended range you can split this between 3 for the dagger and four for the shortsword. Since weapon Aspects aren’t as powerful, they should also be more standard and should get a free activation each combat scene, perhaps on index cards with little tick-boxes marked on them.