BIG News Coming

Exciting things are coming.

In the meanwhile, here is a great video on writing and producing an RPG.

Video is HERE.

Giri-Ninjou Sneak Peek - Trigger Warning

In recent years, RPGs have become very accommodating and safe for everyone.

My design philosophy for Giri-Ninjou is the exact opposite.

It is a game about the ugly side of being Japanese.

Your actions are restricted.

No one can be trusted.

It'll probably end in Death, Dishonor, or at best Enlightenment.

But you'll have to wade through a river of blood to get where you are going.

What The Heck Is The Seven Part Pact?

Steve Jackson Games seems to be blowing up Kickstarter with its magnum opus, 7 Part Pact. TLDR, they got the designers of the incredibly charming RPG Wanderhome to create an RPG about being 7 competing wizards.

As an OG gamer, I am not sure what I am looking at here.

THE EVOLUTION OF GAME PRODUCTS

When I started gaming in the 80's, RPGS (they weren't called TRPGs yet) were a book out of which you played a game. Anything else had to come out of your imagination. If you were fancy, your book came in a box, or had a large fold out map, or cardboard standees. Art was atmospheric at best and amateurish at worst.

Then came the supplements in the 90's, ironically largely pushed by Steve Jackson for his GURPS game.

Life whisked me away from gaming in the early 2000's, but when I peeked back at the hobby at decade's end, art had become very professional, and although the corebook (a new term) was still there, more and more you needed some splat book, gazeteer, module, or other extended material to feel you were fully playing the game. And the game itself had become bloated, with extra rules for character creation, page long monster or character descriptions, and whole chapters of iffy fiction, among other things.

At the same time, gaming licenses had made it difficult to get older games, and most people's favorite game had gone through various editions of decreasing quality. It was no wonder the OSR and its back to basics rulesets like Swords & Wizardry came into vogue, and the indie game jam scene at itch.io and elsewhere burgeoned.

In the 2010's Kickstarter hit the scene and slowly began blowing open the limits on the game industry. When 7th Sea became a million seller in 2016, there was no turning back. For a decade we have had our choice of game size (small zine to massive corebook), genre, and playstyle. Indie creators have slowly stepped away from traditional printing and distribution models, and even Old Faithful (Chaosium) is riding the Kickstarter / Backerkit wave.

7 Part Pact seems to be pushing things to the next level.

TTRPG? BOARDGAME?

Looking at the promotional material, I cannot tell what I am seeing. 7 Part Pact comes with 7 'asymmetric Domain board games', whatever that means, 7 Wizard Codices (player manuals?), and tons of meeples and other gewgaws.

This is no surprise considering the enormous growth of the boardgame industry the past 20 years, as well the proliferation of battlemats, dice trays, recipe books and other (to me) superfluous items for TRPGs. Or TTRPGs as they say in Japan.

So I would say it is a roleplaying boardgame, and looks like Talisman on steroids to me, or else a boardgame version of the old Chaos War PC game.

A couple of other things have me scratching my head...

7 GAMES IN ONE

The materials mention that 7PP is '7 games in one.' I have no idea how that works, but I admire the gumption. In a traditional RPG, it is hard enough to get one player to stop grandstanding, so it will be interesting to see how 7PP lets up to 7 wizards fulfill their destiny. SJG is one of the OG games companies, so good on them for reaching out to younger designers.

AN EXPERIENCE 

Although I am guardedly optimistic, I think the game, if it works as touted in its ads, should be quite the experience. I know my old circle of foreigner fathers who I gamed with in Japan could really sink their teeth into a game like this, with boardgame and roleplaying game elements wrapped in a juicy tale of competing wizards.

(I miss you chaps!)

At the same time, the gamers I know either do a 4 hour session once a month at a game store, and often pay to do it. Or they play with friends and ignore the rulebook. So I am not sure if all but a select few modern audiences can give this game the attention it deserves.

But it inspires me to make Giri-Ninjo a similarly epic experience.

A COLLECTOR'S MASTERPIECE?

One last thing. This advert also caught my eye:

This isn't just an RPG. It's a collector's masterpiece.

Inside the box you'll find:

Seven Wizard Codices

Seven asymmetric Domain board games

A massive Grimoire

The Orrery

Custom cards

21 engraved alchemical dice

Hundreds of premium components

Upgrade to the Kickstarter-exclusive Arcane Boxed Set for hardcover codices, a faux leather Grimoire, wooden components, premium finishes, and more.

Pledge now on Kickstarter!

I've posted previously about the plethora of IMMENSE shelfies posted by gamers of my vintage, hundreds if not thousands of gamebooks sitting, largely unplayed and unread, on shelves. So I am a bit torn by this excessive materialism of the game.

WHO IS IT FOR?

So ultimately who is 7PP for?

Fantasy roleplayers who want to delve into the story of their character? CHECK

Boardgamers? CHECK

Book collectors / Kickstart addicts? CHECK

Traditional gamers? DUNNO. I'll have to look at some playtest materials or vids.

MESSAGE TO STEVE JACKSON

Thanks for the literal decades of gaming your products have given me, good on you for finding a young designer to push the envelope, and best of luck with the 7 Part Pact!

Is Chaosium Moving Away From D100?

(This article is one of the backlog that piled up when I went off on a much needed vacation. As I slowly get back into blogging and prep for fall semester, I'll be working my way through these in addition to more NUNA, game design, Coyote & Crow, and Stormbringer posts)

The image of Chaosium games is that they use the same D100 system with minor tweaks over decades. They are considered stable and reliable, and due to this their games have thus largely avoided the edition wars and varying receptions of other big name games such as D&D, Vampire the Masquerade, and Shadowrun, to name a few.

In the past few years, with the publication of Call of Cthulhu 7E and now the new game Time Without Tide, which boasts an entirely new system, Chaosium seems to be trying to break out of its mold.

This character seems more roaring 20's flapper than faux-Victorian, but only a fogey like me would notice...

But how much of the mold was there to break?

The Mythic Past - Golden Age & Tough Times

Looking over the past, a lot of this stable & unchanging image is not entirely true.

First, Chaosium from the start has tried lots of different mechanics with its games. Pendragon had the Virtue system, Stormbringer (and later Magic World) had demon summoning, Ringworld had root-branch skill differentiation, and Nephilim has D&D type spells in an Occult setting of evolving immortals. Although Call of Cthulhu has gone through the most editions of any Chaosium game, it still has gone through adjustments of the skill system, especially in terms of starting skills.

Runequest has seen out of house editions such as Moongoose and Mythras from The Design Mechanism (albeit these were partially due to financial constraints and not just for innovation's sake). Ditto with Stormbringer, which saw Moongoose & D&D (Dragon Princes) editions, as well as the re-creation of Elric! before those.

I would say that although incremental change and limited experimentation has always been a quiet feature of Chaosium, but they are now pushing for much faster and larger change in response to the changes in the market, technology, and the publishing industry.

Adapting To The Future - Bold Strides

I see Chaosium now as very much embracing the future in many ways. First, their embrace of Kickstarter lets them test ideas out first and avoid the pre-production costs of traditional print. Considering Paizo's huge losses in stock from the bankruptcy of Diamond Distribution, and the consignment system that left millions of dollars of their stock in limbo due to lender claims, this offsetting of risk by switching to crowdfunding is a smart move.

Second, their switch in rules away from traditional 3D6 for stats in Call of Cthulhu 7E, along with its leap in art quality, has proved a success. The game is #1 in Japan so was a guaranteed success there, but in English countries it also took 2nd place in sales to D&D, as well as over 150, 000 in sales of Miskatonic community content.

Third, the 2024 BRP Design Contest was an out of left field promotional event that really raised the consciousness of Chaosium and created lots of buzz. As a recipient I was very honoured to be chosen, but the lack of guidance towards making a finished project was, in my opinion, a misstep. Of the four winners, as far as I know only two of us have produced games (The Prince of Masks and the quickstart for my post-apocalyptic Inuit game, NUNA). With help from Chaosium we definitely could have all made good quality games by now, instead of the indie/amateur products we are proud to have completed.

Which brings us to Tide Without Time.

Tide Without Time - Craft Beer & German Pretzel D&D Killer?

One of the biggest surprises is that Time Without Tide (hereafter TWT) does not use the BRP D100 system. Instead, from what has been discussed online, it seems a D6 versus difficulty level, rules light system with character classes which some have noted is similar to the Flabbergasted/Mesmerized RPG in mechanics and tone.

Body, Mind and Will? I think we all tried and failed to make this type of game at one point.

Looking at the promotional image above, there are only 3 attributes (Body, Mind, and Will) versus BRP's 7, and 6 skills (Culture, Industry, Navigation, Skullduggery, Survival, and Violence) versus BRP's lengthy and infinite roster of skills. Having played the rules light Lasers & Feelings RPG and been totally smitten by both its ease of play & running plus the absolute gonzo way adventures go off the rails, I heartily endorse this direction.

In fact, my next game, Giri-Ninjou: The Soul of Japan RPG, will be very rules light.

And market shift has a lot to do with this, I reckon. If you follow D&D online discourse, you'll see that many younger gamers are playing without reading the rulebook and have injected lots of whimsy into their games. Chaosium's demographic is 25-49, with only 3% of the NA market versus dominance in Japan, so it is in their interest to take a chance to improve this.

The only doubt I would have is if an old school class-based game of exploration (ie dungeon crawling) can bite into D&D's treasure hoard, and if younger players will make the switch. I find the marketing for TWT has been rather bland and atonal, despite having a charming art style, and appealing to how it could replicate stories such as Over The Garden Wall or older Ghibli films would be more of a draw. Then it would have a better chance of drawing a wider audience and their wallets.

Hope For The Best

Still, I think Chaosium knows what it is doing, and that taking risks is the only possibility to have a hit game. I am sure that Chaosium diehards will buy a copy, but for its ultimate popularity and sales, only time will tell.

Good luck Chaosium!

As for the continued use of D100, if TWT is a smashing success, you might have to give your D10s a little rest.

BRP Design Contest Winners On Sale!

Just a reminder that the BRP Design Contest winners are publishing games that you can now purchase. Prices are a steal compared to big publishers and the games are innovative. You can support the creators (myself included) at the links below.

THE PRINCE OF MASKS

This NSFW game of humanity caught between terrifying colossal statues and hostile fey sounds absolutely gonzo. I bought my copy and will be reviewing it as soon as I have time and energy. Seems like a good substitute for Nephilim.

Link to free downloads: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/.../the-prince-of-masks-free...
Link to adult content page: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/.../the-prince-of-masks...

NUNA

The Quickstart of my game of Inuit & Iceships is halfway to Bronze on Drive Thru RPG, and its gonzo first adventure The Silver Machine has gotten an amazing reception. For $1.99 you can help me get closer to my goals AND get a taste of decolonial gaming in a post-apocalyptic world where community and Inuit culture keep humanity alive.

https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/575172/NUNA-Rpg-Quickstart

OTHERS

It is no surprise that two of the four winners of the contest have taken two years to publish, as we are all solo creators who started working largely alone. I am in talks with some of the fellow winners to try and collaborate more, so hopefully more of our games will be out quicker, and with ever increasing quality in mechanics, art, and marketing.

Stay tuned here for updates.

Coyote & Crow 3.85 - Touring The Five Great Nations of Makasing.

OK, time to take a break from promoting NUNA, and so let's have a sojourn through the lands of the OG Indigenous RPG, Coyote & Crow!

Psst, you can pick up the NUNA Quickstart HERE!

I generally prefer roleplaying games made from an established IP (Intellectual Property or known books or movies) for two reasons. First, everyone at the table knows exactly what to expect from a game set in the world of Star Wars, Stormbringer, or Alien, and this makes roleplaying and running a game much easier and more enjoyable. Second, since the early days of the hobby and even now an innumerable amount of homebrew, largely derivative gameworlds have vied for our increasingly limited attention. Aside from some innovative creations such as that of Paranoia, Deadlands, or Dark Sun, the vast majority is pap and good only for bedside reading.


I am happy to say that Coyote & Crow’s gameworld is an engaging and complex civilization, and one that certainly deserves a few novels much more than most of the TSR books from back in the day. If Coyote & Crow ever put out a call for novelists, I would be happy to throw my hat in the ring.

The Fluid Canon of Makasing

First, off the bat I like that Coyote & Crow writers have denied the slavish obedience to canon that hobbles franchises like Start Wars, with its need to jam in ALL creations of the last half century and know the name of every little conflict or character. Instead, C&C writers have baked ambiguity into the setting. They begin the gazeteer thus:


“This information was collected and collated by envoys from Cahokia who have traveled abroad and have returned with various observations. As such, keep in mind that these are their individual observations and may be laden with biases, faulty information, rumor, and conjecture.” (74)


This caveat allows GMs a free hand in bringing Makasing to life, and ensures that every table will have its own, dynamic version of the setting. For my adventure Initiation Day, I set the game in the future when farflung nations such as Hawaii, the Ezcan Empire, and the Inuit kingdoms have reconnected and Makasing faces the challenges of welcoming their disparate values and practices into the Suyata (ie super deputies).

Region 1 - Haudenosaunee (The East Coast)

The northeast coast of Makasing is the home of the Haudenosaunee, a confederation of 5 nations directly south of the glaciers. The Haudenosaunee were the hardest hit by Awis and the flood of refugees it spawned.


(NB What is ‘sogami’? Could be the expanding ice from the north re context of refugees. First truly unknown word, so kudos to their editing. Must have been a massive job)


Haudenosaunee is New England, basically. It is a melting pot of refugees, conquered tribes, and former allies. The five nation Grand Council needs consensus on decisions, and Laws are made by the Council of Sagamores, with an upper female house and lower male house. Considering gender representations still lags in our reality, this is a nice touch.


The region boasts the biggest cities, much like NYC, which are linked by Algonquin traders. Haudenosaunee leads in Daso technology (77), ie the internet, although this term is not explained till over 30 pages later (117). Dunno if this is a mistake or appetite whetting.


Like NYC, Haudenosee is a meritocracy for anyone willing to assimilate, exclusion for those who don’t. The Chahi trade language that allows social advancement can be an impediment if the first language is something else.


The Social Ranks of Haudenosaunee also give it depth:

Yavi - top of social pyramid, ancestors of founding members

Unlad - bottom, Cree and Anishinabee workers who don’t integrate

Gatli - Non assimilated members in northern towns, ceremonial representatives resolving deadlocks by symbolic power. Gatli are mostly explorers and researchers of special Adnadi, monster hunters of the north. LOTS of adventure seeds here!


As do its Factions:


Keepers of the Fire - Masters of ceremony, regulate the Adanadi

Mingo - Western border rangers, half law half bandit or paid guide

Kari Kehro - City builders, grip labour market & huge fortune. Sometimes hire extra legal help.

Northmen - Gatli who are valued for Adanadi but otherwise seen as expendable


Adventure Seed - Dirty Deeds & The Thunder Chief. Kari Kehro city builders hire PCs to get something in a lawless Mingo area.


Tadodahan - This capitol city is (p 24) on what we call the Saint Lawrence Seaway, in other words possibly analogous to Montreal. I like that this implies that river travel is the main route for trade, and that the absence of colonialism means that the trans-Pacific trade routes were never developed. This means that Cahokian urban placement can have very little to do with our world’s geography and instead reflect indigenous patterns of habitation.


I am not American and so might have missed the references to other cities, such as Chalakatha, an Unlad city possibly in West Virginia due to its 6 hills. Kahonto could be Toronto with its Gatlie Northmen population, while Saginaw on the east coast might not be the same place as Saginaw in Michigan. I am clueless to the whereabouts of Ganadag, the ceremonial center in the west.


On one hand, I would have liked a regional map. On the other, decolonizing the mental map of indigenous city = which colonial outpost is a great feature of the descriptions.

TLDR - NYC ruled by city builders.

Region 2 - Ti’Swaq Alliance (Pacific Northwest)

According to the map, this is the Pacific Northwest. Spared much devastation, now wealthy and a cultural power that influences art and design across Makasing. So, non colonial Hollywood. The Alliance is ruled by a hereditary line of female unifiers who hold potlatches to maintain relations and counsel other nations. Some antimonarch sentiment, but elected autocrats and ability to move away keeps peace internally and with neighbors.


Ti’Swaq lag behind other regions in The Gift, but concentrated in portable technology to make up. There are lots of other flourishes that I hope show up in the rules later: Big machines, sun power, airships, weapons, portable microtech, small batteries, gat printers and supplies, dasu (daso?) code.


So, others have big clunky tech with Adanadi, Ti’swaq has gone small on both.


They have a big navy but don’t venture north, and maintain the status quo. Economically conservative, don’t compete, leave much land undeveloped. Longhouses and public spaces, multigenerational apartment blocks.


Ti’Swaq use geothermal and river power, but have no roads, instead use yutsu hovering above dense forests.


Social rank is fixed:


Nobles -Diplomacy, laws, and advising the council

Merchants - Supply needs and aristocratic wants

Stick People - Laborers on farms and fishing


Descriptions sound VERY west coast:

“Walking through the emerald and glass superstructures on the coast, a visitor can almost always find someone with a couple of tools to fix your Second Eyes, a dance or trick to use at a party, or an entertainer who is going to hit their big break any day now.” (81)


Bacially, Ti’Swq is Steampunk Vancouver. Funny that I am living here and can see its echoes in the murals and land acknowledgments for the Coast Salish people.


Ti’Swaq is thus the developed West versus the underdeveloped East of the Haudenosaunee. Politicians and cities are on the coast, with shrewd farmers in the east who resent the power & politics. In both places, there is an underclass of workers with growing resentment against those controlling a narrative that does not match their lives.


Adventure Seed: Exploration of the islands revealed by glacial retreat has caused the development of Archaeology. Who knows what they will find?


Major Cities

Si’ahl:Major city on the sound with a rich dramatic tradition. Sounds like Hollywood, possibly LA or San Francisco..


Sholeetsa:The capital at the foot of Ti’Swaq. Could be Seattle, or Vancouver if the ice weren’t there.

TLDR - Hollywood & Silicon Valley in the trees.

Region 3 - DINÉ REPUBLIC (The Southwest)

Strong and cohesive due to external threat of Ezcan Empire, at the vanguard of the coalition that repelled them. Large exporter of crops due to western farmland, even trade with the Empire now. Spiritual thought center, discoverer of the mystic D12 math theories.


Is Coyote City Santa Fe? My US geography is not up to scratch.


Decentralized local governments to accommodate linguistic and cultural diversity of its peoples. Clan or bands govern their large areas, and coordinate with national government for support. No secondary level of government, instead band leaders meet to coordinate in Kivas holy cities. No head of state, just bands governing the military and economy together.

Surprisingly, it is the center of scientific advance and Adnadi studies. This hints at the connection of science and mysticism in Makasing.

“The economy of Diné is one of the most powerful in the known world, built off a backbone of scientific advancement. Coyote City in particular is a critical research hub for the biotechnology, agriculture, climate restoration, and studies of The Adanadi.” (83)

Dine play a large role in military and exploration.

One major religion, Hozho or The Way, with regular activities celebrating Diné escape from the underworld and reverence towards albinos.

Strong economically and militarily, but plagued with discrimination against Uto-Ezcan people after the wars. Reminds me of Japanese Americans in WWII.

Compared to other nations, the cities are very evocative and full of adventure possibilities. I will refrain from embarrassing myself further by not guessing where they are in our world:


Yaanga: Major city nestled in the valleys of the Western province

Pimu: Military and exploration frontier city on an island

Coyote City: Major research hub and capital of The Republic

Tseyi: Major spiritual site and agricultural center

NiAlnigi:Ceremonial hub of the nation without permanent dwellings

GreenMountain: City built into the side of cliffs which played a pivotal role in the All Tribes War

Oraibi: This small town is famous for one reason: it is the oldest continually inhabited town in the known world and its establishment predates the Awis. Does this mean other cities are all post Awis?


Once again, Dine has intriguing Factions like in other regions.


Keepers of the Ancient Ones - Academic priests who master old petroglyps and apply them to The Gift

Corn Pollen Keepers - Stewards of genetics and crop science

The Twelve - Twelve hermaphrodite clan ambassadors valued for their diplomatic abilities

Coyote Crime Lords - Seven clans that profit off synthetic corn-based materials

The Ancients - Followers of older religions, shunned for faith but also protected legally. Vocal in independence discourses, mostly peaceful with some extremism.

TLDR - Technomagic Texas. Yee haw!

Region 4 - KEETOOWAGI FEDERATION (Southeast)

This is a former slaver society still smarting after 200 years. They have had conflicts with Haudenosee, and fortifications are still left over from that time. They boast the most complex government, interconnected provinces, and outward facing federal government. As the creators note,

“This creates a labyrinthine legal system requiring intense academic knowledge of its innerworkings. Despite that, other nations often model their legal documents, court systems, and treaty processes after the Keetoowagi, who have become known as master diplomats and legal scholars. “(86)

They also trade with the Ezcan by creative interpretation of the treaty laws, frustrating other nations of Makasing. Multimodal fighting force is a rare standing army that can fight in air, on land, and at sea. Currently fighting piracy in the gulf.

Wealth comes from trade to Cahokia and Bayang, so playing both sides. Spared the worst of Awis by gulf current warmth. Advanced biomedical research and long lifespans due to care. Keetowagi engages in open trade, with some wealthy CEOs pushing for industrial espionage ie stealing secrets from other nations. Etisus or quartermasters enrich selves by controlling production, demand tribal loyalty from workers, and claim their achievements as basis for Keetoowagi success. They are Uber capitalists.

I have to say, I love that Coyote & Crow creators have replicated some of the evils of our social system in their gameworld. This grounds the game in reality and prevents any Mary Sue/Utopian accusations from sticking. Some more detail on social class would have been welcome, but one can imagine the pyramid starting with Etisus (capitalists) at top, down through to lawyers and corporate management, to workers below that.

There are four pharmaceutical companies like cities, large security forces and rumours of espionage networks. Meanwhile, advanced fishing feeds the nation.

The nation is built from dozens of cultures, so cosmopolitan and modern. Sharing is a cultural value, private property a new thing so Etisus seen with suspicion. Internal grievances between tribes drag on in court.

Mound building is prevalent, without Cahokian style tunnels due to terrain, cites are spread out low & flat. Transport is mostly by water or air, so trails are disappearing. Pensacola Bay and Ocute are huge ports. Capital seems to be Savannah or Charleston.

TLDR - Florida as a lawyered up Corp State

Region 5 - THE FREE LANDS (The midwest and center)

The Free Lands, composed of central plains led by Cahokia, get their name from their undefined borders. As stated,

“Instead, the city-state of Cahokia leads other smaller governments in the idea that no one, and no government, can claim such large swaths of territory for themselves. The autonomy of the Free Cities and their resistance to consolidation are a point of pride for Cahokia and the smaller groups within the Free Lands. In reality, they all likely survive due to the international influence of Cahokia.” (89)

FACTIONS

The Paha - Coastal traders, hagglers & bureaucrats, lost lands due to flooding and on the wane. Known for rare algae cloth.

The Anikora - Architects & engineers, live in beautiful underground cities. Humourless, orderly, polite, and effective. Known for strict education and superior buildings and materials.

The Nahoonak - Far north dwellers, broke off from Anikora. Live in crystal green houses, most vegetarian, loyal to their way of life, arrogant, short-tempered but quick to cool down. Religious prohibition against eating non Adnandi fruit and veg outside of their own creations. (THIS IS AWESOME!)

The Makokamit - Cowboys, herding buffalo, turkey, and antelope. Expert animal husbands, rotate between city and rural life. Live and let live democrats. Considered coarse or loud, but also flashy and into music, dance and dress.

Tomoha - Eastern forest dwellers, live in tree houses powered by Cahokian solar. Invented flight, use peha solar powered 2 man flyers. Very stable government with both religious inherited leader, elected leader, and regular votes. Value harmony, blend in so well are called The Invisible or Tree People.

Nakotoo - Nomads, defectors from other people, seen as a nuisance. Believe in balance, help the unfortunate or rob the over fortunate. Robin Hoods but also robbing hoods.

TLDR - Rough and tumble midwest with rugged individualists

Region 6 - OUTSIDE (Central & South America)

Ezcan Empire - Tech based on nationalist zeal, aka North Korea? Expansionist, grew most until the All Tribes’ War. Benevolent dictator with strict class system supporting him, liberates conquered from lesser governments. High standard of living and peace for citizens.


Raramori - Secretive hillmen holding out north of Ezcan. Toughest warriors on the planet, secretive of numbers and location.


Note - Is Abazang Central America, with Abayang South America? A map or clearer descriptions would definitely go a long way here. I'm also going to say it - a glossary of all words from yutzu to deso would have been very welcome. Not a deal breaker, but a second edition should have these.


Abayang - I’m going to skip over all this as Makasing is the focus of my gaming. Good to know there are options, though, and as well defined and diverse as those in Makasing.

TLDR - Lots of amazing places to expand a game to, from indigenous North Korea to the mountain peoples.

Conclusion

Makasing holds an amazingly inviting array of peoples and places with which to game. Many of the RPG gazeteers I have read back in the day were dull because they built a world but left no place for the player characters. Coyote & Crow gives regional descriptions that will colour the roleplaying of any character from there, which is what a world should do. Reading this section inspired my adventure Initiation Day, where fledgling Suyata from Makasing and beyond had to put aside their differences to solve a mystery. If a gameworld is inspiring adventures right off the bat, you know it is good.

Reconnecting to Art through NUNA

A Family of Artists

Making art has always been a part of my life. As a child, I have many happy memories of playing in the kitchen of my grandmother Phyllis Pritchard, a known name in Labrador art whose painting I once found decades later on the wall of the Canadian ambassador to Japan's official residence! Nan was self-taught, and she and her sister supported their families by selling beautiful oil paintings of Labrador scenery and daily life. When I returned to Canada in 2023 after 20 years in Japan, and long after Nan had passed, I found this scrap of art she had done for me, a dogsled on the snow waiting for their master.

Thank you for this, Nan.

Nan would always say to me, "You learn to draw by drawing. Draw and throw away. Everyday." I drew so much as a child that my pictures of birds and people became photo-realistic. "You've definitely got the touch," nan would say to me. But for a quarter century art was my sideline, a form of stress relief while I worked hard as an educator and academic.

Learning As You Go

Having been estranged from art, I have had to relearn a lot on the fly. I always sketched so for NUNA I have experimented with coloring. The biggest art influence on my life has been comic books, as you can see in the 2 pieces from the Quickstart below.

Inuk woman visiting a Tuniit

The Final Countdown

With the Quickstart, I gave myself a strict deadline to, as Nan would say, "shit or get off the pot." This means I was in a sense rushed, but also added some dynamism to what I produced.

I am proud of this one

When illustrating for the adventure The Silver Machine, I decided to go for whimsical 90's style line drawings, like this one of the ship's Bridge.

Thank you Star Trek!

As I noted in an earlier post, art in RPGs is more polished than it has ever been, which excludes designers without art skills or a budget and pushes people towards AI art. I am blessed with some skill, and I would rather stretch myself for NUNA art than use AI slop any day.

Very underground exploration vibes with this one.

What Is Next

I have purchased some art instruction books and have a long list of saved art lesson videos in my YouTube. I will be sketching as a daily practice and expect a marked improvement in the art for the NUNA Corebook.

Take A Look Inside NUNA

Want to take a look at the NUNA rules and art? The Quickstart is available HERE or at the link below.

https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/575172/NUNA-Rpg-Quickstart

NUNA Update - Advancing to Bronze AND The Origin of Shaman Whisperers

Atelihai!

Labrador Inuit, 1880, Rigolet (McCord collection)

NUNA is officially LIVE today, but with the timezone difference it was open for purchase or download a few hours yesterday. In that short time we are already 20% of the way to Bronze in the DriveThruRPG ranking!

Thanks to all who bought a copy and pushed us further toward the goal! Keep spreading the good word.

Here are the links:

PC Preview

https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/575125/NUNA-Rpg-Player-Characters-Free-Preview

$1.99 Quickstart

https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/575172/NUNA-Rpg-Quickstart

Origin of the Shaman Whisperer

During the playtests for Nuna, people were very curious about the Shaman Whisperers. Why not just have a powerful Shaman, some asked.

Three reasons.

First, the shaman (angakkuq) of Labrador were essentially wiped out by the arrival of the Moravian missionaries in the late 1700's. In my childhood, everyone around me was either United Church or RC. But at night my lovely nan, the Inuit painter Phyllis Pritchard, would tell me spine-tingling stories of the shaman, who would help you, but at a terrible price. Like Inuit kids all across Canada, my nan told us not to whistle at night, and certainly not when the Northern Lights were visible. Fastforward 30 years and when I began researching the shamanism of Inuit in Purvirnituq (Povungnituk), I encountered many stories of shamans cutting off their own limbs and reattaching them, and other horrific magics. Purvirnituq created the first Inuit artistic collective in Canada, and kept the old stories alive in their soapstone paintings. In the interviews I read from people there, some felt it was better off the shaman were gone, and that they were also angry at being cast aside. This was my inspiration for the NUNA conception of shaman as angry dead trying to control the chosen people they whispered to, and thereby find their way back into the land of the living.

Second, Nuna is a gritty game base but with gonzo powers added on through the presence of New Scientists and Shaman Whisperers. Those powers come with a terrible price - unpredictability and alien source for the New Scientists, and the rancor of the dead Shamans and loss of control to them for the Shaman whisperers. This is a feature of NUNA, and I don't want to replicate the old fantasy game trope of quadratically scaling magic users with (boring) fire & forget magic. I want something horrific yet entrancing, and that is what I have created with NUNA magics.

Last, the RPG image of a power fulshaman using nature magic is a colonial trope that is often used as a foil against the heroic western wizard and his magical tomes. I didn't want to replicate that dynamic, but instead lean into the depiction of power, whether scientific or magical, as also risky and fraught with danger, much like the US army colonial outposts in Labrador, which left DDT polluted dumps and radioactive material that affected Labradorians' health for generations.

First Character Complete

 

This was a detailed process of addition and modification. But I like how it turned out.

Time for a walk and a snack.

Skills might seem meager to modern players, but are made up for by Cultural abilities and impresses the need for cooperation and community instead of maxed out individuals.

NUNA Character sheet Sneak Peek

BRP character sheets have always staggered under the burden of all the information they have to hold. So with NUNA, I tried to simplify in three ways.

First, a sheet that helps with character generation so you don't have to look through the rulebook so much.

Next, a sheet that just asks you for the essentials.

Last, a sheet that is function over form. I would like to produce a creative or artistic sheet at some point, but bigger fish to fry at the moment.

ENJOY!

NUNA Update, Game Designer ADD, and Elric's Secret Part Three

 Greetings!

I've gone silent running mode the past few days as I have been editing and rewriting NUNA Quickstart.

It is 99.99% done.

WHEW!

I still have to rejigger the PC stats (they were a bit underpowered) and add art. Then it is off to the printers! Then the social media blitz and networking begins.

Exciting. There are so many facets to making an RPG. The making is just the start of it. The connecting to community and getting your name out there is a much bigger part of the process, I have learned.

Wish me all the luck I wish you.

One thing I have noticed, is that Gamer ADD, ie having so many games you don't know which to play, extends to designing games as well. My game of Japan, Giri-Ninjo, is next in my sights. But I have plans for a Call of Cthulhu series of adventures with recurring characters, as well as a Coyote & Crow adventure I ran here in Vancouver.

But as a designer you will NEVER get anything done if you don't commit to finish one game before you work on the next.

In preparation for the final artwork of NUNA, here is the next chapter in Elric's Secret, my satirical mashup of Elric and old time bodybuilding ads.

(NB Had to re-upload the pic as the mesh shirt didn't show)

NUNA Summer Schedule Update

I have killed off the day job and my exhaustion from the day job and ready to roll up my sleeves.

The plan.

Finish all mechanics and story this week.

Do art all next week

Launch this baby into the world

Exciting.

Now reading David Suzuki for inspiration. NUNA is a decolonial game, but doesn’t try to preach or hit you over the head with things. After the fall, the land regrows and regenerates and people recalibrate to it. It’s the opposite of Mad Max, where people mourn for capitalism and the exploitive system that drove them to the end of the world.

Instead of warring peoples there are communities knitting together. Instead of gritty realism, magic seeps back into the world. Suzuki notes that if we disappeared, the world would heal at an amazing pace. I agree, but we were originally in harmony with that world, and so what if we just shifted our alignment back towards it?

Elric at the End of Time

 So I’m rereading this banger that I haven’t looked at in about 20 years

There’s so much good stuff in here for a Moorcock afficianado.

First, Elric reveals that Chaos means a place where the laws of nature do not apply. Snow doesn’t melt, but merely sits in deserts. A land can extend to the horizon then loop up overhead and back to itself. This again is what I have talked about regarding Moorcocken gaming, and validates my use of weird or psychedelic elements in my roleplaying adventures, as opposed to the endless series of combat encounters that seems to dominate modern gaming. I find that the weird encounters I create are always well received, and the Nuna playtest responses do mention positively the delicious creepiness of such touches in my own game.

In terms of the old Stormbringer game, Elric is sent to the End of Time after a huge wizard battle on Sorcerer's Isle. There’s mention of a tribe of Subhumans, the Kretti, who seem to be the inspiration for the monsters the Kay in the old scenario Crystal of Daerdaerdarth.

I still have a response to The Skraeling Tree to write (TLDR not as bad as the general reaction would have it, and lots of useful Moorcock stuff in there), and will also review Elric at the End of Time when I kill off the beast of Eval Ooayshuns and begin the timeless Limbo known as Summer Vacation.

AI & RPGs

So...

 Is it just me, or does it seem that AI is attempting to find its way into the world of RPGs? The past few years have seen numerous AI controversies, the latest shitstorm being an article by 4 Pillar Games (who?)  about the late great Greg Stafford. Chaosium issued a rebuke, citing the lack of 'human care and creativity' in the piece, while acknowledging the growing use of AI tools in content creation.

And Chaosium is totally right to point this out, and have put their money where their mouth is by issuing a strict no AI policy for RPG art and content.

But the tide of AI slop will keep trying to seep into the once welcoming alehouse of roleplaying games. How can we fight this trend?

We have to know what to look out for.

Danger #1 The Corporate Boardroom

Of course, the ones pushing AI are corporations and the billionaires behind them. The CEO of D&D took flak in 2022 for complaining that the game was 'undermonetized'. Since then, D&D editions have split into more costly books, with proposed subscription plans designed to make players into the golden goose. But 'monetization' in the age of AI means getting machines to do for free what humans do for pay, and AI is being positioned to replace the unpaid labour of the DM. Just look at the proliferation of AI SaaS to run a game for you, which is still in the slop stage, but getting better by learning from those brave enough to try it.

We've seen this pattern before with tech, of people wielding the tools that are later used to destroy their livelihood. I myself paid off my MA student loans translating communications for Japanese car makers, but the Trados database I was forced to compile was later sold to corporations to train LLMs. When the 'translate' button appeared on my workplace email in Japan in 2020, I was happy to save hours reading Japanese and letting AI do all the work for me, but knew I could never make a dime translating as I once did.

These corporate types don't realize that one of the joys of D&D or any roleplaying game is making your own content and not being limited to game company products. I would say that the often mentioned shortage of DMs is due to the thankless work of mastering the games rules and a scenario of varying quality, while also paying for costly books. With AI, instead of a group sitting around a table, they offer to cut you off and let you play anywhere, anytime, which like many AI developments, seems to both shoot itself in the foot by eliminating paying customers, while totally misunderstanding the human or social aspect of what they are replacing.

Speaking of tools...

Danger #2 Technical Tools

Besides the corporate pressure to use AI to play games, AI in tools used for art and composition are almost impossible to avoid these days. Readers may recall that I had an AI scare where a designer's Photoshop that incorporated AI tools had added an extra finger to a character in a cover. The designer apologized, refunded payment, and explained that with image manipulation, AI is impossible to avoid unless you turn off lots of functions, which defeats the purpose of the software.

Note that the designer was a friend who I knew for decades and trust implicitly. He is also a graphic designer who has worked in magazines that are in a downward spiral of cutting costs and personnel, and my friend has stayed employed by staying atop of his design craft and tools.

Which leads us to my next point...

Danger # 3 The Pressure To Be Professional

Looking at RPGs on Kickstarter or from game studios, I can say that RPG art has never been more polished. I myself have felt the pressure and doubted that my self-taught illustration skills, coming from a family of professional self-taught indigenous artists, would complement my game.

Now, I am staunchly confident in my 'outsider art' as perfect for NUNA. I am a fan of UK game designer Tanya Floaker, whose great indie zine style games are a treat to read, and something I hope to get to a gaming table soonish. The OSR has already proven that individual creators can make a go of it with compelling works, and Old School Essentials seems to have found its niche doing so. And since I've turned into a game designer, I have met so many indie designers working on their own game and pushing the envelope in ways that an AI never could.

Onward!

Danger # 4 Slop RPGS

At some point, an AI generated RPG will hit the market. If it hasn't happened already and gone unnoticed, I am sure it will happen soon, whether its producer (I won't call them creator) announces the fact or not.

I get a lot of RPG ads, and I have to say, lots of them LOOK like they are made or influenced by AI. There are generic fantasy RPGs that sound like every other fantasy heartbreaker out there, without any of the verve or passion of the OSR when it first started spitting out retroclones over a decade ago. Then there is the art, largely figures or portraits of faces without much expression, and devoid of the kinetic or frenzied action of early RPG amateur art.

Just as AI children's books have appeared and distributed soulless, derivative works into the hands (and minds) of babes, the danger of AI is not only profiting off gamers, but also poisoning the well of imagination and community by switching over from human creations & social games to pale AI imitations that isolate gamers even more.

Danger # 5 Commoditizing A Social Space

Between the corporate pressure to use AI to play games, its invisible seep into tools, the pressure to use AI to look professional while keeping costs low, and the inevitable appearance of Slop the RPG, all this leads to the danger of losing roleplaying as a valuable social space. I have so many conversations with fellow Stormbringer enthusiasts about how online gaming is a pale substitute for sitting around a table, weaving tales and rolling dice together. What will be even worse is if people are playing RPGs run by AI whose only programming is to flatter the ego and pastiche all that has come before, and that was scraped from human works without permission or payment. I am happy that Free League AND Goodman Games will be making their own Stormbringer games, as both companies excel in getting people back to the gaming tables with their high quality, human-designed products that epitomize love for the game and gamers.

Conclusion - Folk Resistance

When I started this blog back 13 years ago as the first wave of the OSR abated, I was doing it mostly out of nostalgia and an unfulfilled creative urge. Now, I see it as both a creative outlet for me, as well as a source of deeply sociological games that represent people who have been portrayed stereotypically in media, such as indigenous people and the Japanese.

Now I am happy to consider my efforts in making a game as an additional part of the folk resistance against an unnecessary and exploitative technology that is being rammed down our throats in ways that destroy both our social bonds, natural environment, and economic viability.

Viva la resistance!

Sources

"Statement from Suzanne Stafford and Chaosium regarding a recent AI-generated article about Chaosium founder Greg Stafford." chaosium.com

https://www.chaosium.com/blogstatement-from-suzanne-stafford-and-chaosium-regarding-a-recent-aigenerated-article-about-chaosium-founder-greg-stafford/?srsltid=AfmBOoqJjAlPemRnG4GhbaPND0mk6nlFs2nS9BOC9H48F9GG1luDoxku

Wizards of the Coast Believes D&D Is "Under-Monetized" 80lv.

https://80.lv/articles/wizards-of-the-coast-believes-d-d-is-under-monetized

"I Tried AI D&D So You Don't Have To."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhGn0SagCkQ

Chaosium no AI policyhttps://www.chaosium.com/blogfrom-the-qa-our-creator-contracts-require-work-submitted-to-be-creators-original-work-and-not-contain-any-ai-generated-art-or-text/?srsltid=AfmBOorjFhgE1Kn72HyfXV1CHMwCWPBdaBPip7mY3091PZwKMJEVWVxo