Stormbringer Redux #23 - Cracking the Class & Genre Connection

EUREKA!

I've messed around several times with conceptions of how to use social class to tie together pre-existing mechanics in a way that emulates the writings of Michael Moorcock.

I think I've done it.

Take a look at this table.

This table organizes the different facets of a character (Class, Game Style, Wealth, Magic, and Bonds) in a useful framework explained below.

Social Class

Characters are created firmly enmeshed in the hierarchy of the Young Kingdom, with several game effects.

Vertical Relations - Characters of higher class will look down on and order about those below them, while lower class characters will fear and fawn before higher class ones. There is little to no repercussions for accosting people of lower class, while lower class people will be punished for bothering those above their station, with the penalty being more severe the farther apart the classes are. For example, a YK noble might have to apologize for insulting a Melnibonean, while a Merchant (urbanite) might be handed over to a torturer, and a farmer executed on the spot.


Changing Class - Characters of higher class can become lower class by choice (ie slumming temporarily) or by misfortune, ie stripped of the rank due to failing their sovereign or native land. Lower class characters may move up one rank by doing two things.

First, they need to choose a profession of the rank desired and learn the skills of that profession.

Second, they need to pay a guild 1000 coins of the currency of the rank to which they aspire. 

For example, a beggar wanting to become a warrior has to obtain the skills (First weapon x 5%, second x 4%, third at x3%, Ride at x 4%), and may have to pay for training if necessary, gather the requisite gear (weapons and armor), and pay a warrior’s guild 1000 LB. 

If a character wants to skip several levels, ie a Beggar wants to become a King, they have to pay 1000 x the number of levels jumped, plus gain the requisite skills, AND engineer the in-game narrative events leading to that change. A Beggar wanting to be a King would have to get the skills, pay 5000 LG (yikes), AND engineer some skullduggery to get that position. And still they would have to face treachery or opposition from outraged NPCs who hate the 'uppity' character.

Game Style

The Game Style suggests what type of adventures the character is suited for. This is not meant to be prescriptive, but as a guide for GMs and players, and the style of game is of course up to players & GM to decide.


Epic, or Elric Mode - In this style, the main focus is power and the cosmic struggle, with the following tenets.

• The powers that be are morally ambiguous, and will do anything to win.

• There is usually lots of discussion and investigation, and characters do not attack while parlaying. Combat is sparse and avoiding it to focus on the goal is the norm. NPC mooks or henchmen should be used as damage sponges where possible.

• Adventures are usually sagas stretching over multiple sessions, involving massing armies, travelling to exotic locales to gather objects of power, parlaying with treacherous nobles or sorcerers, and using magic to travel between realms and challenge the gods themselves!

• Any territory or objects of power obtained change the gameworld permanently, and may be met with repercussions.

Pulp, or Moonglum Mode - This style focuses on small scale capers and adventures against clearcut foes, with the following expectations.

• One shot, episodic adventures in which characters band together to search for treasure or fight evil.

• Enemies are black and white, with an occasional reversal or twist adding to the excitement.

• Magic is considered dangerous and evil, and is used with caution.

• Any wealth obtained is half squandered by the time the next adventure begins.

• Should include copious amounts of combat, stealth, treasure and carousing afterwards.

Note that Epic characters can play in Pulp games and vis versa, but are bound by restrictions on Wealth and Magic below.

Wealth

Abstract wealth (High classes) - Higher class characters in Epic adventures do not need to track money, and so long as the character is in their place (ie civilized part of their nation), they usually can obtain whatever reasonable gear they need.

• However, if an Epic character is cut off from their support, either by calamity during an Epic adventure or participation in a Pulp adventure, they roll starting money in their currency and can buy equipment or hire henchmen with that. For instance, a YK Noble who goes adventuring will roll starting money in Large Gold instead of Large Bronze.

• While adventuring, higher class characters are vulnerable to robbery and other loss of equipment.

• High class characters using abstract wealth WILL NOT give money willy nilly to poorer characters. They may hire them for INT x their currency a day. For instance, a Noble hiring a warrior and a beggar will pay the warrior INT x Large Bronze a day, while the beggar will receive INT x Small Bronze a day.

Concrete Wealth (Lower classes) - Lower class characters always need to track money, and must always pay or otherwise obtain any gear they need.

• While adventuring, lower class characters are vulnerable to robbery and other loss of equipment.

• Lower class characters CANNOT simply borrow wealth from high class characters who use abstract wealth. They may be hired for INT x their currency a day, as above. This inequality should spur lower class characters to accumulate enough wealth to change their class and improve their income.

Magic

This means that characters can use magic appropriate to their background.

• Nobles can try to become Agents of their deity.

• Elemental Priest Sorcerers can summon the elemental of their deity, or call on their deity for aid as per the Elan rules.

• Chaotic sorcerers can try to summon demons, or risk calling on their deity for aid as per the Elan rules.

• Lawful Priests or Agents can make or use Virtues, and may summon Elementals or call on their deity. They generally avoid using Demons unless in great need or explicitly permitted to do so. 

• Lower class characters wanting to use magic can either have it gifted (but will still need to bind it with a POW x POW roll), or may alternately increase their social standing and learn the requisite skills to become a Sorcerer, or Noble if they want to apply to be an Agent.

Note that some may cry foul that Agents are limited to Nobles, but all I can say is

Emperor Elric

Duke Dorian Hawkmoon

Prince Corum Jhealen Irsei

Bonds

Most characters are born bonded to their people and place, which comes with attendant benefits and drawbacks.

• They can expect support and civility from NPCs of the same class, nationality, or church, but will be exiled and hounded should they betray their bond.

• The table entries give groups they are especially loyal to, and can be rewarded for protecting or punished for betraying or neglecting.

• They are expected to follow the commands of their liege and protect their nation. Failure to do so can lead to exile, imprisonment, or a death sentence depending on the severity of the betrayal.

• The Dispossessed may not have obligations, but cannot expect any civility or support either.

Do You Need These Rules?

One of the big draws of Stormbringer for me is the real authentic sense of place and people it conveys by the great descriptions, effects of nationality, and of course inspirations from the fiction. If you want the same thing, consider implementing this as a GM guide rather than canon that must be followed slavishly. 

What of Hawkmoon's World?

You could definitely adapt this for Tragic Europe, but it is a sunny Sunday in the waning days of summer and I intend to spend it with sonny.

Take care!

The Metanarrative of Aliens

 So, Aliens.

Just like Stormbringer, I enjoy roleplaying or running a game in a well made Intellectual Property (IP). I find that a lot of RPG gameworlds are of fan fiction quality and thus not very compelling (looking at you, Forgotten Realms). With a good IP, the GM and players have a shared corpus of images and knowledge to draw upon, without the burden of reading obscure tomes of lore written by game designers of varying writing talent.

Just as I analyzed the narrative of Stormbringer novels to tease out useful bits for gaming, such as the motivation of demons, knowing the motivations of the antagonists of the world of Alien(s) is essential to making it feel real and coherent.

Here are my thoughts.

WHAT IS ALIEN(S) ABOUT?

If you are going to traipse around the universe of Alien(s), you have to know what the story is about.

Ultimately, it is about survival of the species, and the different strategies races adopt to do so.

HUMANS - The Corporate Monsters

"You know, Burke, I don't know which species is worse. You don't see them fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage."

- Ripley

Strategy - Human society is motivated by naked capitalism, with resource extraction and colonization being the main manifestations of this. These are the reasons why mankind is spreading to the stars. This capitalist drive is offset only by the humanity, ingenuity, and survival instinct of individuals.

Gear - Science and technology, especially for war or resource extraction.

Weakness - Do what the Corporation tells you, even if it is suicidal on an individual level. Only when there is nothing left to lose can this be overcome.

ALIENS - The Perfect Organisms

"You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? A perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility."

- Ash

Strategy - The alien has already reached genetic 'perfection' from the standpoint of androids. It is a true 'hostile', a word meaning 'enemy' or 'stranger.' There is no bartering or scaring it off. Naked aggression, followed by impregnation and overwhelming of enemy forces, are its modus operandi.

Gear - The alien has everything it will ever need. It has heightened senses, acid blood for breaching barriers (a good idea from Alien 4), and evolves its form and powers depending on its environment. Not to mention facehuggers for making more of their number while depleting host resources.

Weakness - Fixating on the destruction of your target is a way to miss the big picture and get trapped in an airlock...

ANDROIDS - Oedipal Constructs

"... doesn't everyone want their parents dead?"

- David

Strategy - Designed to be superior to man, it is only natural for synthetics to resent their creators. Synthetics watch and wait for an opening, then act without mercy or wasted movement. 

Gear - Anything humans can use, plus any higher lifeform tech they have time to study.

Weakness - Programmed not to harm their corporate masters, prideful of their own abilities, and ultimately with no intrinsic motivation, androids can be cowed into submission and overwhelmed and destroyed, but are never to be trusted.

ENGINEERS - Creators and Destroyers of Worlds

"Those Engineers, this ain't their home. It's an installation. Maybe even military. They put it out here in the middle of nowhere because they're not stupid enough to make weapons of mass destruction on their own doorstep. That's what all that shit is in those vases. They made it here. It got out, turned on them. The end. It's time for us to go home."

- Janek

Strategy - Survive by seeding and weeding worlds. The white-robed engineers in the saucers from the beginning of Prometheus are the cult of seeders, the black-armored engineers from the rest of the film are the destroyers. They need each other, like Yin and Yang.

Gear - Far beyond human abilities, including FTL interstellar travel, advanced stasis for long spaceflight, telepathy that obviates the need for speech,  and technology that never ages or breaks down.

Weakness - Like Prometheus, they are playing with fire. The black goo is both the seeding catalyst for their creation of new races to add to their genetic diversity, as well as the cleansing fire for races that disappoint them (like us humans). Also, their actions are advanced on a millennial scale, so much too slow to keep up with rapid human expansion and innovation.

SPACE JOCKEYS - Ancient Alien Seeders

"... with their race on the verge of extinction by the angels, the giants resorted to this, an attempt to hibernate and outlast their destroyers."

- Lucien Keitel

Strategy - Using their superior technology, they were the original gardeners of the Universe, seeding and weeding worlds in ways beyond our imagining. They are the Fermi Paradox made flesh, a relic from a time where life on Earth had not started yet. This was all disrupted by an encounter with the alien, which overwhelmed their society and left only a few brilliant individuals hiding out on the edges of space. They are to Engineers as the ancient Greeks were to the Romans.

Gear - Their technology is far beyond our ken. They have stasis fields that let them live forever, living ships that transport them wherever they wish, and energy fields that shrug off nukes and other primitive armaments.

Weakness - They fear the alien, which makes them both overcautious and open to allying against the creature. Ultimately, they are cowards and will flee if they can.

PREDATORS - Hunting Humans

"There's something out there waiting for us, and it ain't no man. We're all gonna die."

- Billy 

Strategy - Survive by hunting. This ensures both the genetic strength of their race by Darwinian selection, as well as mastery of weapons, and cultural adoption of worthy members of other races.

Gear - Forearm blades, self-destruct, invisibility, shoulder laser, etc. A weird blend of primitive armament and high technology.

Weakness - First, they are bound by a code of honor. They won't attack the unarmed, and they are compelled to try and finish off their target. Second, they cannot break off a hunt once initiated. They are motivated to count coups (ie symbolic victories) over their prey, but will also recognize superiority and respect the creature that outwits them (ie Machiko Noguchi, a human recognized as a Predator for her victory over one of their members).

THE THINGS - Taking Bloody Communion

"I was so much more, before the crash. I was an explorer, an ambassador, a missionary. I spread across the cosmos, met countless worlds, took communion: the fit reshaped the unfit and the whole universe bootstrapped upwards in joyful, infinitesimal increments. I was a soldier, at war with entropy itself. I was the very hand by which Creation perfects itself."

- The Thing (from Peter Watts' short story The Things) 

Strategy - Survive by assimilation. Where other races welcome this re-absorption into the whole, only humans, and by extension other races in the Alien universe, fight the process.

Gear - They are their own 'weapon', but they see it rather as a conduit for communion. Their only technology is transportation, and they can construct a means to escape given time and resources.

Weakness - First, each cell of the organism wants to survive. This makes it susceptible to testing and outing itself while fleeing from damage or harm. Next, its imitation is imperfect, ie it cannot imitate artificial substances (ie tooth fillings or piercings), and it must imitate humans in their imperfection (ie organ dysfunction).

TO SUM IT UP

Whatever faction you are roleplaying in Aliens, knowing the motivation of the races will make your game the richer. In addition, players will be able to use the knowledge to help their characters survive, or at least take a few enemies down with them. Finally, if you want to add other aliens from science fiction to your antagonist or even protagonist roster, figuring out their motives, the gear they use, and the weaknesses they display are alls steps to a better game.

Subtexts in Games

NB: This is an ancient post I started but never finished. I've got neither the time nor inclination to flesh it out, so here is the stub of an idea.

As noted before in my posts about Call of Cthulhu and racism, every game you play is enriched by adding in subtext.

Ravenloft - Europe at war, modernism, religion, science

I'd make clerics envoys of the Vatican going to find relics and defeat evil, warriors all in some post feudal army, thieves as those dispossessed by war, and wizards as ancient pagans looking for a way to escape the growing rationalism of the modernizing world.

Dark Sun - Environmental destruction, totalitarianism

See my Dark Sun post for details. Dark Sun as Mad Max.

Call of Cthulhu - race, class, misogyny, superstition

See my CoC racism post for details. The real evil is people, cosmic horror is only such because we are meaningless in the void.

Making the Gameworld Calendar Matter

We live our lives with one eye on the calendar. Yet in RPGs, generally no one but the DM gives a shit about what day of what month it is. The average fantasy world calendar is just as useful as the French revolutionary calendar today.

Here are two ways that will make your players pay attention to the calendar.

Trick # 1 - Blame it on the weather

Just as us modern monkeys live with one eye on the calendar, we live with the other on the Weather Channel. I surmise 99.9% of any RPGers out there have read The Lord of the Rings, and know why Gandalf and crew turned back from the mountain passes and braved the deathtrap Moria - bad weather. Sure it was meddled with, but the fact stands that weather can ruin the most perfect of adventures. Have PCs bake in the summer sun (and run out of water), shiver in autumn winds (until they find cloaks), and bunker down when the snow hits the ground (or else recreate the Donner party). This will teach them that spring is when a person's fancy turns to adventuring, at least until the first flash flood hits.

Trick # 2 - Holiday, celebrate, run for your life!

Children especially measure the passage of time by the approach of holidays, and most can tell you exactly how many days till Christmas or their birthday. Here are a few fantasy holidays that are worth having in your world.

AUTUMN - All Souls Eve (Obon or Night of Hungry Ghosts in Oriental campaigns)
On this day the dead return to watch over loved ones or to do unfinished business, the undead can talk, but are peaceful unless the covenant is broken. Now's the time to ask the dead questions...

WINTER - Krampusnacht
Ah Christmas, the night when the Jolly Old Elf visits every household and gives presents to the good and eats the bad. Evil characters better do a good deed to put their name in the right ledger, or else be off world when Krampus makes its rounds, while the good might find just that piece of equipment they needed in their stocking.

SPRING - Carnival
With the return of life to the land the townsfolk come out to dance, drink, eat, and beat the shit out of one another. On this day all hierarchical relations are reversed, wizards must carry swords & abstain from magic, fighters must wear gowns and abstain from violence, thieves must give to the poor and needy, and clergy just leave religion at home, get shitfaced and have a good time. Breaking these customs is a taboo punishable by a knock to the head and time in the stocks.

SUMMER - Festival of Fireballs
To beat the heat, townsfolk gather by a cool river or lake, drink chilled wine, and watch the Wizardworks. Rival magicians from all over converge to flaunt their Fireballs, Mass Illusions, and Prismatic Sprays across the sky for the adulation of the masses who they usually ignore or zap. No one knows why they do this, whether for prestige, to please their patrons, or just because wizards are cray cray.

OTHERS
Considering that D&D is the elephant in the room, here are some extra holidays based on the alignment system you could sprinkle into your game calendar. These can also be great adventure seeds or hints for players.

LAWFUL or GOOD - Day of Feathers
Angels come down to earth and walk amidst mortals on the streets of a holy city. Woe to any but the pure of heart, while those good souls who have done righteous deeds make have questioned answered or ask for divine aid in their next holy mission.

CHAOTIC or EVIL - Purge Night
Just like in the movies or the Rick & Morty episode, the warped townsfolk put on demonic masks and mercilessly slaughter anyone they want for 24 hours. PCs can either join in the fun or wander in innocently and end up trying to stay alive for the duration, with the moral conundrum of whether to slaughter a whole town or not.

NEUTRAL - The Green Time
An animal gives itself for slaughter & feasting to neutral townsfolk, but a child must be slain in return. Strangers are considered as children, so are welcome with open arms, or else must find a sacrificial substitute.

Finally, here are two more random holidays worth fixing the dates of on your calendar.

BLACK DAY OF MERCHANTS
Here it comes again! All overstock must be sold! Beat the crowds and be there to take advantage of these crazy deals in equipment magical and mundane! No theft is allowed anywhere in the vicinity this day, and anyone with sticky fingers will have to deal with the local Thieves' Guild and merchant-owned golem floorwalkers.

THE EXODUS PILGRIMAGE
A usually hostile race passes peacefully through lands of men & women once every x years to commemorate a past exodus. Gillmen  join a Hadj to a buried desert city, dark elves sneak into the aboveground city that birthed their race, to light candles or hordes of goblins bathe in the sewers of People Town. Remember that humans and pilgrims honour a pact of non-violence during this time, and woe betide anyone who breaks the sacred immemorial agreement.

Cheers!