Stormbringer Redux #32 1E Character Generation + Vancouver Game + Nuna Sales Report

I have been asked to run a Stormbringer 1E game here at a game store in Vancouver, so I will be fulfilling my aim of working through the old game before the new ones come out.

If you are in Vancouver and want to play, link is HERE.

Here is the blurb:

"This year, both Free League AND Goodman Games have announced their own Stormbringer games, based on the writings of Michael Moorcock.

To celebrate this impending revival of Moorcockean gaming, Theodore Bonnah (aka Tedankhamen), winner of the 2024 BRP Game Design Contest, will be running a Stormbringer RPG retrospective using the original Chaosium D100 system. The system is known for its lethality and dangerous demon summoning magic, as well as gonzo character generation."

My first task was to Moorcockify the old Tower of Yrkath Florn adventure in the 1E rules, which is both unfinished and a lackluster dungeon crawl. Instead, it is now a decidedly weird adventure that portends upon the fate and eventual doom of The Young Kingdoms.

Should be a lark!

My second task in prepping for this game was to codify character generation, even though I will be rolling characters in advance.

Without further ado, here is my guide to chargen for the old Stormbringer game.

Stormbringer Chargen Redux

So, I’ve wanted to sit down and codify the changes I’ve made that streamline the old Stormbringer character generation process, incorporate attributes more, put together all the rules spread throughout the rulebook, and give more options that smooth out the ‘hopeless characters’ or perceived racial inequality via player agency. These changes should be empowering and fun.

STEP ONE – NATIONALITY
Ah the much maligned Nationality Table. Roll as usual but ignore the old attribute bonuses. Instead, choose one of the descriptors of the Nation (Urban, Rural, or Magical) and apply its bonus to an attribute of your character.

Urban gives +1D4 to either INT or CHA
Rural gives +1D4 to either STR, CON, or DEX
Magical gives +1D4 to either SIZ or POW

For instance, if you roll a Melnibonean (Urban and Magical), you can choose +1D4 to either INT or CHA for dwelling in Imrryr, or +1D4 to POW or SIZ for being in Chaotic Melnibone.

Melnibone (Urban, Magical)
Pan Tang (Urban, Rural, Magical)
Myrrhn (Rural, Magical)
Dharijor (Urban, Rural)
Jharkor (Urban, Rural)
Tarkesh (Urban, Rural)
Vilmir (Urban, Rural)
Ilmiora (Urban, Rural, Magical)
Nadsokor (Urban, Magical)
Weeping Waste (Rural)
Elwher (Urban, Rural, Magical)
Island of Purple Towns (Urban)
Argimiliar (Urban, Rural, Magical)
Pikarayd (Urban, Rural, Magical)
Lormyr (Urban, Rural)
Filkhar (Urban, Rural)
Oin (Rural, Magical)
Yu (Rural)
Org (Rural, Magical)

NB For Religion, any roll of ‘none’ should be considered a unique deity, such as a Beast Lord, a demigod, an alien entity, etc.

STEP TWO - ROLL ATTRIBUTES & CALCULATE ATTRIBUTE BONUS POOL
Roll 3D6 for the seven characteristics (STR, CON, SIZ, DEX, INT, POW, CHA) down the line. Next, for every roll of 7 or under, roll an extra D6 and note the sum of these extra rolls as a pool. (After rolling your Profession, you distribute these points to increase attributes and make your character fit the profession better via higher skills. Maximum attribute for starting characters is 20.)

STEP THREE - PROFESSION & STARTING SKILLS
Roll as usual then calculate skill levels as below.
NB Don’t forget to use your pool of attribute bonuses to make your character fit their Profession better. Hint – look at major skills and increase the attributes that determine them.

WARRIOR
First weapon Attack DEX x 5%, Parry STR x 5%
Second weapon Attack DEX x 4%, Parry STR x 4%
Third weapon Attack DEX x 3%, Parry STR x 3%
Make a Luck roll (POW x 5%). If you succeed you are Calvary and get Ride at STR x 6%, if you fail you have Ride at STR x 3%.
Gear is 3 weapons of choice & suitable armor,
Starting purse is INT x D100 in LB.
Income if hired is INT x 1 LB per day. Jobs include Soldier, Mercenary, Guardsman, etc.

If INT and DEX add up to 32, is also an Assassin.

(ASSASSIN)
Poison Lore INT x 3%, Search INT x 3%, Move Quietly DEX x 5%, HIDE DEX x 4%
Ambush DEX x 5%, Listen INT x 5%
Gear is one Poison of choice.
Starting purse is INT x 1D20 LB.
Income is INT x 100LB per day, but punishable by death if caught.

MERCHANT
(Choose wandering Trader or Shopkeeper in a named city of their nation)
Weapon of choice Attack DEX x 4%, Parry STR x 4% (reduced to x2% if Shopkeeper)
Read & Write Common INT x 7%
Persuasion CHA x 5%
Credit CHA x 4%
Evaluate Treasure INT x8%
Gear is one weapon of choice, non metal armor, and a donkey for Traders. Shopkeepers have a tiny stand and a young lackey with a broom.
Starting purse is INT x 5D100 LB (double if a Shopkeeper).
Income is INT x 5 LB per day if a Trader on a caravan or sailing expedition, INT x 1 LB per day working in a shop in a city.

If INT is 16+ INT and POW add up to 32, the Merchant has a 50% chance of being a  Sorcerer, and can start magical studies if they find a teacher or school.

 

SAILOR

If INT is 16+, character is a Captain. If 12-15, a Mate. Otherwise, they are just a Sailor.

Weapon of choice Attack DEX x 4%, Parry STR x 4%
Swim STR x 5%
Tie Knot DEX x 7%
Climb STR x 4%
Balance INT x 5%
Navigation at INT x 8% (Captain), x5% (Mate), x2% (Sailor)
Gear is weapon of choice. Captains get a small sailing ship, such as a sloop or catamaran.
Starting purse is 10D20 x INT for Captains, 5D20 x INT for Mates, and 1D20 x INT LB for Sailors.
Income is INT x 10 per day for Captains, INT x 5 per day for Mates, and INT x 1 per day for Sailors as Merchant Marines or Pirates etc.

 

HUNTER
Weapon Attack DEX x 3%, Parry STR x 3% (NB: Man-killer weapons are forbidden ex. battle ax, greatsword, Lormyrian ax, sea ax, heavy mace, or Filkharian pike)
Self Bow Attack DEX x 3%
Set Trap DEX x 5%
Ambush DEX x 5%
Track INT x 5%
Blacksmith INT x 2%
Gear is starting weapon & bow plus 12 arrows
Starting purse is 1D100LB
Income is INT x 1LB per day as guide, gameskeeper, scout etc.

 

FARMER (limited to farm implements such as hatchet, scythe, hayfork etc)

Cudgel Attack DEX x 3%, Parry STR x 3%

Small ax Attack DEX x 2%, Parry STR x 2%

Spear Attack DEX x 2%, Parry STR x 2%

Blacksmith INT x 2%

Track INT x 2%

Plant Lore INT x 2%

Gear is cudgel and hatchet

Starting purse is INT x 1D20 LB

Income is INT x 1LB per day as gardener, herbalist, groundskeeper etc

PRIEST

(Roll POW + CHA/10 on 1D100, success means you are a High Priest)
NB Literate - If any other languages are learned later, Read/Write includes Speaking.

Dagger Attack DEX x 3%, Parry STR x 3%

Read/Write Common at INT x 8%
Read/Write Low Melnibonean at INT x 6%
Read/Write High Melnibonean at INT x 6%
NB Literate - If any other languages are learned later, Read/Write includes Speaking.

Plant Lore INT x 4%
First Aid INT x 4%
Persuade CHA x 3%
Credit CHA x 3%

Gear is a dagger.

Starting purse id 5D100 LB, gets renewed per month at temple.
Starting Elan is 2D6.

Income is ???

NOBLE

NB - De facto leader of any group, if multiple higher INT is leader.
If INT 13+, roll again on Class Background for second class. If Noble again, 1D6+1 people between them and the throne.
NB Literate - If any other languages are learned later, Read/Write includes Speaking.

First weapon Attack DEX x 4%, Parry STR x 4%
Second weapon Attack DEX x 2%, Parry STR x 2%
Credit at CHA x 4%
Gear is weapons and armour of choice, plus 1D6 hawks.
Starting purse is 100 x 1D100 LB, also has property worth 10,000 x 1D100 LB.
Income is INT x 100 per day as Commander (if also Warrior), or INT x 50 if Courtier, Magistrate, etc.

THIEF (no large weapons like Lormyrian ax, Filkharian pike, the lance, greatsword as first weapon)
Weapon of choice Attack DEX x 4%, Parry DEX x 4%
Dagger Attack DEX x 5%, Parry STR x 5%

Read/Write Common Tongue at INT x 3%

Climb at STR x 1D10%

Conceal DEX x 1D10%
Jump STR x 1D10%
Pick Lock DEX x 1D10%
Listen INT x 1D10%
See INT x 1D10%

Search INT x 1D10%
Move Quietly DEX x 5%

Cut Purse DEX x1D10%

Evaluate Treasure INT x 5%
Gear is a dagger, 1 weapon of choice, and lockpicks
Starting purse is 5D20 LB

Income is INT x 2 LB per day as Robber, Scout, Spy, etc.

BEGGAR

Roll on Afflictions table.
NB: When buying additional weapon skills, Beggars have to pay TWO skill points.

Any weapon Attack DEX x 1% Parry STR x 1% plus 1% per extra Beggar in the group.

Persuade CHA x 6%
See INT x 6%
Search INT x 3%
Pick Lock DEX x 5%
Gear is bowl and affliction gear (ie blindfold, crutch etc).
Starting Purse is 1D6 LB.
Income is INT x 1 LB per day as Lookout, Spy, etc.

CRAFTSMAN (Gets +3 to DEX)

NB Must choose speciality (Blacksmith, Armorer, Weaponsmith, Leatherworker, Bowyer, Fletcher, Weaver, Jewelsmith, Carpenter, Rope maker, Shipwright, Tailor, Cartographer, etc)

Weapon of choice Attack DEX x 1D10%, Parry STR x 1D10%

Craft INT x 7%

Gear is tools and weapon of choice.

Starting purse is INT x 1D100 LB. Has an atelier in a city of choice.

Income is INT x 3 per day of work, INT x 6 if jeweller or goldsmith.

(SORCERER)

Sorcery Skill INT x 3%

Sorcery Rank 

1st (INT + POW = 32) Can summon one type of elemental.

2nd (INT + POW = 36) Can summon two types of elemental, one type of demon.

3rd (INT + POW = 40) Can summon three types of elementals, and three types of demon. 

Can try summoning 1 Elemental Ruler if near the element.

4th (INT + POW = 44) Can summon all types of elementals, and five types of demons. 

Can attempt to summon two Elemental Lords, and if Melnibonean, one Beast Lord.

5th (INT + POW = 48) Can summon any elemental or demon type. 

Can summon any Elemental Ruler, plus any one Lord of Law or Chaos if ceremonies performed & entity is willing. If Melnibonean, can summon three Beast Lords

DEFAULT SKILLS

For non-profession skills, base percentage is usually appropriate attribute x 1%, except for Dodge which is DEX x 2%. If the skill description is 0%, like for foreign languages or extra-planar skills, the character cannot attempt them until trained.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

Roll 2D6+2. This is a pool of improvement points that can be used to increase a skill’s modifier by 1 per point spent. For example, if you want to improve your Dodge (usually DEX x 2%), if you use 2 improvement points to increase your skill to DEX x 4%.

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NUNA Quickstart is now 3/5 of the way to Bronze medal on Drive Thru RPG. Thanks to everyone who dropped a few coins in support. If you haven't downloaded a copy yet, or want to share the word, the link is below or HERE.

60 page Quickstart $1.99

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

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!

The Silver Machine Adventure Art

(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 Silver Machine is my introductory adventure for the NUNA Roleplaying game. It is purposefully a gonzo adventure, because life in Labrador is gonzo. As I explain in the quickstart, I was brought up with tales of survival in the wilderness, of strange ghost lights in the woods leading travellers to safety or death, and crashed secret military planes and hidden radar towers.

Here is a taste of the art of The Silver Machine.

Who is The Blue Man?

Who approaches the mysterious fortress in the Interior?

What awaits in The Underground?

The answers to these questions and many more are in the NUNA Quickstart!

The 60 page Quickstart is available for $1.99 at the link below:

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

I am currently taking a break from RPGs to recuperate and spend time with sonny (YAY!) but also write a few chapters for my academic book on debt in Japan for a publisher (BOO!).

No rest for the weary wicked! Squeeze the most out of these waning summer days!

Vonnegut on art

 To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.

NUNA Sales Report & 義理人情 (Giri-Ninjou) Concept

Happy to report that the NUNA Quickstart has made it halfway to the 50 sales needed for a Bronze medal on DriveThru RPG. If you haven't gotten a copy yet, the link to the Quickstart and free player characters preview (which has more than enough downloads for Bronze but is free so doesn't count) are below.

Player Characters Preview (FREE)

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

60 page Quickstart ($1.99)

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

As I've stated here, my next project is Giri-Ninjou, a radically different game from NUNA.

1794 woodblock print of a kabuki moneylender character,
which I am using in a non-RPG project and I put here for a thumbnail.

Giri means Duty while Ninjou means Humanity. From my 22 years living in Japan and becoming a published Japan Studies researcher there, I am always disappointed by the misrepresentation of Japan by outsiders. Films with Japanese characters always talk about 'honour', but this is largely an Orientalist trope and Japanese are more likely to base their actions on Giri and Ninjou.

Here is my concept for Giri-Ninjou:

Rules light

GMless

Narrative

Ruthlessly faithful to Japanese society & culture, NOT D&D in funny hats

On Kickstarter by year's end

Modern fantasy

(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)

Hello, this is an ad for a modern writer who writes short pulp stories, I think he’s got a point about how modern books with their 900 page world building aren’t doing fantasy much favour. 

I think this is another reason pulp fiction, including Moorcock, retains such a following, while longer modern works seem to come and go.

Alternate Information Sources for RPGs

(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)

In most RPGs, information on the adventure at hand comes from A Sage, a man in a tavern, a damsel in distress.

Ho hum.

These NPC dupes are always rife for manipulation or abuse, and are also overused and dull.

Here are few non-standard ways I use to get information across to the player. Also, some are quite cryptic, and I find that making players think more about the information gets more engagement than literal modes of communication.

1) WHAT DREAMS MAY COME

I used this a few years back in my Laughing Tower Stormbringer playtest, and the players really dug the vague images of slaughter and Chaotic mutation that were to come. Dreams can give snatches of a possible future, but should remain cryptic and not give too much away. They add colour or emotion to the adventure, a lot of which seems lacking these days.

2) PUPPET REGIME

In Frieren season 2, a puppet show is used to convey the historical background to their adventure. This is unsurprising in a Japanese anime, as in postwar Japan there was a tradition of Kamishibai (paper plays), where storytellers would go around on bicycle to city parks and give free entertainment while making money selling candy (details HERE). If the PCs need info, tell them in the square a puppeteer is putting on a play for kids (and selling candies to them), and that they can listen in. This breaks the GM and players out of the tiring pompous info dump mode and propels them into a more entertaining storytelling mode. Just get a few images together, make up a story with some clues and inconsistencies, and GO! Any GM worth his or her salt should enjoy themselves with a puppet play or kamishibai. In my Coyote & Crow game I had players make images before I did my kamishibai, and the engagement and fun was through the roof.

3) FAMOUS LAST WORDS

Another way to shake things up is have a dying character croak out their last words at the PC's feet. The upside is that players can't ask for further details, they just have to trust the words of someone on their last breath. Of course, in some games PCs may have revival magic or ways to speak to the dead, but once again GMs can have the ghost refuse to return, trapped by an evil presence, or so lost in the pain or peace of death that they aren't that helpful.

4) ODE TO A GRECIAN URN

What if the information the PCs need is inscribed on an urn or old tapestry? What if it is damaged and they need to find more pieces? And what if the visual message is so cryptic or oversimplified that they have to make their best guess as to what it means? I think lots of GMs want to control their information and make sure communication is flawless, but in this case, solving the mystery of the message is a huge adventure in and of itself. So let the need for control go, make or find a puzzling piece of art, and throw it at the players.

5) THE INFORMANT

For those of you into mystery or spy thrillers, having an informant that never meets directly but drops clues and information is a great way to keep players on their toes. The informant is always one step ahead, sending messages through lackeys, or in disguise, or any way that keeps them anonymous and safe. One issue is that you'll never know whose side they are truly on, or how they are subtly manipulating the PCs. In the Coyote & Crow scenario I ran here in Vancouver, the most liked NPC turned out to be the Big Bad at the end of the adventure. The players let out a collective 'WHOA!' when they realized it. It wasn't a fluke, I had planned the whole thing, but you can equally improvise a Kaizer Sose moment yourself to add depth to your game.

6) A LETTER

A letter from a lost or long dead person is also a poignant way to get information to players. Video games do this quite a lot. One thing to remember is that the letter writer is more interesting if they are an unreliable narrator, or write their narrative take that is at odds with the popular interpretation of events. It reminds me of The Last Ringbearer by Russian author Kirill Yeskov (1999), who reinterprets LotRs as heroic propaganda, and instead paints the orcs as working class people in a rationalist monarchy on the cusp of an industrial breakthrough that was destroyed by Gandalf and co. So if your orc den contains a letter by a survivng orc child that sounds like Anne Frank, you can really push your players' buttons.

7) BROKEN PALANTIR

Again from LotR, a piece of unreliable ancient tech is another great way to get unreliable messages across. If the PCs find a cracked orb or tainted ring, it could give them necessary hints but at a terrible price. It is definitely not to be trusted, admittedly useful, possibly manipulated by evildoers, and at some point may necessitate a quest to destroy it, but for the time being it get the job done.

8) PSYCHIC MESSAGES

Having a psionic NPC contact the player characters is also a great device, and was hinted at famously in the Conan story 'Tower of the Elephant.' Although REH does not come out and explicitly state that the elephant-headed Yag-Kosha is manipulating Conan, I always felt that Conan's curiosity towards the Tower might have been planted by the alien wizard. When Conan and the Wizard touch he gets full access to Conan's mind, So suddenly, pushing the barbarian towards the tower seems possible. Have vague psychic flashes are like the dreams above, but with the added payoff of possibly meeting the psychic at some point in the adventure.

Other ideas? Drop them in the comments.