D100 is The Best of Dice and The Worst of Dice

 This video cracked me up. Enjoy!

STOP TALKING ABOUT MOORCOCK RPGS!!

Dudes, the Ebay prices have gone INSANE!

I was paying $30 a pop for books in Japan on Mercari (their Ebay) or online game shops.

$100 is the buy in price for anything here in North America, it seems.

Wild. I got my Amano cover Stormbringer boxed set for that.

I blame Breakfast in the Ruins and Grognards for all the attention.

I Should Have Listened To This Long Ago...

Finally caught the Grognard Files' first podcast on the Stormbringer RPG (HERE).

So much jibes with what I feel about the game. Especially Judge Blythy's insights on Stormbringer as a proto-story game.

"Modern games are about story. And I think Stormbringer is going in that direction. Whether it's intentional or not, I don't know. But what it forces you to do is consider: there's four people playing this game, one is very powerful... one is kind of ordinary, one is ... from Lormyr... a bit dim... and one of them is a beggar with one leg. Now go and play that game. But I think what it's trying to do is the story, isn't it? You could have a Melnibonean sorcerer with a beggar sidekick, and if you're the beggar sidekick, what it seems to be suggesting, and it doesn't say so overtly, but what it's nudging you in the direction of is 'Play the role, do the story. Just because you're the one legged beggar doesn't mean you're any less important than the sorcerer. It's not about power, and wealth, and going up the levles. It's about story."

Couldn't agree more! Can't wait to find time for part II.
 

RPGs as Creative Process

Is playing and running TTRPGs a creative process?

I think there's different ways to look at this.

GM As Author

For instance, if you want to be an author, you must create and populate the fictional world you're using, make the rules of magic, and design the society. If you use an RPG, the setting and system do this for you. In theory, this should free you up to be more creative.

This freeing of creativity by accepting the twin yoke of rules and setting sometimes can lead to great works. The fantasy anime Record of Lodoss War was based on a D&D campaign. Also in Japan, RPG 'replays', basically novelizations of actual game sessions, were huge during the 80's and 90's, and are still being produced now. In the west, the legendary (but truncated) scifi series Firefly was supposedly based on Traveller.

So RPG can foster the creativity to make great works.

But such is not always the case in reality. A novel based on most D&D games I played in would be boring as fights dragged on and the same spells were used over and over again. Ditto many BRP games, where the whiff factor and lethality of combat could end a story before it begins.

Player As Author

Similarly, an RPG can facilitate the personal narrative. In the old days, this 'zero to hero' or bildungsroman was the driving engine of OD&D. As RPGs developed in the 90's, they also allowed a larger narrative based on how the characters each affect the game world, as in Dragonlance or Exalted.

Now, D&D especially seems to facilitate the memification of charcters, witness countless social media posts about edgy character concepts (axe-guitar wielding Centaur bard, anyone?) and every character in Vox Machina. 

Game Creator As Author

To get back to the OSR, Jeff Rients once famously compared grognards making retrocones to Jedis making their own lightsabers. I agree that going through the process of re-viewing and re-making an old beloved game is akin to keeping alive the 'sad devotion to that ancient religion' whose 'fire had gone out from the universe'.

But re-creation is not creation. It teaches creation via reverse engineering, but needs to go somewhere new.

That is the riddle with which I am now wrestling...

Sources

Is Firefly Based On Traveller substack

https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/13668/is-joss-whedons-firefly-based-on-the-traveller-rpg-he-played

Japanese TTRPG Replays

https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/7r1jb1/a_fascinating_window_into_the_world_of_japanese/

Hard vs Soft Worldbuilding

I found this great YouTube channeling that does deep dives into worldbuilding. The YouTube video on Soft Wordbuilding is HERE.

I'll have to whip up a post about RPG implications at some point when time permits.

Farewell Jennell

Jennell Jaquays had a huge impact during her life.

For RPGs, she was a community pioneer, starting Dungeoneer and the Fantastic Dungeoning Society.

Naturally, she was also a force in the industry, with a long list of scenario publications noted for their groundbreaking open design.

And she was a fantasy artist of great talent.

With video games, she worked on everything from Pacman to Quake.

As a trans activist, she helped form Leelah's Law, protecting youth from harmful 'therapies'.

Thanks for inspiring, and rest.

You will be missed.

2024 Resolutions

1) Get the games I am designing (Giri-Nijo and fantasy) out to the world

2) Play in some games

3) Publish my novel

4) Re-orient my career

5) Build my Tanelorn

Hawkmoon Redux # 4 Science Weapons of the Tragic Millennium

Welcome back to the world of Tragic Europe!

We have already outlined our mission of fleshing out the Science rules of the old Hawkmoon boxed set in a way that ties it to natural resource extraction that emulates the imperialist drive of Granbretan in the source fiction. In my last post, I uncovered the bones of a very compelling Bio-engineering system in the game, and added the concepts of labs and Mutagen Points (MP) to make it usable. I didn't get into the nitty gritty of resources (ie mutagen, natural resources), scientific laboratory staff, and other requisites, but hope to fill that out as I continue to outline the system for making and maintaining the Science Weapons of the Tragic Millennium.

Today, we look at research & development of Science weapons, from cannons to lances and beyond, of the Hawkmoon game and story.

The Source Fiction a la The Rulebook

I am waaaaay overdue for a reread of Hawkmoon, so I'll just review the Science Weapons presented in the rules and try to organize them into a useful taxonomy. I may revisit the source fiction if life ever gives me the time to sit down and devour novels like in my bachelor days.

First, I'll review by stating that Science in Hawkmoon means generally three things:

1) Science as Engineering Beings

As we saw in my previous Hawkmoon post, Science in the game and fiction is a way to manipulate the abilities of living creatures. Bio-engineering is a pretty potent form of Scientific power, and one that outstrips what we have in the real world (for now). Today, let's skip over this to pass to the next form of Scientific power, Manufacturing.

(NB: I am capitalizing science on purpose to give it that steampunk feel of Moorcock's works)

2) Science as Manufacturing Items

Next, from Moorcock's novels and the Science Book of the boxset we have the weapons and transport made by the super Ancient Science of Granbretan. This is again a potent Science, a steampunk alternative to our own world's armies, artillery, and small arms.

As we can see, in a weird way, Hawkmoon's power via bio-manipulation or steampunk manufacturing is indeed a match for Stormbringer's summoning entities to do your bidding.

3) Science as Natural Resource Management

Finally, although this is not explicitly stated in the text, natural resources are required to fuel super Science. Today's post will delve into linking manufacturing to natural resources, and consider some attendant rules.

Taxonomy of Hawkmoon Science Items

The Science book has a laundry list of items without any Scientific categorization or theme. To remedy this, I’ve added in brackets the two Science skills I feel most useful to making and maintaining each weapon, a process which I will describe below. I've also added which nation starts with production capability for this weapon, negating the need for discovery of the tech. There are also great omissions in the descriptions of devices, but as this lies outside my agenda today, I will attempt to fill in the holes at a later date.

1) Artillery & Siege Weapons

Acid Cannon (Chemistry, Mechanics - Granbretan)

    Range:  ??  Damage:  1D100  Area:  10m  Ammo:  ??  Fumble: Cumulative 1% per shot, bubble splashes on users

    NB: Requires one gunner to aim and three technicians to reposition it, bubble lasts 2D6 rounds

Cold Cannon (Electronics, Mechanics - Muskovia)

    Range: ??  Damage: frozen solid (ie death)   Area:  1d10 cold spots, each had 4m radius  Ammo:  ??  Fumble: Machine breaks, anyone in 10 m takes 1D10 damage, half if in cold weather gear.

NB: Rules state DEX x 3% to avoid, but why not just use Dodge? The explanation of 1D10 cold spots is unhelpful, so just consider it as hitting 1D10 targets.

Sonic Cannon (Biology, Electronics - Constantinople)

    Range: ??   Damage:  see below  Area:  ??  Ammo: ??   Fumble:

NB: Painful to humans noise, fatal to non-primate mammals such as horses. Other creatures get -20% to all skills while in area of effect.

Flame Cannon (Electronics, Mechanics - all Europa)

    Range:  ??  Damage: 10D6   Area:  ?? spray  Ammo:  20 shot chemical packet  Fumble:

NB: Pulled by one horse or three men.

Hallucinocannon (Biology, Electronics - Espaniya)

    Range:  ??  Damage: see below   Area: 1D100 gas bubbles   Ammo:  1 shot, takes an hour to reload  Fumble:

NB: If hit, roll INT x 1% or go insane (fight, flight, or freeze). Hours later, INT x 5% to recover or die frothing. Seems rough, lets make it a POW roll instead and insanity on failure, death on fumble.

2) Small Arms

Flame Lance (Electronics, Mechanics - all Europa)

    Range: 100m   Damage:  5D6  Area:    Ammo: 100 shots   Fumble: as other weapons

NB: Very fragile

NB: Compared to the list of cannons above, the paucity of choices in lances is a bit shocking. This implies the existence of other lances whose fabrication were lost to time, or were discontinued due to impracticality. I've included some ideas as to the reasons they are not readily available.

Acid Lance (Chemistry, Mechanics)  Drawback  - Prone to engulf the user in acid on malfunction, and also contains only two shots due to size of ammo canisters. Range also limited to medium.

Cold Lance (Electronics, Mechanics) Drawback - Requires the user to wear protective warmsuit, overheats in normal temperature. If used wearing normal clothes, wearer takes 1/10 damage rolled, or 1/2 if wearing warmsuit. Range also limited to short.

Sonic Lance (Biology, Electronics)  Drawback - Requires the user to wear protective headgear making them essentially deaf, so not suited to combat. Range also limited to short.

Hallucino Lance (Biology, Electronics) Drawback - Requires the user to wear protective eyewear that is costly, difficult to make, and breaks easily. Range also limited to short.

3) Transport

Ornithopter (Mechanics, Chemistry (fuel), and Electronics (guidance))

Since this machine seems taken after Leonardo DaVinci designs, one could also posit several steampunk or alternate history designs for tanks and submarines. Maybe a project for the future.

4) Medicinal

Hypnogobe (anaesthetic) (Biology, Electronics)

Mentality Machine (Biology, Electronics)

Looked at this way, the Granbretan super Science is weirdly focused on mental health. Maybe there is a connection to their famed penchant for madness?

5) Wraith Folk Tech

This is the super science of the Wraith Folk, who probably are working on another level as they can shift themselves dimensionally. For this reason, it is not covered under the rules for Granbretan tech. Instead, it is a lost, alien tech that can be used, but never replicated or repaired.

Lockpick Ray - as Science book

Sonic Screwdriver - as Science book

Slow Armor - as Science book

6) Balance Creations

These last creations are nothing more than a Deus ex Machina in a box. They work when and how the GM wants to move the story or scenario ahead. They also become available or disappear upon GM fiat.

Mad God’s Amulet - as Science book

The Runestaff - as Science book

Sword of the Dawn - as Science book

Requisites for Creation

When the characters decide to create ancient tech devices, they need to fulfill the following 7 requirements.

1) Skilled Scientific Staff

Naturally, making an ancient tech device requires a Scientist to be working on its development. The Scientist must have the requisite skill at a level of 80% or higher. Also note that the Scientists must possess the science types required.

NB: The 80% minimum in relevant Science skill as also applicable to Scientists doing repairs on tech.

For example, if building an Acid Cannon (requires Mechanics and Biology), the ideal team is two Scientists, one specializing in Mechanics and the other in Chemistry. If only one Scientist does it, double the time is required (see Time below).

2) Laboratories

In addition to staff, the Scientists need the proper Laboratory conditions. As I posited the last time, the types of Laboratories are as follows:

Biology - Clinic

Chemistry - Refinery

Electronics - Workstation

Mechanics - Tool Shop

Ancient - Installation

So if we continue our Acid Cannon example from above, you need a Refinery (Chemicals) and a Tool Shop (Mechanics) if you are a Granbretan Scientist trying to fabricate or repair one. If you are from another nation, you also need access to a suitable Installation.

NB: An Installation is usually necessary for two reasons:

1) If the tech being developed does not natural exist in the country of the Scientists working on it. For example, the Acid Cannon is a weapon of Granbretan, so Scientists from that nation building one need Mechanical & Biological Laboratories (ie a Clinic and a Tool Shop), but not an Installation. Scientists from other nations need an Installation as well as the other two Laboratory types.

2) If the tech is a one-off or lost ancient tech (ie an Acid Lance, or something created by the GM), the GM can require PCs to quest for a suitable Installation.

3) Resources

Just like with Laboratories, you will need access to suitable Resources for your planned construction.

Gaining Access to Resources

1 Local Area

Obviously, Scientists can get the approval of a nation's rulers to use the resources already there. If a King wants Acid Cannons, for example, he will give assent to let his swamps be dredged for biological materials, and his mountains mined for chemical resources.

2 Trade

To augment local resources, a nation can trade with its neighbors. A shoreline nation with a fishery can trade its fish & seaweed to a mountainous region for their ores, and each pursue different Science projects.

3 Diplomacy

A ruler can also ask for access to resources in return for a favour or goodwill. However, being in another nation's debt means taking on an obligation that must be fulfilled at some point, such as allying in war.

4 Conquest & Occupation

Of course, history is rife with examples of wars fought over resources. This is precisely what Hawkmoon is all about. If you invade a nation and enslave its population, you have to spend manpower both on guarding the populace, and ensuring resources are safely harvested.

Resource Types by Nation

Finally, it is implied in the nationality descriptions that each nation is useful for the resources it holds. These are of two types - natural resources and ancient ones. There are also supernatural resources, and these are not fairytales, but are instead the twisted relics of bioengineering.

Resource types available in each county are given in the Player's Handbook, and can easily converted to RP. Let's look at the description of the first country, Carpathia. Note, I have underlined all mention of resources.

"Carpathia is a land all of forested mountains... farming is only productive in the infrequent valleys. The mountains are rich in oil, iron, copper, gold, and silver. However, the soil is insufficient to support many people... In ancient times, Carpathia was strategically located. Thus, powerful ancient weapons and artifacts - sometimes entire installations - can be found. The old tales of werewolves, witches, and vampires are still told and believed. As the country is mineral-rich and land poor, many people are miners and craftsmen, trading their land's rich ore and artifacts for food and survival items from elsewhere."

So if we link the resource descriptions to Science Lore skills, we get the following:

Forests = Biological Lore or Chemical Lore

Mountains = Chemical Lore (for ores & compounds)

Farming = Biological Lore or Chemical Lore

Oil = Chemical Lore or Mechanical Lore

Iron = Mechanical Lore

Copper = Electronic Lore

Gold = Electronic Lore

Silver = Electronic Lore

Ancient weapons = Ancient Lore

Artifacts = Ancient Lore

Installations = Ancient Lore

Resource Size (Resource Points)

The amount of resources available depend both on the terrain and size of the country. The description of nations in the Player's Book provides descriptors of terrain (ie mountains, farming, iron etc) that hint at its resources. Just as I suggested implementing Mutagen Points (MP) for Bio-engineering, similarly Hawkmoon's manufacturing would be better defined with the use of Resource Points (RP). The size of resource pools of nations would give RP as follows:

If we look at the descriptions of Carpathia and add up references to resources, we get the following breakdown of resources:

Biological: 2

Chemical: 3

Mechanical: 2

Electronic: 3

Ancient: 3

(NB: I may adjust this by nation size at some point, but good for now)

This and its small population makes it a target for conquerors or despots intending to start manufacturing weapons and devices.

NB: If you use a resource for one Science, you cannot use it for another or for non-scientific uses. For example, if a nation has Agriculture 1, it can be used either for feeding the populace, for Chemical Science, or for Biological Science, not all 3. If it were from a larger country with Agriculture 3, you could use the resource in up to 3 ways.

At some point in future I hope to go through all the nations and analyze them in the same way. Also, the Resource point values need playtesting to see if they are viable.

4) Time to Research & Develop

Although there is no time equation given for Mechanics, Electronics, or Chemicals, if we take a look at the base for Bio-engineering, we can extrapolate for other Sciences:

Time: 60 - INT months to make a new technology (ie 5 years of R & D). The INT is taken of the highest member on the Research team. If the technology already exists in the country, reduce to 40 - INT months for first time research.

5) Funds

The only tech price in the whole Player's book is 1000 Gold for an ornithropter. This is our start. If we consider a profit margin of 50%, this implies the an ornithropter takes 500 Gold of resources and manpower costs to manufacture. Since research & development can cost up to ten times this (I suggest rolling 2D4 as a base), first time production incurs this cost. Once R&D succeeds, economies of scale kick in and manufacturing costs are lowered.

This is a good start, and would need to be extended to all other devices. 2D4 x 500 Gold for first time R&D, half that once research succeeds, and half again as mass production is set up, with a minimum of 500 Gold seems reasonable at this point.

Of course, this necessity of a game economy implies that emulating the source fiction of Hawkmoon might be better played in Pulp mode, whereas Stormbringer is tilted a little more to a Saga playstyle to emulate its tragic storyline.

6) Skill Roll

As with Bio-engineering a successful roll is required to complete any research project.

RESEARCHING SUCCESS OR FAILURE

(Roll vs appropriate Lore skill)

CRITICAL - Smashing Success! The Scientist gets exactly what they intended, with no complications, and can now manufacture the device at a reduced cost.

SUCCESS - Success! The Scientist gets exactly what they intended, with 1 to 2 complications. Cost to manufacture is only reduced from initial production by 10%, and needs another month of research AND a successful roll to be reduced by another 10%. This can continue until the production cost is halved.

FAILURE - Failure! Time and money has been wasted, and the Scientist must start over again.

FUMBLE - Abject Failure! Not only has time and money been wasted, a disaster has been created due to some error. Roll 1D6 for complications (1 Lab burns down, 2 materials are wasted for 1 month, 3 staff is killed in an explosion unless they roll POW x 3%, 4 gas leak drives away workforce for 1 month, 5 area is contaminated and needs cleaning for 1D4 months, 6 ruler is infuriated and orders work halted until a service is rendered). All this and the Scientist must start over again as well.

As noted, a Scientist working in a laboratory must have 80% in the relevant Science skill.

7) Workers - The Unseen Resource

One thing that is often overlooked in the source fiction as well as game rules is the need for workers and an adequate workforce to harvest and process resources. If an area has been depopulated, no resource extraction can take place.

If resources are in an uninhabited area, characters will have to set up a settlement and transport system to get what they need to their Laboratory.

Small amount or tiny nation - 1 point 

Medium amount or moderate sized nation - 2 points

Large amount or giant nation - 3 points

In terms of Carpathia, although it looks about a middling size and thus rates a Population of 2, due to references to limited agriculture, we limit this to 1.

Carpathia

Size: 2 (population 1) 

Biological: 2

Chemical: 3

Mechanical: 2

Electronic: 3

Ancient: 3

We could add a bonus to defend for mountainous terrain, but that is a project for another time.

Example of Creation

A mad Scientist character in Carpathia has decided to construct a Flame Cannon to help defend his mountaintop castle against mountain bandits and vampire clans. Although he has the resources available in his country, he would need a larger workforce to import or enslave laborers from surrounding regions to get the work done.

In this way, the RP system would flesh out the gameworld and promote roleplaying in ways that emulate the source material.

Conclusion

As much as the Hawkmoon Science rules as written are a lot of handwaiving, they have a very evocative underpinning. By extending what is offered, and knitting some connective tissues between skills and setting, we can see the bare bones of a system where resource extraction allows super science miracles to happen, but at the cost of ever expanding your empire or looting ancient ruins. This implies that, whereas Stormbringer's game mode is inherently saga style, centered on the struggle between Chaos and Law, Hawkmoon's is more war gamey, with invasion for resource extraction as an overarching goal. Of course, players can just as well have a fun time in pulp mode adventuring in either setting, with the cosmological struggle of The Young Kingdoms or the military invasions and weapons race of Tragic Europe as an exciting backdrop to their tales.

Please note that these rules are unplaytested, and would need to be run through thoroughly and adjusted for game playability.