Question for Otherverse America Fans

Just a quick question- if I were to publish an Otherverse America specific adventure path in the next year or two (most likely sometime in late 2013 or early 2014), what should the AP emphasize?

Should it focus on Lifer, Choicer or Fed-Gov characters, or should it be designed around a mixed faction party?

Should the AP be combat heavy, or emphasize investigation, romance, politics, or some mix?

Should the AP venture out into space, either through adventures set in the Near Earth region (The Lunar colony, the belt, Solomon Station) or go father out? Likewise, should the emphasis be on Lifechained or extraterrestrial threats, or on human adversaries and military adventure?

Drop me some comments. Otherverse America is a big enough setting that finding out exactly how you will play with it will help me focus this idea.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Designer Notes: Favorite Races

            My latest PDF is a short race book detailing the Arcadians, a race of living video games. Building new races is probably my favorite part of game design, and today I thought I’d talk about my favorite races from my various campaign worlds, and why those races are my favorites

Races of the Tatakama

            The Akaname

            The Akaname are one of my favorites because they are just so fetishy and creepy. Being undead gives them some kick ass immunities, and fills a neat game niche. I always thought WOTC and later Paizo should of included an undead player race as a core racial option, and with the Akaname (not to mention the Ububme and Otherverse America’s Neverborn) I’m filling that niche. Plus, the fact these creatures lick up pee and poop and have a tendency towards voyeurism offers lots of opportunities for dark comedy in game- I designed these guys as sidekicks and comic relief characters, but when the rare Akaname steps up into true heroism or actual villainy, it makes the moment that much cooler.

            The Dodoma

Amanda’s art for this race elevated it to the ranks of my favorites. These guys make excellent dashing, swashbuckling thieves, and are just fun to play. Mechanically, they’ve got some kickass extrasensory abilities, which help cement their niche as one of the best Roguish races in the game.

The Kami

            As with the Dodoma, the art really sells the Kami. I designed the race to emulate Belldandy from Oh, My Goddess and Anthony took that advice to heart when he illustrated the race. Mechanically, I love how customizable the Kami are- they choose a domain that gives them powers and access to specific skills, and have an ability that makes them one of the best skill-based races in the game. I can see a lot of gamers building Kami bards, rogues or rangers and really shining in their area of expertise.

Galaxy Command

            The Trius (From Free20: Threeway)

            I originally presented the Trius as a free bonus race for the Galaxy Command setting, but I liked ‘em so much that I’m going to make them a core race in my upcoming Races of the Command Fleet sourcebook. The whole idea of the race was to create a homage species that was as sexy, competent and combative as Triad from the Legion of Superheroes. The Trius (and Triad, who inspired them) have the ability to split into three identical duplicates at will. Building that ability into something suitable for a +0 ECL D20 Future race was a huge challenge, and I think I did it pretty well. This one is a favorite both for the mechanics and high concept.

            Star Droids

            Basically, the Star Droids are a way for sci-fi gamers to play R2-D2 (or V.I.N.C.E.N.T or Old B.O.B. or the droids from Silent Running, or Wall-e) and still be effective around the gaming table. They’re quirky, fun to play and completely non-humanoid. That’s important- gaming needs more weird things to play as. Like the Akaname, the Star Droids are another kick ass sidekick race.

            Space Cases

            The Space Cases PDF is filled with random trait and alien culture builder charts, which makes it pretty kickass old school type gaming, stapled onto the very solid D20-based framework I prefer to build in. Plus, I managed to sneak in references to the entire Legion of Substitute Heroes roster in the racial feats section. Galaxy Command as a whole is filled with LOSH references and injokes, but I really took it to an extreme in Space Cases.

Psi-Watch

            The Blooded Ghosts

            The Ghosts are a race I haven’t done enough with yet. Inspired by Jim Lee’s Daemonites (from WildCATS and Stormwatch), these guys are creepy enough to hold my interest. I want to explore the culture in more depth, and sooner or later I’ll do a race book on these guys consolidating all the scattered information about them. The Ghosts are an interesting twist on a traditional shapeshifting race, with some neat body horror abilities and a nastily predatory mindset that makes ‘em fun to play.

            Cityborn

            Basically these guys are Jack Hawksmoor, from Warren Ellis’ awesome Stormwatch run. I like them because they have cool racial abilities, and some of the absolutely coolest racial feats in the game.

            The Culture

            The Culture are cool mostly because of their rivalry with the Blooded Ghosts, and you really can’t have one race without the other. I added in a subplot for the race that they’re the distant, distant descendants of Otherverse America’s Coven of Bast. I love the idea of cross-planar campaigns and tying all my worlds into one fictional multiverse, and the Culture are a big part of that. Plus I enjoyed the fact that the Culture are the stereotypical ‘super-advanced but fully human looking aliens’ and I made them black, because most examples of that trope are usually pretty Caucasian, sometimes even verging on creepily Aryan.

Otherverse America

           

            Full Conversion Cyborgs

This race is a favorite for the mechanics behind it, and one that can be exported out of Otherverse America to any cyberpunk setting. Before coming up with the FCBs, I struggled with how to handle cyber-conversion- are cyborgs a template, a class, a feat tree, or just guys who purchased a lot of equipment? Making them a race solved a lot of the problem balancing heavy combat cyborgs with everybody else, gave the world a neat cyberpunk flavor, and was just generally a fun choice. The racial backstory of serious sexual abuse is one of the best justifications for racial ability score moridifers, and giving these guys Iron Will as a racial bonus feat really emphasizes their mental and spiritual strength.

The Neverborn

            The Neverborn became one of my favorite races right about the time I wrote Never Born Again, and added the Nuremberg AI to the Otherverse America campaign setting. I’d always intended the Lifers to use a communications protocol called Nuremberg, but in original drafts, Nuremberg was non-sentient, basically just the Lifer version of the Internet. Anyway, once I added Nuremberg AI as an overarching villain, the Neverborn really (pardon the pun) came to life. Kickass plot hooks, some interesting NPCs, and awesome racial feats make the Neverborn really fun to play, and ‘core’ to the Otherverse America experience.

            The Ubasti

            The Ubasti are fun to play just because they are so physical- they’re awesomely strong, combative and quirky enough to be really fun to play. Basically, they are Battlecat from He-Man doing volunteer work as an abortion clinic escort, which is a concept that’s so nonsensical on the surface it brings a smile to my face. Their racial PDF does a good job, I think of really capturing the psychology of the Ubasti- they think more like very smart cats than dumb humans, and their racial feats really reinforce this.

Art Preview: Sentai Sequel

Okay, here we've got two preview images from Sentai Sequel, which I talked about in depth last time. Up top we have a Sentai Hero wearing some new, heavy armor, and though you can't tell at this black and white inked stage, he'll be a Purple Sentai Hero! So yep, that means new suit colors. We'll have Purple, Gold, Brown, Orange, and a few more I'm keeping in reserve, as well as some truly weird spectrum roles like the Steel and Psychedelic Heroes.The Purple Hero will be a new core- instead of all sentai requiring a Red, Yellow and Blue hero, they can now swap in a Purple for a Red and change up the dynamic a bit.

Below, you've got an amazing illo for the Children of Gaea concept- which is basically Captain Planet shoehorned into traditional sentai. This variant character concept gets dramatically expanded, with new gear, talents, and suggestions on running an eco-themed sentai campaign.

You'll also get four new vehicles (at least, maybe more if I get inspired between now and the release date) including Sentai bullet trains, because what's more Japanese than bullet trains?

You'll also get some suggestions about integrating Fursona with Sentai, and mixing matching elements from Black Tokyo and the Tatakama, even a suggestion or two for integrating Sentai into Otherverse America!

And oh yeah, combining fuckin' mecha!

Anyway, Sentai Sequel will be out in another week or two. In the meantime, I just sent off "The Arcadians" to Mark for posting on Rpgnow. The Arcadians are a race of videogame inspired Fey- think the old Reboot or Captain Nintendo toons. They originally debuted in the now 'out of print' D20 Decade:1980s book I did, and I've rebuilt them from the ground up for Pathfinder. Also, the Arcadians are nice indirect support for Sentai Sequel- there's a side bar about integrating Arcadians into Sentai that's pretty sweet.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

And Now I Can Form the Head!

Okay, I was reading some of the reviews of Sentai Spectacular (both of which were overwhelmingly positive) from RPG.net today. And one of the criticisms of the book was that I didn't include rules for Combiner Mecha, like the lion-faced badass over on the right side of your screen.

I originally strayed away from combiner mecha because of two reasons: one, Voltron scale constructs pretty much break the D20 Modern rule system in half. Something like a true combiner Megazord or Devastator or Voltron is a fucking beast.

Second, and more importantly, I couldn't really see a way to involve all the players in the action (usually the episode's climactic fight) when combined. Using Voltron as an example- only the Black Lion's player would get to act, since his lion is controlling the mecha. The other four PCs would just have to sit in their cockpits and maybe roll an Aid Another action each round, basically turning them into spectators.

Good reasons not to include combiner mechs, right? Anyway, I think I may have found a way around both problems. So expect to see combiner Mecha-Kaiju in Sentai Sequel.
CHRIS

Revisiting the Tatakama, Upcoming Stuff

I've just revisited the Tatakama setting, releasing two short books under the Black Tokyo Legends banner: Guro-Strike! (A bloody new combat option originally previewed on this blog a few months back) and Spells & Gods of the Tatakama (which is exactly what it sounds like.).

Right now, after Frontlines of Choice, which was a very art heavy project, I'm rebuilding my art budget before heading into my first Masters of Endara releases. (Those will be extremely art heavy as well.)

I'm in the process of putting together a sequel to Sentai Spectacular, which is coming together nicely. This one will have some cool Amanda Webb art. Meanwhile, John Picot is still working on Solomon Station, which should be one of the last big Otherverse America releases of 2012.

John's already sent over his portion of the art for Anthros of Endara, and I'm waiting for Vic Shane to do the same with his creatures. Amanda will also be working on this after Sentai Sequel is done with. In addition, she's already done the first basic map of the campaign world.

I've also been toying with a short D20 Modern 'campaign plug-in' which is a homage to the movies of Andy Sidaris. I recently found a 12 movie collection of his stuff for $5, and picked it up. Basically, all his movies are tits, explosions, unrealistic gunplay and weaponized model airplanes. I get the first three, but the weaponized model airplanes, it's just weird.

After all that, I've got Races of Galaxy Command on deck, and I'm toying with the idea of releasing a revised and updated version of the Coven of Bast in Spring of 2013. So I've got a lot of planned projects on my plate, and in addition to those, I know I'll also work on projects that come to be in a burst of sudden inspiration between now and year's end.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Review: Battlechangers, by Puzzled Vikings

Daniel, writing at www.PuzzledVikings.blogspot.com, just posted a review of Battlechangers. This is great, because Battlechangers is one of those projects I did purely for fun. In 2010, after spending WAY too much time on TFWiki.com, I designed a diceless, quick-play game based on Transformers. It's flown under the radar after that, which is why I'm so happy to get a review of it this week.

Here's a repost of the review.

Whoo boy... Every time I write one of these reviews, I try to be as fair as possible. Often, that means I point out flaws, real or perceived, though I try to be as professional as I can.

So what can I say about Battlechangers? Well, we'll find out after the jump.



Created by Chris Field, and distributed by Skortched 'Urf, I was originally a bit wary of the game. Mr. Field is an unknown to me, but I've had the chance to read other Skortched 'Urf Studios products, and admittedly went into this purchase biased.  So, what do you get for seven dollars?

Touted as a "Quick Play, Transforming Robot RPG", Battlechangers is an 89 page diceless game that reads like the labor of a true fan. All the elements are there for a Gen 1 romp, with names changed to prevent lawsuits.

How is the game? Before I dive into the mechanics, let's talk layout.  As I said, there's obviously a lot of love and excitement in the product. Unfortunately, that love did not extend to such concepts as formatting. Organization is, to be blunt, a mess.  While presented in a two-column style that's easy on the eyes and has a mostly acceptable gutter, there's no real concrete break in the writing. Each section is separated by a header, and the general progression of the book flows in a logical order.  However, lack of variation in header size, and the fact that the text does flow, made it difficult to find certain things while generating a character.  The lack of an index (acceptable in a small-press game) or a Table of Contents (a very big no-no, no matter how small your product is) only exacerbated the situation.

Despite this, the system was for the most part easily understandable. Some placement of text proved frustrating, but this is a game I can enjoy. Definitely one I'll be running with my local group when given the chance.

Mechanically, Battlechangers is a simple 'compare the numbers' game. Each Battlechanger has nine specifications (better known as stats or attributes in other games): Strength, Speed, Armor, Lifeforce, Endurance, Fuelon, Firepower, Intelligence and Charisma. Much like the old "Power Cards" that once came on Transformers packaging, these specifications are rated 1-10, with a score of 4-5 being average. When a specialty's rating is compared to a skill (more on skills in a moment) the end result is the number used for task resolution.

A point buy system, players will choose a 'caste' for their robot which gives a pool of ability points (I'm assuming the writer meant 'specification points') to modify their specifications. Specifications are further modified by the robot's Faction,  Size, and Role. These are exactly what they sound like, and I won't touch on them save to say that the list of roles covers anything you can think of, and includes guidelines to create more roles should the GM desire (I should make a quite note here.  The game breaks immersion here in a manner similar to the Fight! RPG. Where, in Fight! you design combos around button sequences, in Battlechangers you approach building your Battlechanger as if you were creating a toy in a fictional toy line. Points are listed in US Dollars, and constant references are made to 'molds', 're-sculpts', running campaigns as 'seasons' etc. While in its own way amusing, this hurts a good deal of the immersion of the implied setting, though it does strike a few nostalgic chords.). More powerful characters will cost more points, usually outside the starting range (have to save up your allowance to get the neater toys, after all!).

On to Skills! Skills are rated in one of three levels: Novice (which gives a +1 bonus), Veteran (+2), and Master (+3). Players acquire Skills through their Roles, or through purchasing ranks (why this is in the gear section, and not the skill section, I'll never know).  If a benchmark (the target number for task resolution), is too high, the player has three courses of action.  Trying again (lowers the benchmark by one each time), Effort (Spending Fuelon to raise the skill total), or Database use.  Databases are one area where unkind players might abuse a system's goodwill. Mechanically, Databases act like effort, but don't cost Fuelon. With no ceiling set in place, there's really nothing stopping someone from pushing their total well past the most difficult benchmark. This seems to be the intent, as Databases are limited to the number of times per scene (encounter) they can be used.

The rest of the book is rounded out with hazards and examples of characters from the game's universe. Some of the characters caught my eye, others seemed bland, but that's really just personal taste.

So, now that we've reached the end of the review... Is Battlechangers worth it? Poor layout and lack of references (or a character sheet), hurt the game badly. However, Field's decision to release Battlechangers as an OGL product means that folks can take it and turn the game into whatever they want. Obviously a labor of love, there are several diamonds in the rough to be found, and for short campaigns, or even one-shots, I've yet to find a better choice. So... for fans of Transformers, I'd say give it a go. Click here to purchase your copy, happy gaming!

"Fan Art" By Amanda Webb

Tonight I got some fucking hillarious art from Amanda Webb. One of the projects I had her illustrate is an shot of the Lifer idol singer, Strangelet. Strangelet is a major character in the upcoming Solomon Station city book, and quickly turned into one of 'Manda's favorite characters, along with Hiemdall, from Frontlines of Choice.

So here, in a quick sketch, is the story of the ultimate star-crossed lovers of the Otherverse mythos.

CHRIS