C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 142
June 5, 2017
Babes in London: Act One, Scene Three (Part 1—The Families)
This scene has a lot of options, so I’ve split it across two posts. This section deals with character interactions with the families, and the park environs. Tomorrow’s section will deal with actions specific to dealing with agents of LN7 and the Gehenna Consortium.
SCENE THREE: NOT SO HAPPY FAMILIES
There is a shimmer in the air, and you are back. The old elm forest is gone, and the park has returned. The butcher’s shop is back, and so is the green grocer’s. Back also are the two little girls. They are no longer looking at you, however, but towards a cluster of adults striding across the playground towards them. Neither of them seems alarmed. A tangle of voices fills the air. “Anika! Where have you been? You were supposed to come straight home!” “Leyila! You were supposed to meet us at the library after school!” “Mother! We were just…” “I needed to talk to Leyila, mum. It was important.”
This is the sort of conversation that dominates the interactions between the parents and the children for the next few minutes as the mothers shepherd their children back to the cars. The fathers are, however, keeping a wary eye on the PCs, and have interposed themselves between the girls and the PCs. Give the PCs an opportunity to do interact.
Notes for New Characters Sidebar:If, at this point, any of the PCs are unaware of their true identities, have the players keep the descriptions you have given them so they can personalise their dragons. At the end of the battle, alter the end of Scene III to read: Just before she goes to meet her mother, the taller, dark-haired girl, raises blue eyes in your direction: “Go back to your dreaming,” she says. “Your reality is there.” The smaller child, with hair like gold flame glances at her in surprise: “How can they not know?” she asks, her small voice filled with scorn. “Isn’t it obvious?” As their mothers hurry them towards two different cars, you realise you have drawn the attention of the girls’ fathers, and the two heavily-built men are striding directly towards you. The frowns on their faces aren’t friendly. Run the encounter: ‘Speaking with the Children’.
ALL Characters:Speaking with the Children: occurs if the PCs try to speak with the girls. The fathers intercept them, while the mothers continue to move the girls towards their cars. In order to negotiate with the parents, the PCs need to make an Interaction TH of 4 (due the paedophile incident of the previous year) to allay their natural suspicions and antagonism towards strangers. This interaction is modified by the way the encounter is roleplayed. At first the fathers are interested only in making the PCs ‘go away’, but then Leyila’s father wants to know what the PCs were doing ‘anywhere near the girls in the first place’. Answers mentioning the Seer of Cathach are met with half-joking responses like: “Well, you’re a little out of your way then, aren’t you?” and “What do you want to see her for?” The fathers have no idea who the Seer might be, and certainly do not know the true identities of their daughters. The mothers drive off once the girls are in the cars, going in opposite directions. The nearest the PCs should come to the girls at this point is to arrange an interview for the following day—but not on the grounds that they want to speak to the Seer of Cathach! Plausible reasons for interviewing the girls include a police investigation, private investigator seeking leads, journalist writing an article on the local school or library, teacher thinking of coming to teach at the local school etc. Any reason given must be backed up with some form of proof—for example, a professional ID card such as a Press pass, police badge, Teacher’s Union card or anything similar. Either of the fathers might mention the ‘incident’ the year before if the right conversational circumstances occur. Once interactions with the fathers are over, the men either walk over to the cars (if they are still there), or walk the three or four blocks to their homes.Using Ka on the Children: PCs are considered to have had a relatively close connection with Anika and Leyila in their past lives—as the flashbacks reveal. This connection grants uses of the Ka skill on either of the girls a -3 TH modifier. (The connection wasn’t close enough for the full -5 TH modifier.) A successful Ka check (TH 2 due to the modifier) on Anika reveals the horse-riding part of her nature, and her role as a defender, but not her identity as an Erebean Unicorn Maid. A similar check against Leyila reveals the dancing and Kehebite mysticism but not necessarily her identity as a Kehebite temple dancer.Knowledge: Law: TH 3 means the PC recognizes the children from, and has a basic knowledge of, the break-up of the paedophile ring of the year before. They may even know of the strange circumstances in which the children were rescued (TH 4). Note: PCs with a cop background gain an additional -2 modifier to the TH#; those with private investigator or lawyer backgrounds only gain an additional -1 modifier to the TH#.Knowledge: London: TH 4 means the PC recognizes the children from the news of the year before. Those who followed the news closely may even have a basic knowledge of, the break-up of the paedophile ring (TH 5) and the strange circumstances in which the children were rescued (TH 6). Note: PCs with a journalist background gain an additional -2 modifier to the TH#.Knowledge: Street: TH 4 means the PC recognizes the children from, and has a basic knowledge of, the break-up of the paedophile ring of the year before. They may even know of the strange circumstances in which the children were rescued (TH 5). Taking Note of the Area: means the PC notices they’ve attracted interest in the ‘shopping precinct’ and may take note of some ‘shady characters’ (Air—Senses: TH 4 to note one of the following: the LN7 operative reading a paper in the small coffee shop that doubles as a bakery opposite the park (Coffee Shop Guy); the LN7 operative walking her dog—including that she seems scared of the dog, a big German Shepherd (Dog Girl); or the two men sitting in the car in the street that borders the other side of the park looking in their London street directory—they’ve been sitting there since the PCs arrived in the park). The car pulls away as soon as the girls’ cars do, and follows one of them. Note: Any PC that looks intentionally for ‘anything that seems suspicious’ or people that seem suspicious, can make this roll with an a -1 modifier to the TH#.Following the Children or their Fathers Home: gives the PCs a chance to further note the involvement of LN7 and Gehenna operatives. If they are actively looking for anyone else who might be interested in the children, or their families, they might notice one of the above LN7 operatives (Coffee Shop Guy and Dog Girl) also traveling in the same direction they are (TH 3). In addition to this, the car in which the two men were studying their London street directory, follows the family cars when they pull away (TH 3). As they get closer to the house, the Gehenna Consortium car continues driving and the LN7 operative stops at a non-descript blue sedan and gets in. Before it can be approached, the car drives away. Coffee Shop Guy follows the Collins family, while Dog Girl follows the Andrews family. If they haven’t left already, the Gehenna Consortium operatives follow whichever of the families the PCs are tailing. On arrival at the Collins home, the PCs have a small chance of spotting the Servants of Set preparing for their attack (TH 6). If, for whatever reason, the PCs settle down to watch either of the families overnight, they later see the arrival of two police cars. If they remain, they are approached by four, highly suspicious police officers who ask them to move on. Non-compliance means that they are arrested and held overnight in the cells. Compliance means that they are openly followed and ‘observed’ overnight. The up side of this latter development is that they are cleared of any suspicion in the initial disappearance of the children and learn of it sooner.
SCENE THREE: NOT SO HAPPY FAMILIES
There is a shimmer in the air, and you are back. The old elm forest is gone, and the park has returned. The butcher’s shop is back, and so is the green grocer’s. Back also are the two little girls. They are no longer looking at you, however, but towards a cluster of adults striding across the playground towards them. Neither of them seems alarmed. A tangle of voices fills the air. “Anika! Where have you been? You were supposed to come straight home!” “Leyila! You were supposed to meet us at the library after school!” “Mother! We were just…” “I needed to talk to Leyila, mum. It was important.”
This is the sort of conversation that dominates the interactions between the parents and the children for the next few minutes as the mothers shepherd their children back to the cars. The fathers are, however, keeping a wary eye on the PCs, and have interposed themselves between the girls and the PCs. Give the PCs an opportunity to do interact.
Notes for New Characters Sidebar:If, at this point, any of the PCs are unaware of their true identities, have the players keep the descriptions you have given them so they can personalise their dragons. At the end of the battle, alter the end of Scene III to read: Just before she goes to meet her mother, the taller, dark-haired girl, raises blue eyes in your direction: “Go back to your dreaming,” she says. “Your reality is there.” The smaller child, with hair like gold flame glances at her in surprise: “How can they not know?” she asks, her small voice filled with scorn. “Isn’t it obvious?” As their mothers hurry them towards two different cars, you realise you have drawn the attention of the girls’ fathers, and the two heavily-built men are striding directly towards you. The frowns on their faces aren’t friendly. Run the encounter: ‘Speaking with the Children’.
ALL Characters:Speaking with the Children: occurs if the PCs try to speak with the girls. The fathers intercept them, while the mothers continue to move the girls towards their cars. In order to negotiate with the parents, the PCs need to make an Interaction TH of 4 (due the paedophile incident of the previous year) to allay their natural suspicions and antagonism towards strangers. This interaction is modified by the way the encounter is roleplayed. At first the fathers are interested only in making the PCs ‘go away’, but then Leyila’s father wants to know what the PCs were doing ‘anywhere near the girls in the first place’. Answers mentioning the Seer of Cathach are met with half-joking responses like: “Well, you’re a little out of your way then, aren’t you?” and “What do you want to see her for?” The fathers have no idea who the Seer might be, and certainly do not know the true identities of their daughters. The mothers drive off once the girls are in the cars, going in opposite directions. The nearest the PCs should come to the girls at this point is to arrange an interview for the following day—but not on the grounds that they want to speak to the Seer of Cathach! Plausible reasons for interviewing the girls include a police investigation, private investigator seeking leads, journalist writing an article on the local school or library, teacher thinking of coming to teach at the local school etc. Any reason given must be backed up with some form of proof—for example, a professional ID card such as a Press pass, police badge, Teacher’s Union card or anything similar. Either of the fathers might mention the ‘incident’ the year before if the right conversational circumstances occur. Once interactions with the fathers are over, the men either walk over to the cars (if they are still there), or walk the three or four blocks to their homes.Using Ka on the Children: PCs are considered to have had a relatively close connection with Anika and Leyila in their past lives—as the flashbacks reveal. This connection grants uses of the Ka skill on either of the girls a -3 TH modifier. (The connection wasn’t close enough for the full -5 TH modifier.) A successful Ka check (TH 2 due to the modifier) on Anika reveals the horse-riding part of her nature, and her role as a defender, but not her identity as an Erebean Unicorn Maid. A similar check against Leyila reveals the dancing and Kehebite mysticism but not necessarily her identity as a Kehebite temple dancer.Knowledge: Law: TH 3 means the PC recognizes the children from, and has a basic knowledge of, the break-up of the paedophile ring of the year before. They may even know of the strange circumstances in which the children were rescued (TH 4). Note: PCs with a cop background gain an additional -2 modifier to the TH#; those with private investigator or lawyer backgrounds only gain an additional -1 modifier to the TH#.Knowledge: London: TH 4 means the PC recognizes the children from the news of the year before. Those who followed the news closely may even have a basic knowledge of, the break-up of the paedophile ring (TH 5) and the strange circumstances in which the children were rescued (TH 6). Note: PCs with a journalist background gain an additional -2 modifier to the TH#.Knowledge: Street: TH 4 means the PC recognizes the children from, and has a basic knowledge of, the break-up of the paedophile ring of the year before. They may even know of the strange circumstances in which the children were rescued (TH 5). Taking Note of the Area: means the PC notices they’ve attracted interest in the ‘shopping precinct’ and may take note of some ‘shady characters’ (Air—Senses: TH 4 to note one of the following: the LN7 operative reading a paper in the small coffee shop that doubles as a bakery opposite the park (Coffee Shop Guy); the LN7 operative walking her dog—including that she seems scared of the dog, a big German Shepherd (Dog Girl); or the two men sitting in the car in the street that borders the other side of the park looking in their London street directory—they’ve been sitting there since the PCs arrived in the park). The car pulls away as soon as the girls’ cars do, and follows one of them. Note: Any PC that looks intentionally for ‘anything that seems suspicious’ or people that seem suspicious, can make this roll with an a -1 modifier to the TH#.Following the Children or their Fathers Home: gives the PCs a chance to further note the involvement of LN7 and Gehenna operatives. If they are actively looking for anyone else who might be interested in the children, or their families, they might notice one of the above LN7 operatives (Coffee Shop Guy and Dog Girl) also traveling in the same direction they are (TH 3). In addition to this, the car in which the two men were studying their London street directory, follows the family cars when they pull away (TH 3). As they get closer to the house, the Gehenna Consortium car continues driving and the LN7 operative stops at a non-descript blue sedan and gets in. Before it can be approached, the car drives away. Coffee Shop Guy follows the Collins family, while Dog Girl follows the Andrews family. If they haven’t left already, the Gehenna Consortium operatives follow whichever of the families the PCs are tailing. On arrival at the Collins home, the PCs have a small chance of spotting the Servants of Set preparing for their attack (TH 6). If, for whatever reason, the PCs settle down to watch either of the families overnight, they later see the arrival of two police cars. If they remain, they are approached by four, highly suspicious police officers who ask them to move on. Non-compliance means that they are arrested and held overnight in the cells. Compliance means that they are openly followed and ‘observed’ overnight. The up side of this latter development is that they are cleared of any suspicion in the initial disappearance of the children and learn of it sooner.
June 4, 2017
Babes in London: Act One, Scene Two
This scene contains the first of the crunch—some monsters from Mythic Arabia.
A Note on Playtesting: There hasn’t been any—the GM I’d organised pulled out before I stopped writing, and there hasn’t been another. I’ve tried to gauge the balance using The Fire Within, but these things really need a playtest shakedown. If you have some experience in this system, go over these monsters and make any tweaks you deem necessary to ensure a balanced encounter. Feedback on the balance, here, would be greatly appreciated.
S CENE T WO: D RAGONS E NTWINED
…And the girls are gone. The park is gone. And Latham Road with its kirtle of close-packed houses and its shopping strip consisting of a milk bar and bakery, greengrocer, news agency and butcher shop is also gone. This has happened before, and it always seems for real, with memories and knowledge rising to the surface that are yours, and yet completely new. This time, you know you’ve come through a forest. And you came to ask a favour, but what it was, you can’t remember. The undergrowth that has impeded your progress for the last three days, has thinned, and you can see green-tinged sunshine signalling a clearing ahead. The elm trees surrounding the clearing are bigger than the ones at the park, and the round-a-bout has been replaced by a small mound. There are no children here, though. No, no children. Just two dragons reclining together, their heads raised as their emerald and sapphire eyes regard your surprise with gentle amusement. “We heard you were coming,” the great-clawed beast dragon says, “but we didn’t know it would take you so long to get here…” Somehow her words rankle, but there is a disturbance in the forest and a bird cries out in alarm. The beast dragon lifts her head, suddenly alert. One minute the golden scales and lithe form of the other dragon is there, and the next it has disappeared. Beside you, one of the elms utters a sigh: “Here we go again,” and unsheathes unexpected claws, sprouting a draconic head that glances at you with amber eyes. “They never give up,” it says, as it turns and lashes out at a blur of movement exploding from the undergrowth. There is a sickening crunch, and an oddly pungent odour fills the air. You’re not too sure what the clawed elm just hit, and there isn’t time to ask as more shapes emerge from the bushes.
Now is the time to ask the PCs to turn to the Alban descriptions for their dragons. When they are ready, roll initiative, and read or paraphrase the following accordingly:
Scorpions! You realize that you’d thought this was long over—that those you’d fought who had a link to scorpions were long dead. Your heart sinks—if the Servants of Set have risen once more… Then you realize that these aren’t the same scorpions. For a start these are blue, and they have riders, bloated creatures also blue-skinned, looking like wizened old men save for the talons that serve them as claws. You know who sent these… but the name won’t come to you, and the first of the scorpion-riding elder is preparing to attack. His mouth opens in a hideous battle grin, revealing rows of pointed teeth, and it launches itself towards you.
Blue Imps:Era Mythic Arabia; Race Supernatural being; APL 1; Init 8; Aspects Fire 5, Water 3, Air 3, Earth 4; Health 7m <3 / 3+ / 6+ / 9+ / 12+ / 15+ / 18+ / 21+; Size/Reach -2/0 ft.; Armor2; Karma 10; Karmic Range 2; Stride 5 ft. (Fast); Claws 6/L; Bite 4/L; Sequences Double Gut, Overhand Stabs, Flying ForkAgg F10/W1/A1/E1-Power + L Weapon Strike + Power + R Weapon Strike: Dmg +20Neut F5/W3/A3/E2 – L Weapon Strike + R Weapon Strike: Dmg +5Skills Athletics 5, Melee 5, Quickness 4, Senses 4, Stealth 5, Will 4Edges Daunting 3, Dervish 4, Follow-Through, Resilient 5, StealthyPowers Heir of the Storm 3 Witch’s Countenance 3Traits Fae
Blue Scorpion Mounts:Era Mythic; Race Supernatural animal; APL 1; Init 7; Aspects Fire 5, Water 3, Air 2, Earth 2; Health 2m <3 / 3+ / 6+ / 9+ / 12+ / 15+ / 18+ / 21+; Size/Reach -1/1 ft.; Armor 8; Karma 10; Karmic Range 2; Stride 13 ft. (Fast) Combat Pincer (2): 6/L; Stinger 8/M; Sequences NoneAgg F9/W3/A0/E0 – Grab + Press + Press + Stinger Neut F5/W3/A2/E2 – L Pincer + R Pincer + Press + PressDef F0/W8/A2/E2 – Dodgesequence Abilities Skills Athletics 4, Melee 5, Quickness 5, Stamina 4, Senses 4, Stealth 5; Edges Aggressive 2 (Melee), Durable, Rapid 3, Survivor 1; Powers Heir of the Storm 1;TraitsSpined, venomous
Imp & Scorpion Tactics: The imps have taken an aggressive stance and launch themselves from the backs of their mounts using their Flying Fork attack sequence. The scorpions attack until destroyed. The imps attempt to destroy the characters until only one of them is left alive. At this point, if it is able, the last imp activates a magical ring that returns it to its master in distant Arabia.
NPC Dragon Tactics: Assume there are enough imps and scorpions to keep the NPC dragons busy. The imps and scorpions listed here are for the PCs only.
Ending the Flashback: The flashback ends as soon as the last imp has been destroyed, or disappeared to report to his master. Once this happens, read or paraphrase the text in Act I, Scene III.
Note: These creatures won’t occur again, as they are a link to the next arc. For now, they serve to alert the characters to the minions of Set, who are the main focus of this arc, and they begin the groundwork for the next series of adventures.
Progress Report: Week 1, June 2017
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these. I’ve just been focused on getting a regular publishing schedule up and running, and making sure I complete my final year of university. I’m on mid-semester break, now, so this is the one time I can make sure I get that schedule to a point I don’t have to worry about it over second semester, or the exam period.
At the moment, I have everything written through to mid-November, but the publishing is only on track through to mid-July, so I have a bit of work to do to keep that running smoothly. The goal, for this week, is to complete the publishing through to the end of July, and make a start on August. August is going to take some work. I have one 100,000-word novel, and two collections that I want to put out that month, and those are major editing and formatting tasks, even if they are already written. I’ll just have to see how it goes.In addition to that, I have the writing to keep up with. Going by estimated word count, I should have finished the second release for November, but it needs about 4,000 more words, which means I’m aiming at finishing that this week. The early December project will take a little longer; it probably needs around 20,000 more words. Once that’s done, the pressure’s off for next semester—except for class prep, assignments and exams—and, at that point, I can start working towards being a full six months ahead on things. I have a lot of writing to do, which is a good thing, given the way the job market is, at the moment. Going full-time at this is starting to look like the way forward, even with my qualifications.End of May TotalsNew words produced: 11,057Outlines and Notes: 4,546Works completed: 0Works edited: 4Covers created: 4Works published: 4Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 18,584 (year to May)University Prep and Assignments: 3,168June ProgressNew words produced: 11,203Outlines and Notes: 889Works completed: 1Works edited: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 24,626University Prep and Assignments: N/A
Writing NewsThis week I completed Army Boots and Stilettos the YA novel scheduled for release in October, and almost completed the first-round edit of Freeman’s Choice , a science-fiction-fantasy novel, scheduled for release in August.June-July Challenge: Babes in LondonI started work on this on June 1st, as scheduled. After looking over the project, I decided it was going to need more time than I’d allotted, but that it could still be completed inside my break. To be honest, I really wanted to get a jump on a few of the other projects coming due before December, but there is only so many times things can be put off. This project will be worked through to completion with a July 31st deadline.
I needed to give the project more time, because I hadn’t been able to go over it prior to starting, and it had lain fallow for quite some time. I also needed to re-familiarise with the rules as I went. Giving the project more time meant I could do both, but it also meant I needed to change how I fit it into my daily routine. Instead of a straight 2,000 words, I gave it an allotment of either two hours a day, or 2,000 words, whichever came first. This means I won’t fall behind on my other commitments, but I will still complete this little monster within the assigned time-frame.
So far, it has received a solid two hours of time every day. This will change over the coming week, as I finish the revision, and start writing again.
Editing has led to a few word changes, and a couple of spots of revision:Act One, Preparation: I added a note on maps – basically, there aren’t any. GMs are going to have make their own from the descriptions. I also made some changes to preparing for the PC dragons appearing in Scene Two, allowing for different alternate forms, rather than assuming everyone would choose human ones, and suggested quick play dragons that can be personalised later for last-minute new PCs.Act One, Scene Two: adjusted the APL on the imps and their mounts.Act One through Act Three, Scene 1B:edited, with minor adjustments.
All completed scenes have been added to the blog roster, but I've been trying to keep the chunks to a readable length, so you'll be catching up over the next few weeks. The plan is to be able to add the new writing as soon as it's done so you don't have to wait for it. Ingress UpdatesNothing new to report.PokemonGo UpdatesNothing new to reportOtherWorked my way through my started titles and roughed out a publishing schedule to cover the next few years.
June 3, 2017
Babes in London: Act One, Preparation and Scene One
A Note on Maps: I haven’t made any, but I have provided descriptions. You will need to create your own maps prior to play.
A CT O NE: C HILDREN I N T HE P ARK
Preparation:
For All Scenes: Create any necessary maps from the descriptions provided, prior to play.For Scene 1: Familiarize yourself with the playground and its surrounds.For Scene 2: All players should be acquainted with their dragon forms by now. They should also have nominated the form, or forms, they can take using the Alternate Form power. If you have a new player, you should take time to work out their draconic form prior to play. If they have not, and you don’t want to spoil the surprise, nominate an appropriate form for the mythic land of Albion (last mythic epoch) that the player can incorporate into their draconic description later. You might also wish to have some quick-play dragon stats they can choose from prior to the session, which can be personalised later. The PCs, at this point in the mythic age, have been searching for the Seer of Cathach and found her. They have wended their way through the forest in an alternate form that disguises their true identities and which makes it easier to move along narrow trails or through thick undergrowth—because the Seer’s representatives requested they go incognito. When the scene starts they are in their alternate forms.For Scene 3: Make sure you are familiar with the NPCs, and the possible paths the PCs might follow.
Rewards: A list of potential rewards is given at the end of this Act. However, these should act as a guide or baseline, and any additional rewards should be noted during play so they can also be awarded.
SCENE ONE: THE PARK
In their search for the Serpent’s Torc, the PCs have learned the Seer of Cathach can give them the clues they need in order to discover its whereabouts. The person they consulted regarding the Seer’s location has sent them to this park in the south of London. Read or paraphrase the following when they arrive:
22-90 Latham Road is a park. You can tell it’s a park because there are swings, a graffitied picnic table with bench seats, a climbing frame, a jungle gym with a slide, a see-saw, and a worn-looking round-a-bout. The grass is longer than it should be, and a small public toilet block stands off to one side. Elm trees provide a rim of shade. Not surprisingly, the park is empty—save for two young girls sitting on the edge of the round-a-bout. Their heads are bent together as they whisper to each other but, occasionally, they glance warily at their surroundings. One of these glances falls on you and suddenly you find yourself under the joint gaze of eyes blue as sapphires and green as an emerald star. The air around you shimmers.
June 2, 2017
Babes in London: Hmmm, I’m Glad I’ve Given This More Time…
…because I just might need it. I’ve come across a couple of points that need tweaking. For instance, the Alternate Form power in dragons is limited by levels in that power, which means I need to reword Scene Two in Act One.
Also, I’m trying to do the crunchy bits as I go along. More backgrounds, more powers, more… stuff. I knew it was there, but I’d been ignoring it in favour of getting the story ‘done’. Well, that will add a few more words. Now, let me go over the Preparation section, one more time…
I’ll put it up, tomorrow.
Fireborn: Gamemaster's Handbook
Fireborn: Player's HandbookNew Release: The Stars to Guide
The Stars to Guide , is now available on Smashwords, DriveThruFiction, Amazon-Kindle, and via Draft2Digital distribution. This science fiction short story is deals with the themes of loss and hope and the birth of a dream.
When the stars told me my father would not return, my life changed—and my mother was not amused.
June 1, 2017
Babes in London: For Those Who’ve Played The Fire Within
There is an official adventure for the Fireborn setting called The Fire Within . It has been designed for PCs who don’t know of their previous existence as dragons, and contains stat blocks that will be useful for those running Babes in London. You can source it from DriveThruRPG.
A Note on Existing Stat Blocks: I will not be reproducing any material that can be found in a published product, as that would be a breach of copyright. You will need the published products to access these. All are available from DriveThruRPG.
Fireborn: Player's Handbook
Fireborn: Gamemaster's HandbookNow, that that’s out of the way, here are the notes that might help in incorporating characters who’ve played The Fire Within, and including their past experiences, into this adventure arc.
If the PCs have played ‘The Fire Within’
Learning of the Seer of Cathach: If the group has played The Fire Within module, they have heard of the Seer of Cathach from Emblae (The Fire Within, 2004:36-37). How he conveys this information to them depends on you, the GM. He may have ‘heard it in a dream’ or he may remember meeting her and retell the meeting as a dream when asked by them.Dealing with the Gehenna Consortium: If the group is currently being patroned by the Gehenna Consortium, the PCs are the operatives in the park. They will be protecting Alice McIntyre as she searches the area for the ‘source of power’ the Consortium has detected in the area. Alice will not participate in any flashback scenes unless otherwise specified. PCs will still be drawn into the investigation by the police, and the Consortium instructs them to follow the game in play to its conclusion before delivering the children and their families into its hands.Dealing with LN7: If the group has been given a ‘friendly’ assessment at the end of The Fire Within, the LN7 operative assigned to them will also be in the coffee shop, but at a different table to Newspaper Guy. This operative is not interested in the children, only in the PCs; he, or she, has no contact with the other LN7 operatives in the area. If the group has been given a ‘neutral’ assessment at the end of The Fire Within, the fact that they are near the girls the night before they disappear will be enough for them to earn the ‘containment required’ designation. If they earn ‘containment required’ or have already been assigned the label, LN7 will put the pieces in place and spring an ambush to capture the PCs once they have reunited the families. If the PCs end up working for LN7 during the scenario, and perform satisfactorily, the ‘containment required’ designation may be downgraded to ‘neutral’ or even ‘friendly’. If the PCs end up working for LN7 during the scenario but continue to display the behaviours that earned them the containment designation in the first place, then the ambush will go ahead as before and PCs have earned entry to the adventure series titled Designation: Containment Required.
May 31, 2017
Babes in London: From the Beginning… Again
Part of the process will be to go back over each part of the adventure, give it another edit, and see if it needs any tweaks I missed because I was too close to the project to notice. In a published adventure, there are usually a few neat things before this, such as an overview of the modules and rewards, but I’m leaving them out until I’ve finished they can be completed—which, of course, is around the time the adventure is completed. Look for them at the end of the process.
Background:
In the mythic age, the rise of taint led to madness amongst those of the race of dragons, and a rift between these and other creatures of the age. While entire broods lost their souls and minds to the insinuating evil, other broods escaped and began to research how the threat might be defeated. One such brood was known as the Lawgiver’s Brood.Led by a dragon who had been known to take the form an Albion druid, an Atlantean lawgiver, and an Erebean Unicorn Maid, the brood also included a powerful seer known as the Seer of Cathach in Albion, the Lady of the Bower in Arcadia, and Shefru, Temple Dancer of Prophecy, in Keheb. It was this seer who learned that the main form of salvation for the dragons would be in magical items that would prolong their resistance to taint until such a time as the means of taint’s destruction could be found. To this end, the brood used the talents of one of its members, Havram the Gardner, to delve into the secrets of the plants, and to create places of karmic refuge, while another of its members, Lewistrom the Smith sought finer methods of crafting in which to incorporate the magic of the last member of the brood, Shillealagh.Their research led the brood throughout the world, traveling along the leylines, and exploring the pooled power to be found where such lines met. In Keheb, it led them into direct conflict with the cult whose members called themselves the Servants of Set. In time, their conflict led to the cult sending assassins after them until they could find no peace in which to follow their research—or they would have found no peace if it hadn’t been for another small brood of dragons, the PCs’ brood, which happened to be in the right place at the right time.Having encountered the cult, this brood set itself the task of eliminating the cult from the land, enabling the Lawgiver’s brood to return to its research. What items the Lawgiver’s brood discovered, and whether or not it had begun down a path that would lead to the final destruction of taint is unknown, for magic was bled from the world before the brood members had decided to share what they had found.Now, like all dragons, the brood has been reborn and its members are slowly waking to discover their human form contains more than the fantasies of a child.Of the five members of the Lawgiver’s Brood, Anika Lawgiver (now Collins) was a toddler when magic swept into the world. She has just reached seven years of age. The Seer of Cathach has been reborn as Leyila Andrews, currently a lonely ten-year-old prone to daydreams, and Lewistrom the Smith has only recently returned and reached the grand old age of two. These three live in the city of London, and have only just begun to discover who, and what, they are. The two remaining members of the brood, Shillealagh and Havram the Gardener, do not appear in the modern age of this adventure sequence and their present forms are yet to be revealed.Anika has always had an overblown sense of fairness, and the stubbornness of will to see that justice is done. Some of the things she came out with as a three-year old were far beyond her years, but nothing to compare to what she has been coming up with lately. You see, Anika is writing her own Book of Law—and living by it.It was not until she started school, that she discovered the presence of a girl that drew her like no one else—an older child, Leyila Andrews. They are strong friends, and almost inseparable when not in class. The depth of their friendship sometimes worries their parents, but its depth is put down to an incident that happened a year ago.Leyila was being stalked by a strange, but friendly, woman that she met in the children’s reading group at the local library. At first it was nothing sinister, but then Leyila noticed the woman would sometimes be walking in the park at the same time as she and Anika were playing there, and that the lady always had something for them. Usually it was sweets, but sometimes it was a trinket, or the name of a particularly good book that she was willing to lend.Leyila began to sense something was wrong, and Anika noticed that the favours she and her friend received were never extended to the other children in the reading group.So it was, that when the woman called them over to her car, one day, by waving a book she had promised to lend Leyila, the seer experienced a foreshadowing of gloom. She hesitated, and the woman became impatient. At the same time, a man who had been walking his dog, around and around the park, began to move towards them.Lawgiver that she had been, and prone to noticing the little things that didn’t add up, Anika reacted. Knowing they’d be caught before they could reach the safety of their homes, Anika dragged Leyila towards the park’s public toilets, hoping to lock them in safely, until their parents came looking.What transpired when the girls weren’t able to lock the cubicle door is not known, but the man’s dog refused to enter, and the noises coming out of the toilet block were enough for nearby residents to call the police. When the police arrived, Anika was standing near the man, who was lying on the floor. Every time he moved, she kicked him. The woman was huddled in a corner unable to take her eyes off Leyila.Neither child seemed to have suffered more than a nasty fright and a bad bout of temper, but the grown-ups they had cornered were terrified. The children said the two adults had tried to force them into the car, and, were interviewed before being delivered to their parents. Police investigations then found that the man and woman were part of a paedophile ring, and that the children had had a lucky escape.Since that time, Leyila and Anika have been inseparable, with the younger child taking her lessons in Leyila’s classroom and only leaving Leyila’s company to go home with her parents. Both the school and parents have put this strange attachment down to the trauma of the attack, but the parents are now having second thoughts. Such a close friendship can’t be natural, they reason, and so moves have begun to separate the pair.It was the job in Australia that became the catalyst for this adventure sequence. Leyila’s mother found employment in Melbourne, and her father was offered employment with the same company, with the company also agreeing to cover the cost of moving to Australia. The parents plan to leave for their new home at the end of the month.At the beginning of this sequence, the two girls have decided to run away together, especially now they have located a third member of their brood. Their parents are worried since the pair have been ducking school for a purpose they refuse to explain—in truth, the girls have been looking for a place to hide out in, while they spy on Lewistrom the Smith (now Lewistrom Beam) and his mother. The PCs, meantime, have been looking for an item they remember from their horde. It comes in the shape of a torc made up of the entwined bodies of serpents rendered in silver, platinum, bronze, copper and gold. Its other distinguishing feature is an oak leaf made up of alternating pieces of ruby and emerald in a setting that locks and unlocks in the middle, and which connects the heads. All the PCs can remember is placing the item in the care of the Seer of Cathach, but where she is, what she was, and where she might be now is beyond them. The only clue the PCs have to Seer’s whereabouts is that she frequents this park and children’s playground.
* * * Well, that's all until tomorrow. So far, so good. Happy gaming, all.
Babes in London: So, This is the Plan…
If you remember, on April 9, this year, I promised you some words on this project – 10,000 over the first five days of June, to be exact. So, here’s how it’s going to work. I’ve started a day early, because I haven’t laid eyes on this beast for over a month, and I want to do it justice. It will be sharing time with the publishing and editing that has to happen for the rest of the year, but it will be the first thing that gets worked on at writing time each day.
I won’t be posting what I write on the day I write it, but I will be re-posting the adventure throughout the month. This is because I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going to stop working on it at the end of 10,000 words; I’m going to finish it during the semester break. I’ll keep posting the adventure in small chunks until you have all of it. It’s going to be interspersed by writing news and other things, but it will be there, and I’ll put a consolidated list of previous links at the end of each day’s instalment.
For those of you not sure what I’m waffling on about, Babes in London is an adventure I started writing for Fantasy Flight Games’ Fireborn RPG setting. I was hoping to be able to submit a proposal to the company, but they don’t do unsolicited submissions, so I decided I’d continue working on the adventure as a fan – because I am, and because the setting is quite challenging to write to, which, coupled with the premise, the new mechanics and the story potential, just makes it fun.
Before you ask, no, this adventure is not sanctioned in any way, shape or form by Fantasy Flight. It is not an official product, and I am in no way affiliated with them or they with me. There is no relationship between us. This adventure is mine, for fun, and for you, because some of you asked me to finish it.
Also, if you like this adventure and want to play it, please go buy the official rulebooks from somewhere where the original creators and publisher of the setting will be paid. I got mine from a Melbourne game store, but I’ve found PDF versions of the Player's Handbook and the Gamemaster's Handbook are now available from DriveThruFiction. If you enjoy their world, this is the best way to thank them.
And that’s all from me, until tomorrow. Happy gaming, all, and may your dice be kind.
I won’t be posting what I write on the day I write it, but I will be re-posting the adventure throughout the month. This is because I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going to stop working on it at the end of 10,000 words; I’m going to finish it during the semester break. I’ll keep posting the adventure in small chunks until you have all of it. It’s going to be interspersed by writing news and other things, but it will be there, and I’ll put a consolidated list of previous links at the end of each day’s instalment.
For those of you not sure what I’m waffling on about, Babes in London is an adventure I started writing for Fantasy Flight Games’ Fireborn RPG setting. I was hoping to be able to submit a proposal to the company, but they don’t do unsolicited submissions, so I decided I’d continue working on the adventure as a fan – because I am, and because the setting is quite challenging to write to, which, coupled with the premise, the new mechanics and the story potential, just makes it fun.
Before you ask, no, this adventure is not sanctioned in any way, shape or form by Fantasy Flight. It is not an official product, and I am in no way affiliated with them or they with me. There is no relationship between us. This adventure is mine, for fun, and for you, because some of you asked me to finish it.
Also, if you like this adventure and want to play it, please go buy the official rulebooks from somewhere where the original creators and publisher of the setting will be paid. I got mine from a Melbourne game store, but I’ve found PDF versions of the Player's Handbook and the Gamemaster's Handbook are now available from DriveThruFiction. If you enjoy their world, this is the best way to thank them.
And that’s all from me, until tomorrow. Happy gaming, all, and may your dice be kind.
May 17, 2017
Pre-Release: Just a Dinosaur
My speculative (meaning: dark-urban-bushland-setting-fantasy-science-fiction-touched-by-horror) short story,
Just a Dinosaur
, is now available for pre-order on Smashwords and Amazon-Kindle.
The legends hinted at some kind of dinosaur. Oliver hoped it was a new species, and he had Nate believing him. Together, they hope to circumvent the prohibitions of intruding on a sacred site, to prove the creature existed—and all without their boss, and Nate’s lover, finding out. What exactly lies behind the legends—and, more importantly, will they be able to reveal it to the world?
The legends hinted at some kind of dinosaur. Oliver hoped it was a new species, and he had Nate believing him. Together, they hope to circumvent the prohibitions of intruding on a sacred site, to prove the creature existed—and all without their boss, and Nate’s lover, finding out. What exactly lies behind the legends—and, more importantly, will they be able to reveal it to the world?
