Tyler F.M. Edwards's Blog, page 10

Song of the Month: Chvrches, Violent Delights

My initial impression of Chvrches’ fourth album was a little lukewarm, but overtime it has grown on me. I still wouldn’t rank it in the same category as Love Is Dead or The Bones of What You Believe (which I’d rate as “masterpieces”), but I have developed an appreciation for its brooding flavour. Seeing the songs performed live helped a lot — they work much better in a darkened club.

While Lauren says Screen Violence was not intended as a “horror concept album,” it does have a decidedly spooky bent, so going back to it felt like the perfect choice for October.

Defiance of the East, a Fan-Made Expansion for Lord of the Rings LCG

The Red Book of Westmarch speaks little of the Easterlings, and describes them only as enemies of the West. Indeed many among them were of wicked disposition, their hearts clouded by the evil of Mordor.

But there were those among them who resisted. A few among them rejected the rule of Sauron and the worship of Melkor. Guided by the mentorship of the Blue Wizards, they conducted a secret war through many long years, weakening the armies of the Eastrons from within. Great was their suffering, and their sacrifices, their courage unrecorded in the lays of the West.

Defiance of the East – Fan-made Player Card Expansion

Over the past year or so, I’ve become quite a fan of Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. Being me, this inevitably led me down the road of creating custom content, the game already having a thriving fan content community thanks to the efforts of A Long Extended Party and other creators.

My inspiration came from the Harad player card archetype featured in the game’s Haradrim cycle. I loved the idea of exploring one of Middle-Earth’s cultures traditionally viewed as an enemy and giving voice to those among them who rejected Sauron’s rule. It’s a great way to modernize and diversify the setting while respecting the original lore.

I thought it would be a wonderful idea to do the same for the other big faction of Men under Sauron’s rule, the Easterlings. But with the game in functional maintenance mode with no new content planned, it seemed unlikely the developers would fill this gap. Thus, I took it upon myself to explore the idea of a player Easterling archetype.

I envisioned a hidden resistance movement, sabotaging Sauron’s forces in the East and eventually revealing themselves in a glorious final stand during the War of the Ring.

I created twenty new cards, including four heroes, enough to build a full deck of Easterling characters, provided you flesh it out with a few cards from the official pool (I recommend Valiant Sacrifice). The cards have been play-tested (in true solo only so far) and already gone through a few rounds of adjustments to get the balance right.

The link in the header above contains all cards, including versions with extra bleed for easier printing. Art was found via Google image search. I’ve done my best to credit the original artists on all of the cards, but there’s a few I couldn’t track down a source for. Those are listed as “unknown” – if anyone knows the original artists for those, let me know, and I’ll add them.

When it comes to mechanics, I wanted to explore themes of resilience and sacrifice. I drew inspiration from the Dunedain archetype and the Survivor class in the Arkham Horror LCG and developed a theme around resisting or even benefiting from treachery cards. There’s also a sub-theme of sacrificial allies.

The archetype is designed with true solo play in mind, as its how I usually play and fits the themes of an isolated resistance movement. Throwing all those treacheries out could be troublesome for your allies in multiplayer. That said, multiplayer should still be possible with careful planning; the Courage Unrecorded event allows you to protect your allies from Treachery effects while still gaining their benefits.

Having now played with the Easterling deck a few times, I’ve found it does present a unique feel compared to the game’s other archetypes. The Easterlings tend to boast weak stats, but their emphasis on direct damage and progress allow them to overcome this seeming disadvantage. Their Falcons and Messengers clear locations with ease, while their Martyrs can tear through powerful foes at the cost of their own lives, especially when the Easterlings find their Rebellion Unmasked.

The way these mechanics side-step usual obstacles like threat and defense scores reinforces the idea that this is a hidden movement working behind the scenes. Meanwhile, their cheap allies, strong economy, and heavy recursion allow them to easily recover from setbacks, capturing their resilience in the face of impossible odds.

If anyone does end up playing with these cards, do let me know your experience. I’d love to hear any feedback you may have.

Wyrd Street Tease: Quicksilver War Battlemaps

When Wyrd Street launches next month, its Quicksilver War campaign will feature an extensive collection of custom digital battlemaps created in Inkarnate by me and my co-writer, Shu.

While we wait for the launch, let’s take a look at some of the maps you’ll encounter as you adventure through the slums.

This is the first map you’ll encounter in the campaign, a snowy country road in early spring.

Once you arrive in the city of Morhold, you’ll embark on many Jobs to support your Loved Ones. This map comes from an early Job called The Haunting of Redmund House.

This is the central square of the Bala Enclave. A massive Mother Tree towers over the plaza — it took me some doing to figure out how to present the canopy without obscuring the grid. Opacity settings to the rescue!

This is just a small sampling of the maps you’ll encounter in the Quicksilver War campaign. Nearly every major dungeon crawl and combat encounter has a custom map, and when the game launches in November, you’ll be able to see them all.

Song of the Month: Zipper Club, Going the Distance

I was having a bit of trouble picking a song for this month… so I just scrolled through my music file until something caught my eye. This band has the advantage of being at the very end of the list and therefore standing out a bit.

Near as I can tell, Zipper Club only ever released a handful of songs several years ago and then just… vanished off the face of the Earth.

Rather a shame. Based on this, they had potential.

Wyrd Street Launches November 7th

Just a quick update to let you know we’ve locked in a release date for Wyrd Street, my indie TTRPG. The PDF versions of all three books will launch on Monday, November 7th. Mark your calendars!

For more info, including a tease of the campaign guide cover, check out the latest update on our IndieGoGo campaign.

Also on the subject of RPGs, my Demonic Bloodline subclass for 5E has now earned its copper best-seller badge on Dungeon Masters Guild. If you’re in the mood to try something new with your sorcerer, check out this uniquely volatile and dangerous subclass, and unleash the fury of the Abyss.

Wyrd Street: Iconic Characters Wallpaper

Things are a bit quiet on the Wyrd Street front this month as I deal with some personal stuff, but this was expected, and we’re still on track for launch.

While we wait, here’s a bit of a treat. All of the character art for the nine Iconic Characters of the Quicksilver War campaign has been completed, and I’ve put together a wallpaper with all of them.

I’ll be ready to announce a release date for Wyrd Street soon. Expect it to be before the end of the year.

Rings of Power Is Off to a Poor Start

I had a lot of skepticism going into Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings series, The Rings of Power, based on some truly bizarre plot leaks (at least some of which have now been confirmed) and a lot of cringe-worthy quotes by the showrunners.

Still, I would really like more good Middle-Earth content, so I tried my best to keep an open mind. Going in, I had the feeling it wouldn’t be very faithful to Tolkien, but it would at least be an entertaining fantasy adventure series.

Unfortunately, so far it’s not even living up that standard.

I was right that it’s not faithful to Tolkien’s writings. Galadriel has had her backstory and motivations altered so radically she’s essentially a completely new character. Meanwhile Durin is being portrayed as just another Dwarf, with so far no mention of his past lives or great significance to the Dwarven people.

But perhaps more importantly, it’s just not that interesting of a show so far.

The pacing is glacial, for one thing. Now I know a lot of people will say that’s also true of Tolkien’s original writings, and that’s technically accurate, but the depth and beauty of Tolkien’s writing carries it through. Rings of Power doesn’t have that same skill in its story-telling that allows the slow pace to work.

There are a lot of moments that clearly attempt to emulate the beauty and heart of Tolkien’s legendarium, but the writing isn’t strong enough to deliver, resulting in a lot of pseudo-spiritual babble that doesn’t actually mean anything. See Finrod’s word-salad about boats and rocks.

The acting is mostly competent, but none of it’s quite good enough to cover up how dull the writing is.

There’s a number of mysteries introduced by the show, but I find them more frustrating than anything. There’s a new character whose identity is a big question mark, and the show spends all of his scenes telegraphing that he’s either Gandalf or Sauron in extremely blatant ways. Obviously he can’t be both, so half of his scenes exist just to be unsubtle red herrings, and gods know how long it will be before we know which half. It’s one of the most transparent attempts to string along an audience I’ve ever seen, and after just two episodes, I’m already utterly exhausted by it.

But perhaps my biggest issue is that the version of Galadriel they present is an absolute blithering idiot. Her entire story so far consists of nothing but suicidally stupid decisions, and the only reason she survives the first two episodes is because she has impenetrable plot armour.

(None of this is an indictment of Morfydd Clark, who is doing the best she can with the meager hand she was dealt. From what I’ve seen of her in interviews, she seems like an incredibly sweet person, and I don’t want to direct any hate toward her. Honestly, she deserved better.)

So far, the only plot in the show I find myself at all invested in is that of Bronwyn and the other people living in what will eventually be Mordor. Maybe because it’s a blank slate and thus free of expectation, but it’s the only part of the show that’s held my attention so far.

Rings of Power has not yet reached the irredeemable depths of something like the last season of Picard, but what we’ve seen so far doesn’t give much cause for optimism. Simply put, it’s just kind of boring.

Of course, much of the controversy around Rings of Power so far has centred around its racial and gender politics, because absolutely everything has to turn into a culture war brawl these days. I gave serious thought to simply not addressing it all because I’m so tired of it, but I’d like to try and present a nuanced take on the issue, as nuance is pretty lacking in most of the discussions I’ve seen.

First of all, I have no respect for those who are offended by the very concept of black people existing in Middle-Earth. The one change to Tolkien’s work that is definitely worthwhile is trying to improve the diversity of the setting. I don’t feel that Tolkien himself was a particularly bigoted or hateful person at heart, but he was a product of his time and culture, and elements of his work do not hold up well in a modern context.

But that doesn’t mean Rings of Power is approaching it the right way.

For all the wailing and gnashing of teeth over how excessively “woke” the show is, the actual number of people of colour appearing in it is very small, and the cast is still overwhelmingly white. I’ve noticed that the extras in crowd shots are mostly, if not entirely, Caucasian, and that all combines to make the few PoC on the cast really stand out. To me it makes them feel like tokens rather than a genuine effort to diversify the setting.

A cynical part of me wonders if they just threw in a few PoC knowing it would make the racists rage so that they could then write off all criticism of the show as rooted in bigotry and nothing else. I know that’s the narrative I’ve seen advanced by most vocal fans of the show.

The frustrating thing is that there are already entire cultures of PoC in Tolkien’s writing, and Rings of Power is completely ignoring them. I don’t know if the people of the newly invented realm of “Tirharad” are meant to be related to the people of Harad, so I can’t say if making them mostly pale-skinned is technically white-washing, but it definitely feels like it. Regardless of whether the people of Tirharad are related to the Haradrim, Rings of Power is ignoring a culture that would have allowed them to massively increase the diversity of the cast while also exploring an underdeveloped part of the lore.

I’m similarly disappointed by the missed opportunities in Galadriel’s story. I’m not upset by the show presenting her as a military leader (and those who are betray the fact they don’t actually know Middle-Earth’s history very well at all), but I am very bothered the fact they’ve written her family out of the story. I think it would have been a much bigger win for feminism if Rings of Power had depicted Galadriel as a badass warrior and a loving wife and mother.

The more time goes on, the more I appreciate how special Continuum was…

(To be fair, Bronwyn does feel like she’s embodying this concept at least a little bit, but that just further raises the question of why Galadriel couldn’t get the same treatment.)

My point is this: I think Rings of Power holding up ideals of diversity and feminism would be a good thing, but I don’t believe it’s actually doing that. I think it’s paying lip service to those concepts in a cynical attempt to profit off our current culture war.

And that really tells you a lot about what kind of show it is. It covers itself in the trappings of Tolkien’s timeless stories of hope and heroism, but it’s only skin deep.

Wyrd Street Tease: Dr. Zuberi Mbogo, the Quack

And so we come to it at last: The great battle of our time The final Iconic Character preview prior to Wyrd Street’s launch.

Zuberi Mbogo grew up in the Firstborn settlements of the Rusty Peaks. Heirs of the very first few humans, the Firstborn value knowledge and self-improvement, and this legacy helped Zuberi become a capable and caring physician.

But what began as a happy life became dogged by tragedy. He lost his wife as she gave birth to their daughter, Subira. Then came the Divine Legion, and the war.

Zuberi fled the conflict and found a new home in Morhold, but life in the city has been a struggle for him and his now-teenaged daughter. Still, he makes the best of things, and he tries to give back to his new home, operating a nameless clinic in the alleys south of Wyrd Street that offers treatment to all, with no questions asked.

While the wealthy of the city look down on Zuberi as a “Quack,” he does the important work of providing care to those with nowhere else to turn.

Like Vigilantes, Quacks are one of the two classes in Wyrd Street to have distinct subclasses, so there is a bit of symmetry to ending this series of teasers here. Specifically, level one Quacks must choose to become either a Chemist or an Anatomist.

Chemists are a support-oriented build that prefers to fight from range. Anatomists can also do some healing and buffing, but where they really excel is damage. Their knowledge of anatomy allows them to deliver devastating blows with just a simple knife.

There are other differences between the subclasses, as well. While neither subclass can regenerate focus very well, Chemists have access to a much larger maximum pool of focus — but unlike Anatomists, they struggle to contribute once their focus has run out.

Another unique feature of Quacks is their systems of concoctions and delivery systems. Many Quack abilities come in the form of alchemical concoctions, but the precise nature and effect of these abilities is determined by the delivery system chosen to enact them.

To use an easy example, Restorative Concoction is used to heal, but how it heals depends on the delivery system. Injection provides strong healing to a single target within melee range, Aerosol delivers weaker healing in an area from a distance, and Dart applies the Renewal Boon, with provides slow healing over time.

All Quacks have access to the Injection delivery system from level one. Aerosol is unlocked later on, and Dart is a unique perk of the Chemist subclass. Both subclasses eventually gain access to all three possible concoctions: Restorative, Corrosive, and Stimulating.

At higher levels, Quacks dabble in increasingly dangerous and untested methodology. Experimental Resucitation provides a boost of healing to a downed ally and is one of the only abilities in the game to restore Vitality as well as health.*

*(Side effects may include bleeding, the Sickened Affliction, and hiccups. Consult your Quack before use.)

Or if you really want to gamble, you can inflict an Overdose on a friend or foe. Overdose provides multiple strong buffs to a character for one round… before causing massive poison damage and inflicting the Sickened Affliction for the remainder of the encounter.

If the stars align just right for you, you could have an ally stun a powerful foe, Overdose them, have a Heretic possess them and use their buffs to devastate your opponents, then leave your foe severely injured and debilitated as the stun, possession, and Overdose all end.

If your GM complains about this strategy, you didn’t hear it from me…

Helpful and inventive, the Quacks of Wyrd Street make the best of any hand they’re dealt, just as Zuberi has.

As the game’s launch approaches, more and more art is being completed, and I’m proud to unveil the completed character art for Zuberi, as it will appear in the rulebook.

Wyrd Street is scheduled to launch before the end of the year.

Song of the Month: Soccer Mommy, Feel It All the Time

As hinted at a few months ago, I did get around to checking out more of Soccer Mommy’s music, and she does indeed have a fair bit of good stuff. Haven’t gone through her whole catalogue yet, but so far this is my favourite:

I appreciate the Magic card video, though it bothers me this is an instant with power/toughness values.

Wyrd Street Tease: Burning Grin, the Scoundrel

As summer marches on and progress continues on completing the game, we come to our penultimate deep-dive on one of Wyrd Street’s Iconic Characters.

Known informally in my own mind as “Lakota Batman,” the Plainsfolk orphan Burning Grin has endured a hard life. Following the murder of his parents, he grew up on the streets of Morhold, enduring trials that forged him into a true survivor.

Now that he’s an adult, he has come to find a home for himself in the city that once took everything from him. The people of Wyrd Street have welcomed him as one of their own; he has found a friend in the blacksmith and fellow Plainsfolk Sings to Iron, and a lover in the Tiahnese renegade Bing Li.

The fires of mythical beasts still run hot in the veins of the Plainsfolk, and Burning Grin earns his name from the subtle flames that flicker across his teeth. To his friends, that smile holds warmth and fellowship. For those who would exploit the innocent, that blazing grin is a source of terror, and sometimes the last thing they see.

As I have said before elsewhere, all of Wyrd Street’s classes started as “discount” versions of traditional fantasy classes, and they’re named accordingly. Quack instead of Alchemist, Street Preacher instead of Priest. But here’s a fun fact: I gave very serious thought to keeping the rogue-equivalent as just “Rogue,” and to be honest I’m still not sure that isn’t the way I should have gone. When you think about it, rogue is the one traditional fantasy archetype that can be translated to Wyrd Street’s setting with no changes and not feel out of place.

Thus, it is perhaps not surprising that Scoundrels are pretty much what you’d expect from the archetype. They’re good at sneaking, stabbing, and getting into places where they’re not supposed to be.

That’s not to say they’re entirely vanilla. As I said in my deep-dive on the focus mechanic, Scoundrels have a unique relationship with focus, with rapid regeneration but a low cap, encouraging them to use their most powerful abilities early and often.

Unlike rogues in many other games, Scoundrels are not limited to being purely glass cannons. They can certainly go that route, but they can also be built as capable tanks.

Lacking a high health pool or access to strong armour, Scoundrels instead rely on active abilities to avoid or mitigate damage. By choosing Polearm Expert and Riposte at level one, a Scoundrel can get an early start on surviving enemies, with both abilities allowing the Scoundrel to reduce the damage of incoming attacks. Their mitigation only grows with time, and by late game, they can withstand a truly incredible amount of punishment.

If you want do want to instead go the glass cannon route, Scoundrels excel at “death by a thousand cuts” assaults. This is exemplified by their level one ability Flurry, which allows them to make three Strikes with their weapon as a single action.

And of course, you don’t have to go all the way to one extreme or the other. You can choose a mix of offensive and defensive abilities to create a Scoundrel who is both deadly and resilient.

One other unique feature of Scoundrels makes them stand out. They are the only class with a single choice of ability at level ten. My first ability concept was both so perfect for their flavour and so powerful I knew nothing could ever compete with it.

Relentless Frenzy puts the Scoundrel under the effects of a virtually permanent version of the Frenzy Boon, granting them an extra action or response every round.

Quicker than thought, bold as flame, the Scoundrel is the ideal class for Burning Grin.

Wyrd Street is scheduled to release later this year.