Savage Worlds Adventure Edition Kickstarter!

Click here to go straight to the Kickstarter!

With the new Savage Worlds Adventure Edition Kickstarter in full swing, I thought I'd chat a bit about my introduction to the system.

Let's take a journey back to May, 2012.

I was in the waning months of a 3 1/2 year long D&D Ravenloft/Planescape weekly online campaign that had started in 3.5 and transitioned quickly to 4E. Our party level was in the high 20's, and I had promised from the get go a full 1st to 30th experience. It was a wonderful experience, but I could tell that several members of our group were burning out a bit on the 4E system mechanics. 

Personally, I was burning out on D&D as a whole.

I really wanted to try something different...

Really, really different!

More specifically, I wanted to explore something either a steampunk or dieselpunk. One of my favorite settings of all time is FASA's Crimson Skies. I love the video games, and love the miniatures game even more. I had painfully crafted a conversion to D20 Modern in the mid-2000's, leading to a fun but short lived campaign. But wouldn't it be awesome if I could grab something that would let me run something similar, but without all the heavy lifting and rules rewriting? Maybe I could run a Crimson Skies RPG!

Turning to the internet, I took a look to see what all was out there. I fished through the countless D20 versions of games, but I really wanted to stay away from the old D&D mechanics. I wanted something that would just "run" straight out of the book.

I kept seeing people on forums talking about a game called "Savage Worlds." Digging a bit deeper, I learned that Savage Worlds was designed by the same folks who created the only non-D&D/D20 game I had played in the mid-2000's: Shane Hensley and Pinnacle Entertainment Group. I adored both Deadlands and Deadlands: Hell on Earth, so I set out to have a look at Savage Worlds.

I strolled into Phantom of the Attic in Pittsburgh after work on a Monday. I clearly remember the day, because the next morning I had a long drive to Atlantic City for a three day work trip to Atlantic City. Needing some good reading material, I started picking through the books on Phantom's shelves. It didn't take me long to discover Savage Worlds. The big, sturdy hardback Deluxe Edition was featured prominently on the shelf. Picking it up, I saw the four setting "emblems" on the logo:

A sword an shield. A skull. A ray gun. An airship.

Wait... an airship?! There was an airship on the cover of the book? 

Does it sound shallow that the airship symbol totally rocked my world?

I spent about 15 minutes flipping through the book. I loved the art and the presentation of mechanics, so it was an easy purchase. I bought the book, and over the course of the next few day I read it cover to cover. I was hooked! 

Check out that sweet airship on the far right!

Like so many other Savages, it didn't take long for me to build up a tower of Savage Worlds sourcebooks. 

My very first purchase was Thrilling Tales, which I read during our trip to Disney World a week later. I then picked up (in very quick succession) Realms of Cthulhu, Weird War II, the Horror Companion, Space 1889, and Rippers. I read and loved each one, and after a few months of research, kicked off my very first Savage Worlds campaign. An avid mash-up fan, I crunched together Rippers, Space 1889, and Realms of Cthulhu, with a few dashes of Deadlands tech, to create a steampunk, Dr. Who inspired campaign I called "Clockwork."

There were many other campaigns and one-shots during the six years that I've played this game.

• Our Clockwork investigators explored the Isle of Dread and took down a unit of time-traveling Nazis. 
• I ran an Accursed bedtime stories campaign with the kiddos, after making characters around a summer fire. Did the same thing with The Last Parsec.
• We played 50 Fathoms on a beach in Delaware with the kids.
• We used Savage Worlds as a skirmish game for Disney Infinity and Skylanders figures.
• I turned Downton Abbey into a super hero setting for Weird War I. 

Actually, after Googling "Living 4 Crits Savage Worlds", I've realized two important things. First, I've played a LOT of really, really cool sessions of Savage Worlds. Second, my kids have grown up playing this game... which is just kinda cool.

We're still playing Savage Worlds, and we plan to continue another six years. 

You should be too.

I'm super excited for everything I'm seeing in the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition, so if you haven't checked it out yet, drop what you're doing and follow this link. If you have any questions about the system, the settings (oh, all the great settings!) or anything Savage Worlds, and would like to get some of my feedback, just hit me up. 

Hell, if you want to see some of the mechanics in play cuz you've never tried it before, who knows... maybe I'll run a quick online session for you between now and the end of the Kickstarter.

You just gotta ask me nice!

Mutant Crawl Classics Inspirations

The Mutant Crawl Classics Kickstarter is entering the final days of a much anticipated campaign, so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on the +Jim Wampler's labor of love.  A long-time listener of the Spellburn podcast, I've heard Judge Jim make reference to his post-apocalyptic variant of the Dungeon Crawl Classics system on several episodes.  My interest was piqued, but unfortunately I had a limited frame of reference for the original inspiration.  MCC seemed rooted in the old Gamma World system, and while I've flipped through some of the old books, and glanced at the newer editions, I've never run a Gamma World adventure.  

The MCC preview in last year's Goodman Games Gen Con 2015 Program Guide proved to be an excellent window into the future of this product, transforming me into a hungry, roxen-meat craving, wannabe wasteland crusader!  Like many other fans, I joined the MCC Facebook page and waited patiently for news, any kind of news, of the upcoming Kickstarter campaign.  

After getting my hands on the Free RPG Day copy of "The Museum at the End of Time" I quickly scheduled an Actual Play video to showcase the MCC system:  

To prepare for the adventure, I sat down and started listing potential sources of inspiration, not only for the Museum, but also for future campaigns.  Although clearly post apocalyptic, with a backstory that features something called the "Great Disaster", Mutant Crawl Classics reaches much further in the future than Mad Max or Fallout.  Terra A.D. (After Disaster) is a world where technology is studied, worshipped, and sometimes feared.  

Judge Jim has already posted his list of "Appendix M" inspiration on the Kickstarter page, and you should definitely check out his selections here.  

But allow me to add a few of my own:

The Time Machine

You know the story.  Take your pick of either the old H.G. Wells book or one of the movies, but the far future world of the Eloi and Morlocks could easily be used in a Mutant Crawl Classics campaign.  Pacifist Pure Strain Humans living just above endless caverns filled with bestial, near-cannibalistic Mutants or Manimals.  This could make for a single adventure, or possibly the starting point for an entire campaign setting.  

Crystalis

A Nintendo title from 1990 by SNK, in Crystalis you play a nameless hero who erupts from some kind of stasis pod after the Earth has been transformed by nuclear war.  Magic returned to the Earth, and you set out on a quest to stop an evil emperor from gaining control over a magical tower.  The game does feel quite a bit more like science fantasy than science fiction...hmmm... science fantasy... 

Numenera

Wait.  Isn't this another tabletop RPG?  Yes, and it's one that I tend to discuss quite a bit.  But I bring it up now because the 9th World of Numenera has some similarities with Terra A.D.  Terra A.D. is a place where technology exists, but the means to create it have been forgotten.  Thus, anything left from the previous age must seem like magic.  Numenera follows the same premise.  The key setting difference between the Ninth World and Terra A.D. is a simple (but incredibly vast) measure of time.  Whereas Numenera takes place one billion years in the future, from what I've read of both the preview and Judge Jim's posts, Terra A.D. exists several thousand years from now.  

This isn't the first time I've brought up a Cypher System/Dungeon Crawl Classics mashup.  A few months ago I created a list of 9th World occupations for something I like to call Numenera Crawl Classics.  

Speaking of tabletop RPG inspirations, has anyone discussed Paranoia yet?  

Portal 2

If you haven't played Portal 2, stop what you're doing right now and go play.  Once you're finished you can come back and finish this post...

... I'm waiting... 

... are you done yet?

Much of Portal 2 feels like questing through a far-future, puzzle-filled dungeon with only your trusty Portal Device (*cough* Artifact) to save you from various AI's.  Most of the test chambers are dilapidated and run down, covered with weeds and dripping with foul, oil-filled liquid.  The only way through is by completing the tests, or else you risk an AI's ire.  I could see Patron write-ups for GLaDOS and Wheatley for sure!  

Yor: The Hunter from the Future

The eternal Reb Brown classic!  Dinosaurs, barbarians, lasers, this movie just SCREAMS Mutant Crawl Classics!  It's as if the entire movie is one long campaign, starting off as more of a primitive adventure but eventually bringing in all kinds of artifacts and gear.  As a child of the 80's, I fondly remember watching this movie on HBO.  This was back when you had to toggle something in the back of your TV to get cable to work.  Just like manipulating an artifact!

The first thing I'm doing when I get my MCCRPG core book is recreate Yor as a future player character.  

If you are unfamiliar with this movie, I highly recommend you watch the Spoony One's full review.  

*     *     *

So these are my suggestions, but what would you recommend?  What other books, movies, television shows, or video games could be added to +Jim Wampler's "Appendix M?"

Mr. Bates Goes to War - Getting Ready for Weird War I

(The perfect music for this blog post is "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" from the Bioshock: Infinite Soundtrack.)

If you thought Sea Lion Abbey would be my only role-playing blog post concerning Downton Abbey you were wrong.  I'm back, and ready to share more gaming love for the hit PBS Masterpiece Theater television show!  

Preparing for Weird War I 

Last night I found out that Pinnacle Entertainment Group is preparing to launch its next Kickstarter campaign: Weird War I.  If you've been living off the grid for the last decade, the folks at Pinnacle are the masterminds behind Savage Worlds, Deadlands, Rippers: Resurrected, and so many other awesome settings.  I'm a sucker for anything historical, and loved what Pinnacle did with both Weird Wars Rome and Weird War II.

World War I was a pivotal moment in world history, as it marked the violent end of Victorian era chivalry and the advent of the utter destruction brought about by 20th century war machines.  Trench warfare, air-to-air combat, zeppelin raids, poison gas, the devices of World War I were truly terrible, and their use would set the stage for World War II.  

For a complete and amazing historical experience about the Great War, Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast does a tremendous job.  Blueprint for Armageddon (on iTunes) features 20-hours of incredible facts and details about the human experience during this revolutionary conflict.  

 

Whenever I come across a great Kickstarter for one of my favorite systems I look for a way to celebrate, spread the word, and do something unique.  This time could be really special, as it coincides with the last season of Downton Abbey, a TV show that takes place around the same time period!

Mr. Bates Goes to War

So here's the plan, and I'd love feedback and advice.  

[Disclaimer: I have not seen ANY preview materials for Weird War I.  This is solely MY crazy, deranged, way-too-far-over-the-top idea for a sweet RPG session.]

I want to set up and run an actual-play on G+ Hangouts On Air of something I'd like to call "Mr. Bates Goes to War."  If you don't know, Mr. John Bates is a character on Downton Abbey played by Brendan Coyle.  He's sort of a quiet, proper, British badass.  While several characters in Downton Abbey go off to serve in the Great War, Mr. Bates wasn't one of them, as he's a bit older (in his 50's).  But then I started thinking...

... what if Mr. Bates "did" go off to war?

... and what if he did so in a suit of steampunk armor?  

My initial adventure idea features Lady Mary Crawley (played by Michelle Dockery) assembling a crack team of the Abbey's most fearsome operatives, in order to smash the Kaiser's forces head on.  But Great Britain won't send it's best agents into the trenches without some wicked, weird-science tech: battle armor, gas guns, tesla-coil-powered hot tea pots, the works!  

Think of this as the Red Baron meets Bioshock Infinite meets The A-Team meets Masterpiece Theater.

Of course a cigar chewing, double-pistol wielding Lady Mary won't be alone.  I envision Mr. Bates wearing lightning generating shock gauntlets, Mr. Carson in a steampunk-mecha suit, and perhaps the Dowager Countess Violet Crawley (played by Maggie Smith) hovering above the battlefield as a flying, maxim-gun wielding head-in-a-jar.

This could be a good time!

Off to the Trenches

Here's where I would love some feedback.  I've got a couple weeks until the Kickstarter is in full swing, and I need to start making characters.  If anyone has any suggestions or advice as to how to build these crazy proper steampunk monstrosities, please share!  

Right now I'm torn on whether to draw from the Savage Worlds Science Fiction Companion or the Super Powers Companion.  I could see either direction being awesome.

I'll also need to find a few players who A) have seen Downton Abbey and B) will be willing to give this G+ Hangout On Air a try.  If you find yourself in this mix, please let me know!

Going Into the Night - Kickstarting More Numenera

Image courtesy of Monte Cook Games

Into the Kickstarter

As of this blog post's publishing, there are precious few hours left in Monte Cook Games' latest Numenera Kickstarter:

Numenera: Into the Ninth World

At Gen Con 2015, my wife and I were both in attendance for the MCG Seminar, and we got to watch the launch trailer for new series of Numenera campaign setting expansion books live with an entire audience around us.  It was a thrilling experience to be right there with all our fellow fans on day one!  

Numenera: Into the Ninth World promises three new setting expansions for your adventures in the Ninth World.. and now beyond the Beyond!

• Into the Night:  Numenera adventures in space!
• Into the Deep:  Numenera adventures under the waters of the Ninth World!
• Into the Outside:  Numenera adventures in other dimensions!

Look, I'm not going to give you the entire run down of each of these setting books.  They all look very intriguing, and I can't wait to get my hands on each and every one.  If you want to learn more about these new books, I urge you to go right to the Kickstarter page and find out directly from Monte, Shanna, Bruce and the rest of the MCG gang.  

This post is actually about the insane value you get in a Monte Cook Games Kickstarter, and why you really need to consider jumping in on this one.  There's a reason so many people  lament on social media several months after MCG wraps up funding… they realize that they missed out on an incredible deal.  

When I was helping out at the MCG booth at Gen Con I watched quite a few people come by and pick up the Numenera Boxed Set.  You remember this campaign right?  Last December you could jump in on the Reliquary level of the Numenera Boxed Set for $120.  At Gen Con the cost was around $200, and I don't even think the box is for sale anymore, since it was a limited run.  

Don't be left out if you can help it. You're probably going to want these books anyway, right? Why not get them at a discount!?

Image courtesy of Monte Cook Games

Come Join the Numenera of the Month Club

Look, I'll admit it:  I'm a Cypher System Fanboy.  I got hooked on Numenera two years ago, right after the core book hit Amazon.com.  I devoured that book in less than a week, reading cover to cover.  After hearing from other gamers about all of the awesome extra swag they got from that legendary first Kickstarter, I was pretty bummed out that I came late to the party. I didn't make the same mistake for The Strange.  

I've had a great time backing these exciting products ever since.  In a way, taking part in a Monte Cook Games Kickstarter feels like signing up for a really, really awesome subscription… of greatness.  Every couple months something new shows up at my door; something delightfully provocative that's going to be great to play at the table.  

Being an MCG Kickstarter Backer is like joining a "_______ of the Month Club."  But instead of cheese or jelly, you get cyphers, bestiaries, and foci!  

Gonna Love All Those Books

So another Kickstarter, and as I've hinted another great value.  For any of you on the fence, I thought I'd share exactly how I'm backing this project, and what I expect to get back in return.

It took me only a couple of hours to jump onboard for Into the Ninth World and I made sure to back at the Lover of All Books level.  Looks like I'm not alone at this level, as over a third of the backers are with me.  This backer level promised the following on Day One:

"You get the All the Ebooks package and the All the Print Books package (every book title funded by this campaign, plus the Artifact Deck, in print and PDF format)…"

Since I'm already a veteran of the MCG Kickstarters, I knew this was only the beginning.  The folks over at MCG do a great job ensuring that stretch goals directly benefit the backers, upgrading proposed products, while adding new titles.  This is one of the reasons that I'm sharing this post… I'm greedy!  

If we get more backers to join in, we get more swag-value from MCG!  

Here's What I'm Getting for my $150 as of right now:

• Into the Night:  A 160 page hardcover that is effectively "Numenera in Space".  I'll get the print book and the PDF as well as a printed 2-sided poster map (and PDF), and an additional glimmer-sized supplement.  Typically glimmers are 6-8 pages.
• Into the Deep:  160 pages "Under the Sea", probably with less Little Mermaid and more octopi.  Again, I'll get the print book, PDF, poster map, poster PDF, and a glimmer supplement.
• Into the Outside:  160 more pages, but this one covers extra dimensional jaunting.  Hardcover, PDF, poster map, map PDF, and another glimmer.  
• Character Options 2:  More Numenera Character Options?  Yes please!  And I'll happily take that 96 page softcover in print and PDF!
• The Poison Eater:  Shanna Germain's Numenera Novel!  This will show up on my door as a deluxe hardcover and on my iPad as an ebook.
• Map Book:  All those beautiful maps from the three new setting books in one single printed book, along with a PDF.  
• Artifact Deck:  100 cards with new artifacts, printed and in PDF.
• Instant Adventure:  An adventure in PDF format for getting players up to speed in Numenera.  
• Creature Deck Expansion:  I already have a Creature Deck for Numenera, but this one is supposed to bolster my current collection with 30 more cards.
• Cypher Deck Expansion:  Like the Creature Deck Expansion, but with Cyphers!
• Music Track:  A 10 minute loop of background music for my tabletop gaming.
• $5 MCG Store Credit:  A ticket to more swag.
• Digital Wallpapers:  E-Swag.
• Character Portfolio PDF:  An upgraded character record sheet
• All the Supplements in Print:  So those three glimmers I mentioned earlier?  Yeah, they will be printed!  
• Short Fiction:  PDF and ebook of new short stories by the MCG team.  

This is just what's out there as of right now (10:30pm on Sunday September 6th), so who knows what else we'll hit.  I see a Numenera Bestiary 2 on the horizon!  

Let's do a tally.  $150 for everything I just mentioned.  Using some of the previous MCG products for scale, each of the hardcovers has a $40 value.  More character options is another $25.  So we're already at $145 before I start counting all the PDF's, decks, the novel, and everything else.  

Just a rough guess, and I'd say total value on Lover of All Books is around $270.

Image courtesy of Monte Cook Games

Spread the Word!

So that's my pitch.  As I mentioned, this is sort of self-serving… more backers equals more stretch goals reached, unlocking more stuff for James.  

If you'd like to hear more from Monte Cook Games, follow this link to their Kickstarter.

If you are already on board, make sure you spread the word!  MCG is unlocking stuff based on shares, followers, retweets, and even pics from your gaming table!  

Iadace