Ravens N' Pennies - GURPS Content Posts

[Christopher R. Rice]

My granddaddy was the meanest cardsharp I've ever met to date - no one in the family would play cards with him and I remember him actually driving my grandmother to tears because he wouldn't let her win ("Winning is something that must be earned, Peter Rabbit*, no one can give you victory - you must take it.")

*My grandfather's childhood nickname for me - because I was always getting into trouble.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Assembly Required: Outlining Step One - Campaign History

And we're back! So it seems like you guys are pretty interested in my particular method of campaign creation by the number of likes, views, etc. so here's the next installment (warning, might be a little boring to some).... Next up on the "Docket" is "outlining." Outlining can be boring. This is pretty much a known fact among GMs, writers, and grad students. Outlining a campaign is much more fun...but can still get tedious. Here are a few things I ask myself went starting with the most important part of a campaign outline - it's previous history.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Maybe that was his goal. Getting people to realize (a) that Monopoly just isn't very good and (b) that they don't hate board games in general, just Monopoly; is a constant struggle. Although I do hear that the most recent edition finally fixes some of the worst problems with the game.

Monopoly does have quirks that might be turn-offs for some gamers, but it's still one of my favorite pastimes. I did a very brief review of the Mega Edition some time ago, and would be interested to know if that is the one you mean, or something else. We can take it to PM or another thread if you want to expound without derailing this one.

[Kalzazz]

Huh! I wonder how this would work for Tanuki City USA?

What organizations exist in the campaign setting? How do they interact with the player characters? What purpose do they serve?
Several
1. Supernatural Tracking Center - a blacker than black Federal agency charged with 'Shepherding America's supernatural resources', and also working with the IRS to collect the 'Supernatural Gains Tax'. Among other things, strives to keep monsters out of sight and fit in with society, and protect them from vigilantes. Considers monster hunters operating without their direction and blessing as poachers at best, traitors to the Nation at worst.
Hates the KotNW and would stomp them if they weren't so politically protected. Good friends with DARPA and trades supernatural goodies for super science with them. Usually considered to have all the bureaucratic incompetence associated with a Federal agency with no oversight, and to be thoroughly filled (if not controlled by) supernatural monsters.
Willing to outsource missions to PCs (if the PCs can stomach working for them).
2. DARPA - bringers of the Internet and produces of high TL goodies for the government pleasure, as well as investigating things like UFOs and gadgeteers. Notorious for coming up with dubious plans 'The Soviets have lots of soldiers, hmm, rabbits breed quickly and bunny girls are cute, we should raise armies of bunny girls!'. Good friends with the STC.
3. Knights of the New World - dating back to the Dawn of Time (and descendants to the English monster hunters predating colonization) and formed of very very rich, very very old families who own (or include in their number) lots of politicians, this organization is dedicated to killing monsters dead and protecting idiots who won't protect themselves, and has been doing so for a dreadfully long time. Mortal enemies of the STC, and would take the fight directly to them except that they might not keep their political protection if they started a shooting war with a Federal Agency. Friends with English and Canadian monster hunting agencies, and lukewarm friend of freelancer monster hunters.
4. Automotive Liberation Front - a group that believes cars have true souls and should not be enslaved by humans, and willing to use any means necessary to advance their causes. Usually by blowing things up. Not afraid to use supernatural means such as causing all Honda's to be possessed by fallen Japanese soldiers from WWII and leading them on a Banzai charge against the government. Notorious for such acts as condemning police cars as 'collaborators' and blowing them up with extreme prejudice, and generally being the number one menace to society in the public's eye.
5. Tanuki City University - a cheap public university in Tanuki City, whose football games and such are major public events. Struggles not only with concerns common to cheap urban public universities, but also with being in a city that is destroyed every other week and with stratospheric student mortality as well as STC imposed problems such as 'you don't have enough zombie students, enroll more zombies'. Considers itself a 'New Model University' by encouraging sorcerors, mad scientists, elder things and whatnot to create new school buildings as old ones are destroyed and other budget saving measures, and having extremely liberal hiring policies. Maintains the (very poorly named) TCU Special Students, students given scholarships and student jobs and generous loans based on having powers and/or otherwise seeming likely to not only live long enough to pay back student loans, but be able to help the university out in myriad problems keeping other students and school buildings alive and being cheaper than constantly hiring adventurers.

There are other come and go groups and such, but these are those which have been repeatedly visible. Mostly as episodic friend/enemy du jour.

[Kalzazz]

What is technology like? Are there any "wonders?" Anything secret from the public?

Technology is TL8 as far as the public knows. However, DARPA and powerful corporations and such have access to higher end stuff than they put on the shelves, and individual gadgeteers and weird scientists and aliens and such do as well. If you take the fight to Honda for instance, finding Honda corporate samurai with Honda Goldwings that transform into TL 9 Combat Walkers would surprise no one. Basically most cutting edge type groups have some shiny stuff that they use for their own internal purposes that hasn't yet made it to a WalMart near you.

What was the known past history of the setting? Any secrets? Any things purposefully hidden from the public and by who?

This hasn't really been gotten into in very much detail. The public knowledge of history is more or less the same. One known secret fact is that dragons were much more common before massed English longbowmen, and then became even less common after cartridge firing guns. Also the government built many many many secret vaults holding vast stores of textbooks and things across the land in case of WWIII. Overall however, secret pasts are more background tidbits than a campaign focus. The STC being a major organization has more background than most, basically, during WWII the Germans deployed all manner of sneaky supernatural nasties, and the US was most surprised. The ENglish took the lead in slaughtering them with their Knights and such and the US mostly didn't contribute much to the supernatural war. After the war ended, the US decided 'man, we need supernaturals of our own, especially if we fight the Soviets!', and the STC was formed (with many folks drawn from the OSS) to track down, organize, and beef up America's supernaturals.

[Kalzazz]

What are the major languages of the setting?

Normal TL 8 languages. Some stuff is written in say Latin and some casters use it, but most casters, if they say stuff, say it in their normal speaking language. I think that Faerie, Draconic, Celestial and Abyssal are languages also, but I could be very wrong. The Olympians speek Greek, so, say a son of Zeus should learn Greek also for instance. Mostly everyone, dragons, vampires, demons and so forth all speak English since Tanuki City USA is in the US. The STC offers ESL classes for supernaturals who don't speak English as one of its many services.

What are the major cultures of the setting?

Normal TL 8 cultures. The STC notably offers many classes and works hard at helping supernaturals learn Cultural Familiarity (of a sort) and fit in, encouraging them to be discreet and to eat illegal immigrants and such, instead of say congressman's children, and how to use cellphones, go to WalMart and so forth. Supernaturals who are noticed doing bad things are captured and forced through multi day training sessions with bountiful powerpoint on ethics, morality, and being part of the American Dream with a quiz at the end.


How does this complicate the lives of the player characters?

With all the moving parts are plenty of job opportunities for PCs to do work for one side or the other, or fight against one or the other. Also the STC with its pro supernatural stance really discourages waxing a vampire merely because he exists at times. The Supernatural Gains Tax (with its enforcement by the STC, IRS, and the Infernal Revenue Service) is at least partially a OOC silly thing to prevent mages from magicking themselves up piles of gold and life is good. But also makes perfect sense as something governments might want to have happen.

Note - Tanuki City USA is a rather spur of the moment thing which happened when I learned I was running a modern game 5 minutes before game start, so this is filling in the form after game has run for 10 years instead of before. The basic premise is that Tanuki City is a 'focal city' or whatnot like Tokyo or Raccoon City and thus gets wrecked every other week or so by something or other (or if I'd known about Buffy at campaign start it would have been a Hellmouth)

[Godogma]

The STC is widely regarded by the players as more or less the scum of the Earth to boot... And when they show up we're very tempted to shoot them and have in multiple cases allowed them to get eaten by the very monsters they kiss the butts of. (That's kinda the funny part)

Except when they're the ones paying us, then we (reluctantly) keep them alive.

Tanuki City is your stereotypical anime styled city. No matter how many times large swathes of it gets blown up by next week everything is back to normal.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

Monopoly does have quirks that might be turn-offs for some gamers, but it's still one of my favorite pastimes. I did a very brief review of the Mega Edition some time ago, and would be interested to know if that is the one you mean, or something else. We can take it to PM or another thread if you want to expound without derailing this one.

Allright, here you go.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Gamemaster's Guidepost: Wildcard Path Skills

Today is Patreon Day! This month's Patreon Special is all about the intersection between two of my favorite topics: Wildcard Skills and Ritual Path Magic. Consider becoming a patron yourself. :-)

[RaRaRasputin]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Maybe that was his goal. Getting people to realize (a) that Monopoly just isn't very good and (b) that they don't hate board games in general, just Monopoly; is a constant struggle. Although I do hear that the most recent edition finally fixes some of the worst problems with the game.

Monopoly (or rather, the game it was based on) was designed from the ground up specifically to not be fun, and therefore teach a lesson about how capitalism is not fun. Given that Monopoly is a multi-jillion dollar franchise, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that this didn't work.