Category: Uncategorized

I constantly tinker with rules. I’ve never found a game system I was 100% satisfied with, and I cut my RPG teeth as game master for possibly the most house-ruled, seat-of-the-pants GM ruling game ever made; Rifts. 20 years later (fuck) and I am still doing it. Albeit with DnDish rules now.

Ability scores are lame. They have two functions; to provide a modifier, and to roll against if the GM can’t think of a better Save option. I have played with many a new player (as in, never played an RPG before) and my group has been playing so sporadically since we are all respected members of society now with important matters to attend to, that the newer folks always forget basic stuff like… what is the difference between and Ability Score and an Ability Modifier. What does each of those do? Where am I? Who are you? And so on.

New Rule: Roll a d8. a 1 = -3, 2 = -2, 3 = -1. Following me? 4 and 5 = 0, 6 = + 1, 7 = +2, 8 = +3
Do that for each ability. Those are your modifiers, without the middleman of rolling a million d6s. Makes it real simple for noobs, as well.

If, during play, you (as GM) can’t figure what Save to use and want a player to make an Ability save, simply roll above a base of 18, and apply all appropriate modifiers.

I’m thinking of maybe using a Reflex/Fortitude/Willpower save system for simplicity, which would all but eliminate the need for Ability saves, and regular saves too, for that matter. I’m all about simplicity. Maybe still have a DEATH save, as well. Just for old time’s sake. And to remind players that their character’s aren’t invincible or immortal.

Yeah, we’re going to go that route. Saving Throws are as follows. All have a base of 18.

Reflex – Wisdom and Dexterity modifiers combined
Fortitude – Strength and Constitution modifiers combined
Willpower – Intelligence and Constitution modifiers combined
Death – This is just a roll. If somehow you have a bonus to this, you’re pretty awesome.

There are, I’ve found, a lot of people out there who absolutely despise Death saves, or even the very concept of character death. I can see their viewpoint, and I respect it. I’ve played, and had fun, in games of that sort in the past and will again in the future. This is MY game, though. This is how Timmy rolls. If you don’t respect that, then you can fuck off.

Here is a picture of something I thought was cool

This is something I’ve been fiddling with. Haven’t used it yet and am unsure if I ever will.

Magic
I’ve never, ever like Vancian magic in games. I didn’t grow up playing Dungeons and Dragons, so it holds no special place in my heart. It makes no sense to me why a magical dude would just forget how to do something he’s spent his life working on. Does an architect forget how to draw after drawing a floor plan? Does the fighter forget how to fight after killing a goblin? No, of course not. Neither should a magic user.

However, there should be consequences. Casting magic spells takes a lot out of a person, one of the reasons that so few people choose to do it. Magic users don’t forget their spells; instead, they become so physically and mentally drained from casting them, that eventually they’ll collapse unconscious after reaching a threshold.

Spells in my home game cost Hit Points to cast. The number of HP needed to cast a spell is indicated by the spell’s level. A level 1 spell like Magic Missile costs 1 HP to cast.  The Magic skill shows the maximum level of spell that the magic user can cast.  If they cast a spell that would take them below zero HP, they must roll a Constitution save for every level of the spell that would make the character have zero hit points. . If they cast a spell that is a higher level than their Magic skill, they must roll a Constitution save for every level of the spell that is more than their Magic skill. 

Example:
So a 1st level magic user with 2 points in the Magic skill and 4 HP can cast four level 1 spells, two level 2 spells,or one level 2 spell and two level one spells, per rest cycle without having to roll a Constitution save. They can cast a 3rd level spell, but will have to roll to save. They can cast a 4th level spell, but will have to roll two successful saves, and will be at exactly 0 HP. They can press their luck and cast a 6th level spell, roll to save 6 consecutive times for being such a powerful spell, AND roll two more saves, because that spell would take them to -2 HP. So eight consecutive saves to cast one sixth level spell at level 1.

Clerical spells work the same, although cleric spells are called prayers and clerics must invoke an higher power who grants them the ability to cast the spell. Functionally though, it’s the same thing.

This gives the character a little more freedom – no longer tied to spell slots and able to theoretically cast spells of any level up to 6th, albeit with possible consequence; like falling unconscious in the midst of battle. That just means the character should save those all-or-nothing spell casting moments for when it really matters.

In the post about skills, I mentioned that magic users can cast spells up to 6th level without help. What does that mean, and what kind of help?

The Magic and Religion skills max out at 6 points. This means that the characters can only cast up to 6th level magic spells on their own, free of consequence other than Hit Point loss. Spells from levels 7,8,and 9 are available; the character can learn them and know them but they will always, no matter what level the character is, require a Constitution save to cast. Unless they get help from other people with at least a single point in magic or religion. If the cumulative skill points equals or betters that which is required for the spell, it can be cast without a savings throw for the main caster, but the secondary casters all must roll to save.

Example:
A 7th level magic user with 6 points in the Magic skill, and 28 Hit Points wants to cast a 9th level spell. They have three lackeys/aprentices who each have a single skill point in Magic. Together, they can cast the 9th level spell, but the lackeys must each make 8 consecutive saving throws. The 7th level magic user, being a jerk, distributes the 9 HP damage to the lackeys, instead of taking it themselves.

Waaaaaaaaiiit, what? Damage can be distributed?

Yep. The main caster can choose to take all the damage or distribute it equally among the people helping them to cast a spell. This does not require the other persons permission and there is no saving throw.

Also note that any spell level can be cast with the help of others. Not just high level spells.

Keep in mind that certain magical devices can cast high level spells on their own, certain monsters can too, and some devices can grant a caster the ability to cast higher level spells.

These days I GM Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Grindhouse edition.

The reasons for this are as follows, in order of importance;

• it is easy to learn, especially for people who have never played an RPG before.
• it is highly compatible with 40+ years of published gaming material. 
• it is supported, with new material being churned out constantly.
• it isn’t the vanilla crap that corporate DnD and 90% of other publishers shit out.

 I never quite liked the skills though. The mechanical aspect of skills in LotFP are great, it’s the skills themselves that bug me.

A first level character gets 2 skill points to disperse however they see fit. Every level after that, they get 2 more skill points to disperse.

So these are replacement skills I’ve come up with.

• Assassin: Applies to using/recognizing poisons, detecting ambushes, backstabbing, sneaking, etc
• Fighter: Applies to appraising weapons and armor, knowledge of legendary warriors and weapons, and military history
• Magic: Applies to recognizing enchantment, wards, magical devices, as well as indicating the maximum spell level the character can cast on their own without help.
• Ranger: Applies to outdoorsy stuff like tracking, wilderness survival, and camouflage
• Religious: Applies to religious etiquette, history, lore, trivia, famous figures and historical events. Indicates the number of prayer points the character can spend in a day.
• Sailor: Applies to anything boat, ocean, and sailing related
• Scholar: Applies to basically anything that isn’t covered by the other skills
• Thief: Applies to pick pocketing, forgery, recognizing and deactivating traps
• To Hit: each point gives a bonus of +1 to hit. This skill doesn’t have a max amount 

So what if a character wants to sneak/prowl/stealth around? Which skill do you use for that? Easy, whichever one seems most appropriate!
If a character is sneaking and is…

• In an urban setting, use thief skill
• On a battlefield, use fighter skill
• Hunting in the wilderness, use ranger skill
• Infiltrating a magic guild house, use magic skill 
• Prowling around a monastery, use religion skill
• Assassin skill can be useful just about anywhere in any situation – such is the nature of assassins.
• If you want it to be simpler, just use Ranger and Thief skills for sneaking in wilderness and urban areas, respectively.

I originally just used the Magic skill for both and combined clerical and wizard spells. This presented the problem that there is half a billion spells from levels 1-7, and then a very severe drop off for 8 and 9. There is also the issue that some players actually want to play a cleric and don’t want to play a magic user with cleric-type spells. Plus it gives another skill category for players to spend points in. So, whatever. Now there is a Religion skill.

Skills still max out at 6, except for To Hit which has no cap limit. For magic users, this means that 6th level spells are the highest they can cast, without the help of other magic users, magical devices, or divine/infernal help.

The major item I have in the works is a system neutral world setting. Not sure how much I will post about that, maybe little things here and there. I’ve edited, re-edited, scrapped parts, started over, given up, started again, and so on for almost 8 months now. Just when I think I’m happy, I think of some fault or something better and change things.

I also have some mechanical rules I’ve come up with to streamline Palladium Books’ Rifts line. It isn’t a conversion, nor is it entirely new, as one of my goals was to make the game, especially character creation, much simpler and faster. I will post those rules in the near future. At one point, I compared rolling a Juicer RAW to my new rules, and cut the time by more than half (42 minutes to 20 minutes).

I’m always thinking up small mechanical details. Some that I use, some that I don’t. I’ll throw those up on here too.

I’ve been posting game stuff on facebook groups, two different tumblr blogs, and even Twitter for a little bit.

Stopped using Twitter because it is full of terrible people saying terrible things in a gigantic circle-jerk. Twitter is used by two kinds of people sadists and masochists. I am neither.

Tumblr is great for finding and posting art and thoughts, however it is absolutely terrible for organizing or looking up past posts. I will still keep one of those blogs for finding writing inspiration and ideas.

Facebook has limited reach, and frankly, I want to use it as little as possible and for things that aren’t related to gaming (other than events).

So here we are. Dusting off the old game blog that I used for two posts about a Castles & Crusades campaign that fizzled and died.

My plan is to use this channel to post my own ideas about tabletop role playing games, in the forms of setting material and mechanics. I will also post whatever game-related stuff I find interesting.

The things I will post are for me. I post them publicly because maybe someone else can find utility in them. Under no circumstance is anything I post an end-all, be-all “this is how it has to be,” kinda bullshit that a lot of other bloggers like to post. I find that level of arrogance to be fatiguing. 

My name is Tim. I also go by everloss. That’s it for now.

Jeremy Ebert of Yellow Paper Planes was kind enough to send me a copy of YPPs EP, Feathers Touch. To go with it, he sent me some notes from the band’s singer Joshua James, giving some context to what the songs are about. I don’t recall anyone ever providing info like that before, and it’s a nice treat. Thanks, dudes. What’s also kind of neat is that this is a throwback to my old “4 song reviews” from way back in the day! Good times.

Knock Once – Guitar reminds me of Beach House a little, but maybe because I was listening to Beach House earlier in the week. MARACA!!! Knock Once is somber and plodding, not in a negative way though. It’s like trying to wade through the complicated muck of the past, still hoping there is something worth finding there. The music has a great layering to it, building a neatly complex melody. Everything picks up during a great crescendo to end the song. It’s surprising how rare it is to hear a song end with a crescendo, and it’s refreshing here.

Double Life -This is one of those songs that reminds you of other songs you’ve heard in the past. It reminds me of so many songs, and sounds so familiar, that I can’t think of anything specific that it reminds me of. It’s a good song, with great pacing and change ups throughout. I can picture this being a single.

Good Lovers – Another song that could be a single. It reminds me of the band, Hum, only not terrible and not completely boring. I guess that would make it the opposite of Hum, but it is stylistically similar. The instruments and vocals compliment each other well in this one. I don’t know why, but emotionally, this song makes me a little sad. At 1:25 there is something weird that happens to the singer. I think it is a fault in the copy I’m listening to, or he chose to warble at that particular moment and nowhere else in the song.

Ghost – Man, I love fuzzy guitars. This song is a little heavier with a steady beat with killer fuzz and feedback. Harkens back to the glory days of the 90s. Is it okay for me to pick a favorite? Cause this is it. I really dig this one. It’s not like Melvins heavy or anything, but maybe a little bit Screaming Trees? I dunno. Whatever it is, it’s great. As I was writing this originally, I realized that the end of Ghost is actually the next track, Annex. I’m just going to go with them being the same song in my head, ’cause it’s too good of an ending.

If you are interested, here are the notes they sent me. I think it is nice to have an insight into the creative process behind a piece of art.  Plus, no one told me I couldn’t publish it. So there ya go.

I listen to a lot of pop-country at work. The more I hear it, the more I think I understand.
For example, a popular ditty right now is “A Guy Walks Into A Bar” performed by Tyler Farr and written by Melissa Peirce, Brad Tursi, and Jonathan Singleton (possibly because Tyler Farr is a fake, phoney, piece of shit that sucked his way through Nashville… oh shit, that was mean wasn’t it?).

This song is about a loser falling for a barfly, and “holding on tight.” Why do I point that out? Because “holding on tight,” is just as common in pop-country as mentions of whiskey, freedom, and trucks. What “hold on tight,” means as far as I can tell, is that the singer is an abusive alcoholic and the love interest is supposed to take it for as long as they can, before they wise up and leave.

In nearly all of these songs, both people are abusive alcoholics, so they have to “hold on tight,” to each other. If you ever grew up knowing “that couple,” of white trash friends who shouldn’t be together but stay together even though they hate each other and are constantly at each others throats….

… they’re just holdin’ on tight.

Because God forbid they stop being drunk idiots.

Also, this is one of the worst songs, of any genre, out right now. So fake, so cliche, so boring, so utterly full of shit. Just like this wanker’s fans.

See for yourself!

Whoa! this is my first post here in a very long time! Maybe there will be more soon. Who knows?

Another business shout out: Alt-Smoke on campus.
Lane, the dude who helped me out, said, “When you leave here today, you won’t have any questions.” And he was right. He answered every question I had about e-cigs, vapor, whatever you want to call it.
Cool thing about the place is you can try before you buy; there are 140 flavors to choose from, and complete starter sets for less than $40. A weeks worth of vapor is 6 bucks. 10% off on your first visit, and every $100 you spend (builds up over time, not all at once) you get 10 bucks off. 
All of the workers there are knowledgeable and friendly. I never felt any pressure to buy anything, and had all the time in the world to test out different flavors. I stayed away from the ones that tasted like tobacco; my favorites were Clearwater and Smarty Pants, both of which were sort of melon-y, but not too strong. 
One of the first questions they ask you is how many cigarettes you smoke in a day. They base their recommendation of nicotine levels off that, and guide you on how to decrease the dosage to zero. 
There are tables and chairs and people just seem to hang out there and chill. 
If you’re interested in e-cigs or vaping, I recommend Alt-Smoke at 2460 N High Street. They are open from 10am-10pm seven days a week.

I listened to Kendrick Lamar’s “diss” rap to, let’s face it, all the other shitty rappers out there today, the day after it was released. And it was weak. Incredibly weak. No secret that I think Lamar is unbelievably overrated. But that wasn’t a diss rap. If it was, then rap is at it’s lowest point ever right now. Tupac’s Hit ‘Em Up was a diss rap. Ice Cube’s No Vaseline was a diss rap. Cypress Hill’s No Rest for the Wicked was a diss rap. Every single thing Eazy E released was a diss rap. Kendrick Lamar rapped some bullshit with every other word being “nigga” and the industry is falling all over itself. Fucking pathetic. I’m supposed to believe that Drake is a hardcore dude? Uh, yeah. okay. What next, Chief Keef is the next savior of hip hop?

I purchased a 32 ounce growler of Sierra Nevada Narwal Imperial Stout. It’s surprisingly good, considering it’s made by Sierra Nevada. The staff went out of their way to make me feel appreciated and gave me a walking tour of the place. Which was fun because it’s 30 feet by 20 feet in size.
They have 4 and six packs in refrigerators, as well as a large selection of “build your own six pack” beers out on the floor.
The dudes at Cornerstone also said they would look into finding Affligem Dubbel for me and possibly stocking it. It’s my all-time favorite beer.
They also sell my brand of cigarettes, so basically they are my favorite shop.

So ends the mini-review of my first experience at Cornerstone Craft Beer and Wine.