RPG Superstar 9 Season Dedicated Voter. Organized Play Member. 1,041 posts (2,915 including aliases). 3 reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 1 Organized Play character. 9 aliases.
Hi! I'm J Gray, from Fat Goblin Games. We license Castle Falkenstein from R. Talsorian. I was lucky enough to spend some time with the Pondsmiths and their team at GenCon this weekend. Here's what was said, specifically, on current plans:
* Witcher is almost done. There are final edits to do and then they ship it out to Poland for approval from CD Projekt Red. No release date has been announced because they aren't sure how long it'll take CPR to go through the book and if changes will be requested.
* Cyberpunk Red will be Cyberpunk 2020 1.5. Some small rule changes and an update to the technology so it makes more sense from a modern perspective (your real world cellphone shouldn't be half the size of the cellphone your character uses in game. They're hoping to release that within a year. A Cyberpunk 2077 put out to coincide with the video game is possible but there are currently no promises there.
* I am told most of Mekton Zero is written and it sounds pretty darn neat to me. I can't speak to specifics as I didn't sit in on the Mekton seminar but I believe they are hoping to have the books to backers by the end of the year. The other promised rewards, such as the minis, might take longer.
* No specific word on Cybergeneration or Teenagers from Outer Space.
* Castle Falkenstein is currently in the hands of Fat Goblin Games. We're producing new material for the Great Game and have put out six products thus far: Curious Creatures (the definitive bestiary), Firearms and Margarine (a political murder mystery Adventure Entertainment), Babbage's Engine (a one to two session Adventure Entertainment written by Steve Kenson), and three Variations: optional plug-in rules which allow Hosts and Players to customize the Great Game. We have another Adventure Entertainment and a new Variation on the way. The next really big release is Miss Peril's Guide to Paris, a sourcebook for living and adventuring in the City of Lights.
Anyways, I loved the product - I just wished there was more examples or a guideline on building your own library (not like the Downtime building, but more like an actual library that you could use with similar benefits for research purposes or reducing research costs).
Guidelines for building libraries are in Ultimate Intrigue (which we can't refer to by name in the actual book for legal reasons, at this time). If you mean "build my own library" we're discussing a project which might be helpful there in the future.
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I was also hoping for some more magic items or spells with a library or literature theme (like the old lenses of speed reading that I recall from 1st/2nd edition D&D), but I am glad you guys did a chart with a fairly updated list of PF types that are in someway related to books, libraries, and/literature.
I know what you mean. I'd have liked to have included a bit of that myself. Space limits. :)
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The artworks are gorgeous but I can't help wonder if some of the art are actually photographs?
A few are, yes. There's so many beautiful pictures of books, codexes, and tablets we couldn't help but use a few.
Female Human Bard (Diva) 6 | HP: 40/40 | AC: 14 | T: 11 | FF: 13 | CMD: 14 | Fort: +4 | Ref: +6 | Will: +6 | Init: +1 | Perc: +1 | Sense Motive: +17 || Bardic Music: 19/24 rounds for the day || 1st Lvl Spells: 5/5 for day, 2nd Lvl Spells: 1/4 for day
"We are a broken little party at times, I think." Grace notes. She looks at the two directions where each has gone. "Elisai, how is it you and I ended up being the sane and rational ones who have not gone off to f~@& or fight our way into a stupor?"
"Very well." Idana says with a wave of her hand. "If they attempt to burn us as witches I promise we will bury their little hamlet in ice and snow, though. I tire of offering altruism and being offered scorn in return."
"Oh. Well. As a representative of my species, I hope it was everything it could ever be. I know my first time nibbling such beautiful ears was a delight..."
Haru smiles, her eyes closed as she focuses on her other senses. After all, she's had years to look at Shalelu. Now she can smell her. Feel her. Taste her. Its heaven.
"There's been more than a few nights I've worn myself out, thinking about this." Haru admits. "It turns out I don't have enough imagination to have done it justice."
The sisters arrive, perhaps a bit fashionably late, but both dressed and bathed and smelling of rose water. Marinah kisses her sister on the cheek and then splits off to carefully portion out food onto a plate. She walks with a sway of her hips to Ryn and kneels down.
"May I feed you, my champion?"
Thank you for waiting for me. Sorry it took so long.
Finally, the kiss. The feel and taste of Shalelu as their lips meet. Haru's tail stands straight on end at the electric contact before it finally relaxes and she whispers.
"Don't turn off the lanterns. I want to see you the entire time. I need to know this isn't another dream."
Haru begins stripping out of her clothing. This part isn't awkward. While it might have new meaning, she and the ranger have bathed together before.
"When I was younger, I thought you and Ameiko were secretly lovers." Haru admits, taking the long way around to answer the question. "I realized in time that you didn't have a lover because you were all about what you did. And you do it so well! The people of Sandpoint and the entire Lost Coast owe you a thousand times over. For goblins and what you did during the Runelord quest and..."
Haru sits down next to Shalelu.
"I do think, sometimes, you spend so much time being Shalelu the ranger you may have never learned what it likes to be Shalelu the person."
Cassandra takes a deep breath and chants a strange sequence.
"D times S squared equals negative open parenthesis alpha squared minus Beta i times Beta to the power of i closed parenthesis times d times t squared plus 2 times beta i times d times x squared times d times t plus y i j times d times x squared times d times x to the power of j!"
And with that, space warps and folds... and the foursome find themselves on the opposite shore.
Female Human Tangled Briar (2/2) // Conjurer (teleportation) 8 | HP: 47/47 | AC: 15 | T: 13 | FF: 12 | CMD: 17 | Fort: +4 | Ref: +5 | Will: +8 | Init: +3 | Perc: +1 (+6)/+3 | Sense Motive: +1/+3. Current Con 13 | Current Cha 6
Cassandra and Amira are already waiting at the rendezvous point. Cassandra seems to be in the middle of... something. She's standing on her hands, one foot out and one eye closed as she uses the toe of her boot as a focal point for judging distance. When the others arrive she leaps upwards, flips, and lands on her feet once more.
"Everyone place a hand on me. There will be a sensation a bit like what it feels like to drop from a height suddenly, as if your body is falling but your stomach is not. Except it will feel like you are going sideways instead of down. Best to have a weapon drawn. Just in case. Don't throw up."
Bill, when everyone's ready I'll d.door us across.
"I suddenly feel like the little lost fox you found in the woods." Haru says as she gathers her belongings from the floor beside the table. "And I have to remind myself, I'm a grown fox now... and hope yous ee that."
Haru is beautiful and exotic but she seems to live in a world of beautiful and exotic people. She's talented but so is almost everyone she knows.
It is easy to doubt herself, off the stage because of this.
But on the stage, as she flows from movement to movement, every step deliberate and every twist of the wrist positions just so and all done in perfect time?
It is there she gains confidence. The confidence to know she is special and amazing and capable. The applause of the audience and the jingling of silver coins as they bounce at her feet feed a hunger inside Haru. The same hunger every performer feels.
But it is the hunger she sees in the eyes of the elven ranger which makes her smile as Haru collects her earnings and steps off the stage.
"That dance was dedicated to you." the bard says, her breath quick and her heart racing, as she approaches Shalelu.
"Of course." Haru walks over to leave most of her gear with Shalelu and then doesn't so much walk as run toward the stage. At the last moment she performs a leap and lands, perfectly, upon one leg in the center of the stage.
Haru snaps her fingers repeatedly, establishing her rhythm. A fast beat which requires no music. She begins to dance in classic styles, spinning and twisting, leaping and twirling through the air. As she moves her fingers never stop snapping and her the bells of her outfit keeping time.
Everyone is playing an adult. Adults have sex. Paizo acknowledges this by including brothels in their games, not to mention an entire religious order of sacred prostitutes who worship a wasp goddess. Considering how board guidelines are set up, I believe a Bioware style "up to the moment then fade to black" would be just fine.
Female Human Tangled Briar (2/2) // Conjurer (teleportation) 8 | HP: 47/47 | AC: 15 | T: 13 | FF: 12 | CMD: 17 | Fort: +4 | Ref: +5 | Will: +8 | Init: +3 | Perc: +1 (+6)/+3 | Sense Motive: +1/+3. Current Con 13 | Current Cha 6
"Ouch." Cassandra winces as the would-be assassin is, himself, assassinated.
"Couple of possibilities here. One, she's got a fancy magic item like that new crown of her's that makes her effectively immortal. Might have to be a major artifact. Two... oh. She could be a lich. Wow. A plague would be a fantastic way to raise the energy you need to become one. This early into being a lich, she'd even still look good or could use illusion magic to make herself all sexy."
Cassandra wiggles her fingers, casting prestidigitation to raise the volume on her voice as loud as can be.
"THE QUEEN IS A LICH! A LICH I TELL YOU! AN UNDEAD SPAWN OF EVIL AND SHE USED THE THE PLAGUE TO MAKE HER THAT WAY! YOUR FRIENDS DIED SO SHE COULD BE ALL CORPSIFIED AND IMMORTAL!"
"See you at spot where we're jumping over to the island!" Cassandra says to the others before she takes off running.
"This is Frey Sorgenson all over again. It took a week to convince her husband to leave Elyana alone after that one." Idana sighs as she helps search the bodies, looking for equipment which will help the group survive once they escape the underground tunnels.
Female Human Tangled Briar (2/2) // Conjurer (teleportation) 8 | HP: 47/47 | AC: 15 | T: 13 | FF: 12 | CMD: 17 | Fort: +4 | Ref: +5 | Will: +8 | Init: +3 | Perc: +1 (+6)/+3 | Sense Motive: +1/+3. Current Con 13 | Current Cha 6
Cassandra's face scrunches. Amira would recognize this as her "thinking expression". Park mimics her and the two chitter back and forth to each other in a language no one else seems to recognize.
It might be monkey.
Finally, Cass comes out of her brooding fugue and offers an idea.
"We can't go over since its an island and the only bridge is being guarded. Swimming isn't a good idea. But can we go under? Do the sewers extend to the island? And could our friends the rats show us the way?"
Female Human Tangled Briar (2/2) // Conjurer (teleportation) 8 | HP: 47/47 | AC: 15 | T: 13 | FF: 12 | CMD: 17 | Fort: +4 | Ref: +5 | Will: +8 | Init: +3 | Perc: +1 (+6)/+3 | Sense Motive: +1/+3. Current Con 13 | Current Cha 6
"Amira really wants to get to Endrin Isle and take Pilts Swastel down, in case you hadn't noticed. Unless we've got a way to infiltrate the palace or something, it might at least give us something to do to make the city better."
The daughter of winter waits until she hears no more rustling of cloth of clinking of metal, then nods her head and the fog sinks down into the floor and vanishes. She is revealed to be dressed in simple but rugged clothing, though perhaps not as heavy as might be warranted given Nordic weather.
While she dressed, Idana listened to the words of the mother and of the noble warrior and of the elves.
"Your answer is unsatisfying but I understand protecting secrets." the eldest of the three sisters says to the elves. "I also understand family."
Idana pauses, then amends her statement.
"We understand family. And how superstition and idiocy can rip at their seams. My sisters and I will help you find your children, Daerdryn."
Idana does not hesitate in offering both her support and that of the others. Olyenna, her soft heart shining in her eyes, has already made her feelings known and Elyana is always content so long as she has her undead friends.
Yasamin pauses, waiting several beats and fixing her gaze behind Felitcia. Only when she seems sure no one else will enter does she remove the hood covering her face.
It is scarred and horribly burned, although pale in the few sections which remain untouched by trauma.
"I misjudged the power of the desert sun, when I first came here from Mordavia, fleeing the Dark One."Yasamin explains, "I was attacked by jackalmen and left for dead. By the time I crawled under cover, I was burned beyond the possibility of healing. This land is not kind to those like us."
Yasamin recaps the jar of antitoxin pills and replaces it upon the shelf, then draws down a second jar, this one smaller. She cuts across the wax seal, then breaks it. The cap comes off and Yasamin dips her hand inside.
"I developed these, after coming here. The ingredients aren't exactly legal but I promise the criminals I harvested them from won't miss their black hearts."
Yasamin drops three pills into Felitcia's hand.
"A gift. Further will require payment, either in ingredients or dinars. If you are going out into the desert, I recommend you cover yourself or you risk my fate."
Each pill is the equivalent of a Cure Light Wounds potion, CL 5th.
Female Human Bard (Diva) 6 | HP: 40/40 | AC: 14 | T: 11 | FF: 13 | CMD: 14 | Fort: +4 | Ref: +6 | Will: +6 | Init: +1 | Perc: +1 | Sense Motive: +17 || Bardic Music: 19/24 rounds for the day || 1st Lvl Spells: 5/5 for day, 2nd Lvl Spells: 1/4 for day
"You're very sweet, Yavenee, but perhaps I am just getting old. Few stars of the stage last long. We are like flowers, here for a season and then gone. It used to be I could seduce someone with just a few notes."
"While we search for supplies, elf, tell us a tale. Perhaps the one about why you are bothering to help us escape from the Imperial witchhunters in the middle of an attack by orcs and winged monsters." Idana says as she begins picking out supplies for both her and Elyana.
Taking the following for me: 1 explorer's outfit, 1 bedroll, 1 winter blanket, 1 masterwork backpack, 1 cooking kit, 1 empty waterskin, 1 wineskin with wine). Added to my inventory.
Elyana, pick out whatever you think Idana would grab for you. She'll make sure flightly little sister is not going to freeze to death.
With the shackles removed, Idana's magic returns. Her lightning eye flashes and winds whip around the room, as cold as any found in winter. For a moment, her fingers curl as if she might grab hold of the winds, tame them, and send them hurtling through the camp outside to kill all who live there.
The roars, however, bring any plans to direct new storms to a crashing halt. She pauses, then speaks to her sisters.
Female Human Tangled Briar (2/2) // Conjurer (teleportation) 8 | HP: 47/47 | AC: 15 | T: 13 | FF: 12 | CMD: 17 | Fort: +4 | Ref: +5 | Will: +8 | Init: +3 | Perc: +1 (+6)/+3 | Sense Motive: +1/+3. Current Con 13 | Current Cha 6
Cassandra wraps one of the scarves, a daring number with lots of tassels, around her neck and leaps up onto the wall. She stands there in a daring pose, scarf flapping in the wind behind her.
"Fear me, mortals! For I am... gack! AMIRA HELP!"
Because her scarf just got grabbed by a passing bird and now Cassandra's being dragged along the roof and strangled at the same time.
"Hags are a problem which follow us everywhere we go." Idana says, her one lightning bolt eye flashing. An obvious mark for those who know it.
Idana looks down at the chains.
"I am Idana, daughter of Winter. My sisters, Olyenna the warrior and Elyana the listener. A fat pig thought he could stick his little prod into Elyana. She told him no. He insisted. We insisted he stop. We were outnumbered."
She frowns and looks up.
"I would offer to heal injuries but these runes and this metal block our magic. Another way for the little men to control us."
I want to thank everyone for applying to join the game. I've decided to work with six individuals, mostly because in a game like this we usually lose one or two over time.
The following are invited to join the game. I'll be setting up the actual play and discussion threads tomorrow night.
Culinary Magic does have recipes and a system for creating magic meals which are, specifically not linked to a class ability. It's folk magic, not learned or born magic. The book does have a bard archetype (Performing Chef) and a witch archetype (Kitchen Witch).
We are currently working at on the Culinary Magic Cookbook which will expand the system with dozens of new recipes. We are looking at a January/February release date.
Female Human Tangled Briar (2/2) // Conjurer (teleportation) 8 | HP: 47/47 | AC: 15 | T: 13 | FF: 12 | CMD: 17 | Fort: +4 | Ref: +5 | Will: +8 | Init: +3 | Perc: +1 (+6)/+3 | Sense Motive: +1/+3. Current Con 13 | Current Cha 6
Cassandra hunkers down and listens to the harrowing as she sips from very real coffee.
When the spirit has finished laying out her cards, she sets her coffee down and throws up her hands.
"Lady of Pain!" Cassandra cries out. "This is why no one at the academy likes divination majors. All cryptic warnings and riddles and 'You will meet a stranger who will be unhappy'. Well, of course I will! You meet strangers every day and some of them are BOUND to be unhappy!"
While Cassandra rants, Park sneaks in and begins drinking from her coffee mug.
@psionichamster: Solid character. I like one with a bit of age to him and like that he's solid and not at all too fancy. Nicely done.
@TheFluffyCrunch: There are djinn, though they were sealed away by Sulaiman many years ago to keep them from rampaging across the land. About seven years before our game begins, the Emir of Raseir attempted to free the mightiest of these djinn but was stopped by the Hero of Five Lands. There are also dervishes, wise men of the desert who commune with the universe and speak in riddles. Older dervishes sit in an oasis and allow their beards to grow (one literally has his beard growing around a palm tree) but younger dervishes might very well be like monks.
