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Crows Officially Announced by MCDM
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<blockquote data-quote="tetrasodium" data-source="post: 9893977" data-attributes="member: 93670"><p>It doesn't seem like anyone has posted about it since the teaster got posted to patreon a few days back so I figured I'd channel The Necromancers from Crows & revive this. MMCDM put out an 18 page preview<a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/155290025" target="_blank">/teaser packet</a> for crows recently & James Introcaso along with DeficientMaster were in a pretty good Questing Beast interview about old school & modern campaigns. The rules very much carry old school gameplay vibes in good ways while being viscerally different from what is typically seen in OSR games.</p><p>[spoiler="video here"]</p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]-KvfYFMDihE[/MEDIA]</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-KvfYFMDihE" target="_blank">link</a></p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p>I'm including the video because he talks a little about Crows.</p><p>The teaser packet is heavy on lore and contains parts of a many interesting subsystems related to skills player driven problem solving & so on. The filename mentions"<em>Rules Preview</em>" & you can kinda piece together a lot by reading through it , but in isolation I think that the world lore conveys a lot more of stuff not telegraphed in the interview so I'll quote some of that instead of misleading anyone with isolated rules snippets.</p><p></p><p>[spoiler="fortune or Death"]</p><p></p><p>Fortune or Death!</p><p>Crows is unfair. It doesn’t care about your</p><p>character’s level. Charge at a behemoth without</p><p>a good plan to take it down, and you’re probably</p><p>going to end up as a puddle of gore. This game’s</p><p>math hasn’t been balanced to ensure players win</p><p>most of the time.</p><p>But the unfairness goes both ways. Come with</p><p>a clever plan to defeat that behemoth, like</p><p>dropping the cave ceiling on their head while</p><p>they slumber, and you can win the day without a</p><p>fight. A good plan or clever thinking won’t just</p><p>save your life, it’ll get you paid—and that’s the</p><p>whole point. Your life will be easier and you’ll</p><p>still get the gold and the XP if you can just sneak</p><p>by that behemoth with your pockets full of coins.</p><p>In Crows, the players create adventurers in a</p><p>desolate world who dive into horror-infested</p><p>ruins for gold, gems, and other treasures.</p><p>Sure, these adventurers occasionally perform</p><p>courageous, selfless acts and might be moral</p><p>people, but they aren’t heroes. It’s greed, thrill-</p><p>seeking, or lack of other ways to make a living</p><p>that drives them into the dark where gold and</p><p>ravenous eyes gleam in the torchlight. It’s a risky</p><p>job—surviving a dungeon takes strength, smarts,</p><p>and reflexes. Coming out a little richer than you</p><p>were going in also takes luck.</p><p>The rules of Crows are inspired by some</p><p>incredible games that are also worth your time</p><p>and money. Check out Apocalypse World, The</p><p>Black Hack, Cairn, Knave, Mausritter, Shadowdark,</p><p>and Troika!</p><p>Cornath Optional</p><p>The rules refer to the land of Cornath, the</p><p>campaign setting where the dungeons included</p><p>with Crows are set. The Ref can use just the rules</p><p>of this game to creatre their own monsters,</p><p>dungeons, items, traits, backgrounds, and</p><p>campaign setting and ignore the lore of Cornath.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>[spoiler="Welcome to Cornath"]</p><p>Welcome to Cornath</p><p>Cornath wasn’t always this way. Marigolds</p><p>bloomed in the fall, snow fell gently in the</p><p>winter, the songbirds twittered through the</p><p>spring, and summers passed hot and pleasant.</p><p>The Archmages ruled together, using magic to</p><p>ensure their people would prosper. These same</p><p>leaders tore Cornath asunder.</p><p>For all their research and books, the Archmages</p><p>didn’t know that magic, their tool and the stuff</p><p>of chaos, was sentient. Tired of being bent by the</p><p>will of the Archmages, magic retaliated, causing</p><p>deep tragedy for each leader. In trying to reverse</p><p>these catastrophes, the Archmages reached too</p><p>far, using magic to correct errors until chaos</p><p>poisoned their souls and made them wicked.</p><p>As greed and suspicion grew in their shrinking</p><p>hearts, the Archmages raised armies of the dead,</p><p>summoned monsters from other worlds, and</p><p>twisted animals amd plants to create horrifying,</p><p>hungry amalgamations. Their forces warred,</p><p>uncaring for the innocent people the Archmages</p><p>once protected caught in a tide of blood. The</p><p>powerful spells of the Archmages suffused the</p><p>land with a toxic fog called the Miasma that turns</p><p>good folk cruel. The people gave their once-great</p><p>leaders a new name—Necromancers.</p><p>The survivors of the War of Necromancers dug</p><p>into the ruins of their once-great kingdoms and</p><p>huddled together to keep the monsters at bay.</p><p>Fifty years ago the war began. Ten years ago,</p><p>the Necromancers disappeared, but their beasts</p><p>remain, living in the bones of Cornath. The small</p><p>villages of survivors started to venture out into</p><p>the Miasma to find each other. In this harsh,</p><p>cruel world, humanity began to reconnect, and</p><p>with it came renewed trade. The roads were</p><p>overgrown and perilous, but the chance to make</p><p>coin had merchants traveling and gave rise to</p><p>the crows—scavengers brave or foolish enough</p><p>to pick over the bones of the dead in monster-</p><p>infested holes. The crows hope that each new</p><p>ruin they enter holds wealth waiting to be</p><p>unveiled by torchlight. Many find only death.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>There are a bunch of Necromancers described & all of them start out with a powerful mage who tried to do something good but through their own failures & corruption brought down a civilization in the process of creating the dungeons players delve for riches. Here's one</p><p>[spoiler="Amaryll"]</p><p>The Necromancers</p><p>Once the benevolent and wise Archmages, each</p><p>Necromancers has an associated magic discipline</p><p>and monster type.</p><p>Amaryll</p><p>Amaryll the Generous, virtuoso with elemental</p><p>magic, created spells that helped control the</p><p>weather and grow farms. To help feed an</p><p>expanding populace, she cast a spell to make the</p><p>sun shine with greater nourishment. The magic</p><p>unexpectedly enhanced the sun’s heat and length</p><p>of days, scorching crops. To make up for the</p><p>shortage she created a new breed of supernatural</p><p>plants ... that turned out to be more interested</p><p>in eating humans than providing food for them.</p><p>Amaryll didn’t see their creation as a blunder,</p><p>but rather as an improvement over humans.</p><p>Her plant monsters were evolved creature who</p><p>deserved to inherit the earth from humans. She</p><p>deserved the power of the other Necromancers.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p>The Necromancers all have a really interesting linked goal & disaster with some of them getting their start by reacting to other Necromancers.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="tetrasodium, post: 9893977, member: 93670"] It doesn't seem like anyone has posted about it since the teaster got posted to patreon a few days back so I figured I'd channel The Necromancers from Crows & revive this. MMCDM put out an 18 page preview[URL='https://www.patreon.com/posts/155290025']/teaser packet[/URL] for crows recently & James Introcaso along with DeficientMaster were in a pretty good Questing Beast interview about old school & modern campaigns. The rules very much carry old school gameplay vibes in good ways while being viscerally different from what is typically seen in OSR games. [spoiler="video here"] [MEDIA=youtube]-KvfYFMDihE[/MEDIA] [URL='https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-KvfYFMDihE']link[/URL] [/spoiler] I'm including the video because he talks a little about Crows. The teaser packet is heavy on lore and contains parts of a many interesting subsystems related to skills player driven problem solving & so on. The filename mentions"[I]Rules Preview[/I]" & you can kinda piece together a lot by reading through it , but in isolation I think that the world lore conveys a lot more of stuff not telegraphed in the interview so I'll quote some of that instead of misleading anyone with isolated rules snippets. [spoiler="fortune or Death"] Fortune or Death! Crows is unfair. It doesn’t care about your character’s level. Charge at a behemoth without a good plan to take it down, and you’re probably going to end up as a puddle of gore. This game’s math hasn’t been balanced to ensure players win most of the time. But the unfairness goes both ways. Come with a clever plan to defeat that behemoth, like dropping the cave ceiling on their head while they slumber, and you can win the day without a fight. A good plan or clever thinking won’t just save your life, it’ll get you paid—and that’s the whole point. Your life will be easier and you’ll still get the gold and the XP if you can just sneak by that behemoth with your pockets full of coins. In Crows, the players create adventurers in a desolate world who dive into horror-infested ruins for gold, gems, and other treasures. Sure, these adventurers occasionally perform courageous, selfless acts and might be moral people, but they aren’t heroes. It’s greed, thrill- seeking, or lack of other ways to make a living that drives them into the dark where gold and ravenous eyes gleam in the torchlight. It’s a risky job—surviving a dungeon takes strength, smarts, and reflexes. Coming out a little richer than you were going in also takes luck. The rules of Crows are inspired by some incredible games that are also worth your time and money. Check out Apocalypse World, The Black Hack, Cairn, Knave, Mausritter, Shadowdark, and Troika! Cornath Optional The rules refer to the land of Cornath, the campaign setting where the dungeons included with Crows are set. The Ref can use just the rules of this game to creatre their own monsters, dungeons, items, traits, backgrounds, and campaign setting and ignore the lore of Cornath. [/spoiler] [spoiler="Welcome to Cornath"] Welcome to Cornath Cornath wasn’t always this way. Marigolds bloomed in the fall, snow fell gently in the winter, the songbirds twittered through the spring, and summers passed hot and pleasant. The Archmages ruled together, using magic to ensure their people would prosper. These same leaders tore Cornath asunder. For all their research and books, the Archmages didn’t know that magic, their tool and the stuff of chaos, was sentient. Tired of being bent by the will of the Archmages, magic retaliated, causing deep tragedy for each leader. In trying to reverse these catastrophes, the Archmages reached too far, using magic to correct errors until chaos poisoned their souls and made them wicked. As greed and suspicion grew in their shrinking hearts, the Archmages raised armies of the dead, summoned monsters from other worlds, and twisted animals amd plants to create horrifying, hungry amalgamations. Their forces warred, uncaring for the innocent people the Archmages once protected caught in a tide of blood. The powerful spells of the Archmages suffused the land with a toxic fog called the Miasma that turns good folk cruel. The people gave their once-great leaders a new name—Necromancers. The survivors of the War of Necromancers dug into the ruins of their once-great kingdoms and huddled together to keep the monsters at bay. Fifty years ago the war began. Ten years ago, the Necromancers disappeared, but their beasts remain, living in the bones of Cornath. The small villages of survivors started to venture out into the Miasma to find each other. In this harsh, cruel world, humanity began to reconnect, and with it came renewed trade. The roads were overgrown and perilous, but the chance to make coin had merchants traveling and gave rise to the crows—scavengers brave or foolish enough to pick over the bones of the dead in monster- infested holes. The crows hope that each new ruin they enter holds wealth waiting to be unveiled by torchlight. Many find only death. [/spoiler] There are a bunch of Necromancers described & all of them start out with a powerful mage who tried to do something good but through their own failures & corruption brought down a civilization in the process of creating the dungeons players delve for riches. Here's one [spoiler="Amaryll"] The Necromancers Once the benevolent and wise Archmages, each Necromancers has an associated magic discipline and monster type. Amaryll Amaryll the Generous, virtuoso with elemental magic, created spells that helped control the weather and grow farms. To help feed an expanding populace, she cast a spell to make the sun shine with greater nourishment. The magic unexpectedly enhanced the sun’s heat and length of days, scorching crops. To make up for the shortage she created a new breed of supernatural plants ... that turned out to be more interested in eating humans than providing food for them. Amaryll didn’t see their creation as a blunder, but rather as an improvement over humans. Her plant monsters were evolved creature who deserved to inherit the earth from humans. She deserved the power of the other Necromancers. [/spoiler] The Necromancers all have a really interesting linked goal & disaster with some of them getting their start by reacting to other Necromancers. [/QUOTE]
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