Good Gaming Thread's Valiant Retirement (Signs to Further Pastures)

Good Gaming: Living In These Modern Times Pt. 3: Three Hidden Masters: Wesley Harlan, Sweet Clara Harlan, and Shi’loung Wei.

”If I were to serve under any man, it would be General Harlan.” –Gerdun Vex, Shadowkind Outlaw, 1851.

“Though the men who came from across the sea were foul creatures, there are a noble few. Wesley Harlan, may his soul rest in peace in the land of his fathers, was one of them.” –Allocated to an unknown Choctaw Warrior eulogizing Harlan in 1883.

“Loyalty, Knowledge, and Inner Strength; the Harlan family’s motto. Few would know that, but you see it any time you put on your uniform. Honor the man who created our Company by living up to his bloodline, and finishing the job he left for us.” – M. Sgt. Jonathan Halberstein, shortly before the Battle of the Forest of Knives, 1913.


When one establishes a Modern Fantasy setting, there are certain questions which need to be asked. One of the largest of these questions is: how exactly do governments and individual organizations around the world perceive the Shadow, magic, and its use in their everyday affairs? Along with the help of a group of players in a Gaslights game I ran, I helped to establish just that for the United States government.

There have been several different groups to hold to this; the Weird West of Deadlands has the Texas Rangers, which I find to be one of the better published interpretations of a lawful organization to monitor the comings and goings of things that go bump in the night. For my own campaign, there was Harlan’s Guard, which would later be established as the Five Companies, or colloquially as the Rainbow Companies.

Wesley Harlan was your standard gentleman soldier; raised in the Tidewater of Virginia, he made frequent trips to the then newly established capital. In 1817, at the age of 14, he was said to have his first glimpse of the Shadow, and from then on he became hooked. Learning as much as he could about the Mystic Arts, he soon found the Tidewater was filled with practitioners of different practices. Learning African traditions alongside some from various vagabonds who found themselves on American soil and seeking to make a buck, Harlan had become a competent practitioner by 1830, 10 years into his stint as a commissioned officer in the United States Army.

Sent South for a year, Harlan was commissioned as a leader in the forcible removal of the Choctaw from their ancestral holdings. Finding some members of the tribe familiar with magic he had never seen before, Harlan approached a wise woman and asked her favor, explaining his predicament. The women denied his request, cursing him as the march continued.

It was at a place which became known as Harlan’s Gap that Wesley proved himself worthy of their teachings. Hemmed in by a pack of strange beasts, the soldiers in the contingent began to turn and run. Harlan, asking for aid and succor from the tribal elders, devised a ritual to turn the beasts away, making them clear to all those around them. The basic ritual, which would become known as Harlan’s Eye, was one of the first European rituals to incorporate Native and African magical traditions in its use. Esoterica (Arcane Lore) scholars proclaim the Skirmish at Harlan’s Gap to be the start of the Foxfire mystical tradition*, which would become the fama vitae of the Rainbow Companies until the adoption of the Germanic MAGMA tradition during the Second World War.

Sweet Clara Harlan, a Choctaw maiden studying the mystical traditions of her people, became close friends with Harlan over their trek, and it was through her influence that many Choctaw were protected and given aid by the Army soldiers with Harlan. When the Choctaw tribe arrived in Oklahoma, the elders of the tribe embraced Harlan as one of their own, and for fifteen years he stayed in the Indian Territories, learning from various tribes and those men and women of the Art who passed through on their own sojourns into the wilds of the pre-expansion West. Harlan was granted a small garrison of troops at a city first known as Hadrian (renamed Harlan after his death) and had four children.
Sweet Clara, who esoteric historians claim was a far more able practitioner than Harlan, helped Wesley to train several Choctaw, Cherokee, and other tribe’s talented but unlearned practitioners in the ways of the Foxfire tradition. When word spread, a Shadow group known as the American Foreign Exchange sent several of its own men and women of various races and species. Many of these men and women were granted commissions through Harlan (then an undersecretary to the governor of the Territories and leader of its military arm) which would have been impossible for them to gain by normal (some would say legal) consent of the US Army during the period.

In 1853, this group petitioned the US Congress and the Office of Indian Affairs to force the US Army to grant de jure commission to the so-called
”Black Guard of Oklahoma, currently under the command of Undersecretary Wesley J. Harlan”. A large amount of quiet negotiation occurred, and as of 1854 the group, to become known as Harlan’s Guard during the Civil War, came into being.

The Guard, a group of integrated male and female spellcasters, was the first of its kind in the Western World. Though all paperwork was handled in a non-challenging manner (Sweet Clara was noted as “S. Clarence Harlan” in all documentation from the period) there were many in power who found the cost of such a small group of soldiers to be prohibitive. During the Civil War (officially proclaimed a ‘Starless’, or non-magical, war through the Protocols established by the European Convocation of 1543), Harlan’s Guard served on both sides, preventing either from utilizing spellcasting or conjuring to any great effect. Once the War was over, Harlan’s Guard served during Reconstruction in more of an advisory role.

It was also during this time that Harlan’s Guard gained Shi’loung Wei as a member. A young Chinese immigrant, Shi’loung was a talented spellcaster, and took to the Foxfire tradition without any great difficulty. Serving as an elegant (if somewhat strange for the period) spokesperson for the Guard, Shi’loung helped to coin the term ‘Rainbow Company’ when the group was expanded to include Shadow-aware soldiers of the Army and Navy who could utilize some technology and ballistic advancements made by the Guard to combat Shadow threats.

In 1871, Harlan found that Shi’loung Wei was involved with a large-scale conspiracy with several Chinese traders, and had been leaking information on US government secrets garnered through discussions with Harlan and his high command. Though not the iron-sided magus that he used to be, Harlan challenged Shi’loung to a traditional mystic’s duel, with Shi’loung being granted the choice of battlefield. This event, known to Esoterica scholars as the Duel of the Fiery Sky, caused the death of Harlan and the unveiling of Shi’loung as an allegedly long-dead dragon of Chinese legend. Honor-bound, Shi’loung walked away from the battle disgraced, and it is said went back to the organization allegedly founded by the drake, now known as Shi-Lung.


Now, I know that that probably read like history to you… and I don’t blame you. However, I am trying to display just how setting dynamics are formed, along with introducing the concept of the powers behind the scenes. In my setting, Harlan (just like Aleksei) was/is an important individual. A few of the items created by his family (including the Honors, enchanted cavalry sabers granted to officers of the Rainbow Companies) are seen from time to time, and Foxfire is a tradition which is alive and well. Shi’loung is a perfect example of a monstrous Hidden Master; dragons have a traditionally long lifespan, the ability to change shape, and a mastery of magic. This, combined with powerful intellects and charm makes the dragon a great creature for a founder of a mystical tradition, a historian, a sage in some distant hillside town in Scotland… you name it.

Hopefully next article we’ll get into some of the unique challenges of doing Hidden Masters, and how to allow humanoid types of creatures into your games. It’s going to be fun, but until next time, as always . . .

Good Gaming,
Slainte,

-Loonook.

*The concept of Traditions (found in Elements of Magic - Mythic Earth) in Modern really is one of my favorite systems of magic. It took a lot of poking and prodding (along with someone actually purchasing the book for my stubborn behind) for me to read and see the interesting nature of the skill-based magics presented therein. However, there are only a handful of traditions; I think that there should be more, and with a wider focus. Thus, I would love to publish another add-on; however, I have no idea exactly how to do all of the OGC/OGL rigmarole of dealing with the book’s work. If anyone knows how to do so (and would like to actually see some more interesting traditions like Foxfire and MAGMA done in a nice, cozy PDF format) please throw me a line @yahoo.com.
 

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Good Gaming: Living In These Modern Times Pt. 4: Hidden Master: Jonathan S. Cheshire and Sizing Up Hidden Masters.

The Court wanted blood. As he looked about the streets of Washington, Ash LaFontaine, Knight Courtier of the Summer Court felt more nervous than he had in twenty years. The smells of gasoline and the hum of the electric wire irritated his senses. Perhaps he would be able to make it back to the Court before his head began to ring from the stench. Those who passed by him on the Mall gave him a wide berth though he only appeared to be a strange brand of homeless to them; his kelly green courtier’s coat appearing to them as some strange takeoff of a Army topcoat, the conjure stick an ornate crutch.

After wending through the paths around it he came to the Washington Monument and saw his quarry. Dressed to the nines, Jonathan looked like he belonged in the city. Smoking a cigarette through a long holder Jon tapped the ash onto the ground, and his smile as he saw Ash approach sent a shiver down the Knight’s spine.

Jonathan stood in his sable pelted glory, a Deep Malkin. Some said that he spoke to spirits, others said he manipulated the shadows around him. All agreed that he stalked like a man-cat, and was the chosen man for such work as Ash had to give. His teeth shone bright white as his grin broadened. He struck the cigarette on the small surrounding wall of the monument and tucked the butt into a pocket of his suit coat.

“Ahh, the Ladies are in an uproar. I have spoken to the Lord of the Potomac, and so my retainer to the Dominion of this place is up. How fall the leaves in the Titania’s Court this year?”

“The leaves never fall in Her Blessed Summer Queen’s Court, though I doubt you have seen the Bright Gate in a century. You’ve gone native, I see.”

“In this place of courtiers and politico I would think your services well-suited. Perhaps you could lower your bonds and come to work with me. There is quite a business here in the paths we walk, sapling.”

“Aye, and perhaps if I came with you in friendship you wouldn’t claw at my roots so.”

The drayer’s comment seemed to struck Jon’s fancy, as he laughed heartily. He offered a cigarette to the courtier, who declined.

“Ahh, Our Lady is on a health kick, I understand. I have heard the issues; someone fell the Autumn Lord’s consort to the Titania. So, to save face . . . you wish me to find him. Or her.” Cheshire’s head tilted to the side, and his ears twitched slightly as he licked his front teeth in a predatory gesture. Ash grabbed his conjure with both hands, wringing the staff betwixt them.

“Yes, I hear much from the Court. I know of your battles in the Nighttime, and the fact that you have gained a warrior’s commission. Impressive for one in such an intemperate court. However, I know who you seek . . . the entities I know of here are wise. I’ll take the commission for the standard fee, plus I desire something else.”

“What would you like, Wild One?”

“I want a Pass to the Convocation. I hear the Winter Lady will hold it, and I have a few questions for a member of her Court . . . where better to ask in their stronghold?”

“Ahh . . . you wish to know who it was, eh? I will seek it for you, Malkin, and perhaps our Lady will provide.”

“Then take leave . . . I will present your prize by the 23rd.” Seeing the blank stare of the courtier, he quickly added “less than a fortnight. Give the Titania my love.”

That snark, and its questioning tone, would be granted swift punishment beyond the Bright Gate. As Ash turned to challenge the remark all he saw was the fading face of the Malkin known as the Cheshire Cat as he stepped into the shadows.


Jonathan Stepford Cheshire is an interesting creature, and the reason being is for appearance sake. A Malkin (a demon or fey who takes the form of a cat or other small animal, sometimes as a familiar), Jonathan was trapped in England by a sorcerer. After freeing himself by brutal means, he took on the name of his captor (Jonathan Stepford) and his residence (County Chester, or Cheshire). He has lived two hundred years as a fey in exile, but he is the wetworks man for anyone who can hire him, but has also served as a bodyguard and expert on esoterica (especially in regards to the Western Fey [Sidhe]).

I wanted to create an answer to Carroll’s Cheshire Cat; a creature who could use the ability to fade and become shadowy, and who had obvious ties to a court. As Fey in my campaign are not necessarily all humanoid, the chances of creating a uniquely memorable malkin was present, and I took it.

Jon Cheshire was probably one of the first Modern Hidden Masters I worked on. As I have said before, I don’t like certain creatures in Modern; Dragons are difficult to see working out without dealing with the issues of size (or the necessity to change shape to something more palatable). The same goes for Cheshire’s initial inspiration; Displacer Beasts. I just cannot see a Displacer Beast wandering about the cityscape without being spotted as something. The occasional monster encounter is definitely important, but in a Modern Fantasy game I like having the option of having unique humanoids who have certain abilities.

Also, sadly, Displacer Beasts are considered product identity by Wizards. Which makes them a no-no in your normal published adventure. However, since this is just an article and I am (sadly) not being paid for the chance of giving you wonderful advice, we’ll work with it.
I think that most of you can easily puzzle through the conversion of a displacer beast to a humanoid form. Boost mental stats, give the ability to speak the local language (and appropriate) and shrink him down to Medium. Now, here, I gave Jon the half-giant ability to treat himself as one size category larger for carriage, weapons, etc. He’s lost some of the benefits of being a Large quadruped, but the weaknesses are made up for by the strengths. Figure out a balanced CR, then get the levels you want for him (I made him Strong/Charismatic to go into Shadow Slayer/Arcane Arranger for the Gestalt setup I do for my usual small groups of Modern players). If I wanted to change it up, I may have used Changeling or a similar template to give him some useful abilities, but my current conversion uses the Fey Trickery tradition from Mythic Earth. He has a small amount of beneficial magic that he can perform, and he’s a great CR 10-13 challenge along with a solid backup.

One of my favorite 3rd party sources for making adjustments and interesting and mechanically relevant creatures is Silverthorne Game’s Book of Templates: Deluxe Edition. When dealing with larger creatures the half-humanoid template is quite incredible. Though usually I support a more loosely-defined series of encounters from personal gaming experience, Silverthorne has produced an excellent book for you. I’ve been using it since a player decided I needed the PDF after a discussion over how constraining it was to make a specific creature come to fruition, and since then it’s been a useful template (no pun intended) for dozens of unique humanoid and other creatures. It is also in one of my preferred modes; suggestive, but not forceful. The Half-humanoid template, for example, provides some great discussion on how to adjust the template and the specific abilities of the creatures involved for each game. At 10 bucks, it’s a good pickup.

Wow… I just shilled right there. Ehh, I’m not above it ;). However, in summation of the previous discussions of Hidden Masters, there are a few basic types:

  • The Unknown Master – This is most likely a character which is mentioned, but doesn’t make an appearance. The Harlans are an example of this; they are integral to the setting, but they would only appear as possible PCs in specific periods.
  • The Knowledgeable Master – This is a creature which has gained specific powers beyond its normal ken. In my setting we call them Weirders (and the arts they practice are collectively Weirding). The Phooka or Spriggan from my previous article Goblins, Gewgaws, and Glorious Generalities Pt. 4: The Goblins in Fluff and Crunch
  • The Altered Master – A creature which hides as a humanoid or appropriate creature. Shi’loung Wei or Jonathan Stepford Cheshire are examples of Altered Masters.

Next article (and hopefully the last of this specific series) will discuss a couple of options of how to treat the Veil and Shadow in your game.

As Always,

Good Gaming,
Slainte,

-Loonook.
 

Good Gaming: Living In These Modern Times Pt. 5: The Veil, Veiling, Glamour, and Other Luxuries

Maury hated doing door duty, but the costs of his education required a bouncing shift every now and again. The club’s owner required doormen to wear a funny uniform; his bowler hat smelled like stale beer and a tinge of sex, but the oversized glasses made him look like some child’s version of a Blues Brother. He nervously thumbed the set of silvery knuckle dusters his manager gave him every night; usually he was doing double-duty with someone, but tonight the normal guy didn’t show up. And on a night the club looked like it was ready to overflow.

The odd glint of the glasses gave everything a red cast, but he figured he could get along with it. Every once in awhile he thought he saw something strange out of the corner of his eye, but it was usually just Bruce escorting some pale poser and his already wasted date away from the club. ****ing leeches; Maury laughed when Bruce would say it the first couple of nights, but the older bouncer gave him a look which chilled him to the bone. He looked more like a cop than a bouncer; his muscle was lean and set, a fighter’s build. The bulkier Maury could only wonder exactly how much of Bruce would be able to do if it came down to him and a couple of rousters deciding to get frisky.

In the back of the group he saw Bruce, along with some chick. Though a lot of the guys he ran with said that he shouldn’t be working with such an obvious fairy, Maury always thought Bruce was more straight than anything . . . and even so he doubted any of the gay guys he knew would turn this girl down. He let a couple by who threw him a fifty to get through, and then turned to Bruce as he came up.

The glasses seemed to flicker a bit, and he saw Bruce looked sickly… but then the older bouncer pulled the shades off.

“I always hated these. How are they supposed to take us seriously, with sunglasses at night? Maury, this is my date, Elisa. Say hello Elisa.” The girl was hanging all over Bruce, and she seemed to be somewhat out of it. Maybe she needed a few to be seen in public with an aging queen; or maybe Bruce liked his girls a bit out of it. Maury, who had seen enough when he was around the club, just laughed and told Bruce he’d cover him for tonight.

“Nah . . . I was thinking man. I got some stuff. It’s pretty good, keep you picked up until the morning. Maybe me and you could head off, get one of Elisa’s friends to tag along?” Bruce smiled at Maury, flicking his tongue over his teeth lewdly. The porky bouncer didn’t have to be told twice, especially if this chick’s friends were as hot as she was. Maury went and got Diamond D, one of the senior bouncers, to cover him as he said he felt like crap and wanted to head home.

Diamond D, another one of Mark’s big muscled men, gave a knowing grin and let Maury off the hook. It took the three partiers five minutes to find Elisa’s car, a nice-sized SUV which told Maury that his buddy, gay or straight, was moving up in the world. Bruce tossed him the keys and hopped in back with Elisa.

They were driving past the club when Maury heard Elisa moaning in the back seat. To give the two lovers some privacy the bouncer turned his rearview to focus on the vehicles behind. A lone motorcyclist, seemingly glaring his beam right into the driver’s side mirror, was the only traffic that followed him out of the neighborhood.

The moaning got louder, and a slight squeal was added.

“Hey, could you keep her quiet man? I gotta watch the damn road and it’s starting to get a bit distracting!” Maury screamed back, and was answered with a sharp crackling sound. Apparently Bruce decided to get some traction, but Elisa had gotten quiet.

Bruce finally leaned his head forward, and put his hand on Maury’s shoulder. His grip was a hell of a lot stronger than the bouncer remembered. Maury almost screamed when he saw Bruce’s face in the rearview, but he slammed on the brakes first. The image of Bruce, pale and wan, covered from the bridge of his nose down to his crisp white shirt in blood would haunt the bouncer to the end of his days.

The cyclist pulled up alongside the car, and dismounted. A lithe biker got off the bike, grabbed something from the carrying rack, and proceeded to where Bruce lay in the intersection. A soft sound, several pops that pierced through the general post-crash din, were all that was audible. When the biker walked up to the post Maury saw her face; Andrea, the bartender who was coming off shift when he left.

“You shoulda paid attention, linebacker. He told you to watch out for leeches.”



The Veil. Now, I had a couple of questions in my box on this one, so we’ll discuss it. The Veil is the term I use for the item which separates the Shadow Aware from the Shadow Ignorant. Ordinaries, Heroes below a certain interaction level with Shadow creatures, and normal, everyday Humans are fooled by the Veil. To the normal person a Shadowkind appears human; perhaps a large, small, or strange-looking human, but a human nonetheless. Those who have ‘Pierced the Veil’ know what’s actually going on. The way they deal with this may be different; some may decide to adventure, others to sit in a corner and go crazy, still others get an advantage from knowing things about how this new and strange world works.

In my Modern games we decided to make the Veil akin to a curse. There is a Will Save (around 12-14) to see an individual Shadowkind if the observation would be notably off-kilter in comparison to normal human behavior. A human being shouldn’t be able to lift a car, wave his hand and throw fire, and most skeletons don’t get up and start tearing apart Ordinaries. Those who are Shadowkind, non-native planars, or who have the Magical, Divine Heritage or one of the Mystical Tradition feats would be able to bypass the Veil as a matter of course. If a target passes 3 saves in a row, he/she is considered ‘Shadow Aware’.

The Veil gives an interesting mechanic which may not fit into the average campaign, but it’s a setup for the concept of Glamour. Glamour, for the uninitiated, is something which appears in many legends about the fey and other mystical beasties. In essence, glamour functions similar to the alter self spell. However, in some legends, creatures can change size, making themselves as small as a tick or as large as a titan. How exactly can we, as DMs, make this a possibility?

In most Vancian Magic games, we’d deal with it by using Polymorph and similar spells. As a ritual in Urban Arcana, you’re getting around 12 minutes for a 60 minute ritual. Mythic Earth will give you a form to change into . . . but both limit you to one size category difference (without getting into some major checks either way). So, sadly, we are somewhat limited . . . unless we use illusion.

Crossing Illusion and Transform seeds in Mythic Earth (or the Delude and Transform seeds in Urban Arcana) you may be able to mimic an effect, but it is usually going to work best for highly powerful creatures. And to be honest, I wholeheartedly support the position. While a goblin should be protected by the Veil, it should take a talented spellcaster (goblin or no) to make the gobbo appear to be a strikingly handsome human.
Though I like the green-skinned everymen of the goblinoid persuasion, they’re just ugly enough to make things difficult in a beauty situation ;).

With the right amount of alteration and seaming, you can make the world more interesting. Shadow Awareness should be an important part of the low-level Modern Fantasy game. While some of your characters are seasoned veterans of the Shadow community, others should be babes in the woods. Items (such as the rose-colored sunglasses Maury wears in the narrative above) could be made for temporary visual confirmations, having the Shadow be a hidden wonder for the first few levels is a great hook for a DM.

The next article we’ll discuss some of the misconceptions that cross between Modern and Fantasy games. Hopefully the next few articles will help to give you some ideas on how to handle some of the problems we face in the post-Tolkien fantasy gaming realm.
 

Good Gaming: Stereotypes, Wonderful Stereotypes Pt. 1: Elves are from Toril, and That’s Final. Also, in Other News: A Contest!

. . .July 5th, 2006,

Short jot today, but I gotta get some of this off my chest.

I can’t stand the nonsense. It’s been five months since I came from the Old Country, and I like my foster folks . . . they’re good people, but it’s petrifying. I want to be able to go my own way, and this whole nonsense irritates me. My friends walk in and talk crap at school when they see me wearing the hammer pendant that Mrs. Stonewall gave me for my birthday. I think it’s my birthday; I remember them telling me my day was on the Solstice, and so we’ve went with it.

I don’t remember much, but I got enough of it to keep me going. At JHHS I have to put up with all the Mundie kids, and every once in awhile one of the kids gets his or her Eyes open and come up to me to ask questions. Do we really like to drink? Do I carry around a hammer when I’m out of school? How do I deal with Gordie and the goblin crew who I sit by during Shop? Like I’m some kind of Tolkie just because I still believe in the Allfather and dream about the Hall when I toss and turn at night.

It’s been two weeks since I started working at the Iron Horse Brewhouse; I got some fake papers and I got a job working fryers and orders in the kitchen. The smells of roast mutton and wings covers me when I leave, and the stupid horned hat they make me wear when I’m running the order window is humiliating. Sometimes I go and hang out behind; Jom, the shorty who works the server swing, is a cute girl . . . but I’m afraid to bring her home to my ‘parents’. Hell would come home if I told them about smoking cigarettes and catching a feel with a Halfling girl out behind the dumpsters. Mr. Stonewall says the beer they make is weaker than his **** after a good night with ‘the men’. Whatever; it’s a paycheck.

But, the coolest thing happened tonight, so I figured I’d write about it. Mr. Gemsall decided to let me come with him to the Moira show down at Dockside Tavern. I picked up their music; most of my friends at JHHS can’t stand them, but hearing those heavy beats and junky guitar . . .

It reminds me of home. I pray to you, Hammerlord, that Mom and Dad aren’t worried. I wish I could know what is going on. I just hope that Jarin is okay. I’m sorry about what happened, and I hope you all know that I love you, even though I said some mean things before I disappeared . . .

- Diary of a Dwarven High School student.


Why do we all believe that elves live in tree forts and Dwarves in their great stone halls? What specifically about these creatures requires us to follow the party line when it comes to them? I know, as geeks we all read Tolkien. Or one of the followers of Tolkien. Hell, maybe some of you just watched the movies. And I know, as I have said time and again, that our settings must be outside of the vacuum. However, it seems that the average d20 Fantasy game, be it Modern or D&D and its derivatives, follows a lot of the paradigms set forth by Tolkien. Humans are the big race, Elves live in their isolationist hippie communes, Halflings sit around smoking pipes all day and throwing stones, Dwarves have to sing of honor and the worlds around them.

Let’s try to break this pattern, shall we?

Now, we all know the mechanics of the groups involved. Elves have certain talents, Dex bonus, Con. penalty, etc. and so on and so on for the other groups. Dwarves are strong-backed, stable, and have a certain amount of protection against spells and poisons . . . read the listing if you cannot recall the benefits by heart.

Now, mechanically, there is no benefit for the Elf to be a hippyish fop. Dwarves get a certain benefit dealing with stone, but that doesn’t require them to stay in deep fortifications. Halflings probably have the most apt set of skills and abilities for their favored class; we all know Small characters make good rogues for obvious reasons. However, large amounts of the D&D player/DM population are stuck on concepts written down almost eighty years ago and the works that came later. While we all owe a good deal of praise to the work of Tolkien (lest, most likely, we wouldn’t be having articles or forums to argue about today) I think we can safely put to bed the old ideas of fantasy gaming and move towards new ones.

Thought Experiment Contest

Let us think, then, of how the standard D&D races define themselves and their talents. I propose a contest; the best entry will receive a prize (which, due to my limited resources, will be handmade) of having his (or her) 3 questions become the brace of a new article series, which will hopefully create an interesting series for the rest of us. The winner may also receive a good 3rd party PDF if I can rake together the cash required to do so (I am a poor education worker, so bare with my spendthrift nature). The contest question is:

Using only the inherent talents granted by their racial benefits described in the Core Rules (no fluff, just stats), create a single character, prestige class, or organization which would be fitting for one of the following:
  • Dwarf
  • Elf
  • Drow
  • Halfling
  • Bugbear
  • Gnome.

When I receive 10 entries at my email address (loonook@yahoo.com) I will judge the entries based on merit, and each of them will find a place into a separately posting ‘reader’s choice’ poll. Out of the two entries (if two) selected, we will select a winner. Entries close at 12:00 AM Eastern on March 1st, 2008.

Next article will include some interesting possibilities for Fantasy and Modern Fantasy Shadowkind, along with some of my own ideas on the subject.

Until then,

Good Gaming,
Slainte,

-Loonook.
 

Apologies and Regrets

Now, this isn't a normal post... however, I felt I owed all of you that keep wanting to read some explanation to my recent absence.

To be honest, I haven't had enough time between work and home to post a Good Gaming article which I found worth you reading. Yes, I have a few in the pipeline (a writeup of doppelgangers and the possibilities of what exactly they come from, an article on Modern magic and D&D tradition 'feats' for use in Mythic Earth campaigning)...

However, when you're working 18-19 days out of every 20, it becomes difficult to get a good article published. Also, I feel as if the most recent content posted hasn't been up to the very standards I established early in this series. They have gone from academic-style musings to something akin to intellectual... self pleasure, at points. Which is not what I wanted. These articles were the ones written while I was either away on business or sledging through the job and trying to make sure I posted once every few days.

The contest is not doing well, sad to say, but I hope that will be remedied as we come down to the wire. A lush possible windfall may actually allow for prizes to be established, which would be spectacular for those who put such hard work in.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I will go get some (hopeful) rest.

As always...

Good Gaming,

Slainte,

-Loonook.

PP: Some of my readers may see this as the swan's song for the articles; to these readers I say just hold on to your bonnets. When it becomes possible (hopefully this week) to finish the hashing out of one of these articles, it will be posted. Until then, I hope you will point your friends towards the articles already published. I am also going to start a thread for responses to these articles; as I asked in the OP, no one has posted inside this thread, and for this I am quite thankful. Those of you who have expressed interests in working on projects together... I hope we can get to it once this glut leaves us.
 

Good Gaming Supplement: Doppelgangers: An Introduction to a Possible Societal Structure.

As those of you who have read the previous post noted, I am going to try returning to the Bread and Butter of this series (i.e. that which was stated as such in the Original Post) and veer away from previous discussions to present a single exhaustive discussion of a topic. In this supplemental I’ll be dealing with an issue which is ill-discussed in most materials. These questions will mainly focus on Doppelgangers, but will also branch other shapeshifting species where possible.

One of the questions which I have never found a satisfactory answer to in D&D past or present has to do with the origin of the Doppelganger. While so many probably use these creatures in a sort of shapeshifter’s rogue’s gallery, I find the Doppelganger to be one of the more interesting aspects of fantasy literature, and their portrayal in D&D makes them fantastic for use in many different ways. However, I have always wondered exactly where and why these creatures came into being. Discussions of the nature of shape-shifting myths and creatures beside, my gaming groups have come up with three possible methods for the D&D doppelganger’s existence:

  • The Juin Hypothesis. In this concept, Doppelgangers are merely the expression of a larger communal force. These forces, named after the origin creature in a communal setting in which I’ve run several groups, are ‘living, breathing’ cities or structures. Forces have come about, be they magical, divine, infernal, or generally fluctuating and chaotic, and created a living entity which can separate itself into smaller pieces. I have seen the Juin hypothesis explored most often in the circles I deal with personally; the citystate of Primdeka (First Spirit) in my own setting is built around a single zeitgeist spirit (for whom I have used the creature of same name from Cityscape [p. 138] since picking up the book). A player of mine had the doppelganger race be the magnum opus for a cabal of mages who were obsessed with change, and had found an artifact which allowed them to fuse together and create an Ur-entity, bound to the sphere but able to send out Servitors.
  • The Otherworldly Hypothesis. Probably the most common amongst those who deal with the little grey-headed beasties, the Otherworldly hypothesis has them coming from another plane or form of existence, or perhaps an isolated location where such creatures have a chance to exist. This is my favored form for dealing with Changelings and their ilk, along with my favorite for Modern. This is a great example of ‘if it ain’t broke . . .’. However, there should be some thought as to where even these out-of-order creatures have spawned from.
  • The Agents of Chaos/Divine/Infernal Hypothesis: The other common thread, where shapeshifters come not from some strange place, but through the workings of the forces of the Outside. The concept of angelic shapeshifters, demonic form-changers, and similar are so common in mythology as to prove this a moot discussion; you’ve seen this one before. Created from pure chaos (or the force of a god of change or chaos), doppelgangers of this ilk are interesting . . . but ignore the fact that many of the beasties alleged creators go against the race’s overall leanings towards Neutrality.

This is by no means an exhaustive list; however, being as I am exhausted at this point, I feel that it is succinct and settled enough as to prove useful for a springboard. If you have any other specifics you want to look at, be my guest; the Reader’s Thread is also located on these forums to post your issues with this.

Next article, we will deal with Dopplegangers, shapeshifters, and the Juin hypothesis. Until then…

Good Gaming,

Slainte,

-Loonook.
 

Good Gaming Supplement: Doppelgangers and the Juin Hypothesis.

Before we open the article, some sad news; I have not received enough entries to make a sporting contest. Sadly, I have to discontinue our contest for now, and then work on getting something together later . . . even though I now have enough cash to throw a decent enough (even if small) prize for it. Ehh, c’est la vie. Instead we will be returning to those other articles at the completion of the Doppelganger series.

Now, onto the Juin hypothesis. This theory, as listed in our most recent article, states that Doppelgangers can form into a collective body which then can produce more of themselves, or take on forms beyond a standard doppelganger. The Juin type of doppelganger is asexual, but enters into a reproductive state which produces copies of the mass of doppelgangers currently in a collective. The Juin-style of doppelganger is similar to the race of Changelings presented in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which have a similar collective known as The Great Link. However, there are many different forms of Juin-type doppelganger.

Probably the most interesting Juin-type would be the Living City doppelganger. The first time I personally ran into the concept was in a friend’s off-and-on 2nd Edition game. Each player was a doppelganger (we crudely pieced them together with abilities and different ‘nifty’ talents) which was a youngling of one of the Masters of a large evershifting city. The city, known as <High Place> (due to the ability to detect thoughts, most of the names and concepts in the game were set down by the DM as thought pictures rather than names themselves), was hidden atop a mountain, kept from the rigors of other societies. I played a changeling who could alter its shape and style, and after gaining a certain magical item I was able to learn how to mimic other’s attacks, using these attacks in small bursts or extended over the day as I learned more and more of them. When I saw the Chameleon Prestige class I was almost sad that we never ported that game into 3.X for some more play. I really do miss my little <Flowing Trickster> quite a bit, because he was fun to play with.

The Juin-type of doppelganger gives some really interesting devices. In my own campaign, the doppelgangers of Primdeka are one of two sources for flowing silver; though most think that it is quicksilver enchanted, it is actually the remains of fallen doppelgangers or those who are punished for crimes against a collective. In the hands of an able mage, psion or artificer, the material can act with alarming changes; weapons can change on a moment’s notice to deal different damage, armor can become spiked at will, a heavy torc can be activated and spread across the body as reactive armor. Thankfully, most of these items are easily patched into your game using the Magic ItemMagic Item Compendium, which in and of itself is a great tool.

Next installment, we will cover the use of the third and final (Infernal/Angelic/Chaotic/Lawful Doppelgangers) along with some appearances in mythology of the Changeling and similar creatures. This is a short article I know . . . but due to schedule issues this is the length I can do in the time I have :).

Until Next Time,

Good Gaming,

Slainte,

-Loonook
 

Good Gaming Supplement: Doppelgangers and the Agent Hypothesis.

Well, welcome back my friends… it’s been a long time since I have had the energy to post a new article, but a good dose of sleep combined with a nice, warm place to sit out the winter storms has rejuvenated me, and so I decided to take a stab at the Agent Hypothesis.

As stated in the initial Supplement article, the Agent hypothesis goes something like this:

Previous said:
  • . . . Shapeshifters come not from some strange place, but through the workings of the forces of the Outside. The concept of angelic shapeshifters, demonic form-changers, and similar are so common in mythology as to prove this a moot discussion; you’ve seen this one before. Created from pure chaos (or the force of a god of change or chaos), doppelgangers of this ilk are interesting . . . but ignore the fact that many of the beasties alleged creators go against the race’s overall leanings towards Neutrality.

Now, this sounds promising. Doppelgangers being agents of divine, celestial, infernal… any sort of group. The Doppelganger serves as a great overall character; they have no truly ‘bad’ stat, they can use detect thoughts, and in their base form can change themselves into other creatures as long as they follow the rules of the ability (small or medium humanoid). Now, the different humanoids may not seem too much, but they are useful in their own ways; doppelgangers can give themselves some small extraordinary benefits, but the real pull is their ability to disguise. The disguising oneself as an enemy, friend, compatriot. . . the possibilities are endless.

While this provides them with some very useful abilities, most doppelgangers of the Agent type will be better served by having additional talents. The Warshaper class from Complete Warrior (p. 89-91) will serve a great step up for the abilities of any Agent. Harder to kill, stronger hitting, specialized weapons . . . he’s got them all Johnny. Chameleon, as mentioned in an earlier article, also serves as a good steppingstone class for the Agent on the go.

But when you’re looking at Agents of powers beyond mortal ken, we may want to spice them up a bit. Unique abilities, akin to those found in the DMG 2 (p. 157-160) are a good start, but there are always other things you can add on. Doppelgangers who serve their deities or powers well should have additional training to improve themselves. Perhaps Agent doppelgangers have a freer choice of abilities to pull from, at the cost of appearing the same no matter what. Granting additional natural weapons, improving their effect, and similar boosts would make for a frightening foe. But such a creature would most likely be a bestial aspect of Chaos, brutish or cunning he will lack the essence of being a doppelganger; the ability to blend in. The Book of Templates offers other intriguing choices for the doppelganger, but too much mixing may create a creature too far gone to really fit in anywhere.

Such a creature would make an excellent leader for a group of Changelings who are considered Reality Seekers (as discussed in Races of Eberron p. 44). The perfection of the Changeling form would draw some to such Agents the worlds over, and provide the Agent in turn with a possibly powerful force to defend itself and its interests.

In the next article, I hope to discuss the possibilities of non-humanoid shapeshifting, along with the possibilities of using these shapeshifters in your own game. The article itself is more of a cribwork, but I am always willing to look at interesting new ideas. Just remember, the email address is my name @yahoo.com.

Until Next Time,

Good Gaming,

Slainte,

-Loonook.
 
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Ahh, Good Gaming . . . . Sadly, due to a lot of personal issues which really came to a head after the last posting, this series has remained dormant for over 2 months.

Which is pathetic, I know, but right now I'm working on some new material.

The proposed article on non-humanoid shapeshifting is just about prepared for release on the thread, but what we're looking to cover here at LoonCorp in the next article series start as follows:

- Modern FX and Real World Mysticism - A topic near and dear to my heart, I am hoping to expand on Ranger Wickett's fine work in Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth and bring around a few new ideas to make something less Vancian and more fantastic be the end-all be-all of Modern gaming magics.

- Setting Discussion: I've had a lot of questions on how to work on setting craft and such, and this is a great way to deal with some of those questions.

- Constructs: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger Gaming - I'm hoping to do a long article/short series on proper play of constructs and handling of their creation based on 'real world' ideas on the subject. Some of which. . . may surprise you.

Also the standard loveable rakish nature as seen in previous articles. Thanks for those who have sent well-wishes; the family has been going through some hard times (cancer, Alzheimers, a messy family court proceeding) but some good things have come up (Loonook getting to practice the fine lost art of Geek Uncling ;) ). I hope that I'll be able to bring you more material, better material, and some ideas that will help you and yours over the Spring, Summer, and Fall.

As Always, Good Gaming.

Slainte,

-Loonook. (find me at name @ yahoo.com, as always).

PS: For those diehard readers; thanks for your necessity. I've seemingly had a lot of pointing to these articles occurring, which is always a nice thing to see.
 


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