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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Loonook" data-source="post: 4010617" data-attributes="member: 1861">Good Gaming: Living In These Modern Times Pt. 1: Hidden Masters, the Veil, and ShadowProfessor Jawahir had asked me to meet her at the coffee shop down on Fleer, and considering the tone of her voice I thought it wise to show up.  A stunning woman of Middle Eastern descent, Maritza was as beautiful at forty as most of the female grad students who took her seminar on Early Arab Mysticism.  So, as any down-and-out grad student who needed some free coffee to power through his next set of analyses, I decided to take her up on it.  Babylon was one of those trendy, specialist places, and their reproductions of early Ottoman carpets and tapestries were just tacky enough to make the place feel like home.  We had just sat down to a simple press sandwich when the real reason for her invitation approached.  I had seen the man a few times over the years; he was an elderly gentleman, African or perhaps Arab in descent, whose smile made the hairs on your neck stand up.  His perfect white teeth shone brightly as he sat down and began discussing with Maritza in a rushed, clipped Arabic which I could barely follow.  They had been old colleagues at a university library, and the man was disappointed that she had not come to work at his newest archive.“Where are my manners, my jewel.  Your newest boy looks quite . . . interesting.  He leaves your young Dodi far behind in the looks department.  Perhaps I could talk to him?  Are you looking for a position after your eventual graduation?  I could perhaps promise you some great things…” his smile turned more warm than I had seen in quite some time, especially for a man looking at a no-account student who would always be a step behind in any academic venture.“No, I believe we may be able to find him a position somewhere where his talents will go to good use, Ta.  That is what you’re going by, correct?  I find your real name quite tiresome from my lips . . . and today I do not wish to humor.”  I know when to leave an argument, and I made myself busy taking an order and getting the thick Turkish-style coffee that the newly-minted Ta seemed to prefer.  Almost burning myself on the serving kettle I shimmied myself through a group of semi-interested Comp Sci undergrads and brought the coffee, only to find Maritza and Ta engaged in a strange game of chess.  The pieces were in the wrong positions, and it seemed that they were using only part of the normal board to play.Each move seemed calculated until the game began to get complex, and Ta made some interesting choices.  Even as I watched I saw why Ta would be interested in bringing Maritza back to the fold; her play was impeccable, and even as he struck with brilliant gambits she replied with more interesting retorts.  Soon he seemed to be drinking the coffee as if it were an elixir, smiling as he made more and more dangerous moves.  “Ahh . . . now we see the issue.  You are far too trapped in your rules, the paths you take in the game are obvious.  I have had you since move one, Mchumba.”  The word was strange, and not an Arabic word that I knew.  Ta pressed the side and seemed to have Professor Jawahir backed into a corner.It was then that she made an interesting move; a piece that seemed to me before to be counted as a rook moved into a position of favor, protecting the delicately endangered king and putting Ta himself in what appeared to be check.“Shah Mat, maskhara.  Perhaps the next game we play we will decide a more interesting battlefield.” Maritza smiled, but her hand tensed over my own.  A feeling of warmth and maternal protection fell over me, and I saw Ta as some sort of bear, a beast which would take me away only if Jawahir had been killed first.“Ahh yes, my sweet.  But the game is not finished just yet.  Perhaps you will remember my offer next, when you have had time to consider your current position’s weaknesses.”  The casual air of the statement was broken when Ta slammed his cup onto the table and raked the pieces off the board, walking out in stunned silence.I swear, as he passed the mirror on the way out, that he seemed almost ebony, his teeth a fierce smile in rictus.  The whites of his eyes were bright yellow and rheumy, and the pupils were the darkest purple.“It is okay Sam.  I doubt that there are many who remember my fr… Ta, and not for long.  Perhaps we could discuss this over dinner?” She smiled.And in it I saw the stars being born.I hope that you will forgive me for opening with some narrative; I just got the image after seeing two very interesting figures at a coffee shop with some friends, and wondering how people with such animosity in their body language and bearing could stand to sit so close to each other.  I think that this would also be a good introduction to a discussion of some of the problems with playing Modern Fantasy games.  However, I will only be using this article as an introduction to some ideas, and then elaborating each further in a different article.  While this specific article set will involve Modern and a different interpretation than what appears in Urban Arcana (aka Greyhawk: The Next Generation), while keeping with some of the themes we have been discussing so far. The first conceit of most Modern Fantasy is the idea of the Hidden Master and the Veil.  These two ideologies simply state that there are creatures you don’t know about, hidden by some sort of strange force, which only ‘appear’ under times of stress OR when you become aware of them.  Personally, I find the Veil and its uses in Urban Arcana sort of weak, but a great start.  The Hidden Masters concept, however, is sorely lacking.How many power lunches can a Great Wyrm make it to in his normal form?  Suits become expensive when you’re tearing out of them to use your powers.  How about celestials/infernals?  While some can hide their normal form, it is quite a different story for others . . . your more martial, non-altering creatures are going to have some issues.Personally, I try to limit the appearance of ‘strange’ (i.e. easily noticeable) creatures in my Modern Fantasy games unless I can give them an interesting humanoid form.  John Stephen Cheshire (a humanoid displacer beast based off the concept of the grimalkin) appeared in two different parts of my Decades Campaign; first as a PC in the 1950s, then as an NPC in the 1990s. However, I am having some internet issues currently, and to be honest I am quite tired.  So we’re going to continue this set later.  However, I wanted to introduce the concepts so far, and then extend them as we go along to include some other interesting parties.Until Then,Good Gaming,Slainte,-Loonook.</blockquote>

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