Seize the GM

Main Topic

We get to work on setting atmosphere at the table and things to help with that.

 

Lighting-

Sounds-

Scent-

Stat Blocks

Zendead-  

Hexennacht or Witchnight is a derelict ship that is floating on the edge of current space travel. She is an ark ship that has been missing for the 200 years. She left Sol controlled space and lost contact with control. Hexennacht has just appeared on the Observation Stations sensors. No power and no crew that is responding. A ghost ship that has gone further than any ship before or since. No real damage that can be detected by sensor. She could be harboring something from the fringe of explored space or she got lost and has just now gotten back to humans. Maybe the ship hold information about what is out that far or a dire warning.

 

Joules-

Are you frustrated by the near incomprehensible nature of magic?  Are your mage friends making fun of you behind your back? The catalogue has a new product for you.  From the catalog’s shadow subsidiary “Frobozz Magic and Electric” comes a new fragrance “Fluxx and Warp.”  This fragrance will definitely put you mentally on par with your other colleagues. No longer will you be ridiculed for your lack of comprehension.  During the annual wizards convocation, you will be on par with your peers while wearing this fragrance.

 

Just a spritz behind each ear and the magically enhanced pheromones begin to work.  They synchronize with your mental acumen. Those that inhale the fragrance now match your IQ and level of comprehension.  Simply put they are now as stupid as you.

And as an added bonus, the effects linger.  Lasting anywhere between 4 to 6 weeks.

 

So just spray and go.  Then sit back and take in the schadenfraude.

 

Warning do not use during family reunions or events of national importance.

 

Frobozz Magic and Electric are not responsible for law troubles, one night stands and national election results

 

Frobozz Magic and Electric, naysayers will be totemized

 

Lexicon

Jubilee  noun ju·bi·lee \ˈjü-bə-(ˌ)lē, ˌjü-bə-ˈlē\

 

Definition of jubilee

 

1a :  a special anniversary; especially :  a 50th anniversary

 b :  a celebration of such an anniversary

 

2a :  jubilation

 b :  a season of celebration

 

3 often capitalized :  a year of emancipation and restoration provided by ancient Hebrew law to be kept every 50 years by the emancipation of Hebrew slaves, restoration of alienated lands to their former owners, and omission of all cultivation of the land

 

4a :  a period of time proclaimed by the Roman Catholic pope ordinarily every 25 years as a time of special solemnity

 b :  a special plenary indulgence granted during a year of jubilee to Roman Catholics who perform certain specified works of repentance and piety

5 :  a religious song of black Americans usually referring to a time of future happiness

 

Origin and Etymology of jubilee

Middle English, from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French jubilé, from Late Latin jubilaeus, modification of Late Greek iōbēlaios, from Hebrew yōbhēl ram’s horn, jubilee

First Known Use: 14th century

 

Closing remarks

Zendead- Big Eyes Small Mouth by Guardians of Order

 

Joules-What Remains of Edith Finch on Steam, The Abominable Charles Christopher

 

Music is courtesy of The Enigma TNG you can find his music on YouTube or on Bandcamp

 

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Main Topic

We sit back and discuss the merits and drawbacks of landscape and terrain at your table.

 

Heroscape

World Works Games

Drivethru RPG

 

Stat Blocks

Zendead- The Tome

It is a book of magic but like very few others. The tome is magic, real magic. The kind that can rip reality and remake portions of it. Unlike any other book like this you are the pages of the tome. The tome tethers its magic to the life force of the person that inscribes the spells to their flesh. At first the spells might do small things that don’t seem like much but as time goes the spells grow in power and scope. As you cast these spells parts of you grow weak and die. If you were to want to cast every spell you scribed on you then you would not likely live to see the last spell completed. Since you never know the amount of energy needed to cast the spell the number left on you is not an indication of how much more you can do. So be careful of taking on the power of the Tome.

 

Joules-

The Darktown Poker Club.  Where hucksters, con men, grifters and the damned go to play cards.  This mysterious club has been rumored to exist since the mid 1800s and for those that have been invited say the decor hasn’t changed much.  The inside is smokey, there’s an old honkey tonk style piano in the corner. Booze is poured from unlabeled bottles. And the patrons are as likely to kill you then to invite you to join their table.

 

The legends say that the Darktown Poker Club never really left the 1800s, it just has the power to invite players that would make the games ‘interesting.’  And honestly interesting people exist all across space and time. So where’s the fun in limiting the game to just one decade?

 

The club is exclusive.  Invite only. How one receives an invitation is unknown.  And to be honest, sometimes some members wish that they never received one.  The invitation is more like a “polite request.” The kind usually heard from mafia dons or the CIA.  You really don’t refuse an invitation.

 

So at the predetermined time and location, a set of saloon doors manifest.  And the invitee is subtly ushered through. A tall gentleman in a black hat and duster greets you and gives you the rules of the club.

Don’t cheat the house

Don’t welch on your marker

No bloodshed inside

Keep your trap shut as to the goings on inside the club

Your word is your bond, so choose your words wisely

 

Break any of these rules will get you kicked out of the club.  Intentionally breaking these rules will net a bounty on your head.  And the Darktown Poker Club has never failed to collect.

 

Welcome to the game.

 

Lexicon

Stagnate  verb stag·nate \ˈstag-ˌnāt\

Definition of stagnate

1:  to become or remain stagnant

Origin and Etymology of stagnate

Latin stagnatus, past participle of stagnare, from stagnum body of standing water

First Known Use: 1661

Closing remarks

Zendead- DC Adventures by Green Ronin

 

Joules-First we Feast’s series “Hot Ones”

 

Music is courtesy of The Enigma TNG you can find his music on YouTube or on Bandcamp

 

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Main Topic

Sitting around and shooting the breeze with Zippy today

 

Music is courtesy of The Enigma TNG you can find his music on YouTube or on Bandcamp

 

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Main Topic

Today we get on the topic of Props. Do you use them? How do you use them? And Why do you use them?

 

DM Scotty

 

Stat Blocks

Zendead- I will be Presenting a letter of Marque to use in your game.

 

Joules- “The Faded”

Always on the very edge of memory live the faded.  They are what’s left when the you and the world have finished with them.  Ground them into ashes and vague recollections.

 

They were once people.  They could have been your friends, co-workers, patrons.  But how their peers perceived them, how the world perceived, how you perceived them ultimately cursed them.

 

In your world, in your life’s narrative, you saw them as simply support.  To be used to further your own end. For advancement, for money, for fame, for power, for your own pride.  In your eyes, they had no value except what they could provide for you. And as you grew in power, in fame, in stature, the curse of the faded began to manifest..

 

And when you had no use for them, they became immaterial to your life.  They were broken tools that had no use. You forgot about them. They moved on.  Searching for someone, something to give them substance, a meaning, a value. Most never find it.  For a very lucky few, they met an individual who gives in addition to taking. This halts the fading process.

 

For the rest of the faded, each time the cycle repeats, they start to disappear.  They effectively fade from memory. Forgotten first by distant acquaintances, then by neighbors and co-workers, followed by friends and family.  Ultimately even the world itself forgets them. Records of their existence (birth records, photos, passports) cease to exist. The curse is now complete.

 

But the faded retain their minds, their memories, their personality and emotions.  And since they aren’t part of the world anymore, the rules of the world don’t apply to them.  They can pretty much affect the world how they wish. A kind faded may act as a guardian angel.  A mischievous faded becomes the gremlins that screw up the computer or hide car keys. But beware the faded of pain and rage.  They are the ones who have seen hell and lived through it. And now they bring it with them.

 

Lexicon

Pygmy  noun pyg·my \ˈpig-mē\

 

Definition of pygmy

1: often capitalized :  any of a race of dwarfs described by ancient Greek authors

2: capitalized :  any of a small people of equatorial Africa ranging under five feet (1.5 meters) in height

3a (1) :  an unusually small person (2) :  an insignificant or unimpressive person an intellectual pygmy

b :  something very small of its kind

 

Origin and Etymology of pygmy

Middle English pigmei, from Latin pygmaeus of a pygmy, dwarfish, from Greek pygmaios, from pygmē fist, measure of length

First Known Use: 14th century

Closing remarks

Zendead- Mantic Games Kickstarter. , Bordertown

 

Joules- Hollow Knight , Full Throttle

 

Music is courtesy of The Enigma TNG you can find his music on YouTube or on Bandcamp

 

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Main Topic

Today we have a fun discussion about miniatures at the table.

 

Stat Blocks

Zendead- Karotin the faithful is a faith healer like no other. He is able to heal the laim and afflicted. Karotin is able to use anything that he touches to “channel” the power of his gods to heal you. Weather he blows air on you or hits you with his shirt or pours a drink on you. He preachers to large groups of people and gets them to pay him to do the things that he does. Is he a charlatan? Most likely if you use him in a fantasy setting, in a modern of scifi setting then he might or might not be. It could be interesting if he was able to heal with a touch.  

Now is he actually able to heal people or do they just think they are better? This is for the game to determine. If you want a reference for this guy think Benny Hinn the TV evangelist.

 

Joules – Dance by Wire Club

Welcome to the Dance by Wire club.  I take it this is your first time coming?  Well, welcome. You’re in for an experience like no other.  Trust me.

 

Ok first we need you to take a little test.  No no no. Nothing like that. We’re seeing your natural dance ability and getting measurements for your range of motion.  Great, I see you have some skill wires too. I need to know what rating they are. We have a wide variety of dance skill softs for rent.  We need to be sure that the dance style and skill soft rating match up with your cyberware. To see the whole catalogue, pick the dance catalog’s AR icon.  Fantastic!

 

You see the little map AR icon?  That displays club’s layout. The club is set up kind of colosseum style with 7 floors.  Floor 7 is at the top and is the largest. People of all skill levels can dance here. There are 3 bars on this floor and a various smattering of booths where you can order something to snack on.  Yep the floors are clear. I’ll get to that in just a minute.

 

Floors six through one are restricted.  No it’s not a money thing. It’s actually based on how well you dance.  Better dancers get access to the lower levels. Hence the smaller and smaller dance floors.  When there is truly a spectacular dancer, everyone wants to see them dance. This setup makes it easier.  No no, you’re not confined to that floor. Your floor access allows you to dance on that floor and all the floors above.  And yes there are bars on every floor.

 

Right below floor one is the DJ booth.  Old Man QWERTY usually spins. That old dwarf had a reputation back in the day as one of the most unconventional deckers.  Even in retirement he still comes up with unconventional uses for tech. You ever hear of a TAC-NET program? Yeah where everyone’s networked and using that network gets everyone a little boost?  Well Old Man QWERTY found a better use for it. Everyone kind of feeds their music and dance “vibe”into the TAC-NET. That data is fed to the DJ, and he melds it to the music and sends it out to all the club patrons.  No it’s not invasive or anything like that. Actually think of it as turning a set of headphones into speakers. It’s shared while you want to share it and you can turn the speakers back into headphones. I know not a perfect metaphor.  Still it’s pretty awesome. And it cut the rate of bar fights by 70%.

 

Excellent!  Seems you’ve finished all the movement tests and the stamina test.  You have access all the way to floor one. Enjoy yourself Maria Hernandez and please don’t hesitate to message me if there’s anything I can do for you.

 

Nulloperations- Fortam the Bear

Children need protection, but even the greatest of guardians need their own rest. The Catalog presents the means to insure these guardians can sleep easy with their latest child-care product; Fortam the Bear. Fortam appears to any layman observer as a mere soft and plush teddy bear, but when within 50ft. of a sleeping child*, Fortam will arm and defend the area from any perceived threats.

Fortam the Bear comes standard equipped with his mighty sword, knight beare

Main Topic

Tonight we get to sit down and talk with Benjamin Loomes the creator of Syrinscape.

 

Music is courtesy of The Enigma TNG you can find his music on YouTube or on Bandcamp

 

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Main Topic

Today we did 3 stat blocks each from 3 different Genres. Enjoy

 

Music is courtesy of The Enigma TNG you can find his music on YouTube or on Bandcamp

 

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Main Topic

A few different ways to organize your Story elements in your game.

Stat Blocks

Zendead- Going to draw up a few other locations

 

Joules- A sicky Joules gets a pass here. She promises to have something dark and creepy for you all next time.

 

Nulloperations- Idea submitted by Dakota Lewis

 

The Wings of Amdalor

Have you ever wanted to see the world? Like…all of it? With the grace of donning these earrings and giving them a tap you’ll be whisked away to a bird’s eye view. Enjoy the breath-taking view afforded to young Icarus, as you linger in the sky and see the never-ending horizon of the world.

Caution! The Wings of Amdalor does not grant the user the ability to flight. Like young Icarus’s melted wings, you too will plummet to the ground, and shall make fast friends with its firmament. Tapping the earrings again may afford you safety from the situation as you are brought once more to an amazing height where there too shall you fall once more downward bound in an endless cycle of madness and fear.

The Wings of Amdalor. See the World, forever, until the world takes you.

Order with caution. All purchases recorded and authorities will be notified.

 

 

Lexicon

Comely  adjective  come·ly \ˈkəm-lē also ˈkōm- or ˈkäm-\

 

Definition of comely

1:  pleasurably conforming to notions of good appearance, suitability, or proportion

2:  having a pleasing appearance :  not homely or plain

 

Sidebar

Although comely is now typically used to describe the appearance of human beings, it was once used more broadly of other appealing things, such as fine clothing. Comely can be traced back to an Old English word meaning “lovely, glorious, or fine.” If you’re looking to pretty up your prose or poetry with additional words meaning “beautiful,” English is well-supplied with them. Aside from beautiful itself, we have lovely, handsome, pretty, fair, good-looking, gorgeous,ravishing, and even well-favored.

 

Origin and Etymology of comely

Middle English comly, alteration of Old English cȳmlic glorious, from cȳme lively, fine; akin to Old High German kūmig weak

First Known Use: 13th century

Closing remarks

Zendead- Up and Vanished Podcast

 

Joules-Bendy and the Ink Machine,  Bendy and the Ink Machine’s Song “Build our Machine”

 

Nulloperations- Fantastic Beasts and where to find them

 

Music is courtesy of The Enigma TNG you can find his music on YouTube or on Bandcamp

 

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Main Topic

Locations and how they build the setting and give it character.

 

Stat Blocks

Zendead-

Davin Boday is the headmaster and virtuoso of the College of the Black Star. Davin has spent many years working on building the college into what it is today. He is an amazing performer that has changed his style a number of times over his life. At present he puts on the airs of a priest. His musical style of lute and song. He got his start in the rough part of town and worked for meals.  Now he is sought by nobles and wealthy merchants to play for them. From time to time he has been known to sneak into one of his old haunts and play shows for free. Thou he mostly spends his days teaching with other bards the newest and the most promising students.

 

Davin is a willowy tall man. His bloodline holds a bit of the elven in it. For he is in his late 60’s but doesn’t appear much over his 40’s. He has blondish colored hair at present, that is long and kept in a ponytail mostly. He wears bits and pieces from many different clergy. He has also taken to wearing a blindfold of muslin with a single eye painted in the center of his forehead.

 

His lute is something of a legend. It has been with him since he started working as a bard. It is never out of tune and has been hitten by things that should have broken it. How he got this and what it actually is no one is sure of.

 

Joules- “The Maimer”

Everyone has their standard toolkit.  It could be a reinforced carpet bag full of chemicals or a pouch of reagents, a utility belt, or even a walking piece of luggage.  It’s become a such part of their being that the individual feels “off” if they forget it. They’ve modded and moulded this piece of equipment to their exact specifications and requirements.  It always has what they need and it’s pulled them out of a few scrapes before.

 

And when someone’s enemy finds out about the toolkit, they now have a perfect attack vector.  And this ne’er do well introduces “The Maimer.” How this item is made, no one knows. The creators of this item guard their secrets carefully.  

 

The Maimer is made to look like the target’s toolkit.  Size, weight, heft, smell and even the small defects that develop over time are replicated in excruciating detail.  Then, based on the buyers request, the craftsman adds that “special something.” It could be anything from a snap trap that will crush a hand, rendering the appendage useless, a psychoactive mushroom derivative cloud that twists a person’s mind,  to a localized nerve agent that removes the victim’s fine motor control. The possibilities are endless. But there is a restriction.

 

The Maimer’s effects are non fatal.  They’re designed to be permanently destructive but not fatal.  Removing a surgeon’s fine motor control, handicapping a scientist’s mind from thinking clearly, or destroying a chef’s sense of smell.  But if you’re thinking that this is due to some kind of kindness or compassion, you’re sorely mistaken. This is the sadist’s weapon. You can only kill someone once, but you can destroy someone over and over and over.

 

Nulloperations –

The Grand Champion Box Set

 

No one can back down from a true call to heroism, and the Grand Champion Box Set (figures sold separately) gives any would be champion the chance to show their steel. With this game in hand, you will be able solve any riddle, puzzle, or physical challenge with ease thanks to tokens of magic, injections of serums, or other powerful enhancements users of the game are granted. The Grand Champion Box Set is fun for the entire adventuring party! Draw a loot card to see what lies and misdeeds your allies hide from you. Land on their homesteads and see the broken paths of destiny they have steered you away from. Roll the dice and learn when their sinister plot against you will take place!

 

The Grand Champion Box Set is guaranteed to lead you down the path of great heroes and tyrants. You’ll learn t

Main Topic

NPC’s how to introduce them and the spaces they fill.

 

Stat Blocks

Zendead-  Tome of the Dark

Since mankind had developed writing people have written down their ideas, thoughts, and fears. As time passed things that only the darkest dared pen found there way to a small series of folios, pamphlets and scrolls. Over millennia these grew into a collection so large  the individual pieces were becoming lost. Some parts told of beings not of the world and ways to call them, or parts of them. These possessed summoners imparted more “wisdom” into the tome corrupting the original.

Now if the tomes is to be replicated it must be done in a single night. Every copy of the tome is handwritten and illustrated with illuminated pages. Preparations to copy this book can take years to complete. Vellum pages made from sources not the nor make for the largest investment of time. Once the book is bound then the summoning occurs. The creature called forth from the other takes over the body of the scribe and over the course of the evening composes the Tome of the Dark. The scribe is usually a husk of their former self for the few unlucky to survive the experience.

Adventure seed: There is a group of magickal persons that want to have many copies of the Tome out in the world so they have been working overtime to collect the pieces to do the summoning to compose over one hundred copies.

 

Joules- The Screaming Crystal

Whether created by a psychopathic wizard or grown in the lab of a ghost rock addled scientist, the Screaming Crystal is one of the most harrowing things an adventurer can encounter.

 

The Screaming Crystal is a psychically infused crystalline construct, created by lunatics and madmen. Initially, the crystal is quiet. Unprogrammed. A blank slate. But after enough exposure to an individual’s brainwaves, the crystal starts to corrupt, mutate and grow;  absorbing the psyche and mental energy of its victim. The Screaming Crystal then starts to develop a consciousness and a personality. And an appetite.

 

The Screaming Crystal requires the mental energy of sentient creatures to survive and grow.  Initially it feeds off of the mental energy of its creator. Initially the drain on the crystal’s creator is minimal.  But over time, as the crystal grows in size and power, the drain increases exponentially. The brilliant yet deluded mind of the crystal’s creator grows weaker.  Their personality fades. They become a walking husk. They’re not mindless zombies mind you. They’re just dried up, exhausted. Any remaining mental energy they generate is drained away.  

 

When the crystal’s food supply drains to a trickle, it gets hungry.  And Angry. Already in sync with a mind/food source (The crystal’s creator), the crystal starts screaming.  Screaming inside the head of the madman who created it. Waves and waves of psychic screeching shatter what remains of the person’s sanity.  The lucky ones die quickly under the relentless psychic assault. Those unlucky enough to keep breathing quickly go wild, feral and often will tear themselves apart.

 

All that remains is the crystal.  Alone, starved and full of rage. It waits for its next victim.  As soon as it senses a mind, it syncs itself to the poor soul’s brainwaves and starts feeding, starting the cycle anew.

 

And strangely enough, there are some aberrant minds that can live harmoniously with the crystal.  They enjoy the “sound” of the crystal screaming in their head. These rare individuals are quite mad.  There have been reports of a brain in a jar who doesn’t mind the sound at all.

 

So when an unsuspecting adventuring party stumbles across it, you’d better hope that your group has some incredible mental fortitude or is as dumb as a box of hammers.  Those of a stalwart mind can resist the shrieking psychic assault and run. Those dense as a black hole are so mentally deviant that the crystal doesn’t see them as food.

 

So how do you defeat i