Cultists & Crystalwavers

I was busy at work today and the guy sitting next to me started playing Weird Al Yankovic, in particular the song Midnight Star. While the song played I was reminded of a game I wrote called Cultists & Crystalwavers. I had sketched out the rules, and written the first adventure. I had been very proud of how the adventure turned out. It had been a bit of an epithany. The Muse had been kind to me that week. Unfortunately, a hard drive crash last January wiped out all copies. I am left with my own, fragmented, memories.

The premise behind C&C is "What if those trashy, weekly tabloids were actually telling the truth." What if all the stories in them was actually true... even the ones that contradicted themselves. The kind of headlines I am talking about include "I was abducted by aliens and forced to have Bigfoot's baby" and "Ancient Freemasons' kept Hitler's brain alive in a jar" and "Elvis is undead and flipping burgers at Denny's".

The genre is made up a heavy dash of conspiracy theory, a sprinkling of horror, and a lot of tongue-in-cheek. Think a cross of X-Files with the old TV show The Night Stalker with a dose the Misfits of Science.

The players would be reporters for one of those aforementioned rags, or private occult investigators, or just mildly deranged, obsessive people. A plethora of psychic and magical powers would be available. However, they would be almost universally useless. A character might be telepathic, but can only read the mind of cats. Another might be able to talk to ghosts.. but that doesn't mean ghosts want to talk to him.

The game would be rife with government conspiracies, new age nonsense, witches, demonology, undead, voodoo, and the postal service (gotta look out for those mailpeople).

The game system would be a low-powered "supers" system (possibly champions or GURPS), with a general emphasis on making it up as you go along.

I'll have to reconstruct at least the outline of the first adventure and post it here. It involved swamp monsters, alien death rays, cassette tapes, raising the dead, drug therapy, vegetables, armored cars, some very tasty microwavable frozen dinners, and an unusual factory that would really piss off OSHA.

Why I don't like Non-Human Character Races

Invariably, when I start a new campaign, someone will approach me and ask if it's ok to play a non-standard race/type. I will patiently listen to the player, and try to divine his true motive for making such a request. It always boils down to one of two reasons.

1. I just read this great book/saw this great movie, and I really want to be like this character. (Fan-boy) or
2. I'm really looking for some kind of edge, some advantage that will make me better than everyone else (Wonder-girl.... kind of a private joke, I'm thinking more of bad for you, even though it tastes good, Wonder bread than any kind of super-hero)

I'll listen, and then tell Fan-boy or Wonder-girl "Sorry, that character doesn't fit what I want to do." I'll then try to suggest what niches need to filled in the party.

One reason is that Fan-boy probably has a short attention span. Once his current obsession starts to fade... He'll have a new one, and want to change characters. And Wonder-girl isn't going to be happy with a lopsided character. She'll be happy with the pluses, but grouse about the negatives and want to "forget" they exist.

But, the main reason is that we are human... And we think like humans. It's hard roleplay, convincingly, another race. We have a tendency to treat Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings as differently shaped humans. We may make the dwarf grumpy, or the elf flighty... but we still run them as human. They should have very different outlooks on life, different social conventions, and approach obstacles in very different ways. Dwarves are very long lived, and elves nigh immortal, their years must lend a different perspective. A player that pulls this off deserves bonus points and should be commended. If it is so difficult to play these races correctly, who are at least somewhat close to human, how is it possible to play a non-humanoid character?

One more thought for Wonder-girl. Heroes are those that overcome adversity... not the ones who overwhelm it.

Adventuring with the Goddess - Intro

I found myself trying to come up with an RPG that my wife would want to play. Something away from classic "male RPGness". Truth be told, she enjoys carnage as much as any hack-n-slasher. But, I wanted to change some of the priorities. I wanted it to be more "adult". By that, I don't mean "loaded with sex", I mean more realistic, gritty, world, where the characters can die permanently, and character actions can have severe side effects. However, sex may play an important role.

Many years ago I read a short story about the last worshipper of a forgotten goddess. I have forgotten most of the details, but he was a Conan type warrior and she had extended his life so that he could continue to do her bidding. It was an intriguing thought. The interdependency between them made for an interesting dynamic.

I toyed with the idea that the power of a god was in direct proportion to the number (and strength of faith) of it's worshippers. A god that is worshipped by many is more powerful than one that is worshipped by few. I pictured a large Parthenon of gods vying for worshippers, manipulating circumstances to their favor, but never directly challenging one another. (Think Greek and Roman mythology) What would happen if a monotheist god started to rise? When they realized their own existence was in danger they would fight back. This game would take place right after the pagan gods had tried to suppress the monotheist god. The cataclysmic battle would have killed many of the pagan gods, decimated worshippers on all sides, and ravaged the land. In the aftermath, most of the pagan gods are gone, the monotheist is severely wounded, and there are too few worshippers to give any god much power.

Any warrior goddess that existed before the battle would have been destroyed. Instead, I thought of using an earth goddess, a fertility goddess, as my focal point. She would be a nurturer, a protector, but she would be capable of some wrath when her charges were threatened. It seemed to fit the bill. The rebuilding world would need her. Thus the goddess Danae was born. I had kind of picked the name at random (thinking at the time it was an obscure Greek god), and later remembered she had been the mother of Perseus... Close enough... I guess.

Now for the priestess, the player character. Any video game RPG that you play (with some minor exceptions) creates a persona for you to play. You fill that role and expand as a character within that role. The player gets to pick what skills he wants, but the story and character development is hardwired into the game. I've never felt "cheated" by playing these games. I can identify with a character that is not my creation. So why can't you have a pencil & paper RPG with embedded characters? No reason I can see. So the reluctant priestess Brigid was born. What started out as a quick outline of the game, and Brigid, quickly turned into a multipage narrative. Sometimes the Muse hits when I least expect it.

Now for the protector, another player character. Brigid is a non-combatant (at least to start). She needs someone to protect her from the monsters that were loosed on the world during the great battle. She may also need a male to play a role in her fertility rites. He doesn't have a name yet... or even much of a background. He is a trained soldier, who fought against the Monotheist troops and lived. His god is dead, and he is greatly bitter against gods in general. He refuses to believe in any, and feels that the world would be better off without them. However, he owes a personal debt to Brigid, and he sees that she is doing good in the world. He has a strong sense of duty. While he won't always agree with her, he will always protect her as best he can.

This was how I envisioned the game group. Two player characters (Brigid and her protector), and a powerful NPC (Danae) that only Brigid can talk to. I expected the party to grow as it developed, bringing in other people and personas. But, it will start with Brigid moving out into the world to make it a better place, with only her bodyguard at her side.

Adventuring with the Goddess - Part One

This story takes place in a fantasy world. There are no elves or hobbits. There are only humans and monsters (and they are new to this world).
Brief History: This world was similar to medieval Europe or feudal Japan. Local kings/warlords protected the area within two day's walk and built castle/keeps. Many diverse gods were worshipped. Gods derive their power from the faith of their followers. The more followers they have, and the more fervent their belief, the more powerful the god becomes. The Pantheon of Gods in this world believed, mostly, in peaceful co-existence. Most people worshipped many gods, specifying a certain one at any given time as per their need. Because the gods could make their wishes known (not-so-subtle omens and portents, as well as semi-direct communication with their priests), there were no religious wars. War gods existed but they usually had a fallback specialty for peace. This prevailed until the rise of the "Son" god. The Son god preached that he was the only true god, and laid down rigid rules for his worshipers to follow. The other gods shunned and ignored him, and continued their individual pursuits. The followers of the Son god grew in numbers and power, toppling the human kings and setting up theocracies that demanded a "state" religion of the Son god. The other gods hesitated, puzzled by his ambition. The Blacksmith god, seeing the Son god's worshippers creating large numbers of weapons without so much of a prayer to him, approached the Son god. The Son god struck him down and killed him. The death of a god is a powerful thing. The other gods immediately awoke from their trivial pursuits and formed a council. The council was led by the powerful war gods, and a war was declared on the Son god. The battle covered the heavens and the earth, ravaging the land, loosing monsters never before seen, and decimating the population. The Son god lies defeated, dormant, but not dead. The will of his remaining worshippers holds him to life. The other gods were not so lucky. All of the powerful gods and goddesses were destroyed. Only a handful of minor deities remain. One of them is the main character of this story. She is the fertility goddess Danae.
The Priestess:
Brigid was a farmer's wife when the war began. Her husband was called by his god to fight, and he took up arms against the Son gods followers and never returned. When her husband met his fate alongside his god, the crops died and rotted in the fields. Soon afterward Brigid's son was born stillborn. Distraught, she took the lifeless body to a circle of stones she knew that midwives sometimes used to aid in difficult deliveries. She placed the body on the small altar, knelt down and prayed for his life. She pleaded with any god that would listen, promising anything. In the hours that passed the pleads gave way to anger and demands, to shouts of rage. She pummeled her hands into the small stone altar until they were bruised and bloody. Finally, in anguish and exhaustion, she fell asleep next to the altar. Brigid dreamed. She found herself in a small garden. On a small stone bench in the center of the garden sat a small woman. She was very pretty with long red hair. She appeared to be in her early 20's but also had an ageless quality to her. She had ample breasts and hips, a small waist, and thin legs. Upon seeing Brigid the woman rose and opened her arms to her. Confused, Brigid confronted her "Who are you? Why am I here?"
The woman replied "I am Danae... and you are within my circle. I have brought you here to talk to you."
Frantically, Brigid looked around. "Where is my son?" she demanded.
Danae's eyes filled with sadness and pointed to a small stone cairn near the edge of the garden. "I have brought his remains here to me... I shall watch over them for you."
Brigid ran to the cairn, dropped to her knees and started to cry... "Why?" she pleaded.
"Why what?" asked Danae.
"Why won't you return my son to me?" Brigid looked up, anger in her eyes.
"Because I can not. The spark of life has fled, it can not be reunited with the body." Danae replied sadly
"What about the Son god... could he do it?"
"He can not. You may ask him, but he does not usually answer his followers."
"Can't you take my life in exchange for his?"
"I can not do that either. I can only help to create life. I can not create it on my own, and I can not return it when it has fled."
"Then why have you brought me here. My life is over. My family is dead, my farm is dead, and I too will be dead when winter comes and I have no food."
"I have brought you here because this world is dying. The life of the world is seeping out, and everything it sustains is in danger of dying as well. The fight with the Son god has damaged and tainted this world, the battle brought alien things to this world that continue to run rampant. More importantly, humans have lost faith in the gods. We help give life to the world, without us it will become sterile and lifeless. Without hope there is no life."
Brigid looked on uncomprending. "What can I do? I am only one woman. I can not fight monsters from the abyss. I can not heal the land. I can't even save my own son."
"You can become my vessel. You can allow my power to work through you. You can spread the word that at least one goddess still cares about the people of the world."
"Why are you still here? Why didn't you die with the other gods? Did you hide in fear in your little garden?"
"I did not hide. My followers were midwives. They were skilled in medical matters, and I guided them to the front lines to help with the wounded. They were strong and brave women, who stayed to the last. I stood by their side, offering my healing, my wisdom, and my strength. I held the last one, too injured from a demon created wound to live, and cried as she passed on... I can not take life. I can only make my enemies sleep or look the other way. The Son god knew this. I was deemed not worth killing. Perhaps kept around so he could have some sport with me after the battle."
"You have no followers?"
"None"
"What would happen if I took my son back to my house and burned it down around us?"
"You would pass on to the lands that humans go when they die. I would sit in my garden, slowly losing touch with the earth. When the stones of my circle have weathered, or if the last person who remembers what the symbols on them mean passes on, then I will fade from existence."
"You will die?" Brigid asked.
"No.. it will be as if I never was. Gods do not pass on... they cease to be."
"So you will stop me from killing myself, and make me your pawn."
"No, I can not force anyone to do anything... or not do anything. I do not have that power. At this point, this is all that I can do." Danae reached out and took Brigid's battered hands. The pain immediately fled. Brigid watched as the bruises faded and wounds closed. Within seconds her hands were completely healed. Brigid looked surprised at her hands.
"What about the ache in my heart... can you heal that?"
"I can not. That will never fully heal. However, time and good companions will ease it's pain."
"Hrrumph... I doubt that very much. Time is something that I'm sure I have very little of. And, as for companions there is no one left in this world that matters to me."
A slight smile crossed Danae's face and her eyes seem to see far away. "I can see one who could become a companion."
"I'll have no trickery from you." Brigid retorted. "My mind is made up. I will not be your pawn."
"I understand. Your personal pain is too great to see the pain of others. You need not worry about the body of your son. Children mean something very special to me. As long as my power remains I will stand guard over him. It seems fitting. I will send you back to your world now. Fare thee well Brigid."
Brigid awoke to find that the small stone altar had transformed into the small stone cairn that she had seen in her dream. She thought of her son's body inside and started to take apart the cairn. She stopped herself. "No one will ever visit your grave my son. If I bring you back with me, we will be together, but no one will look after you. I will hold Danae to her word. She will look after you or I will return from the other side to take vengeance on her." Carefully she replaced the stones and started back for her house.
The Bodyguard:
Brigid returned to her farmhouse to find something unexpected: a man lying 20 yards from her house. He was a tall man, wearing clothes that did not fit him properly. He had a dirty bandage wrapped around his left leg, and there was a sword strapped across his back. A bag apparently full of foodstuffs lied in a heap next to him. She bent down to examine his face. Dirty... but no one she recognized. She touched his cheek. He was hot to the touch, but alive. Looking closer she recognized the clothing he was wearing as belonging to her husband. She picked up the bag of foodstuffs recognizing many items from her pantry. She held the bag close to herself and kicked the man, "Thief" she yelled. The man did not respond.
Brigid stormed off to her house holding the bag. She slammed the door behind her and threw the bolt. She did a quick survey of the small farmhouse. Someone had obviously rummaged through the house. She went to the hearth. The loose stone that they hid their money behind was jutting out slightly. Swearing, she pulled the stone free. Behind it she saw the cache of coins they kept there. She pulled it free, noticing a gold ring fall to the floor. "That's odd... that wasn't there before". She counted the coins and found them all intact. She picked up the ring and inspected it. It was a unadorned man's ring, heavy with gold. She slid it on her finger, it was far too large for her. "And too large even for my husband's hands." She tried not to think about it, but the words came unbidden to her lips "but not too large for the man outside".
"He's a thief... he probably stole it" she muttered to herself, but she knew it didn't ring true. "Why didn't he take the money... It isn't much, but I won't need it any more."
She went to the door, unbolted it, and looked out. The man hadn't moved. She walked out to the man, stooped down and looked at his hands. They were large and heavily calloused. Frowning, she slipped the gold ring on his finger. The ring fit, if slightly loose. "Damn it... I can't have you dying on my doorstep... I have things to do and you are going to make me wait to do them. Damn you!!"
Brigid went to the barn and got the horse blanket. She laid it on the ground next to the man, and rolled him over on to it. He let out a slight groan when she moved his left leg. Straining, she dragged the blanket into the farmhouse, and levered the man up into her low bed. She pulled her husband's clothes back off of him, and inspected the bandage on his leg. It had started to ooze a white puss. It was obviously infected. She frowned and thought. She remembered that there was a moss that grew by the river that helped to draw infections out of wounds. She started off for the river and stopped herself "How do I know about mosses? When did I learn that?" She couldn't remember... but it didn't seem too important. She set a fire in the hearth and put water on to boil, then walked down to the river looking for the moss. She found a large patch as well as some roots that could be ground up and made into a healing tea. "Roots too... well... whatever... as long as it gets him on his way".
Brigid returned home, chopped and ground the roots, and poured the now boiling water on them, putting them aside to steep. She then retrieved her white cloth shirt, "I won't be needing this anymore", and tore it into fresh bandages. She placed the bandages in the remainder of the boiling water. After a few minutes she took them out and hung them over the hearth to dry. She then wrapped the old bandage. There was a vicious wound underneath. There were multiple punctures like a large bite, the teeth on either side more than a hand span across. The wounds were purple and oozing white goo. There was a sharp smell of rotten flesh.
Clenching her teeth, Bridget cleaned the wounds with the boiled water and the rag ends of what was once her shirt. She then placed the moss directly on the wound, and wrapped the leg with her makeshift bandages. She took the old bandage, and the rag used to clean the wound and tossed them into the fire.
She checked on the tea. It looked and smelled nasty. She brought the cup over to the man, tilted his head up and dribbled some the liquid. He coughed and sputtered. Over multiple attempts and nearly an hour, she managed to get most of the tea into him. Exhausted, Brigid grabbed her blanket and curled up in front of the fire.

The Darkness Comes - Part Two - Classes

The Magic of Spirits and How they Affect Characters
The people of this world can channel the power of the spirits in three possible ways. How this power manifests for each character determines that character's class.

• Internally: This character manifests the power of the spirits into his/her own body. This would allow them feats of strength, endurance, or agility. It could allow them to change the shape of their own body, or practice skills beyond their norm. It would allow for skillful blows in battle, or special attacks. The internal user is often referred to as the "Fighter". However, their special manifestations, could include those skills normally attributable to a "Rogue" or "Monk"
• Externally: This character manifests the power outside his body. This character may be able to "cast" traditional spells (bolts of magic, lightning strikes, healing), but he can not use his powers on himself. An external user is often referred to as a mage.
• In the Spirit Realm: This character is able to manifest the power of the spirit in the spirit realm. He/she can focus the power of a group of spirit into a concentrated attack on the darkness. He/She can also "attach or remove" spirits from other members of the party (more on this later). A user that effects the spirit realm is referred to as a Shaman.

So this leaves us with three character classes: The Fighter, the Mage, and the Shaman

The Darkness Comes - Part One

This idea has been kicking around for a long time. I'll be the first to admit that the premise of encroaching darkness, and the monsters it brings, have been done time and again in fiction and (video game) RPGs. However, I think that the way the characters deal with this is a little different in the play mechanics.

First, the World:

• Name - Not too important.... It's a fantasy world... Maybe Gaia
• Races - Humans only (no dwarves, elves, goblins, etc.). Also, Spirits of Nature
• Monsters - Yes, but not native to the world.
  
• Tech Level - Equal to Europe in the middle ages. Feudal.
• Magic Level - Low. Most people can do a cantrip or two by invoking the spirits of things. Some wise men or witches can command more power, but it is generally nature related.
• Religion - No overwhelming single religion. Pagan nature worshippers co-exist with monotheists. Most religions are peaceful, stress fertility and cooperation. Religious war is virtually unheard of.

Second, the Problem:
Every two thousand years the orbit of the plane of darkness approaches this world's plane. The friction of the two planes crossing each other bends space, and allows portals to open between the worlds. Creatures from the plane of darkness seek out these rifts, and work to expand them, hoping to cross into world of light. A miasma seeps through the tiny rift, changing the plants and animals closest to it, allowing them to be dominated by entities from the other side. The miasma sickens and kills the animals and plants it does not change.

A small rift will sicken an area perhaps a mile in diameter, centered around the rift. The misasma would twist some of the plants and animals, and sicken many. The rift would be too small to allow any creatures to pass through. However, an entity on the other side could possess an human or animal on this side, as long as they stayed within the circle of miasma.

A medium sized rift would create a miasma cloud 2-3 miles in diameter. The miasma would get noticeably thicker as you move toward the rift. The plants and animals close to the rift would be changed or killed, those on the outskirts would be sickened. Small creatures (generally animals) could pass through the rift.

A large rift would create a cloud with a diameter of 5 miles, or more. It would kill or twist every living thing within the 3 mile diameter. The rift is large enough for medium sized creatures to pass through.

The larger the rift, the larger the cloud of miasma circling it. The cloud gets denser closer to the center. In a large cloud no human could survive the miasma, never mind the aberrations generated by it, or the malevolent beings that could live in it.

Third, the Cure:
In this world certain objects, animals, and plants have spirits. This is similar to native American spirits, or those of Shinto religion of Japan. They are forces of nature, bound to this world, and have some power to assist the humans of this world. However, they must be roused, and focused. A tree spirit is likely to slowly tend the trees around him, and not notice the miasma until it is ontop of him. At that point it may be too late. Humans must rouse the spirit and take him as an ally against the darkness.

Fourth, the Shaman:
Not just any human can communicate with a spirit. It takes a shaman to be able to interact with the spirit world. The shaman can leave his body and enter the realm of spirits to converse with the nature spirits. The shaman can also create an area around himself/herself free of miasma. He/she can also use the powers of the spirits to exorcise a possessed creature, and to close a rift. It is the job of the shaman to travel the world, searching for rifts, and closing them before they get too large to handle.

Why a Blog?

I've been having all these thoughts recently about writing RPGs again. My head has been filled with scraps of game ideas, technical rules, adventure seeds... in general, a bunch of unrelated stuff. I have been meaning, for months, to write a bunch of this stuff down. However, I've been generally too busy to spend a concerted effort to organize a bunch of my thoughts into one item.

I also had a hard disk crash about six months ago. I didn't realize at the time, but I had lost most of my old writings. I am particularly saddened by the loss of the first adventure for Cultists & Crystalwavers. I had spent a lot of time on that, and really liked how it turned out. I'll have to rewrite it, before it all fades from memory.

That's all very interesting... but, why a blog? It doesn't seem like the right medium... Does it? Well, there's really three reasons why. First, I wanted to share some of these ideas with my friends. Mostly in hopes of getting some feedback in what they would be interested in playing and tweaking the concepts. Second, this is being stored on Blogger's server. I don't have to worry about disk crashes, or backups. Third, I can access it at any time and post a quick entry. So, now I won't have an excuse not to write this stuff down.