Collating and Preparing

Once again, I take my sweet time getting back to blogging though, to be fair, it'll be another month or so before I have anything of substance to post. In a week I leave for Japan and thank fucking god for that, I need this vacation. That said, I've been listening to my good friend Susan's Actual Plays of IKRPG over at her blog, and what kind of GM would I be if that didn't inspire me to start planning out what I'll be doing for my next IKRPG arc.

That, of course, spirals back into the fact that I've been meaning to collect all of the IKRPG actual plays I've posted into a single page, easily accessible to any who wish to listen to them back-to-back, so you'll notice at the top of this page there is now an AP: IKRPG header, which will take you to that page. Obviously, as this is merely a playlist, I won't have the individual session rundowns I do for each upload, but one must sacrifice verbosity for function, occasionally.

In any case, this is more of a heads-up than anything else, to let you all know that I'm not quite dead, just resting, and raring to pick up with the Immoren Liberation Front.

Cheers.

Actual Play: IKRPG Session 13

Well here it is, finally. The end of an era, or at least a campaign arc of thirteen (really 14) episodes that managed to last for what, like 20+ weeks?

I entered into these finale sessions, completely abandoning a final twist that would have probably broken what was left of my players' spirits, instead deciding that after beating them down so continuously for session after session, it was time to give them something badass to do. It was time to roll out an iconic set-piece, and it was past time for the players to take a little vengeance on everyone who thought they were better than the Immoren Liberation Front.

I will say that I definitely enjoyed these last two sessions, enough that I am super pumped to get back into the setting (after finally reading through Unleashed, of course) and coming up with plot lines related to things that each of the players revealed to me throughout our story arc. I will say that I am exceptionally pleased that Privateer Press is about to release a bunch of new minis, as a fair few of them are Hordes specific, even Minions specific (so Gobbers and such. Sweet.)

I think, in terms of plotting out what will be happening in what I've been secretly dubbing Season 3 of IKRPG (Yeah, I know, this was Season 2 because Season 1 was the one that Susan was running. And now I need to look for that.) Anyway. Words. Plotting. I'm thinking of making season 3 a super open-world aspect for my players. They've set up these great relationships and conflicts, so I'm going to give them a state of the world every few sessions, but basically just let them run buck-wild through everything they want. There will obviously be places they just plain don't want to go, and that's fine, but meh, I suppose that's life. There's plenty more trouble for them to get into.

Final thoughts before I consider recording a GM aftermath for Unabashed Gaming...I think four players is pretty ideal. Though I kind of wish I could bring someone new into the game every arc. That would be cool.

Eh, whatev's.

Session 13: The Siege of Fellig

Actual Play: IKRPG Session 11

Well, here we are a few weeks later. I suppose it's only to be expected, these two sessions are kind of examples of a GM taking an idea too far and running with it. In two weeks we've basically passed two days of sessions, because I was too focused on creating consequences for characters instead of moving plot. This could partially be because we haven't been at a full table for more than a month now, but one should place the blame where it belongs, on the vengeful GM.

It's not a bad stance to take, really, but in these two games I violated my stance of 'moderation in everything.'

Hopefully they're still interesting to listen to.

Episode 11: More and More Trouble

IKRPG: Personal Piledrivers

In any gaming system, one is bound to experience a certain number of ruling mistakes. Even being an experienced Rules Minion, I still (on occasion) misread a rule, or house rule an established mechanic without realizing that the patches I'm placing on top of a RPG system may be covering perfectly tailored and tested mechanics.

I've decided to keep a running list of piledrivers I heap upon my games, in the hopes that anyone encountering them may not suffer through the utterly broken rolls that have occasionally plagued my games.

Combat Caster + Gunmage

Oh man is this a huge one. My good friend Scott created an Iosan Gunmage for his very first character, and let me tell you did it kick freaking ass. I mean, how could it not, combining Combat Casting with Rune Shot: Accuracy and Rune Shot: Brutal, where you're rolling four dice for attack and damage, and dropping the lowest die from each?

That just felt broken, and it wasn't until I actually read the Privateer Press forums that I realized it totally was. Combat Casting, in the way it's written, is only to be applied to magical attacks using one's ARC stat- meaning that Gun Mages, who cast the spells on their bullets and then attack using their firearms (and thus their POI and not their ARC), are unable to use Combat Casting for their rune shots. Scott didn't like me much after I revealed that little gem to him.

Sigh...being a Rules Minion was never an easy job.

Addendum 4/23: I've just realized that Combat caster only affects the Attack roll, not the damage roll. I'm sure all of my spellcasters in my game will be absolutely thrilled to hear this.

Quick Actions and Aiming

Onto one of my own personal piledrivers, this caused me no small consternation after I'd discovered that I'd been doing things incorrectly for multiple game sessions. It effectively dropped my RAT by two points for every round after that first round of combat, and even then I'd still lose the bonus if I had to, say, draw a weapon or send a Drive to a steamjack (something I never managed to do...sigh).

I still managed to turn a fair few enemies into mincemeat, but it just wasn't as super overpowered as it used to be. Ah well.

Heroic Dodge Before Calculating ARM

Oh man this was a HUGE one, but luckily it didn't last more than one or two sessions. You see, in IKRPG Core, the verbiage used for Heroic Dodge indicates that the 'feat point is spent after a damage roll is made,' but also states that a character suffers 'half the damage from an attack.'

What is confusing about this is that:

- Damage rolls, as defined by the IKRPG Core, are [dice roll] plus the POW (or P+S) of an attack, and the formula does not mention ARM.
- Damage, however, is the amount of hit point loss suffered after armor is applied to a Damage Roll.

Now, to a studious reader who is paying attention, obviously everything is perfectly spelled out.

1) Your character gets hit by an attack, the GM rolls for damage and gets a disconcertingly high number.
2) You declare that you are using Heroic Dodge and spend a feat point.
3) The GM calculates the damage he rolled and subtracts your character's ARM stat from the total damage roll. He then applies the effect of Heroic Dodge to the difference, halving the hit point damage your character suffers, rounding up.

What we were doing instead was halving the damage roll, so that when it came time to compare the roll to our ARM stats, we were suffering zero damage per hit.

The game got much more deadly all of a sudden.

Feat: Boost Untrained Skill

Well, here's one that I just this past week fully read the rules on and oh shit it is going to make a serious difference in how my players breeze through my games.

You see, in IKRPG, you generate skill bonuses from a combination of a base statistic and a skill rank. You also gain Feat Points at the start of every session and every time you do something cool (essentially), so they are a constantly renewing resource. One of the most common out-of-combat utilizations for Feat Points is to boost non-attack skill rolls.

My group has not only been boosting non-attack untrained skill rolls, but also non-attack STATISTIC rolls. Holy shit is that a no-no.

As stated by the rules, you cannot spend a feat point to boost skills in which you have no ranks. There is no verbiage to even indicate that spending feat points to boost Attribute rolls is even slightly viable.

Well folks, it was good while it lasted.

Back Strike = Free Strike?

Finally we get to a pretty embarrassing piledriver, and the last for this particular iteration of this post. Luckily we only did this for one session, and to be fair if we weren't I imagine our party would have been TPK'd by the warjacks our GM was sending at us, but yes, we managed to confuse back strikes with free strikes, therefore using positioning to gain unfair and unearned boosted damage rolls.

This was quickly remedied in future games and has not come up since.

Well, that's it for my current recollection of Iron Kingdoms RPG piledrivers. I'm sure I'll experience even more in the future, and hopefully be able to add more to this blog post sometime soon.

Cheers.

Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Session 9

Well, there was quite a bit more action (not fighting, just plot movement) this session than last, but I remain firmly seated on the fence regarding the shorter runtime for the game. It has its pros and cons, but it does seem like there are fewer things the group is actually able to accomplish per session; that lends itself to being both pro and con all on its own.

What I did heartily enjoy about this session was the result of a certain mindset I find myself actually needing to force myself to present at the table; one in which I actually say yes to players occasionally.

Of course, there are circumstances where players will indeed act recklessly, and in those situations you need to punish the players most harshly for their trespasses: there is a good example of this in the tail end of our game, in fact. There was no hit point damage, or potential for death, but when the use of sound and setting gives players a hint of their own mortality, and you gift them a moment of 'oh shit,' such are the joys of being a GM.

I did have a combat encounter planned for this session, however the extra week of prep time will allow me to further elaborate upon a concept that came to me late before last night's session, and thus I would have been unable to fully capitalize upon it. Now, though, it is on. It is so on.

IKRPG Session 9: A Deal is a Deal

Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Episode 8

Well, session 8 is a thing that happened, and beyond the plot progression, which was minor, I have a few talking points. Let's just say that events occurred this game, events that were scripted in a less than stellar fashion, and the end result was a slapdash mishmash of roleplaying, roadblocks, and gaming woes.

The first new development here is the introduction of a new player character, who wanted to give the IKRPG a test run. It's always a difficulty introducing someone fresh into a game that's been running for awhile; it's much like a person unfamiliar with a television show just jumping into the newest season with not even a basic knowledge of who/what/when/where/how/why. They're just sort of left wondering what's going on with little to do. Aside from that, there's also the difficulty with introducing a tenuous player, because if they decide not to return to the gaming table (as this one did), you need to find a way to A) get them into the party with as little hassle as possible and B) keep their inclusion as minor as possible, so that if they decide not to return there isn't a massive amount of plot threads just left dangling. It's a fine line, and difficult to walk, and kind of just feels undercooked when it's done wrong, which is pretty much the only way to do it.

Aside from the new player, we also had an experiment with allowing a player to generate plot points due to their weekly interlude. I won't discuss the minutia of this player-input, or my personal reactions to it; all I'm really willing to say is that if you're planning on telling a player they can create some sort of event that will happen in the next gaming session, make sure you know that player and you know how to turn that event into something actually meaningful. I'm of two minds towards how I reacted to this development, despite using it to perform a call-back to another player's interaction with the setting in an earlier game, and I still have a bit to think about regarding exactly how I'm going to move forward from here with it.

Lastly, I'd like to talk about breadcrumbs and plot trails. Usually, I find myself throwing very few clues towards where I want my plots to go, because my players tend to cleverly bungle their ways into my main plot lines in ways that create more and more; however, in this situation I tried to be more sly about my plot crumbs and ended up dead-ending the players' investigations. They have a conspiracy, but no actual way in which to pursue it, and we left our session with them starting across a table at a plot-forwarding NPC with no way of actually getting him to move the plot forward.

This is what comes from games with slipshod preparation. Sigh.


IKRPG Session 8: Old Friends

Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Episode 7

Another week, another IKRPG session. Here we find our party journeying back to Corvis after the successful completion of their eminently great works, and starting to discover just how much trouble they are in.

This session I fell victim to a trap that I tend to find myself actively trying to prevent, which is combat for combat's sake. It's a regretful hold-over from when I used to run D&D 4th edition, and I've been trying to stamp it out for years of GMing, now.

At least it gave me opportunity to break out the minis from Iron Kingdoms Unleashed; it'll be difficult for me to run something in that system for quite some time, due to the over-saturation of the Iron Kingdoms RPG that I currently find myself in.

Next session I'll be experimenting with a shorter-form, basically attempting to get a full session of gaming done in 2.5 hours instead of the usual 3-3.5.

Eh, it's something to find out.

IKRPG Session 7: To Fellig!

Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Episode 6

"Gatormen!" by Cribs

Oh boy, yet another successful session of IKRPG. Last night the party pulled out some serious retribution (no relation to Scyrah) on their Khadoran jailers, and there were explosions and deaths and lots and lots of gatormen.

Despite prepping a goodly amount of content for this game, I found the most common situation a GM can end up seeing, which is one where your players cling to one thing you design and ignore just about everything else. I suppose everything worked out well in the end, and of course we ended up discovering yet another piledriver that, as a group, we've been exploiting quite maliciously for just about our entire IKRPG careers.

I've got some great plans for what comes next, and am really looking forward to taking a bit more time to prep actually dangerous (as in life-threatening) situations for the players, now that I know a bit more about their strengths and weaknesses.

Most specifically, until our Rhulic warcaster learns Khadoran, he will be unable to bond with a Khadoran warjack. Fun times.


IKRPG Session 6: The Fall of Northguard

Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Episode 5

"Swamp (MPS Lands)" by AdamPaquette

And, of course, this one comes just a single week late, but I'm happy to announce that we are almost caught up with where the players are at. This session was spent pretty much entirely in the Bloodsmeath Marsh and the Blindwater Lake, as the party finally completes the research aspect of their mission from Padri Duranti, to witness the Gatormen ceremony on the night of the equinox.

Unfortunately, they run their mouths a little bit with regards to their plans towards a certain Khador outpost to the north, and in order to enlist the assistance of the primitives of the Blindwater Congregation, they get a bit...dirty I think is the best way to put it.

I feel like I should add some kind of disclaimer to this week's episode. There are depictions of gore. Nothing on the level of a torture porn film, but definitely talk about...anatomy. If you're extremely squeamish, I hope you'll be alright listening. If you're not squeamish, enjoy!

IKRPG Session 5: Dangerous Friends

Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Episode 4

Welcome back to my IKRPG Actual Plays. It's been a few weeks since my last upload (apologies), so here to make it up to you is Episode 4, where the players leave the relative safety of Cygnaran civilization to rough it out in the Khadoran boonies.

We had a lot of good player-side plotting at the table this session, and I'm super proud of everyone for getting into the swing of things and really starting to create their own mini-objectives alongside the primary plot hooks. I can honestly say here that at least an hour of game-time this session was completely devoted to an at-table decision by the players, and I have to say it is always a joy to see it when your guys (or gals) at the table really take the initiative.

That said, my players are really down on Khador, like, they really hate them a whole bunch. I'm still trying to think of a way to make them feel terrible for that. We'll see how much pathos I can inject into the next session. But, until then, enjoy Episode 4!

Players:
Scott - Gork
Aidan - 'Doge'
Russell - Tiberio
Joseph - Rhulo


Session 4: Giggity Giggity

Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Episode 3

Well, I seem to have gotten this week's game out on time. Huzzah for me! Another solid session tonight, though I did weaken and break one of the cardinal rules I'd laid out for myself in the IKRPG, and that's to have more than one session pass between major combats. This game, we started with some good roleplaying, followed by a pretty long and drawn-out combat, but at least the players were enjoying themselves.

I do have to say, though, that when I receive compliments about what happens during a session or campaign, it is rarely a grateful expression towards a combat experience, so that's another incentive to either figure out a way to shorten the fight scenes or find a way to make them as engaging as the entwining plotlines that the players are creating with me.

In any case, the party has left Merin behind and is moving forward to a plot point that intrigues everyone, which is the great Gatorman ceremony. They really seem to want to 'do well' in it, which is good, because I haven't exactly plotted out how I want it to go, and their roleplaying and intentions have been building it up significantly, so when we reconvene in two weeks (I know, I'm sporadic, but I'm gonna be in Southern California next week, and gods know I have good reasons to be there and good people to see.

In any case, look forward to the next session; with any luck, I'll be able to make it entirely role-playing and non-combat, but with serious tension and player satisfaction.

Cheers.

IKRPG Session 3: Luxury Cruise



p.s. I'm also debating uploading an mp3 of my players chatting about the various conspiracies that are combining and conflicting in the background. They've woven a story that is both intriguing and believable, and hell yes I'm going to steal some of the plot threads they've created out of their own perceptions. I'm just not going to tell them which guesses they have were right all along, and which ones were better than the ideas I had myself.

I will never tell them that last one.

Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Episode 2

Back again, and once again a week(ish) late posting last episode of IKRPG: Ord. What we're experiencing, mostly, in this session is a combat in the Khadoran Embassy, followed by that time-honored gaming tradition of new parties where they look at anything not riveted or welded to the ground, trying to pick it up, and carting it off.

It seems like the group had a decent enough time with the session, despite most of it being combat; as GM, I'm definitely in favor of keeping these combat-intensive sessions few and far between; even if spacing them out doesn't give the players a constant learning experience when it comes to the battle mechanics (not Battle Mechaniks, totally different thing, there.) of IKRPG.

What I'm mostly enjoying about this last session is that, despite handing my party a serious advantage in any future combat they may figure into, it's also technically handing them a serious liability. I'm finding in my now-thirties, that I'm able to look beyond the superficial acquisition of 'desirables' and really focusing on the cost behind such choices. My players are absolutely obsessed with shinies (shinys? shiny's? ...iunno), and they seem to either not notice or not care that they are digging themselves into holes that they may not be fully capable of getting out of.

Of course, the point in putting your players into holes is to emphasize the direness of their choices to them, and of the consequences of their actions, and so the best thing a GM can do at any time of their day when they aren't consumed with work or sleep or loved ones is to imagine how they can create situations that will make their game groups lives both terrible and exciting.

I should probably figure out a blog post to do on that one.

Sometime.

IKRPG Session 2: The Red Scare

Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Episode 1

Well, finally catching up here. Last night (a Thursday), I once again brought my good friends and players into the Iron Kingdoms, this time to play a full-party game in the city of Merin, in Ord.

Scott returned as Gork, newly modified as an Intellectual Gobber Investigator/Pistoleer, but still retaining his penchant for stealing other people's drinks from their tables in crowded taverns.

Aidan returned, but due to events from her prelude Stershan was forced to change his name to Belisar . He remains Trollkin Gunmage/Soldier, and still manages to kick all kinds of ass. Good times.

Returning his appearance in the Fools Rush In system test is Russell, playing Rhulio the Dwarf Warcaster/Field Mechanic from...Rhul. He's as good at naming characters as Abed, apparently. Thus far, Rhulio is an abrasive tee-totaler.

Lastly, new to the IKRPG table is Joseph, playing Tiberio Antelero, Ordic Arcanist/Explorer, a respected author of exotic travelogues, penny dreadfuls, and bodice rippers.

They meet with Tiberio's patron, Padri Duranti, in the Broken Drum for a job offer, but soon are embroiled in a confounding series of violent eruptions by Merin's Khadoran population. Soon the party discovers that they are in a race against time to resolve a plot for bloody vengeance, pitted against an elderly and disfigured one-armed man whose deadly grudge against the Northern Empire may be all-too justified.

IKRPG Session 1: The Evils of Drink

Actual Play: IKRPG Campaign Prelude (Stershan and Gork)

Well, a few weeks late with this one, the Actual Play was recorded two Thursdays ago, but I suppose I need to post this one before I post the second one.

Ever since my good friend and GM Susan over at EpicMiniPainting ran a nice, lengthy IKRPG campaign, I've wanted to run my own, bringing more and more people into the world of Caen and, specifically, into the region of Western Immoren.

This session I had some players cancel, but two were able to make it in, and so I had the distinct pleasure of running a prelude for my buddies Scott and Aidan, who were more than thrilled to come back after I'd previously run Fools Rush In, which also featured them in the pre-gen party.

All the action in this session takes place in the 'officially' Cygnaran city of Fellig that has been long-since cut off from the Cygnar mainland by Khador's southward expansion.

Scott is playing Gork, a Gobber black marketeer and drink-stealer from Merin, while Aidan is playing Stershan, a Trollkin gunmage deserter from the Cygnaran Army who is also the only survivor of his platoon of Arcane Tempest Gunmages.

They become involved with an Ordic military officer who is troubled by his mistress' seeming recent coolness, and hires the gobber and trollkin to follow her and see if she has been 'stepping out' with any other men.

Is everything as it seems? Find out in today's episode of Crit This! Presents...

IKRPG Session 0: For the Love of a Good Woman


Mechanical Errors:

2:18:00ish Gunmages do indeed cast their Rune Shot spells immediately before firing their weapons: they do not need to keep a list of imbued Rune Shots. They do, however, still need to make their bullets beforehand.

2:28:00ish Combat actions in IKRPG are Move, Attack, Quick action. There is no specific order in which you can take them; this is in contrast to the wargame, where one moves then attacks.

2:48:20ish Stat rolls cannot be boosted, only trained skills can be boosted with Feat Points.

Itemized Expenses in RPGs

We've all suffered from under the thumb of GMs who have made us account for every copper spent, every arrow shot, every ration consumed (every half-elf prostitute back-alley murdered, GTA-style), and I'm sure a lot of people are exhausted of the concept of all-consuming accounting when what players most want to do at the table is have their characters shoot arrows into shady fantasy hookers while making it rain and eating the D&D equivalent of filet mignon and then seamlessly move on to ever more glorious acts of simulated sociopathy.

As a player, I tend to agree with the above. As much as I treasure Chargen, I feel that when I sit at a table in front of a GM, the only time I should have to break out the calculator app on my phone is during new character generation or, very occasionally, after a milestone level up is achieved. Having to deal with the minutiae of everyday expenses is tedious enough in the real world, and on those few occasions I actually have the bravery to look at an itemized credit card account statement I feel like the child that is eternally decomposing inside my now-adult psyche just sloughed off another layer of ability to feel pure, unadulterated joy.

That said- and it may come as a surprise to people- but there are players out there that might seek to take advantage of the fact that very few tables tend to enforce even the barest sense of bookkeeping at the table. They purchase expensive weapons in low-money campaigns and fire hails of bullets cast from silvered plutonium. Their materiel expenses per-round can rival a city's yearly operating costs, and they get away with it, too, either in the name of narrative or because we, as GMs, just don't really care to call them on it.

Whether or not this constitutes a problem to you depends on the type of GM you are, and there are all types out there.

Lately, I've become more of a stickler GM. I've begun to sweat the small things, and I've started calling out situations in games where established rules would make some player actions impossible, according to the mechanics of the game.

I'm not saying this to start some kind of discussion over whether or not games are meant to be run RAW (rules as written) or RAI (rules as interpreted). I'm pretty sure those are the proper acronyms...

Actually, quite the opposite. I'm thinking of attempting to figure out a way to ease the burden of bookkeeping so that a middle-ground can be reached. I am reminded of the Pendragon system- possibly due to the fact that I am playing in a weekly Pendragon game- where every year, an accounting phase occurs, called the Winter Phase. It is organized, there are sheets, and charts, and everything else needed to accommodate this potentially-tedious game phase. I am thinking of pirating that line of thinking for my own purposes; definitely not to the extent of the manner that Pendragon does, though.

Rather, what comes to mind is the creation of a sort of itemized expense sheet. Form-fillable, consisting of the monthly cost of room and board, equipment upkeep (included ammunition expenses), and miscellaneous expenses (too many potential draws on income to list here, but also good ways for players to inform as to what they end up doing in their downtime).

This would also be an appropriate location to put in miscellaneous income, for those characters that might have professional skills, in order to offset the drain their expenses come from. This would create a final tally, whereby players know exactly how much surplus money they have each month for carousing, or splurging on equipment; it also means that if their expenses result in a deficit, it shows how much reward/loot money from in-game plot quests they actually accrue.

This would create a simple form that would only need to be updated in the event of a significant character upgrade (in either equipage or status), but would also give the player some sense of bargaining in systems where they were unfamiliar with the value of their currency.

For example, in the IKRPG, an average room in an inn costs 1gc for the night, and each meal at that inn costs 1gc. This may seem high or low or inconsequential (depending on how one is doling out monetary rewards in-game), but it informs that a player living at this level would expect to be paying 120gc for room and board each month in an average living situation. Now, imagine that player's GM were to offer them a job that would take them more than two weeks to conceivably accomplish, but only pay them, say 150gc for it. That might seem like a decent offer, until one realizes that 150gc is to be split between a party of four players.

Suddenly players actually know what their time is worth, GMs know what kind of rewards are actually appropriate towards their players' party, and as such they know what kind of jobs, and the danger associated with those jobs, is likely to be on offer to them.

Just some food for thought. Appropriately enough, I'll be broaching this topic to my IKRPG players hopefully this week, and perhaps we'll see how they take it.

Actual Play: IKRPG Fools Rush In (Quick-Start Scenario)

Golly Gee Willikers folks it's been a Holy Guacamole Batman long time since I've posted anything to this fucking this. It's also Christmas Eve, and knowing that, I suppose it means I should be a little less selfish and actually blog or something, instead of going to Albertsons and picking up a handle of Bailey's Irish Cream and getting really lactose-intolerant drunk.

Also, I'm lactose intolerant. I'll never drink Bailey's Irish Cream again. Holy shit, this has been a weird year.

IN ANY CASE.

Hey everyone, how's it going? I swear to god I've actually been gaming these past two months; I've even been recording shit, but I've fallen under the sway of a Wii U...and Hyrule Warriors. And Smash Bros.

Dear god I keep getting sidetracked. What was I here to talk about? Oh yeah, Actual Play. Iron Kingdoms RPG. New Thursday group. Etc, etc.

Well, long story short, we were introducing some new players to the system/setting of IKRPG, and like a jolly green dumbass I decided to run Fools Rush In instead of making my own intro game like a person who doesn't have brain damage or chronic laziness would do. Either that or I just wanted to run a game that featured all the characters from Murder in Corvis.

Did I mention that I've been reading IKRPG supplemental novellas pretty much non-stop since Thanksgiving? It's probably kind of a big deal. Probably. Anyway- those are another blog post's problem.

So, Fools Rush In...it's not a terrible module. As I mentioned in my podcast this week, introductory scenarios are tasked with the problem of introducing potential novice players to new settings, new mechanics, and new methods of storytelling, so it's understandable if the balance is a little bit off. Unfortunately for Fools Rush In, it's super way off in favor of combat, to the detriment of off-the-cuff roleplaying whatsoever. We're talking railroading. We're talking static plot. And honestly, that's perfectly fine for an intro game. I guess I'm just picky when it comes to new stuff. The players in question seemed to have a blast, even if that last combat turned into what was probably an hour-long slog. So much grind...

Either way, I'm hoping that that last drag-out fight didn't sour the players on the setting, because my other group had a lot of fun roleplaying in Western Immoren, especially with a great GM like @mousekins at the helm.

I think I've rambled on long enough, so here's the game:

Iron Kingdoms RPG - Fools Rush In

GM - David Schimpff

Players - Scott, Aidan, Shane, Russell.

Enjoy!

Iron Kingdoms RPG Gaiden Actual Play

My bi-weekly podcast at Unabashed Gaming recently recorded a session about Privateer Press' Iron Kingdoms RPG, and in honor of that, I'm posting a side-story that some friends and I recorded to take a little break from our longer campaign.

There will be some references to the main campaign that, as of yet, has not been released to the world wide web, as I'm still waiting for some earlier episodes to show up.

(Note that there are two tracks on this one audio import, so use the >| and |< buttons to switch between the two sessions.)

 

Iron Kingdoms RPG: Multi-attacks

So I've been pondering Iron Kingdoms RPG for a few days now, mainly because it's been more than a week since my last game and I made a decision at the end of my previous session that, despite my absolute love for warjacks, I would instead focus on giving my character, Benjaemin Gallaster IV, as many attacks per round as humanly possible.

Looking at the rules, this turns out to be a shit-ton.

To start things off right, Benjaemin is a Skilled Human Duelist/Aristocrat.

Attack 1 (Base): Characters in Iron Kingdoms make one attack during their activation

Attack 2 (Skilled): A Skilled character gains an extra attack during his Activation Phase if he chooses to attack.

So far so good. Two attacks right off the bat, and using a Repeating Pistol means that I can go up to 5 attacks with a one-handed weapon. POW 10 isn't really much to cheer about, but that can be somewhat fixed by Virtuoso. Regardless, I decided to move on and select Two-Weapon Fighting as an ability from my Duelist career.

Attack 3 (TWF): While fighting with a one-handed weapon in each hand, the character gains an additional attack for the second weapon. He suffers a -2 on attack rolls with the second weapon while doing so.

Bam. Third attack. While TWF has an Agility requirement of 4, anyone worth their Skilled archetype takes as much Agility as possible. The -2 on attack rolls can be problematic, but if you sacrifice your move action to aim, well, that pretty much negates that bad bit of business. Also, as a skilled character I have the option in the future of taking Ambidextrous, which negates that penalty. Continuing! For my third career I decided to go with Rifleman, as he has this wonderful ability called Dual Shot.

Attack 4 (Dual-Shot): The character can forfeit his movement during his turn to make one additional ranged attack with a pistol or rifle.

There are a couple hitches in this situation, I'll grant you. First, you have to be using a ranged weapon. Second, when you sacrifice your move for the additional attack, that means you're not getting an aiming bonus. However, if you're fighting something with a low DEF, whether naturally or just due to some crippled values, you can get off four shots at it, and only ONE has to be at a -2 RAT.

Now for some conditionals. You'll notice here that I'm currently sitting at 4 attacks on my activation. As a Duelist, I also have the option to take Quick Work as an ability. This will be my last on-activation attack, but gets me up to 5 attacks per round.

Attacks 5-6 (Quick Work): When this character kills one or more enemies with a melee attack during his combat action, immediately after the attack is resolved this character can make one ranged attack.

Of course, this means sacrificing one of my hands so it holds a melee weapon, but if I'm facing 2-shot enemies I can soften them up with a pistol shot, stab it to death, and then make another ranged attack against another enemy in range. Also, interestingly enough, Quick Work can activate multiple times per round, so if you're surrounded by foes you may get a few more shots in.

Example:
Base Attack: Shoot
Skilled Attack: Stab (kill enemy, gain feat point)
Quick Work: Shoot 2nd enemy in melee
Two Weapon Fighting: Stab (kill 2nd enemy, gain feat point)
Quick Work x2: Shoot 3rd enemy in range
Dual-Shot: Shoot (and kill?) 3rd enemy in range (gain feat point)

There you go, up to 6 attacks per combat activation. Of course, this requires the Gunfighter ability as well. Also, you can possibly combine this series attack with an ability like Swift Hunter, which allows you to move 2" every time you incapacitate an enemy with a ranged attack, potentially getting you into more melee situations and Quick Work potentialities.

Now onto off-turn attacks.

Riposte: Once per round when this character is missed by an enemy's melee attack, immediately after the attack is resolved he can make one normal attack against the attacking enemy.

Return Fire:  Once per round when this character is missed by an enemy's ranged attack, immediately after the attack is resolved he can make one normal attack against the attacking enemy.

First of all, note that neither ability specifically states that you must respond with a particular type of attack. If you're able, it's possible to respond to a ranged attack with a melee attack, and vice versa. However, note that abilities like Quick Work only activate on your turn, not on an opponent's turn.

So there you go. At first when I started playing my Skilled Duelist/Aristocrat I felt like I'd made some kind of mistake, opting to go for a middle of the road sucker rather than someone powerful. I've changed my own mind about that, at least.

March Madness OGBC: Day 25

"Which game has the sleekest, most modern engine?"

I've talked before, somewhat maliciously and long-windedly, about how D&D 4e strove to adopt aspects of wargaming and by doing so, court some long-standing members of that genre. I also mentioned that the plan failed pretty miserably, the system being a schizophrenic Frankenstein's monster of MMORPG and boardgame elements.

Now time to talk about a game that used a similar strategy and actually succeeded, at least in the gameplay mechanics. Only time will tell if the system takes off commercially; but personally, I really hope it does.

It's Iron Kingdoms again!

As I've likely mentioned before, Iron Kingdoms began as a D&D setting, then evolved into the wargame Warmachine, which became pretty popular, and inspired them to return to the RPG format. Thus: Iron Kingdoms RPG.

While I find that the system prevails over D&D 4e in many places, I'm going to focus on  Combat and Roleplaying.

Combat:

While 4e had the tendency to grind to a halt due to the morass of class powers and level glut, with each combat taking anywhere from one to three hours to complete while feeling like they were taking twice as long to complete (especially with larger parties), Iron Kingdoms feels swift and streamlined, utilizing the same engine as WarmaHordes, which has proved to be a popular and easy system to learn and use.

Tracking abilities can occasionally be a hassle when you first acquire them, but each is fully defined and becomes second nature once you've acclimated to it, and you're never inundated with new skills or abilities: each come at a steady pace, even slowing down once you reach higher experience levels. And if you want, you never really have to choose new abilities, there are always alternate options when leveling. The option to determine your character's battle complexity is a fantastic way to ensure even novice gamers can pick up and play.

Roleplaying:

Obviously, in just about any roleplaying game you have the ability to, well, play a role, and there are indeed some systems that have mechanics that actively encourage this by providing a mechanical means by which to assist in player decision making, or even in creating in-game backstory plot points that can be utilized by the GM for developing stories.

Iron Kingdoms has a tiny bit of the latter, with your characters' careers somewhat defining how they've spent their lives up to this point. However, what I'm really appreciative about the system is that it doesn't have barriers to roleplaying. Experience is doled out for player action, not for killing enemies. For a RPG based off a wargame, this is a fantastic step for Privateer Press to take, utilizing a storytelling experience reward system, rather than something combat or loot-based. This allows players who abhor combat encounters to improve by resolving intrigues or investigating mysteries, rather than looking for the next piñata to beat xp out of.

Iron Kingdoms is a fantastic example of a gaming system that has evolved beyond its roots, and I look forward to every time I can sit at a table and play it.

Warmachine Wednesdays: The Ironclad

There's not much one needs to say about the default Cygnar beat-stick. The Ironclad has solid hit boxes, good accuracy with melee, and a hand weapon that's capable of putting serious dents in Khador 'jacks.

Despite lacking the nigh-excessive survivability of their northern red neighbors, the Ironclad can take a few solid hits, especially when you factor in that there is really only one arm you need to be especially concerned about. Some of the best strategy that's worked for me with the Ironclad is immediately moving it into combat with the biggest 'jack in your opponent's army, or getting it entrenched with a lot of short-range targets. This negates the main problem involved with losing movement abilities and, to be honest, with the Ironclad's above-par MAT, losing its cortex isn't much of an issue, either.

Used in conjunction with jacks or casters who can inflict Knockdown on the Ironclad's target makes his tactics almost too simple. Auto-hitting with a significant bonus to damage means that almost nothing can stand against this 'jack for too long.

I'm assembling a Stormclad at the moment, for use in conjunction with some Stormblades I have yet to paint up and complete assembly on, so we'll see if this guy gets replaced or simply becomes a necessary adjunct to my lists.