Thursday, February 28, 2013

Dread Questionnaires for Seyvoth Manor

well, that was probably the fastest i've ever completed the questionnaires for any Dread game. they're only 8+name questions long, but i think they will cover it. room for growth. here they are.



FIGHTER/ATHLETE

You're known for your brute strength. Why do you prefer brawn over brains.





What's the greatest trouble you've been in with the law?






What items do you find indispensable in your line of work?




You're pretty well known, but hard up for money. When was the last time you were paid?





What's the worst job you had, and what invaluable piece of advice did you learn from it?





Why do you constantly carry a weapon with you, and what is it?




What's your greatest fear?




What injury still acts up every now and then?




What's your name?



MAGE/SCHOLAR

When did you learn you had a knack for knowledge?





You are well-studied, and have taken on a pupil from time to time. Who was your favorite pupil and closest contact?



What three (3) knowledges are you most well versed in?




You spend much time in libraries, how does this affect your social life?





Tell me about the time that someone died because of your applied knowledge. Why was it tragic?





What horror disturbs you the most?





What occupation did you have before turning to knowledge? What did you learn from it?




How do you feel about others who may be “beneath you” intellectually?






What is your name?



KNIGHT/POLICE OFFICER


You come from a long line of people in this profession. Why did you choose this profession?




Why were you reluctant to join this profession?





How do you feel about outlaws and lawbreakers?




When was the last time that your life was in dander? What happened?





What do you need on you at all times to make you feel at ease?





When was the moment that you learned about your sickness? What is it?





What special talents do you possess?




How do you feel about your superiors, and those who are your brothers?





What's is your name?



ROGUE/THIEF



When did you first steal something, and what did you learn from it?




What special talents do you possess for your profession?





How many people know about your real profession? How well do you hide it?




Have you ever been caught stealing? What happened?





What items do you need for your profession?






What was your biggest score?





You have enemies because of a bad job. Who are they? Why do they wish you ill?





What do you fear most in life? What haunts you?




What's your name?



CLERIC/PRIEST

When did you turn to god and “hear his calling”?




How do you feel blessed about doing his work?





What have you learned in the time that you have been a loyal servant?





What items do you need on you at all time for your holy rituals?





How do you really feel about being a shepherd to the masses?





What major personal issue do you have? How would it damage your reputation if anyone found out?





Other than your god, who else do you seek for advice and find as a good friend?





What is the real fear that drives you to god?




What's your name?



RANGER/HUNTER


Who taught you the ways of the forest?





What items do you need to survive in the wild?






You have a slightly different appearance than most. What feature sets you apart from the others?





What is the most valuable lesson you've learned from being on the hunt?





What one person influences you the most and is your mentor?




Tell me about the one time that you were near death in the wild. How did you survive?





What is the one thing you fear, and fear so deeply that it keeps you from sleeping at night?





What is you preferred weapon of choice?



What's you name?



DRUID/WICCA

How do outsiders feel about your beliefs?




How do you view yourself in the grand scheme of things?





What have you learned in the time of your craft?





When did you learn that you were in-tuned with nature?






Who guided you through the process of becoming one with nature?





What do you fear most in life?





What was the saddest moment in your life?





What good deed taught you an invaluable piece of information?



What is your name?


forgive any misspellings or anything with syntax. my mind was on fire with these. a step closer to running this thing.

also, out of respect for those who wrote the module, i'll leave the link to their product here. highly recommend it.




A General Update on things.

i've been working on several projects for various things, and have had to try and refocus efforts on things that are most pressing. as of right now, i'm nearing completion for my write up on "Welcome to Saw Hill" which should be beginning to show up on this site very soon.

secondly, i have a bad hankering to play Kobolds ate my Baby. i've pulled out all the old resource material. i've skimmed some things, and for some reason the phrase "Vor's Pissed Off Party Hat" has jumped into my mind and is kicking my brain around for attention. i'll get to that soon as well.

the first thing on my mind is to write up several new questionnaires for a Dread game that will hopeful occur rather soon. i looked at this free game called "The Night at Seyvoth Manor", which is actually for DND4E. let me be the first to say that this product is great. it captures a feeling of the old Ravenloft setting, whether that was the initial intention or not, and is expertly lethal. it's a standalone game that is played in 4 real-time hours. tons of great things, and a fantastic environment for the game.

so, i've challenged myself to a task. i intend to run it as a dread game, with a few tweaks here and there, but i'm going to make the questionnaires in a way that will allow me to either run the game in a fantasy-like setting or as modern day.

so far the character concepts appear sound with fantasy world and their modern day counterparts. the questionnaires are:

Knight/Police Officer

Cleric/Priest

Rogue/Theif

Fighter/Athlete

Mage/Scholar

Druid/Wicca or Psychic

Ranger/Hunter

the questions will have to be broad enough to work both angles, but i don't think it will be much of a problem. enough talk. must write elsewhere.


Sunday, February 24, 2013

Fallout Journal #5: Death Walks Among Us part 1

pushing quickly up to level 26, and this is where my save branching will really kick into full gear. i've realized that i'm really close to finishing the base game. i've helped project purity as far as i can without endangering my game and prematurely finishing the game.

dad's dead, and the Citadel is open finally. i dropped off the holotags, and then learned to breathe properly to use my power armor. most bullshitty training ever.

i've attacked fort bannister and cleared out the Talon Company Mercs there. bunch of jerks, but that was actually a difficult area for me, but my near perfect guns really helped out there. never question superior firepower.

i traveled to a small cave near overlook drive-in and took out/enslaved the raiders there, less stressful than the Mercs for sure. i have the perk that allows your VATS APs replenish after scoring a kill in VATS, so i've become a pinpoint killer. head shots a plenty.

i traveled to Little Lamplight, found a kid named stinky who needed to go to Big Town. he kept telling me stories, which really pissed me off, but i didn't kill him. i left that for the Albino Radscorpion that we came across. I found Dogmeat shortly thereafter, but i rarely travel with him. he stays at my Megaton house to protect it with Wadsworth, my Mister Gutsy butler.

i went to Oasis and took care of the tree as per Harold's wishes. i'm evil, but not entirely heartless. shortly thereafter, i traveled to the Yao Guai Tunnels and Deathclaw Sanctuary to grad a few bobbleheads. both of these animals are attacking me more and more, and i really have to find a bigger gun to take them out. hate having to use the mini-nukes on the Claws

end part 1

Thursday, February 21, 2013

PS4 Whoas and Woes

on 2/20/13, Sony announced that the PS4 was a reality. we all knew that this was coming, and new consoles are inevitable. so let's delve into it.

now, i was only able to watch about 45 minutes of the live stream, just because it became unbearable to watch do to bandwidth, but i was able to catch the specs, the controller, the concepts, and a few of the game footage before it was too glitchy.

the Whoas:

some of the concepts are cool and new, and the information that i read about the Dualshock 4 from PlaystationLifestyle was spot on. the DS4 is bigger with a touchpad and what seems to be the move technology all together. how this works should be interesting.

the specs, and i use this term loosely, are interesting. x86processor, an "enhanced" GPU, DDR5 RAM (lots of it) and a great big HDD (hopefully.) they said this was designed for "Evolution of tech" and made for game designers to give them no ceiling. that sounds great on paper. the sky's the limit is a cool thought for sure.

The game footage of Killzone Shadow Fall is terrifyingly beautiful and unexpected. crystal clear to the infinite horizon. seamless and perfect. The Driveclub footage is great as well, though i think it will be good for launch. it will have to prove itself, because we all know the long shadows that Gran Turismo casts on the competition. add in Need For Speed and a hopeful BURNOUT title, and it falls into the mix.

the purchase of GAIKAI by Sony might be the biggest thing. cloud gaming, and attempting to be the fast dedicated network on the planet for gaming means they're taking shots at xbox live. this will be interesting to see if they can do it.

the new interface and social "Share" aspects of this console are intriguing and frightening. nothing like this has been tried before. its thrilling in a dangerous way.

the "Anything Anywhere" mantra may be the key to all of this. if this opens the floodgates for me to get my hands on every game in the Playstation world, playable on so many devices, i may crap myself with glee.

The Woes:

PS3 Imminent Death: it's days are numbered, despite launching several big games this year and next. we still have God of War Ascension, Grand Theft Auto 5, Watchdogs, and others. despite people bitching about the lack of power in the PS3, i have had a hell of a time with this system, i have lots to still play, and intend to until the final day that PSN pulls the plug on the three.

Price? Time of release? forget that...what the hell does the thing look like?  i know Dev Kits are out there, but do they really have anything ready to go. i bet they do, they're sneaking up on MS i know. i've heard as early as this winter, but probably only in japan, but the us cant be too far off. still if the rumors of 400 are right, still a bit steep for most wallets?

Games We'll never see...if the end is soon, that means some of the best games i've played will never have had a sequel on current tech. only one Burnout title, only one UnrealTourney. we all know that Gran Turismo 6 is on the next gen, because it took way too long for 5. Pretty sure the Fallouts are done of ps3 as well, but here;s hoping for another return.

i know i'll have more gripes and greats about it, but for now i must reflect on what i have seen and heard and wait for more information.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Frag Ultra X

the tentative name for my bigger and better version of Frag. a lot of homespun ideas in this project.

i've taken a hard look at the maps that i have (the base box and DeathMatch) and have come to the decision that they are ugly. i'll be fixing that of course. also, the maps are 16 squares x 26 squares, and i intend to make them 20x30 for purposes of my traps. 1d20 and 1d30 are added to the mix for that. then it's just simple plotting of coordinates for that.

i'm looking at some boards already for the map. i may be crazy here, but i'm thinking about doing three boards that are similar to my Clash of the Kaiju setup. smaller squares of course.

i obviously can't do tunnels because that will complicate the rules somewhat, unless i use another board for that tunnel. i will have raised areas,but it will depend on design of the board and how 3d i really want it.

i have several miniatures who are making the jump to Frag. the first is Big Lou. here's some flavor text.

Big Lou is an odd addition to the Frag UX arena, since he is a throwback to the 1920s gangsters that plagued the streets of the big cities. He dresses in suits, complete with bowler hat and fine leather shoes, rather than the bulky and often lethal garb of his fellow competitors. Many in the arena have been fooled by his simple and vintage look, but in reality Big Lou is a solid killer who is not afraid to use anything he finds in the arena to finish the job.

the brainstorm continues.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Building a Better Frag

i've been going back to my gaming roots for the past few weeks, opening up the boxes of games i haven't played in months. i stumbled across my old copy of Frag by Steve Jackson Games. it's a great combat game that emulates a FPS, and it's been through many different reprints. i have the old flat box from 2001. it's well played.

one thing that i didn't really care for is the box, just because once all things are cut out, there's no way to get the box flat again. so the first thing i intend to do is rebuild or substitute the box. however, as we all know, i can never let anything alone for too long.



i'm a big fan of FPS games, having several favorite franchises, but the one that sticks out the most for me is Unreal Tournament, which really goes hand in hand with Frag. my big intention is to make my own map, preferably taking some inspiration from the UT series, and make it durable, three-dimensional, and large scale enough to make it into a Convention game.



i like the concepts that were put forth in the Frag miniatures box set and also in the Deadlands set; Specific named characters with pre-built stats. i intend to bring this to the table, incorporating characters already in the game, along with some wayward minis of my own. additionally i'd like to be able to have my board be able to be used for several scenarios, like CTF, DM, Team DM, and maybe even some form of the Domination game. just thoughts and spit-ballin' ideas, but definite possibilities.

i'm going to include this link here, because of all the extra goodies and ideas here. i see there is a Frag/ Zombies!!! crossover game. perhaps i can add in a KAMB! scenario of my own?
http://www.sjgames.com/frag/blackbox/
more to come friends, more to come.




Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Fallout Journal #4: Staring Down a Deathclaw with a .44

shortly after cleaning out the nuka-cola plant of all Quantums, I returned to Girdershade and handed off all the junk to Ronald. he paid me nicely, then we went to Sierra's house to watch Ronald "do his thing" (which was pretty much a bad innuendo about "filling her pop machine".

after Ronald left, i mezzed Sierra, but she didn't turn mindless. so i killed her. i told Ronald the good news about the love of his life, and after a deep discussion with our shotguns,  iwas the sole survivor of Girdershade



But why stop there?

i began walking the Wasteland, looking for other areas that i had previously left unexplored in previous games. i maintained my deliveries here and there. i had a battle with a DeathClaw (one on one) where all i had to pack a punch was my scoped .44 magnum.  i searched Vault 108  and murdered all the "Garys" i could find. i traveled to The Republic of Dave, The Grisly Diner (which may become a new BoO for me...nice decor) and wiped out the Raiders of Evergreen Mills. I finally found the boy from Grayditch and was given my proper XP. i began to do the dirty work of Mr Crowley (You Gotta Shoot 'em in the Head) and finding the VIP slaves for Paradise Falls. unfortunately, Both Rivet City and Tenpenny Tower are pissed at me, and thus, half their population is dead because of my temper. no matter, i intend to wipe out both locations soon.

i'm passed level 20 now. i'm the Scourge of Humanity, The Walking Apocalypse. Death, with Hell following behind.

now i intend to bring my talents to Point Lookout, The Pitt and the other areas (DLC) i never played.

until next time...

Friday, February 1, 2013

Fallout Journal #3: Bobbleheads, Murder, Slaves and Soda

after the loss of Jehricho, i traveled the wasteland for a while, collecting my thoughts as well as a few loose bobbleheads here and there. i figured that the next plan of action was to enslave Megaton.

 i returned to Megaton, headed to the commom room, and enslaved the first person there. not much of a problem. i had a slight issue with only having one slave collar at a time, so a trip was needed to go to Paradise Falls after each capture and to get a new collar. slight issue, but i can deal. if you want the caps bad enough, you'll do anything.

 i took out a few generic Megaton settlers and enslaved them in the same way. unfortunately, someone got wise to what i was doing, and the whole town turned on me. crap. so what was supposed to be an easy enslaving of a whole town, quickly turned into a bloodbath. individuals like Stahl, West, and Creel all fell to my combat shotgun either on the walkways or the town square, Simms and Stockholm were a bit troubling, but both eventually fell. Mother Maya and Confessor, the heads of the Children of the Atom, ran scared and both fell. at this point, that "Bad Karma" chime is going off every five seconds. the Children of the Atom followers turn on each other, saving me time and bullets.

in the course of 45 real-time minutes, i had removed all but Moira and her Merc. the Merc died first, easier than i had expected. then i chased Moira around, cornered her behind her counter. and shot her repeatedly. that was it, the deed was done. Megaton was mine and mine alone.

i went back to the homes and business and ransacked as much as i could, then as i went to the saloon, i discovered a lone survivor. Nova. well, looks like its time for some celebratory post slaughter/ enslavement coitus!

i talked to her, and she replied that since Colin Moriarty is dead, she's out of the business.

silence.

BLAM! Dead!

so with megaton out of the way, i headed out to tie up some loose ends, specifically girdershade and their pursuit of Nuka Quantum. fine, the sooner i finish this quest, the sooner they get voted off the planet. off to the Nuka-Cola Plant i go. well, as i get there, i'm attacked by Hitmen who are pissed about things that i've done to people, ie, enslaving people. i'm also attacked by fellow slavers who are pissed because i'm making them look bad and they want to get rid of the competition. Geez, who isn't after me?

after battles with security bots and Quantum marinaded Mirelurks, i headed out to old olney where i'm  elbow deep in the Deathclaws. might need to resupply before attacking. hmm, are any traders still alive? i bet Moira would've loved my business.