Greetings Programs!
Welcome to the latest instalment of the State of the Cataclysm blog things, in which we'll give you a brief update on what's happening in the many worlds of Beyond Cataclysm and share some cool stuff we thing you might enjoy.
Dragonmeet
In the last weekend in November we hit the Excel in London, which is the new home of Dragonmeet, the finest one day gaming convention in the world (certainly in the UK!). It was a whirlwind of driving, sleep deprivation and chocolate, but we had a total blast. It's always nice to reconnect with folks we maybe haven't seen since last years Dragonmeet and give hugs the myriad of rpg creators we share this crazy life with. We had famous faces like Chris McDowell, Paolo Greco and Will Rahman swing by to say hi as well. And and this guy, who made a total nuesence of himself and actually lost us at least one MORK BORG sale!
Hellspawn
We're currently crowd funding HELLSPAWN, which is a ghastly MORK BORG hack about demons trying, and failing, to escape the tortures of hell! It's compatible with just about every MB hack you can think of, including our very own MORK ORG. Help us smash a few more stretch goals here before it's too late!
Surprise Mega Bundles
Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for that hard-to-buy-for friend? Look no further! Our Surprise Mega Bundles are now available in values of £25, £50 or £100. They're guaranteed …
Welcome to Episode 25 of ‘What Is Roleplay?'
This episode CM Lowry is joined by Steph Windross to discuss Crits
To start the conversation CM Lowry asks Steph to define what the meaning of a Crit in roleplay games
Crit is short for Critical Roll, either a Critical Success or a Critical Failure. In short that means you have a rolled either the highest (success) or lowest (failure) number on the dice. These usually have interesting results which impact on the game as you continue to play.
CM reminds us that if your unsure about dice you can revisit
Episode 1 of
What Is Roleplay
Most games and systems will require that the dice actually land on a natural 20 in order for that to be considered a Crit Success - so if you roll 18 and add some sort of bonus that makes your score 20 that would not count as a Crit.
Steph shares some about a brilliant Crit Success from her real life adventures in roleplay games such as DnD and Blades in the Dark.
In Blades in the Dark Crits create narrative currency for collaborative story telling moments
CM & Steph chat about some of the things that can happen when you roll a critical fail - a sort of doubling down on the things that go wrong.
CM asks Steph to chat about some games that don't use Crits. Steph mentions lots of the current batch of OSR (Old-School Renaissance) games
CM chats about the …
This month CM Lowry is talking to Graphic Designer and RPG Creator Marco Serrano about The Long Rain by Ray Bradbury in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
Kansas being scientifically flatter than a pancake!
The Long Rain is a short story by
Ray Bradbury, which is a sci-fi psychological thriller. It's only 12 pages long and takes the reader on a real jaunt in that short space of time.
Marco reads a quote from the story for us which illustrates how relentless Bradbury's writing is in the story- an intensity that illustrates the persistent rain on Venus and how it gradually drives the inhabitants crazy.
CM asks Marco what his favourite thing is about the story
The psychological aspects of the story are really interesting - observing all hope being stripped away from a platoon of soldiers who are trying desperately to find shelter and one by one loosing all hope and succumbing to the rain and the madness and death it brings.
CM asks Marco to share some of the most haunting aspects of the story
The band of soldiers has 4 members to start with - they are trying to find the Sundome, a safe place. They walk in circles and return to their ship to find two of their members already dead. The deaths and descriptions of these men going insane are really deeply sad.
CM asks Marco if there is anything problematic with The Long Rain
Marco doesn't, as he tried …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author Nathan Philpott about All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
Nathan and Chris discuss struggling with pronunciations, translation difficulties and seeking to be culturally sensitive and respectful to the creator
Nathan shares a quote with the listeners that illustrates the intensity of Sakurazaka's writing and the fact that the title is a clear indication of what's going to happen in this book.
Spoiler Alert - Humanity is fighting an alien invasion and the the main plot of the book is about a soldier, who is stuck in a 30 hour time loop, seeking to find a way out of it by training himself to survive longer each time and kill a certain number of special aliens in order to break out of the loop.
Nathan shares his favourite thing about the book
When he first red it at sixteen years of age Nathan felt that he could relate to the main protagonist, who is a young man who has joined the army after a romantic rejection. The story of his experiences were really gripping to teenage Nathan
As a 28 year old Nathan is perhaps less interested in some aspects of the book but still enjoys re-reading it, even if just to recapture the headspace of being a teenager again.
It's a thrilling and compelling read.
The book is written in an interesting manner - switching from a first person …
Welcome to Episode 25 of ‘What Is Roleplay?'
This episode we are joined by artist and tabletop roleplay game designer David Blandy to discuss No Prep Play
Chris asks David what No Prep Play is
Simply put it is playing without preparation - creating an adventure on the fly as you're playing. Instead of having a preset scenario or adventure, you just make things up as you go.
It helps to have a sourcebook for inspiration, perhaps one with lots of tables that you can roll on to randomly generate ideas.
The Opposite of No Prep Play usually takes one of two form
Either a pre-written module in which everything for the adventure is set out - maps, settings, non player characters, creatures, everything that the players are going to encounter is contained within the book or booklet
Or something homebrewed that takes on a similar format to the adventure module. Something you've spent hours (or years) thinking up, writing and illustrating. Everything is set out for the player. This can be a very exciting thing for a GM to create and is a form of play within itself. You might choose to use tables from other RPGS.
David shares some tips for those who might be scared to lead a No Prep game
Trust yourself - you have the answers because you know the world you are working with, as someone who is running the game. Have a shape in your head of how you'd like the game to …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author Sandra Bond about Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
Sandra gives us an introduction to the book Three Men in a Boat.
First published in 1889, the book tells the story of three men on a boating holiday on the River Thames. The fact that it still holds its own, is funny and relatable to modern audiences, says a lot about how well written it is.
There is a narrator in the book who tells the story of these three men and the ways that they annoy each other which makes for great comedy. They're friendships survive but they certainly irritate one another along the way.
Sandra shares a quote from the book for us
Jay, the protagonist, is trying to get the train from Waterloo to Kingston on Thames. The usual platform uncertainly ensures, something anyone who uses public transport in the UK can relate to.
Sandra shares her favourite thing about the book
The sense of humour - the book is written almost like a string of comedy sketches. If it had been written now it could almost be material for a comedy show featuring three friends, such as the BBC series Peep Show.
There is an exactitude of language that Jerome K. Jerome uses, and the words he uses really add to the hilarity.
The book is based on a rowing trip that the author took, …
Welcome to Episode 24 of ‘What Is Roleplay?'
This episode we are joined by Games Designer and Spicy Tuna RPG head honcho Marco Serrano to discuss Space
After a brief opening chat Chris asks Marco 'Why is Space brilliant'? To which Marco answers that it creates a realm of endless possibilities within the game. Sci-fi gives us input from the science and technology that we currently have available and also the possibility to extrapolate how things might look in the near future. The unknowns of Space gives us room to explore, within our games, all the possibilities that could come from life as we know it improving or getting worse!
Marco shared his experiences of playing MOTHERSHIP, the first game he ever played that was based in space. Like in many games your health can dwindle, but you also have stress that builds up and can lead to long lasting conditions. Narratively your character is forever changed, but without necessarily affecting the mechanics of how you roll and whether you can still actually achieve things. This builds into the horror aspect while allowing the game to continue to run - something that's especially great if your running longer campaigns rather than just one-shots.
Chris asks Marco if there are any other kinds of stories that space lends itself well too, other than just horror. Marco points out that there are lots of stories from the Ray Bradbury era that are more Thriller than Horror. Many stories based in space are …
Welcome to Episode 23 of ‘What Is Roleplay?'
This episode we are joined by Author and Game Designer Paul Baldowski to discuss Monsters!
Chris asks Paul why Monsters are so important in roleplaying games?
Paul states that they are far more than just a character to slam down - they add a level of challenge and complexity that wouldn't be present without them.
Chris makes the point that monsters are an important device for storytelling, a fork in the road of the journey that the players are on.
A discussion using Hansel & Gretel as an example of a monster being at the heart of a really complex story
Chris asks 'What defines a monster'?
Paul chats about this idea, suggesting that monster do not have to be animate - anything that presents a barrier or delay can be monstrous, such as a wall or door.
Paul sights the British TV series 'Knightmare' as a great example of inanimate monsters.
The lifeforce meter for 'Knightmare' can be viewed
HERE
In other approaches Monsters can be complex tasks that require lots of dice-rolls.
Paul points out that Monsters and Obstacles are the same unless the game mechanics make them different
Orc level 3 and locked door level 3 are the same in that they both require the player to overcome them using storytelling, dice rolling or some other tool or strategy
Cypher System deals with obstacles like this well - the levels allow for an increase or decrease complexity. So new …
Welcome to Episode 22 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by RPG designer and author Dan Sumption to discuss Rules Light Roleplaying Games
Rules light Roleplaying Games (RPGS) are games that have a very simple rules framework so that the learning curve is nice and easy and the players are more free to approach and enjoy the game.
There is a stronger emphasis on imagination and freedom, rather than being stifled by heavy rules.
Episode 15 of What Is Roleplay would be a helpful listen for those interested in Rules Light RPG.
Dungeons & Dragons is a game that many people have heard of and is the introductory game for many people getting into roleplaying games. Unfortunately it has very complicated rules, also known as crunch, and can be quite off putting.
Rules light games involve a lot more imaginative play, something we all naturally did as children but have often forgotten since.
Dan chats with Chris about Into The Odd, a game that has no hit rolls, meaning you don't have to roll to check if your attacks actually hit them. This changes combat a great deal, and bring a great gravity and consequence to fighting. This inspires players to think about non-combative ways of dealing with conflict.
Chris mentions the real-time mechanic used in NOVA by Spencer Campbell, whereby the GM keeps the game moving by telling players they've taken too long to complete there turn.
The key difference between traditional RPGs and rules light …
This month CM Lowry is talking to author Flora Qian about Little Reunions by Eileen Chang in ‘This Book I Read...’
Topics covered include:
The fact that Eileen Chang actually wanted
Little Reunions to be destroyed, not published. It was not published until after her death.
Flora shares a quote from Little Reunions with us, that illustrates the autobiographical nature of Little Reunions and the sadness that surrounded the relationships between Eileen and her parents.
CM Lowry asks Flora to share her favourite thing about
Little Reunions. Flora lays out the fact that this novel is written during an incredibly interesting time in Chinese history and this provides a really wonderful backdrop to the lives of the protagonist and other characters.
Flora also then shares some of the things she doesn't like about this novel.
The protagonist, Julie, has a great deal of flaws, along with being quiet original. Her relationship with her mother and lover are explored in great detail - Julie is quite cold and uncaring. Flora wonders if this is born out of Eileen's own childhood trauma Flora suggests that if, perhaps, Eileen Change had some therapy, she would have been able to portray the protagonist with more depth and develop her character further.
There is a lot of denial in the novel as well - Julie's denial of obvious character flaws in her lover suggest that Eileen also overlooked abuse and infidelity within her own romantic life. Flora wishes that the author had …
