The above subject line is a long way to go for me to sum up a design issue in Ninja. That issue is detail.

One of the main goals behind the 12° Cookbook is for James and I to create two playable games, self contained between the covers. By this, we each have a game that says what it needs to say in a minimal amount of space. The design is focused, the rules are focused, and the writing is focused. Both games deal with specific themes, and both games differ from what we have done in Colonial Gothic and Thousand Suns.

First a little back story/history.

When coming up with the idea of the 12° Cookbook about 16-months ago, James and I had some ideas that on their own did not support a full game. Colonial Gothic and Thousand Suns had and still have specific goals. There is a vision at play here, in that we wanted two games that not only appealed to us as designers, but allowed for a style of play we enjoyed.

In the case of Colonial Gothic I wanted supernatural historical horror, and I wanted to play with the entire tapestry of Colonial American History (not just the original Thirteen, but the New World). With Thousand Suns, James wanted to create a sci-fi game that was "generic" in the sense that it gave players the tools they need so they could create their own setting.

As we worked on the games, the thread for Colonial Gothic was lost for awhile, but has since been found. While Thousand Suns became a love letter to not only a certain style of science fiction, but a a love letter to a favorite game.

The 12° Cookbook is a different beast. The Cookbook is a concept that takes the 12° mechanic, and with it, we cook up the little game ideas we have. These ideas are ones that could not support a whole game, let along a whole book. These are mini-games in a sense, but it sells the games short. Ninja deals with the concepts of family and clan. By that, what come first for you as a player: your family ties or your clan loyalty? Depending on how you answer this question, your role as player changes as you take part in missions with your fellow players.

The design of Ninja is tight. The rules are tight, and what you do as a player and as a game master is tight. I like this. For me, Ninja is the first time I have ever been this focused as a designer. I knew what I wanted to design. I knew what I wanted to "say."

Now with the rules done, and the revision underway, I find I am stuck. The area I am stuck on is the world. When you do a focused design for rules, that is easy. With a world, it is not so easy. Part of me wants to leave it vague and let the game master design their own. Part of me thinks this is bad, because you need to have some type of setting for a game master so that they can see how the rules work. For me, a setting is flesh that rests on the skeleton of good rule design. By skimping on the setting, or worse, not including one, you are putting out a naked skeleton. This might appear to be okay at first, but after awhile you want to see something more than bones and organs.

So I am stuck. I can easily write many words on the setting, but this detail will derail the tight design and writing I have done. I can go the minimalist way, and give the barest of sketches, but this I feel, weakens the tightness of the game in that a game master does not have a enough out of the book they could use.

Writing this I realize I might be over thinking things a tad much. Would not be the first time.

So anyway, that is the current dilemma I find myself in. When do I say too much and when do I say not enough?

Due out next month is a new adventure, titled The Defeated Dead.

Taking place in a new region of the colonies, it is filled with some very nice bits. Written by Bryce Whitacre and with maps by Jeff Preston, the adventure is shaping up to be a good one. So where is this adventure going to be set? Here is a hint:



More to come. :)

Work on Thousand Suns: Transmissions from Piper is moving along. Manuscripts are either in, or waiting to be turned in. Stories have been reread multiple times. Art is coming in as well. In all, this is shaping up to be a very cool project, and it is a book I am finding a lot of enjoyment in working on. I think the reason is that for the first time, this is not a book I am writing.

For a change, I am editing and project managing, and because of this, I am able to read things and enjoy them. Sounds strange, but when you are writing a game or gaming supplement, you are so focused on that project, you sometimes do not enjoy the work on the whole. For this book, that is not the case. Since I am not focused on the writing, I am seeing the large picture more clearly.

This is going to be a very nice book. There are four very strong short stories, and the game mechanics and additions based on these stories, really add to the game. There is going to be a lot of options for game masters and players, and this, for me is awesome. When James created Thousand Suns, his first goal, was the most important one, he wanted a tool kit. Thousand Suns: Transmissions from Piper is going to be a nice tool kit.

As for the art, we have some very good artists lined up working their magic. The sketches and finished art is looking nice, and, for me, shows the possibilities of Thousand Suns in a good way. Dani Kaulakis has done a fantastic job of setting the artistic vision of Thousand Suns. The artists working on Thousand Suns: Transmissions from Piper are doing some very cool things with the stories they were assigned.

The image to the right was done by Jeff Preston of Team-Preston. It is of the Hillmen from Thor, and as H. Beam Piper writers in "Ministry ... of Disturbance." Piper writes:

When it opened, Captain-General Dorflay of the Household Guard was waiting for him, with a captain and ten privates. General Dorflay was human. The captain and his ten soldiers weren't. They wore helmets, emblazoned with the golden sun and superimposed black cogwheel of the Empire, and red kilts and black ankle boots and weapons belts, and the captain had a narrow gold-laced cape over his shoulders, but for the rest, their bodies were covered with a stiff mat of black hair, and their faces were slightly like terriers'. (For all his humanity, Captain-General Dorflay's face was more like a bulldog's.) They were hillmen from the southern hemisphere of Thor, and as a people they made excellent mercenaries. They were crack shots, brave and crafty fighters, totally uninterested in politics off their own planet, and, because they had grown up in a patriarchial-clan society, they were fanatically loyal to anybody whom they accepted as their chieftain.

Jeff does a great job with this sketch, in addition to the rest of the art he is doing for this short story. Thousand Suns: Transmissions from Piper is turning into something that is going to be far better than I thought it would be. By that, I thought this was going to be a series of PDF releases that would eventually be collected in a book. Once I saw the quality of art and the writing, I knew this book deserved to be published. I am glad I made that decided to do this differently.

Currently I am working with five moleskins. (Damn that sounds dirty.)

Anyway.

Moleskins, by the way is my notebook of choice. I like the portability of them, as well as their sturdy construction. Nice little notebooks, and I recommend them highly for my fellow writers.

These moleskins contain the various projects I am working on, and are a combination notes, random thoughts, rough drafts and the like.

As for the topics, here is what each moleskins covers:

Moleskin 1: Colonial Gothic: Enemies. Notes, snippets and random bits.

Moleskin 2: Secret Project James and I are working on.

Moleskin 3: Colonial Gothic: Enemies. Notes, snippets, random bits and the ideas for what is turning into a larger book than I thought.

Moleskin 4: Thousand Suns mini project. This one deals with robots, I do not know where it will show up, but it will show up sooner, rather than later.

Moleskin 5: Colonial Gothic: Enemies Odds and Ends. Notes and snippets for two projects that will come later next year. One is the Halloween Surprise and the other is the Thanksgiving Surprise.

Now, what annoys me is that I have to buy two more now because I suddenly got struck with inspiration for two new projects.

For two years I have been stuck on a writing project. Said project is for Colonial Gothic, and is an adventure. This adventure has gone through at least twelve freaking drafts.

The reason?

Who knows.

For some reason this adventure has been stuck, and no matter how much (or how little) I worked on it, I could not get past it. I think part of the reason might lie in the fact that I broke my usual writing form.

Writing form?

Yes.

A little know secret is that no matter what the project is, the first draft I write in longhand.

Yes. Longhand.

From the original Colonial Gothic Rulebook, to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, every draft is always written in longhand. The reason is that it helps me focus on the mater at hand, and allows me to get all the ideas on to paper first. I pretty much sit at my desk, yellow legal pad in front of me, outline of said project in one of my ubiquitous moleskins, and I write.

I write until I am done. I work off my outline, and I write. As I write, do not edit. I let the work shape itself. If there are errors, I do not worry about them. The goal of this first draft is to empty the mind of everything. Once done, I then type up this draft, and do the first edit. Once done, I print it out, and sit on it for about two weeks. When I follow this method the writing is easier. When I don't. Well. Forget.

That is the problem I faced with this adventure. I tried to mix things up, and and not follow my typical writing method. No mater how hard I tried, I could not get it down, and I hit mental roadblock after mental roadblock. Finally last weekend I had it. I chucked everything. Printed out my outline, grabbed a fresh moleskin, and wrote.

Boom.

Rough draft done.

I still have a lot of work to do. Yet, for the first time in years, the log jam is free.

So what is the adventure about?

It deals with a cult, a business deal gone bad, someone stealing money, and the missing son of a connected member of the Continental Congress.

The title?

The Philadelphia Affair.

(null)

Work on Thousand Suns: Transmissions from Piper is moving along.

Manuscripts are in, about to come in, and in the process of being edited. Some of the art is done, and the rest will be in shortly. I am really excited about this book, and the reason is that we have four very strong short stories in this book.

The book is going to be filled with some very cool things. Here is an example. Two maps that will be in the book. Note they will be b&w in the book, but the color versions will be up on the website for download.



More to come later.

Regardless of the approach to history one takes, Colonial Gothic, as stated numerous times earlier, is a “cinematic” roleplaying game, at least when it comes to action and adjudicating tasks. What this means is that neither the rules nor the advice presented here fixates on minutiae, the nitty-gritty details bogging down the flow of a game session and be of interest only to experts on the period. Colonial Gothic unapologetically takes it cues from movies and television and other “non-scholarly” approaches to history.

Cinematic does not mean “low brow” or “thoughtless.” Just because the game does not include complex rules for handling inter-colonial commerce or lengthy charts outlining the orders of battle for different British regiments does not mean its’ approach to history is simple-minded. Rather, the game focuses on those things deemed most likely to be of general value to players and GMs of all persuasions who play this game. Naturally, if individual Game Masters believe they need complex rules for inter-colonial commerce, they can do some research and build upon the rules presented here to create them. Most players, though, won’t notice the lack of such rules nor will they demand them.

As a cinematic game, Colonial Gothic focuses first and foremost on the heroes and their actions. Yes, they live and act in a tumultuous time filled with great events and great people but the heroes remain the stars of the show, so to speak. The Game Master must never lose sight of this. Certainly, no hero will ever pen the Declaration of Independence or cross the Delaware but then neither will Thomas Jefferson face down a black magician or George Washington battle a werewolf and live to tell the tale – well, they might, this being a secret history game, after all! The point is Colonial Gothic is not about Thomas Jefferson or George Washington; it is about the heroes you create. They are the most important people in the world from your perspective and you, as GM, must bear this in mind at all times. So long as players feel that what they do matters, they will be happy and all the concerns about approaches to history will be a sideshow to the real game – the adventures you’re running with your players.

The more I work on this game, the more James and I share our ideas and thoughts, the more I love this game. The above is just part of a much larger chapter I am working on (Chapter 9) and was written by both James and myself. It is a summation of what we like about the style of games we design.

...INCOMING TRANSMISSION...

...The last enemy was the toughest of all--and defeating him was almost as dangerous as not doing so. For a strange pattern of beliefs can make assassination an honorable profession ...

...INCOMING TRANSMISSION...

...Bishop Berkeley's famous question about the sound of a tree falling in the forest may have no standing in Science, but there remains an intriguing question about "sound" that Science needs to consider....

...INCOMING TRANSMISSION...

...To translate writings, you need a key to the code--and if the last writer of Martian died forty thousand years before the first writer from Earth was born ... how could the Martian be translated?...

...INCOMING TRANSMISSION...

...Sometimes getting a job is harder than the job after you get it--and sometimes getting out of a job is harder than either!...

...INCOMING TRANSMISSION...

Inspired by the writings of one of Science Fiction's master writers, H. Beam Piper, Thousand Suns: Transmissions from Piper, is a collection of new rules and ideas ready to be dropped into your Thousand Suns games! Included with the new rules and equipment are four of Piper's classic short stories which are your introduction to some of the writings that influenced the development of Thousand Suns. More than new rules and ideas, Thousand Suns: Transmissions from Piper, include the complete texts of four of Piper's classic short stories.

...INCOMING TRANSMISSION...

Coming March 2009

RGG 1020 $24.99

...END TRANSMISSION...

I am making great progress on the revised rules.

A lot of tweaking, and a lot of excitement on my part, because the revised version is making me happy. Of the 13 Chapters, I have only 5 more to go before the first draft is done. Then I need to heavily edit, revise, tweak, beat, mutilate and work the draft. There is a lot more I need to do with this game, but my goal of having a working draft done before next weekend is on track.

Anyway, here is a very _rough_ draft of the first chapter. Please note, that a lot of this will be rewritten, but the guts should remain.

A Primer

Introduction

Colonial Gothic is a supernatural historical roleplaying game drawing inspiration from the history of the Colonial period of the Americas. From discovery to the war of Independence, Colonial Gothic gives you the tools to set games during this period. In Colonial Gothic you play a Hero, who through the course of their adventures slowly uncovers the reality of the world.

What is this reality?

Lurking in the shadows are mysterious and foul plots. Enemies have been influencing events, and pulling strings. Though the world may be entering into a new age of reason, there are many seeing the world in a different way. Creatures of the occult and supernatural exist, and magic is a real force of nature. Your Hero might know this, or they might come to know this.

Everything you need to know as a player and GM is found in the chapter. This primer, tells you what to expect from the game, explains the core mechanic, and tells you what to do with the game.

What to do with the game? Yes. Roleplaying games tend to forget to tell you what to do with the game. After all the rules and options, often little room is spent telling you what a game should feel like. This Primer does this. As a player, you should know after reading this chapter what your Hero is able to do, and what they should expect from the world of Colonial Gothic. As a GM, you will know what to do with Colonial Gothic and the type of games you can run. The Primer is your amuse-bouche if you will. This one bite sets the table for what is to come. So without further ado, let’s have a taste!

Setting

Colonial Gothic is a world mired in mysteries, secrets and plots. Some of these secrets and plots you determine for yourself; other secrets are found within this book. In this rulebook, the horror relies heavily upon your imagination and ingenuity using the tools provided for you to play the game. Whether you choose to play a Hero fighting a campaign in the American Revolution who discovers how brutal and bloody war truly is, or whether you decide to play a Hero tracking down an accused Witch just outside of town, that is entirely up to you. As a Hero, you play a mortal fighting against Villains. As you discover more and more about the Villains you face, you’ll begin to realize that some enemies are all too human while others are just simply monsters.

Colonial Gothic is designed with the following premise: the occult and supernatural is real. Drawing upon history and Colonial Gothic comes from the perspective of how the colonists viewed the occult and supernatural. Witches are real. Devils exist, as do demons. Magic actually exists and is able to be worked. Most colonists have either chosen to rationalize the occult and supernatural away, have been irreversibility damaged by their experiences, or have accepted it for what it is. Those accepting it have chosen to put no only their sanity and faith on the line, but their reputation as well. Viewing themselves as the last line of defense, these Heroes war with these forces out of sight in the shadows.

On a larger scale, there is something not right in the world of Colonial Gothic. Something dark, malicious and purposeful gnaws are the edges and its’ touch causes the world to go awry. Though many try to give this a name, no name defines it and no one knows what it truly is. Not even the Natives who have lived on the land before the White Man “discovered” it, know what it is. They know evil infects the land, and it is spreading. What is this evil? There are many theories, but no real answers. What is known is that it influences things, inspires events and threatens all life. Who stands against this? Your hero.

For the Players

Your Hero is a colonists hailing from one of the colonies found in the New World. For the most part the world is entering a new age—The Age of Reason. The world is slowly leaving behind its’ roots of myth and superstition and is beginning to embrace a world that is defined by mathematics and science. It was Descartes, Hobb, Newton and others who moved the world into a new way of thinking. Though most have embraced these new roots, some have not. There are those who know the truth—magic is real!

In Colonial Gothic you play a Hero who knows that Magic is real and the horrors that it can create in the form of monsters. These monsters could be anywhere. They could be witches cursing a settlement, vampires that followed European immigrants to the New World, or angry spirits terrorizing a Cherokee tribe. Whether you’re fighting in the frontier or you’re fending off a supernatural disease like Curse from the Grave you, along with others like you, will wage a hidden war because there is no one else brave enough to face the Devil’s minions, fight them and win.

For the GM

As a GM, you create adventures and campaigns loosely inspired by Colonial American history. The horror adventures you create revolve around the supernatural and the mundane. From monsters, to scheming merchants and politicians, there are many campaign possibilities for you to discover in Colonial Gothic. To help you craft your game, we’ve outlined three, different styles of play:

High Action Style is one that downplays the supernatural and the occult. Instead of slaying demons, the Heroes will fight against more common threats like slavers, French Traders, and the British Military, to name a few. Campaigns that work well for this style would be movies like Last of the Mohicans, Dances with Wolves or The Patriot; or the stories of Robert Howard’s Solomon Kane. If a military campaign does not interest you, you could create a campaign based around discovery or exploration. The Colonies and Her lands are still new to most people--many resources and Native cultures are waiting to be discovered. This style works well for players that like a lot of movement in their game; it also works well for players that want to explore the natural side to this setting.

Occult & Mystery Style is one that introduces players to the occult, but takes a softer approach to the horrors that might await them. The threats your players face are few and far between; you create adventures that are focused around a mystery. The mystery you design might be based on a strange cult intent on winning the War for its own, devilish reasons or a necromancer intent on infiltrating the militia. While the setting details of movies like Sleepy Hollow and From Hell are not an exact fit to Colonial Gothic, these are two movies that are written in a similar vein—strong setting, an aura of dark mystery, and a suspension of disbelief. For books, both the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Nathanial Hawthorn, Irving Washington and H. P. Lovecraft Whatever mystery you choose, the goal of this style is to utilize players that are more interested in investigating than engaging in constant, heavy combat.

Supernatural Style is the default style of Colonial Gothic. Similar to Occult & Mystery, this style has that same touch of magic and mayhem. However, in this style of play, the Hero’s threats are more ancient and widespread than they would be in Occult & Mystery. Similarly themed examples of a larger, supernatural threat that would be considered “epic” would be movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, and Brotherhood of the Wolf. These movies each have a large-enough threat that, if it succeeds, would change the world’s fabric of reality. For writers, Shelly and Stroker. Many Heroes don’t know much about how Magic works; they only have a vague understanding of how to fight what monsters it sometimes creates. Some Heroes try to use Magic and the occult to their own advantage; others shy away from it.

Regardless of the style you choose, action in Colonial Gothic is larger-than-life. What does this mean to you, as a GM? Heroes and Villains are capable of performing feats that others may find impossible. When you’re designing your adventures and running your games, remember to think “big” and allow your players to react “bigger.” We’ve designed the rules with the swashbuckling Hero and the dastardly Villain in mind; not only will your players have fun being the Hero—you’ll have a great time watching them interact with each other in game.

Do you have an idea of the game you’d like to run?

Let’s get ready to play!

12°

Everything you need to know in order to play Colonial Gothic is found in this book. The basics found in this chapter should allow you to quickly understand the game’s mechanical foundations. Of course, Colonial Gothic, isn’t complex. Most rules are fairly straightforward and easy to remember. Nevertheless, there are a handful of occasions when multiple modifiers and special cases come into play. The better you understand the basic rules, the better equipped you’ll be to deal with those few exceptions.

Playing the Game

To play Colonial Gothic you need a few things.

* First, two twelve-sided dice (D12). GMs might want to have a few more handy.
* Second, a blank piece of paper (or a Hero sheet) and a pencil.
* Third—a willingness to have fun.

Rules Overview

Let’s talk briefly about the core mechanic running the game.

Action in Colonial Gothic isn’t intended to be “realistic” or “gritty.” It’s meant to recreate the type of action you’re likely to read in books, seen in comic books or magna, or see in a movie or television show. Note—Colonial Gothic is not cartoonish or ridiculously over the top, but the emphasis is on verisimilitude and plausibility rather than a strict reality simulation. The game’s rules, known as 12°, are designed to accommodate this style of play with ease. Action is about doing things in a flashy and larger-than-life way. It is one thing to say your Hero is fighting a zombie; it’s another to say they are doing so while balancing on a church’s roof.

Every action, regardless if your Hero is firing a musket, or intimidating a merchant, is handled the same way. Roll 2d12 and if the result is equal to or less than your Target Number (TN), the action succeeds.

Simple as that.

Your TN is a number based on two associated Abilities or Skills plus or minus any modifiers. For example, if your Hero wants to throw a tomahawk and has an Agility 6 and Throw 6, your TN is 12. Thus, rolling a 2d12 and getting a result of 11 results in a success; rolling 2d12 and getting a 23 results in a failure.

Tests

All actions in Colonial Gothic are called Tests. There are three types of Tests — Ability, Skill, and Opposed — that depend on specific situations; the Game Master will tell you what type of Test you need to make if it’s not obvious.

Ability Tests

Ability Tests depend on one of your Hero’s Abilities and used in times of great need or danger. These Tests are not tied to Skills; instead they are tied to your Hero’s inborn ability to do something. Your Target Number is always the unmodified Rank in your Ability.

For example, suppose your Hero is running away from some cultists thugs. You decide to shake your pursuers by declaring your Hero is diving into a nearby canal and holding his breath while underwater, hoping the thugs don’t spot him. Once your Hero reaches his limit, your GM tells you to make a Body Test, to see if your Hero still manages to hold his breath. In this case your TN would be your Hero’s Body Ability (8). Rolling 2d12 the result is 15, failure. Thus your Hero fails his Body Test and begins drowning.

Skill Tests

Skill Tests are the most common tests found in Colonial Gothic. Most actions, from shooting a musket to researching a demon, are handled by Skill Tests. Your Target Number in a Skill Test equals your Skill Rank plus the Rank of the Skill’s associated Ability, plus or minus any bonus or penalties associated with the Test. The resulting number is the one you need to meet in order to succeed.
For example, your Hero is climbing a wall. This is normally a Routine Test. Unfortunately, your Hero is attempting to climb a wall in the pouring rain while not being spotted by guards patrolling the area. Your Hero’s Athletics skill is 7 and his Agility is 6, making your TN 13. Due to the rain and the need for your Hero to be silent, your GM assesses your Hero a –4 penalty, which lowers your Hero’s TN to 9 for this Test.

Opposed Tests

Opposed Tests are tests between two, separate Heroes, usually occurring when your Hero is competing against another Hero or is acting out against a non-player Hero of some sort. Opposed Tests are necessary because the degree of your Hero’s success (or failure) determines how the game’s events unfold. Opposed Tests require two or more parties to make a Test; whoever rolls highest, but still below their Target Number, succeeds. Opposed Tests also come into play for some specific skills, such as Stealth, as well as in combat.

An example of an Opposed Test for Stealth would be in the case of hiding. Your Hero is trying to sneak into a protected house. A guard is keeping watch, and the GM states that they have a chance noticing your Hero sneaking into the house. The GM tells you to make a Stealth Test; while the GM makes an Observe Test. Rolling the dice your result is a 4 (your TN was 12)—success! The GM, rolling for the guard (whose TN is 9), rolls a 12—failure. Your Hero easily sneaks into the house, while the guard standing watch, fails to notice him.

Success and Failure

As long as you roll a number equal to your Target Number or lower, your Hero succeeds at his actions. Anytime you roll higher than your TN, your Hero fails. In some cases, your Hero may also experience a Dramatic Success or a Dramatic Failure.

Dramatic Success

Anytime you roll a “2” on a 2d12, you score a Dramatic Success. The meaning of a Dramatic Success varies with the type of Test being used. Typically it means your Hero has not only succeeded, but did so in a spectacular, memorable fashion. In combat, a Dramatic Success indicates you have dealt your opponent maximum damage for his weapon type, whereas in a Skill Test it indicates that you’ve achieved all you were attempting and more.

Dramatic Failure

Rolling a “24” on a 2d12 means your Hero experiences a Dramatic Failure. What this means is that your Hero not only failed their Test, but also performed his action so badly that he has either placed himself in danger or otherwise adversely affected himself (and possibly his companions). In combat, a Dramatic Failure indicates that your sword breaks, while in a Skill Test it indicates that you are either badly mistaken or have failed in such a way so as to make his situation more precarious.

Degrees

As you might expect a game mechanic called 12°, your Hero’s degree of success is important. Your degree of success is the amount by which you roll under your Target Number. For example, your Hero’s TN is 14 and you roll 11, your degree of success is 3. In combat, your degree of success acts as a multiplier to your weapon’s base damage.

Using the above example, if your Hero is fighting with a sword with a base damage value of 5 and achieved 3 degrees of success, he would deal 15 points of damage to his opponent.
In skill use, degrees of success have a much more “impressionistic” meaning, which is to say, largely up to the GM. Generally, degrees of success either indicate the time factor removed from the task or the increase in its effectiveness. Returning to the above example, a task normally taking 10 rounds might take only 7 if you achieve 3 degrees of success. Ultimately, the Game Master is the final arbiter of how degrees of success improve Skill-based tasks, but it should always be an obvious improvement that increases with the more degrees of success a Hero achieves.

Bonus and Penalties

Sometimes, depending on the situation, your Hero gains a bonus or penalty to a Test. These modifiers change the Target Number of the Test, making it easier (or harder) for your Hero to achieve what you want. Bonuses and penalties are never applied to the die roll; they are added (or subtracted) directly to the TN.

GMs, as they run adventures, determine what the situations are and whether any penalties come into play. For example, suppose you are the GM, and one of your players wants to fire a crossbow while riding a running house. Typically, firing a crossbow is a Routine Task (no modifier), but firing it from a running horse is more challenging. As the GM, you decide that, due to the nature of this task, the player suffers a -3 (Challenging) penalty while firing from a running horse.

[BEGIN TABLE]
Situation Modifier
Impossible -6
Daring -5
Reckless -4
Challenging -3
Difficult -2
Hard -1
Routine +0
Feeble +1
Easy +2
Trivial +3
Simple +4
Basic +5
Instinctive +6
[END TABLE]

Fate Cards and Faith Points

Colonial Gothic succeeds, or fails, based on the Heroes played. Of course, the Game Master’s skill at creating an interesting and fun adventure is almost as important, but it’s the Heroes and their actions driving the game. To encourage you to create interesting and well-rounded Heroes, and to encourage your bringing their most interesting Heroistics to bear in your adventures, Colonial Gothic uses Fate Cards (or Hooks).

Fate Cards are roleplaying tools describing some aspect of your Hero’s past history, personality, or connections to other Heroes, among other things. For example, a Hero might have “Last surviving member of their family” or “Bearer of the devil mark” or “Strong as a ox” as Hooks. Each of these hooks is suggestive about your Hero and possibly about his relationship to the larger world—both of which make them invaluable to the GM as he plans engaging adventures in Colonial Gothic. Besides suggesting interesting things about your Hero to the GM, hooks have another more immediate benefit: Faith Points.

Faith Points (or Faith Points) are dramatic “currency” you acquire by creating Hooks. They can be traded for situational boons, such as bonuses to your Target Number, free re-rolls, and other benefits. Faith Points are finite in number, with Heroes having no more than 10 at any given time, sometimes less.

Faith Points can be regained by bringing your hooks to bear in an adventure in ways your GM thinks makes the game more exciting and fun for everyone.

(Chicago, IL) – October 26, 2008. Rogue Games, Inc. starts Halloween early!

With Halloween less then a week away, The Rogues of Rogue Games is pleased to announce the release of Colonial Gothic: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow!

Included in this new presentation is not just Washington Irving's classic story, but a new sourcebook for Colonial Gothic covering not only the village of Sleepy Hollow but The Tappan Zee. From the history of the region, to advice on how to use it, everything you need for using Irving's classic setting is provided here.

Numerous mysteries exist in The Tappan Zee and so too does many dangers. Do you have the courage to brave Raven Rock? Is it true Captain Kidd's treasure is located somewhere in the area? Why are the graves missing bodies? These are just some of the questions waiting to be answered.

Available exclusively at DriveThruRPG.com, this PDF download sells for $1.00.

What are you waiting for? Start the week of Halloween off right, and download a copy today!

Busy few days, but I've gotten somethings done.

First off, the Halloween Surprise is in the final stages of being done. It should be ready either Sunday or Monday. The surprise, as you remember, is for Colonial Gothic, and it will be a cool little thing that will set you back $1. As to what it is here are a few hints:

1. It has two maps.
2. It has background.
3. It has some ideas.

I am pretty excited about this, but I will be honest, I am worried. I just hope that people like it. Why? I am always my harshest critic.

In other news, work on the Revised Colonial Gothic Rulebook is underway. I am shooting for a new working draft (one that is ready for others to see and playtest) by next month. The work has been fun, and I am really enjoying the changes and tweaks I have made. My regular group has taken to the rules, but I am looking forward to getting other reactions as well. I will have a post about this in a few days.

I have been very lucky as of late to get some really cool proposals for Colonial Gothic. There are some really nice projects in the work, and some of them took me by surprise.One adventure, which has been written by a new writer is in playtest, new projects are being worked on, which will see the game added to in a great way. I am very happy that James and I decided to bring on some help. Doing this brought in some new ideas and perspectives.

So the question remains, what's next after the revised rulebook? I am kicking around a few ideas. There are three supplements I want to write, but I am not sure which one to do first. I have three supplements in various stages of research, notes and outline form. Here are three working titles:

• Colonial Gothic: Enemies
• Colonial Gothic: War
• Colonial Gothic: Natives

Judging by the titles you can guess what they are about. All three have been nagging me, and all three are ones that I want to do. I am leaning toward tackling them in that order, but I am not sure. As you can see, I have a lot of thoughts knocking around in my mind.

I got a lot on my plate, so I might be silent for the next week or so. All of this is related to Rogue Games, and all of this deals with projects in various states of completion. Like?

• Halloween Surprise
• Colonial Gothic Revised
• Ninja
• Secret Colonial Gothic Projects
• Secret Thousand Suns Project
• Secret Rogue Game Project

See you next week.

Under the weather last week, and got nothing done. Finally feeling better now.

An interview I did with All Games Considered at this past GenCon is up and out. You can listen to me, sore throat and all, talk seemingly non-stop about Rogue Games.

To listen to the podcast and interview, you can download it here

With Ninja on the back burner for a little bit (still working on it, but it is being heavily play tested), I have been working on the Colonial Gothic Revised.

As you remember, I announced this after GenCon this year, and for those who want a recap, you should read here

Anyway, since the last time I touched the rulebook to work on it, a lot has changed in my life. It is strange looking at my old notes, and my old research, to start putting together the new manuscript. I like this game, warts and all, and I am more excited about it now then ever before. Part of the reason is that I still play it. Also it does not hurt that the fan created Colonial Gothic Gazette is alive and kicking with some great ideas.

What also helps is that 12° has gotten older, and both James and I have been using it for close to two years. We've learned a lot when we did Thousand Suns. These lessons were applied to Ninja and being applied to Fourth Millennium. In addition they are being applied to Colonial Gothic.

So as I begin hacking through the manuscript, I find myself with a question:

How much should I change it?

By this, I like how 12° has been refined, and follows a trend that started with Thousand Suns. What trend? Building upon itself.

Thousand Suns built upon Colonial Gothic, and took 12° into a nice direction. Ninja, builds upon Thousand Suns and refines the system further.

Where my dilemma lies is the question I asked above: How much should I change it?

Now I could easily keep the version of 12° found in Colonial Gothic, clean it up and call it a day, but there is this nagging self doubt that this is doing the game a disservice. My gut is telling me, I should use the lessons learned and move over to the current state of 12°.

For me the problem with this is simple: I do not want to tick off people.

I am a gamer. I love games. I have been playing games for as long as I can remember. Because of this, I have seen a lot of games change as if on whim. Every new edition seems to bring a new flavor of the rules, and with these new flavors, angry gamers. I do not want to do this, but, I also want the game to be better. I want to refine the rules, bring it into line with the hard work James and I have done, and make the game more playable.

So I am faced with a hard choice, and it is one that has kept me in a state of perplexity. How much to change?

Though I have been stuck with the 12° question, some decisions have been made. The big one, is the following rough Outline.

Chapter One -- Primer
Chapter Two -- Hero Creation
Chapter Three -- Skills & Hooks
Chapter Four -- Economy & Gear
Chapter Five -- Action
Chapter Six -- Magic
Chapter Seven -- Player's Guide to the Colonies
Chapter Eight -- Natives
Chapter Nine -- Game Master Chapter
Chapter Ten -- Campaigns
Chapter Eleven -- Mundane Threats (NPCs)
Chapter Twelve -- Creatures
Chapter Thirteen -- A Sample Adventure
Appendix One -- Timeline
Appendix Two -- Bibliography

I have been working on a number of projects. Here is one of them: The Primer for Ninja. This is the game that will be in the 12° Cookbook.

Chapter 1: Basics

Ninja.

The word has power. What power? To spark the imagination. It echoes down darken alleys, where men and women, shrouded in shadows, enter buildings thought secure, in order to kill a target, or steal an item of great value. The word “ninja” conjures clouds of spinning metal stars. It is a word hinting at coolness and cold cunning. It is a word of mystery. It is a word of death.

Ninja.

For a group supposedly not existing, a lot is sure known about them.

Ninja, besides sparking the imagination, captures it, instilling a sense of wonder. Why this is the case is very simple—Ninja are freaking cool.

Think about it.

Ninja: masters of subterfuge.

Ninja: masters of arts allowing them to walk on water, kill a person with a single touch, and sneak into any room unnoticed. Ninjas have existed in the culture for a long time. For me, they seem to have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. From Frank Miller’s depiction of the Hand in Marvel Comics’ Daredevil, to the high-strung antics of Naruto, and even in the over the top humor of Ask A Ninja, there exist numerous depictions of ninjas.

Growing up in the 1980’s (I realize this makes me old, but so be it) many things existed that captured a kid’s imagination. For this kid, it was ninjas. From my fist viewing of Enter the Ninja to the endless reading and memorization of The Palladium Book of Weapons and Assassins I was dazzled by the black clad shadow hiding master of subterfuge and death. As this kid of the 80s grew into the designer he is today, the love affair with ninjas is as strong as ever.

Ninja is the game I wish existed when I was a kid. It is filled with ideas and concepts that would have lead me to play it endlessly. It is the game I tried to create with the games I had at my disposal in the 1980s. Unfortunately, the game systems I had to choose from where not conducive to what I wanted. It also did not help that I was not the designer I am now.

To steal a phrase my friend, and business partner, James Maliszewski, Ninja is a love letter to days of youth long past. It is a blanket I cover myself with when I watched Shô Kosugi films. More importantly it is the love letter to Basilisk, Ninja Scroll, Naruto, Lone Wolf & Cub, Samurai Assassin, Frank Miller, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Chris Claremont, the Yoshidai Brothers, Planet Asia, Hip Hop, Erick Wujcik The Godfather I & II, The Tough Alliance, and Hirasawa Susumu. Ninja is influenced by all of this. Ninja is all about fun.

The Game

Ninja is a game influenced by magna, anime, myth and popular culture. It is set in a world similar to ours; but not our world. Drawing inspiration from the mythology of ninjas, Ninja is about over the top action, amazing abilities, duty to clan and honor to family. All of this has a cool Hip Hop beat thumping in the background.

As a player

As a player you create a character who is a member of a ninja family. As a ninja, you also belong to a clan, and all the other players belong to the same clan as you. As members of the same clan, you and your fellow ninja work for the clans as well as defined it from harm.

As your ninja gains in experience, they become more skilled. The more skilled they become, the more dangerous the missions they will be assigned to are. While on a mission you might have conflicting goals due to your family. You might take it upon yourself to ensure a rival loses face and honor. You might choose to go against the wishes of your family and come to the aid of rival because doing so ensures the survival of the clan. These are just some of the possibilities you face as a player.

As a ninja you have many possibilities in front of you. You might be hired to undertake a mission to guard an important businessman. Or, you might be assigned by your clan to bring an enemy to justice. Some missions might not be this grand, instead they might be personal. Though the clan your ninja belongs to is important, your family is even more so. Your family honor sometimes comes first. It is this honor, which often sees you in conflict with your fellow players.

Ninja is about drama. In that, your ninja is more than a collection of powers and abilities. They have their own likes and dislikes. They also have their own history which often times come back to haunt them. As a ninja there are numerous opportunities to make enemies, gain friends or gain renown. All of this impacts on the potential for adventure. More importantly, as a player you must always ask yourself one simple question: What comes first? Clan or family? It is how you answer this question, that impacts the life of your ninja.

As the GM

So what does the Game Master (GM) do? Everything.

Your job is harder than the player’s, where they create one character; it is your job to create a cast of thousands. This cast is designed to aid or harm the players. They serve roles as informants, enemies, victims, targets and clients. They react and act against the players. They pass along needed information, or obscure vital information. Besides this cast, it is your job to create the missions the player’s ninjas undertake. You devise the mission goals, the opponents needed to be overcome, and the ramifications for succeeding or failing the mission. You also act as the referee ensuring the rules are no so much followed, but understood. You decide when to enforce them, when to bend them and when to apply them. More importantly you keep everything in balance. By that, you make sure each player has a chance to shine, and each player knows the risks and consequences of their actions.

Scared? Don’t be. GMing is fun and rewarding. You know all the secrets, and you know all the plots and schemes the players. Even though you know this, part of the fun of being the GM is seeing how events play out. GMing has two rules, and these two rules are the key to not only Ninja, but to all roleplaying games. Knowing these rules will make everything easier.

So what are the rules?

Rule 1: Have fun.

Simple, I know, but truthfully very important. If you are not having fun, neither are the players. For example, a player wants to perform numerous actions to try to succeed at a given task. Many of these actions are not covered by the rules, and play is being slowed down by endless arguments. This is not fun for you to have play bogged down like this. If it is not fun for you, you can be assured that it is not fun for the bystanders. In cases like this let it go. Roll the dice; move the action along, anything other than continue the disagreements.

Rule 2: When in doubt go with your gut.

To put it simply when faced with a question, go with your first reaction, often it is the correct way to go. In the example above, if your gut tells you the actions the player wants to take has a +10 TN, then go with it.

Ninja is a game and it should be fun. If the players do something unexpected, don’t panic. Roll with it and see what happens.

Well, the Web 2.0 Ninja's of Rogue Games created a page on Facebook devoted to Colonial Gothic. They told the that it was needed. Bright ones these Main Rogues are, they said go for it.

It is a work in progress, but it is ready. You can visit it here.

The Rogues of Rogue Games, Inc are pleased to announce a contest for aspiring writers and artists to have their work appear in an upcoming supplement for Thousand Suns. This contest is global in scope, and open to all who have not yet been published professionally in the gaming field. The winning writers and artists will be published in the forthcoming release Thousand Suns: Transmissions from the Foundation, which is scheduled to be released August 2009.

If you have always wanted to try your hand at game writing, or are an artist looking to show your work, here is your chance. Submissions will be accepted starting October 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008 at Midnight CST. Multiple submissions are acceptable, but only one submission per email will be accepted.

Transmissions From The Foundation Contest Rules

The Transmissions from the Foundation Contest is open to all who are 18-years or older, and subject to eligibility guidelines below.

Submissions for the contest will be accepted starting on October 1, 2008 and ending at Midnight December 31, 2008.

Submission Guidelines

Two types of submissions are accepted: art and writing.

Art Submissions

Art should be attached to an email as a 300 DPI Greyscale TIFF. The email must include the artists' name, address, telephone number and email address. In addition, only one image should be attached to the email. If you have multiple art submissions, please use a separate email for each one.

Written Submissions

Written work must be submitted as an attachment to an e-mail as a rich text file. Each entry must have a cover page with the title of the work, the author's name, address, telephone number, email address and approximate word count.

The work must be written in English.

All entries must be original works. Plagiarism, which includes the use of third-party poetry, song lyrics, characters or another person's universe, without written permission will result in disqualification. The work must not have been published anywhere else, physically or electronically.

All submissions should be emailed to submissions@rogue-games.net, with [Transmissions Submission] in the subject line. Any submission without this subject will not be read. Entries are the property of Rogue Games and will not be acknowledged or returned.

Judges' decisions are final.

Winners of the contest will be contacted via email in January 2009. The full list of the winners will be announced on The Rogue Games website on no later than March 2009. Winners of the contest will have their work appear in the forthcoming book Thousand Suns: Transmissions from the Foundation, which will be released at GenCon 2009. Winners will not only get full credit for their creation, but will get two copies of the book upon release.

This contest is void where prohibited by law.

So there you go. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!

The wait is over.

If you did not have a chance to get a copy at this past GenCon, you can now pre order a copy of Colonial Gothic: Poor Wizard's Grimoire at Indy Press Revolution.

Like we do for all our books, if you order the print copy, you get the PDF for free.
To order the book, you can click here.

What's Colonial Gothic: Poor Wizard's Grimoire about? Magic. Rules for historical witchcraft. Rules for talismans. Rules for relics. New rituals. It is 60 pages of magic ready to be dropped into your Colonial Gothic game.

Price? $9.99.

So there you go. Nice way to start the holiday weekend. Or prepare for the new school year. After all, you never know when you need to use the Devil Stone.

How's that for a title?

A year ago, Rogue Games arrived at GenCon 2007 with a little game called Colonial Gothic. When forming Rogue Games, both James and I viewed GenCon as the official launch point for all the things we wanted to do. GenCon, for us, is not only a time enjoy, but the time when we can see the most gamers. GenCon offers us a great time to announce what we want to do, and where we hope to go, not only as a company, but as gamers.

GenCon 2008 is over, and if pressed to sum up my feelings with just one word I would say:

Humbled.

Thank you for stopping by the booth and sharing your ideas and thoughts on both Thousand Suns and Colonial Gothic. It was great hearing about how much you enjoy playing the games, and it was also great hearing what you would like to see.

So how did GenCon go? Better than I ever thought possible.

By Saturday morning all copies of the Colonial Gothic Rulebook I brought were sold out. I went to GenCon with seven boxes of books, and when my wife Ariana and I packed up the booth on Sunday, I had two left boxes. To say I was stunned, is an understatement.

During the show, when asked what was coming up for Rogue Games, you could not get me to shut up. Why? I am excited, What follows is the summary.

Colonial Gothic

The little game that could. There is a lot coming for this game. Here is the rundown:

Colonial Gothic Gazetteer

I have gotten a lot of email from people wanting more information on the colonies. This will be the source for information on the colonies. Already a writer is fast at work (say hello to everyone Alfred Bonnabel) working on the book, and the plan for this is a simple one. There will be three PDFs released first. Each one covering a region (New England, Middle and Southern Colonies). and they will be released over a few months. Once done, they will then be collected in a book and published. Why? People cannot wait for the book.

So what will the Gazetter's cover? Each of the colonies, as well as maps, and the information you need as a player and GM. All of this will be set in the Colonial Gothic setting.

When will they start coming out? Early next year.

Colonial Gothic: Enemies

I have started researching and working on this book. What is this about? I think the title is self evident. ;-) Enemies covers the forces working behind the scenes bringing harm to the colonies and the colonists. This will be out later next year.

Colonial Gothic: Secret Project

This will be out in October. What is this about? October should be the clue.

Colonial Gothic Revised Edition

Before you start screaming, hear me out.

The rulebook needs a revision. There are areas I want to expand, things I want to clarify, and a lot of information I want to add. In addition, I want Jeremy Simmons who has laid out and designed the graphic look of the new books, to bring his touch to the rulebook. A revised edition is needed for the game, and it is one that needs to be done ASAP (I have begun working on it).

That being said, James and I do not want to be like other publishers. You bought the game, and you support the game, and you should not be forced to buy it again. That is why, anything new that is added to the game, will be put on the Rogue Games website as a free download.

That's right, you read it right.

If you bought the rulebook, you will be able to download all the new content as a PDF for free. Period. I know new editions and revisions often cause a lot of anger. As a gamer, the last thing I like is when I have to buy a new version of any game I enjoy. That is why, when the revised Colonial Gothic is ready, those who do not want to buy it, can still get the content.

As for the project, in a day or two I will talk about that in depth. I still need to put my thoughts in order.

Colonial Gothic Future Projects

There is a lot planned for this game. I want to cover the Native Americans, and I want to do it respectively. In addition, from day one, James and I wanted to expand the timeline for Colonial Gothic. For us, Colonial Gothic covers not only the Revolution, but the entire Colonial Period. From pre-discovery, to post War of 1812. Not only that, but we do not want to limit the coverage to just the Thirteen Original Colonies. In Secrets, we started to expand our focus, and in the future, we will expand it further.

That being said, we are going to need some help (more on that in a bit).

Colonial Gothic

The Rulebook is soon to be joined by the Pilot's Guide to the Core Worlds. In addition, I have started a Thousand Suns project, and this is one I am keeping close to the vest. James is also going to start finalizing his thoughts on Big Ships, and there are other things in the works. a href="http://www.rogue-games.net/othergames2.html" target="_blank">Thousand Suns</a> is James' baby, and this is something he will talk about later. What I will say is that I love this game.

12 Degrees Cookbook

Two games for the price of one. Look for this next year. Look at the website for some information.

Secret Project GenCon 2009

Next GenCon we will have something cool. No hype, no false promises, and no fooling. This is a project that took James and I by surprise and it will be something that I think that will surprise many.

Needing Help

When we formed Rogue Games, James and I had the plan to do everything ourselves. We thought we could do it all, but soon found out we couldn't. That is why we have started to bring on some writing help. It has been a slow a process, but by doing this, we can get things done a lot sooner.

In the next week or so, we will have our submission guidelines for freelance writers up on the website. This, with the guidelines for fan material, will help us get the writing help we need.

So there you go. This is where we are and this is where we are going.

Thank you for a great year.