TITANOMACHY: TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON

From the storms' wake emerges the mighty Squallor, an amorphous monster embodying the anger of the planet's climate grief. What awakened this meteorological horror remain unknown, though drawn to battle the Lords of Plunder and Stellar Tyranny Remnant. Accompanied by a corona of uncharacteristic weather, the passage of Squallor breaks the worst blizzards with a summer day and smothers wildfires beneath a momentary super . Despite its alien demeanor, it pays no mind to Daikaiju Earth's other defenders and bears no malice to most of humanity.

 ATTRIBUTES

Agility d8 Smarts d4 Spirit d10 Strength d12+16 Vigor d10

SKILLS
Athletics d6, Common Knowledge d4, Faith d10, Fighting d8, Notice d4, Persuasion d6, Shooting d8, Stealth d8

PACE 6 PARRY 6 TOUGHNESS 46 (30)

HINDRANCES
Dependent (Major) - Emerging above the wreckage of Manila, Squallor bonded with Pinoy environmental activist Samira Perlas.
Hesitant (Minor) - It can take Squallor a moment to sort things out.

EDGES
Arcane Background (Miracles) - Starting powers: boost/lower trait, elemental manipulation, healing

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Cannot Speak - Squallor "speaks" by rapidly shifting through the seasons and localized weather events.
Colossal Crash - 3d12+16, AP 24
Leaf On the Wind - Squallor floats through the sky with Pace 6.
Hardy - A second Shaken result in combat does not cause a Wound.
No Vital Organs - Called shots do no extra damage to Squallor.
Primal Surge - The Earth's fury runs riot. Ranged Attack with optional Medium or Cone Template using Shooting. 5d10 damage, AP 30, ROF 1.
Size 12 (Gargantuan) - Smaller than your average Daikaiju, Squallor has Heavy Armor, can suffer three additional wounds and Stomp)

Titanomachy is a collection of sample characters for Dawn of the Daikaiju from Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Possibly a little too weird for most games. Then again, you are playing giant monsters. You can find the main rulebook here.

Borchardbriar: THE ACCORD

 

THE LINE THAT HOLDS US

"The old songs say there was an order to things. Spring to summer to autumn to winter and back around again. Drawn up to check the wild magics so good Folk would have a chance to build something without the heather and ivy dragging down their hard work. Laying out the tenets of Thumb and Fist and overwriting the red laws of Tooth and Claw.

Now the cycle's broken with Reynard's arse wedged into Borchardbriar castle, stalling the others in their far flung corners 'til the wheel turns again. But the Accord still holds. Though with all these growling stomachs, I don't know how much longer."

- Cass, Raconteur of Some Renown

ACCORD - Every Wild Card starts with maximum Accord equal to 2 plus half their Spirit die type. As things unfold the GM may call for a Accord check with a modifier based on events. An Accord check is a Spirit roll, the results may modify your current Accord score.

Murder -  Killing Folk for any reason other than self defense causes an Accord check at -2. 

Backlash - A character with an Arcane Background who triggers Backlash must also make an Accord roll.

Fear - Fright and animal terror cut the noblest beast at the knees. When you fail a Fear check, lose 1 point of Accord.

Relic - Wielding a Relic is playing with fire. Each use of a Cursed Relic causes an Accord check.

Open Road - Out past the borderposts, the Land's wild magic warps Folk. Moreso when they're isolated. Each day you're on the Open Road, make an Accord check with a -2 penalty and adding +1 for each companion.

Viciousness - The Accord is built on trust. Being a bastard undercuts that. Predatory and cruel acts cause an Accord check, with a penalty (-1 or -2) at the GM's discretion.

LOSING ACCORD

The real risk of losing Accord is uncontrolled transformation as the Land's wild magic uses your flesh as a canvas, turning you into a worthy predator. But maybe a little monstrosity is fine, given the stakes. When you lose points of Accord, you temporarily gain a Tinge. Draw a card for each point lost and apply the card of your choice, gaining the corresponding Tinge. At your next Advancement you can choose to keep the Tinge instead, otherwise it blows away on the wind. Be sure to conceal you Tinges, the Wyld Breakers are always on the look for Folks meddling with the Old Times.

If your Accord reaches 0 then you're lost until the next full moon as the wild magic overwhelms you. The GM takes control of your character and draws 4 cards, applying all corresponding Tinges. 

RECOVERY

The most effective way to recover lost Accord is building trust and community. So lend a paw by helping out, doing things for others, pitching in without being asked, and taking nothing in return. Additionally, every lunar cycle, equinox, and solstice that goes by without any further Accord loss, you regain a point of Accord. You may want to promote one of the Network Contacts to a full fledged Cell Member and play them while your other character is on the mend.

Accord cannot go above the starting value, minus 1 for each Tinge. Nor can Accord go below 0.

New Edge:

DEFY FATE

REQUIREMENTS - Legendary, Spirit d10

Choose 1 Skill rated d10 or greater. When you make an opposed roll with that Skill, you may spend 1 Accord to succeed with a raise.

TITANOMACHY: BIGGER THAN BIG. TALLER THAN TALL.

M. Asif Khan grew up in a Pakistani village surrounded by the Himalayas. As the mountains dominated his vision, they similarly dominated his life. He started mountain climbing to conquer these titans and symbolically rise above his origins. He was not prepared for how literal this would be.

While scaling a recently shifted mountainside, Asif discovered a metallic giant packed in the ice and snow, thawing out under the sun. He drew close to the enormous figure and reached out, brushing the metal skin with his fingertips. In a flash the figure disappeared into Asif. The sudden cavity in the mountainside quickly filled with a crush of tumbling ice, snow, and scree dragging him along.

Though he fell just a man, Asif emerged from the rubble as BRUM - THE MOUNTAIN AMONG MONSTERS.

In its last act the alien bestowed the Titan Factor on Asif. Now able to attain tremendous stature, Brum led a successful career combating, and sometimes cooperating with, the planet's Daikaiju. A career functionally ended when Stellar Tyrant Ophiuchus invaded from another solar system. Joining forces with the Daikaiju, they repelled the Tyrant at great cost: Ptera Khan lost a wing, Anglax was blinded, and Brum couldn't change back into Asif. Now forever a Titan.

Now a resident of the Bonin Island Refuge, Brum must negotiate a new equilibrium with his monstrous housemates.

ATTRIBUTES
Agility d8 Smarts d6 Spirit d8 Strength d12+16 Vigor d10

SKILLS
Academics d6, Athletics d10, Common Knowledge d6, Fighting d8, Notice d6, Persuasion d6, Science d6

PACE 6 PARRY 6 TOUGHNESS 54 (30)

HINDRANCES
Enemy - Major, The Stellar Tyrant Ophiuchus  believes all Titan Factors belong to him,
Heroic - Major

EDGES
Brute, Iron Jaw, Mutation (Size x2), 

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Blunt Force Trauma - 3d12+16, AP 24
Dependency - Sunlight, the only thing that sustains him
Racial Enemy - Daikaiju, his unwilling "housemates" hold a grudge
Sapient - Brum is capable of complex thought and full speech
Size 18 - Larger than your average Daikaiju, Brum has Heavy Armor, can suffer three additional wounds and Stomp

Titanomachy is a collection of sample characters for Dawn of the Daikaiju from Pinnacle Entertainment Group. You can find the main rulebook here.

Tuesday Reviewsday: ThunderCats (2011)

 

We're drowning in fantastic animation. In the age of Avatar, Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts, Voltron: Legendary Defender, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power you're easily forgiven the sin of overlooking the excellent 2011 ThunderCats series. After all, it hasn't been on any streaming service as far as I know.

Recently added to Hulu, the 2011 series was planned for 52 episodes but tragically cut in half when the toy sales failed to meet expectations. I don't use the word "tragic" lightly considering how good the 26 episodes were I wish the studio could have finished their tale. I hold no nostalgia for the original series and this series grabbed me by the throat. The stakes are high, the animation fluid, the voice acting is top notch, and the characters draw you in. In the alternate world where the 2011 ThunderCats reached its conclusion, we might praise it as effusively as Avatar: the Last Airbender.

Both ThunderCats (1985) and ThunderCats (2011) are streaming on Hulu right now.

Borchardbriar: We All Lift Together

Cell Table

Rank	Rep	Resistance	Expertise
0	0	0	Start with 2 Network Contacts, a Hideout, and 1 Defense
1	1	1	Wild Cards joining your Cell gain d4 Repair
2	2	1	Gain a Network Contact. Current members gain an Edge.
3	3	2	Wild Cards joining your cell gain d4 Battle
4	4	2	The Cell gains a Benny any Wild card or Extra can use.
5	5	3	Wild Cards joining your cell gain the Trademark Weapon Edge
6	6	3	Gain a Network Contact.Current members gain an Edge.
7	7	4	Wild Cards joining your cell gain the No Mercy Edge
8	8	4	The Cell gains a Benny any Wild card or Extra can use.

Increasing the Cell's Rank costs a number of Food equal to the next Rank.

Rep is a measure of renown among the oppressed and heat from the oppressor. 

Resistance is a bonus to Battle rolls. Certain Hideout Edges allow you to add this bonus to other rolls as well.

The Hideout starts with 1 Defense. You can choose from: deadfall (burst), smoke wires (darkness), lockjaw traps (ensnare), or clay pots with stinging insects (summon minion). The powers are activated with a d8, or the highest Repair skill in the Cell, and 10 Power Points.

Feel free to create your own with GM approval.

Hideout Edges - A Cell's maximum number of Hideout Edges is equal to the Cell’s Rank.

BELLS & WIRES

You’ve strung thin wire across every entryway and set small bells to act as a crude alarm system. Incidentally you’ve gotten good and bypassing similar arrangements, add +1 to Stealth and Thievery checks indoors.

BOLTHOLE

The hideout has an escape tunnel running into a nearby district. The tunnel is tight and can be collapsed to block pursuit. Though this can cause problems for larger members of the Resistance.

BUNKS

Maybe your home isn’t safe since you fell into the Resistance. Or you don’t have a home. Either way the Hideout has bunks for you to sleep in. Add Resistance in opposed rolls to be tracked since you can vary your patterns.

DISTILLERY

It ain’t much but you can produce the basis for myriad elixirs and potions: snakebite. Of course you could always just drink it. You receive 1 shot of Snakebite per Wild Card at the beginning of each caper or adventure. You can take this Hideout Edge multiple times but instead you add 1 shot of Snakebite each time, to be distributed separately.

GUTTER FLEET

Down the canal there’s a skiff or two tied off to a hidden dock. Add Resistance to your first Boating check during a Dramatic Task.

INFIRMARY

With a bed for long term convalescence, bandages, and a cabinet packed with herbal remedies; you're ready when things go sideways. Add Resistance to your Recovery rolls to bounce back from the Injury Table.

IMPREGNABLE

Most Hideouts have one active Defense, but you’ve developed additional lines of Defense. Choose one: an additional Defense, increase the Power Points by 10, or increase the activation die by one step. You can take this Hideout Edge multiple times but you have to pick a different option each time.

PACTSTONE FOUNDATION

Your Hideout’s foundations were laid with stone from the Bad Old Days before Reynard ascended to the throne. You can knap pactstone shards for use in small, light weapons like knives and arrows. During the Muster Phase, add +2 to your test to procure such items.

PARTNERS IN CRIME

The Meow Street Runners are fracturing and some have abandoned their posts. Now they’re on your side with inside information. You generate an additional caper and draw an additional action card during dramatic tasks. You can choose which card to use.

PRINTING PRESS

With wondrous machinery you can now get the word out. When you Muster Forces, add a d4 to the number of Extras you rally to the cause. You can take this Edge multiple times.

SECRET SHRINE

Maybe y’all built it yourselves or maybe it was here before you moved in, but in a small alcove there’s a shrine to the 3 Forgotten Seasons. Choose one: Albina the Spring Sow, Chaunteclure the Summer Bantam, or Gilgen the Winter Elk. During the Muster phase, you may choose to pray at the shrine and make a Spirit roll. If you’re successful gain one below power with a reserve of Power Points equal to you roll for the rest of the Caper. Use Persuasion for power activation.

• Albina, the Spring Sow - Growth

• Chaunteclure, the Summer Bantam - Warrior’s Gift

• Gilgen, the Winter Elk -  Slumber

SORCEROUS SANCTUM

Ritual reagents and sanctified space allow the canny sorcerer to craft Talismans of various sorts and perform rituals held in check until the right moment. Add Resistance to your first power activation or power damage roll per caper.

THE STACKS

Piles of books pile up in a hideout corner. Thumbing through them can prove useful. Add Resistance to Research and Academics checks.

VOLUND'S STONE

Getting a piece of Pactstone to sharpen blades rather than blunt them is no mean feat. All Cell members with the Trademark Weapon Edge now add Resistance to damage rolls

WAREHOUSES

Somewhere off-site you have space to hold contraband and hide people. Reduce the Crackdown by 1 when you steal material, liberate tithes, or kidnap someone.

WORK BENCH

Equipped with a cornucopia of tools, the cell is now better able to prepare the materials for their mission. Add Resistance to Repair rolls needed to create or maintain the means of mayhem.

Tuesday Reviewsday: Corto Maltese

Corto Maltese is a series of European action/adventure comics by famed Italian creator, Hugo Pratt, chronicling the life of its titular character through the early decades of the 20th century. Though related to Tintin, Gil Jordan, Lupin III, and other continental adventurers, Corto carries himself more as a pulpy Sinbad the Sailor. Embarking on adventures for lost Imperial Spanish gold and thwarting Nazi spies for the sake of outrunning boredom than the allure of wealth or pursuit of truth. Along the way he crosses paths with historical figures like Rasputin, Butch Cassidy, Ernest Hemingway, and Jack London.

With striking black and white art from an artist at the height of his powers and narrative depth belying comics, Corto Maltese is well worth the time. Especially if you love pulp adventure tales staring colonialism's ugliness full-on. This series is definitely in the Old Man's Bar DNA. The stories have most recently been translated and printed by IDW and some animation was done 4-5 years ago.

Tuesday Reviewsday: The Sinner

We're all spending time at home as the Troubles extend into a 4th month and probably watching a lot of TV. If so, you've found you can only watch Terriers (on Hulu right now) so many times before you need a new crime drama. You can replace Terriers with something else more fitting your tastes - True Detective, Black Spot, The Shield, Bosch, The Glades, or what-have-you. But the sentiment is the same.

There's a LOT of good media out there but we consistently return to the crime drama/police procedural well for some degree of comfort. Even in the most hardboiled or noir story offer a structure delineating the good, the bad, and the bad-but-good-enough-to-live-with into boxes and delivering some sort of justice in an increasingly unjust world. The Sinner dumps those comfortable boxes out on the floor and kicks the contents into the wall where hey break and spill, leaking their contents into a runny mess defying a shallow viewing. In the first season Jessica Biel plays Cora Tanetti, a seemingly placid housewife, who stabs a man to death at a public beach in upstate New York. Bill Pullman plays Detective Harry Ambrose, a police detective on the rocks, who feels a pull that Cora's crime is a part of something larger and, like a bad tooth, just can't leave it alone.

If you enjoy being pushed out into deep water and feeling your way back to shore, then The Sinner would be for you.

The Sinner seasons 1 & 2 are currently on Netflix.

Tuesday Reviewsday: Space Dandy

Hey everybody, Aaron here. It's been a long time since my last post, but I've been really busy writing adventures and mysteries for games such as: Savage Rifts, Trophy, and Brindlewood Bay. Besides being the Head Writer for a ZineQuest 2 Kickstarter project Oligarchy - a game of political folly. Those are all wrapping up in the near future so I have time to get back to Tuesday Reviewsday. 

Earlier this month we finished watching Space Dandy! a science fiction comedy anime from Shinchiro Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo fame. Over the course of the series, the titular character travels the star in his tiki themed spaceship searching for alien lifeforms, falling in love, and hanging out at an interstellar Hooters. It's a love letter to fishbowl helmets, rayguns, scantily clad ladies, Americana, and high adventure across a lurid galaxy. Every episode shares a loose continuity but rarely impact one another. Which is probably for the better since that gives each episode room to breathe, no matter how gonzo or ridiculous the individual premise may seem. 

Overall the show alternates between lighthearted and poignant, delivering  a heartfelt salute to its influences while leaning on animation's strengths. Similar to Watanabe's other series the soundtrack is impeccable. I mean, watch this:



If you like pulpy sci-fi stories like Flash Gordon, the Original Star Trek, Secret of Sinharat or Barbarella you should check out Space Dandy! You can watch it on Hulu.

If you'd rather have dandy adventures in space for your next tabletop game, then check out Troika! the Otherworld's Favorite Roleplaying Game (art free SRD here) and try out Across the Humpbacked Sky, Baby! from Carol and I. It's a collaborative framework for creating weird aliens and some weird planets for them to hide on.

TROIKA! - The Tears of Time

On the surface, Guardia resembles any mythical medieval sphere across the humpbacked sky except a hyperdimensional parasite, the Devourer, slumbers at the world's heart. Its dreams peel away at potential timelines, grooming all life to an ideal form for consumption. This process left the wall between epochs thin if you wish to travel between them.

Upon arriving via golden barge, you can enter a "time gate" to visit 3 other distinct eras: Prehistory - where humans, dinosaurs, and lizard-men are locked in a struggle for survival, the Middle Ages -  a high romance of knights and magic, and the Wastes- where destitute humans huddle for shelter in arcologies away from the mutants and killer robots outside. A research mission from the Academy of Doors can be found in Truce, trying to find a path to the "End of Time".

SILENT SWORDSMAN
Your life was so simple before the Millenium Fair. Then the mysterious beauty stepped into your inventor friend's telepod, tearing a hole through the immaterium of time and space. You leaped in after her and found yourself adrift among the humpbacked sky.

Possessions
Headband
Katana (Damage as Longsword)
Padded Vest (Light Armor)
Eager to Help

Advanced Skills
4 Whirling Swordplay
2 Left-handed
2 Time Traveler
1 Spell - Jolt

GIRL GENIUS
A brilliant inventor and the swordsman's childhood friend. Since the princess got herself lost with your telepod you feel responsible to track her down. Bouncing from sphere to sphere, you haven't found her but you repaired some friends along the way.

Possessions
Pea Shooter (Damage as Pistolet)Pouch with 20 Bullets
Toolkit
Taban's Vest (Light Armor)

Advanced Skills
3 Mathmology
2 Mechanical Genius
2 Spell - Explode 
2 Time Traveler
1 Pistolet Fighting
1 Hammer Fighting

RUNAWAY PRINCESS
Bored with palace life you slipped out to enjoy the Millenium Fair. Too bad you also slipped through space and time. Stupid telepod. Now you have no idea where, much less when, you are.

Possessions
Bowgun (Damage as Crossbow)
10 Quarrels
A Mystical Pendant (Roll twice for any Oops! test and choose one of the results)
Maiden Suit (Light Armor)
A Case of Mistake Identity

Advanced Skills 3 Spell - Drown
2 Second Sight
2 Blonde Bombshell
1 Healing
1 Crossbow Fighting

FROG-FACED CAVALIER
Once a squire in service of the Kingdom's Royal Family, following the death of your mentor at the demon king's hand you're trapped in a monstrous form. Now you seek revenge and your lost queen across the shining spheres.

Possessions
Cursed Frog Form (Do all the things frogs do)
Greatsword
A Love for Their Queen
Bronze Mail (Modest Armor)

Advanced Skills
3 Etiquette
3 Knightly Combat
3 Leg Day
1 Awareness

Special
You may test Luck to ignore the downsides of a curse.

ACHY BREAKY AUTOMATON
Originally built to assist mankind in the post-apocalyptic wasteland after the Devourer at the world's heart emerged and stripped all life. With some vague recollection of the way the world was, you set out to do more.

Possessions
Kaiser Arm (Damage as Maul)
Steel Body (Achy Breaky Automatons always count as Modestly Armored)
Sympathy for Humanity

Advanced Skills
3 My Body Is Full of Weapons
2 Voluntary Arborist
2 If They Had a Heart
2 Keep On Ticking

Special
When you suffer Mighty Damage roll Keep On Ticking. If you succeed then lose a system instead of taking damage: optics, speakers, memory banks, arms, or legs.

QUEEN OF THE STONE AGE
Chief of a tribe locked in constant war with lizard-men. You left your people with allies from the distant future, reassured you would return in seconds of your departure. It's been 3 years.

Possessions
Piece of the Dreamstone
Enormous Club (Damage as Club)
Queenly Authority

Advanced Skills 4 Strength
2 Club Fighting
2 Fierce Courage
1 Blonde Bombshell

Special
You can eat 6 Provisions per day to recover Stamina. You can't improve or acquire any ranged Weapon Skills but you can always throw boulders with Strength.

DEMON KING
You were the prince of a golden age until you brushed against the Devourer's sleeping mind. Flung through space and far flung epochs, you long to resurrect your lost kingdom. Stabilizing a new time gate to your home era may be the solution.

Possessions
Moonsharp Scythe (Damage as Spear)
Raven Armor (Light Armor)
Grief For a Bygone Age

Advanced Skills 2 Spell - Firebolt
2 Spell -Thunder
2 Spell - Ward
2 Spear Fighting
1 Astrology
1 Second Sight

Borchardbriar: Clowdertown Blues

DISTRICTS OF CLOWDERTOWN

Proud Oaks Where the wealthy play	Upper Garden The richest part of the city	Braebuck's Ferry Thieves and markets	Ninian East The Cathedral
Corim Keep The old keep, now a neighborhood	Verdauga Government and the old cat city	Oldsong Cemeteries and Graymalkin's tower	Heather Reach Apothecaries and the gentle sort of danger
The Green Boulevards & mercantile interests	Spillover The Fishery & warehouses	Deyna Square Teashops and merchants	Rillflagg's Terrace Vice and workhouses
The Litterbox A shanty town	The Docks Gateway to the Burning South	Waterside Watched over by the Abbess	Shrimptail The old otter village, now a know of piers and houseboats.

The modern city of Clowdertown was established as two separate holdfasts grew together over time, an otter fishing village on the southern coast and a cat trading settlement in the upper delta. Since then it's endured a searat invasion, hurricanes, the Blight, and Greeneyes' reign of terror. Through it all the city, and its people, have held together. But that was back in the Bad Old Days when events felt fleeting before returning to an illusion of stability. Before the constant pressures of the Tithe and starvation.

These days, Reynard's eternal autumnal boughs frame a city known for two things: its prosperity and carefully balanced "neutrality" regarding the Foxlord. While the rustic villages and riverside towns throughout the land simmer with resentment against the Tithe, the other cities have proven silent, if not eager, collaborators. Clowdertown sends the fewest kits possible and selects them by lottery to maintain a pretense of impartiality. These practices make the city a destination for families at risk and a fertile recruiting ground for any sort of rebellion.

Clowdertown's Oddities
The Abbess - A killer prowling Waterside almost exclusively, their victims are found in a penitent's pose. Though the bounty keeps escalating with each victim, Waterside residents won't help the Meow Street Runners track the Abbess down.

"Feathers" - Notable for the dietary demands of its citizenry, cats and otters' demand for meat supports a thriving fish market and an illegal trade in poached songbirds aka "feathers". Rumors occasionally surface of more exclusive clubs hidden in the richest corners.

Gutter Regattas - Illegal boat races between otter crews to ultimately compete in the Great Row, an annual festival and competition in honor of the Birthing Waters. The winners' families are immune to the Tithe until the next festival.

Poison Gardens - Greeneyes strictly prohibited carrying weapons larger than a knife so the aristocracy found other ways to dispose of rivals. The cultivation and use of toxic, intoxicating, and narcotic plants was one of them. Most common in Verdauga and Heather Reach, you can find small bunches of dubious potency elsewhere.

Reticules -  Small drawstring pouches traditionally containing toxic paste should a beast need to dip a blade or claw for self defense, or assassination.  Now a fashion item embroidered or beaded sometimes signalling political affiliations or more clandestine desires.

CLOWDERTOWN CAPER GENERATOR
What's the deed? (On a Clubs, draw an additional card for "What's Gone Wrong?")
2-5 - Surveillance.
6-8 - Delivery.
9-10 - Sowing unrest
Jack - Infiltration.
Queen - Black-bag job.
King-Ace - Assassination.
Joker - Clash in the open. Re-draw if Resistance is < 4

Where's the spot? (Hearts & Diamonds / Clubs & Spades)
2 - Abbey of the Alley / Fleeting Fetches
3 - Bread & Butter Bakery / Readnola Viaduct
4 - Serenity Bridge / Stormy Crossing
5 - Summermuse Avenue / Owl Track
6 - Ms. Kitty's / The Fishery
7 - Marley's / The Ashamed Rat
8 - Moon Market / Boiling Cauldron
9 - The Bitter Tortoise Theater / Goldguard Trading Company
10 - Goodberry Manse / Humbleblossom Estate
Jack - Tallstone Gatehouse / Duskdirge Garrison
Queen - Hammer & Tongs / Rodrig's Box & Tackle
King - Greeneyes Palace / Crescent Plaza
Ace - The Queen's Island / The Strongford
Joker - The Little Twin / Graymalkin's Tower

Who's the target?
2-5 - Civilian authorities collaborating with Reynard's regime. Who are they? Can they be turned?
6-8 - A small team of Meow Street Runners. Who do they work for? What are they investigating?
9-10 - A fat cat with a monstrous appetite. Which is it - Feathers? The 'nip? Taxidermy? Addermilk?
Jack - A coterie of Reynard's tithe takers. Draw an additional location card for their fall back plan.
Queen -A sorcerer, bard, or chimera who's been untrustworthy. What was their betrayal?
King-Ace - An infamous Wyldbreaker who's in town. What are they known for?
Joker - One of Reynard's winnowers is in town (black = the Bellringer / red = the Penitent)

What's gone wrong?
2-5 - They've been double-crossed by someone. Who was it?
6-8 - The target didn't show. Were they warned?
9-10 - The cell has a parallel opportunity. Draw a new set of cards to generate a parallel caper. Do they split the party?
Jack - Someone's raised the alarm! Bells! Flares! Watchmen on every street corner!
Queen - They've has been ambushed by (Red- Meow Street Runners / Black- Wyldbreaker and retinue). Do they fight or flee?
King-Ace - There's an additional target of opportunity. Do you take it? Draw again for the target.
Joker - Depends. Red Joker = Everything goes smooth, for once. Black Joker = Someone has sold them out, there's a bounty on the cell's heads and the Hunt may begin soon. Increase the Cell's Rep by 2.

Borchardbriar: Unseen Principalities and Unclean Spirits

ARCANE BACKGROUND (Bard)
ARCANE SKILL: Performance (Spirit)
STARTING POWERS: 3
POWER POINTS: 10
Bards are highly skilled performers but they're more than simple musicians. Scraps of power hide in the shanties, stories, and songs echoing through pubs and churches. A bard coaxes these echoes, drawing on their legendary feats or offering a balm to their comrades.

Suggested Powers: boost trait, darksight, deflection, fear, healing, protection, quickness, speak language, succor, summon ally, warrior's gift
Backlash: Drawing on the Distant Past can leave an open door for phantoms to come forward and relive their glory days. 1 Ghost per Wild Card appears, make reaction rolls for each ghost. This is in addition to normal Backlash.

ARCANE BACKGROUND (Chimeric Might)
ARCANE SKILL: Bend Shape (Strength)
STARTING POWERS: 2
POWER POINTS: 15 
Chimeras tap into the land's Wild Magic, flexing an immaterial set of muscles to alter their forms to grow quills, massive size, or a sticky tongue as needed. Many live on the fringes of city and town, hesitant to expose themselves to Wyldbreakers.

Note: A chimera's powers are limited to targeting themselves unless they pay for Additional Recipients or it makes narrative sense.

Suggested Powers: burrow, damage field, entangle, farsight, fly, growth, shape change, and anything else you can work out with your GM.
Backlash: The Wild Magic slips through your grip and runs rampant. All trees, grass, ivy, etc. in a league suddenly grow large, aggressively biting into any buildings, roads, or walls in the vicinity. This is in addition to normal Backlash.

ARCANE BACKGROUND (Sorcery)
ARCANE SKILL: Spellcasting (Smarts)
STARTING POWERS: 3
POWER POINTS: 10
Sorcerers understand the World is patchwork stitched together by unseen forces and high powers. Through practice they learn the rituals, gestures, and words in the Watchers' Blue Tongue to command the little needles, producing magical effects when invoked.

Suggested Powers: banish, blind, boost/lower trait, clairvoyance, deflection, detect/conceal arcana, dispel, divination, elemental manipulation, puppet, slow, slumber, teleport, wall walker
Backlash:  There's a catch or snag when you release the spell, the ripping and tearing fundamentally alters the area (large template) until the next full moon. Water is not wet. Fire does not burn. Air chokes. Earth floats into the sky. This is in addition to normal Backlash.

THE YONDER & ITS INHABITANTS
Everybeast has heard a similar tale: a beast has stopped breathing, pulled from a river or similar accident, and thought to be dead. When they cough up the water, or what-have-you, they recover quickly. Nonetheless they were lost to us for a time.

And where were they while not-quite-dead? Stuck as the soil beneath our paws. The Golden Meadow or Dark Forest promised by the Abbey? No. They tell us of a blue expanse full of chill light.

Show me a beast who claims ignorance of this place and I will show you a liar. They've been to the Yonder, an Otherworld arching over our heads we all visit briefly on the cusp of sleep. Which is important to remember. Unlike the Watchers, we're just passing through.

Clutch that Saint's medallion close when you sleep, lest the witch-birds swoop in and steal your good dreams. Those oddities of churning wings and fiery eyes have long memories and witness everything. I bet they remember before Reynard ruled Castle Borchardbriar.

Is it any wonder Sorcerers build towers to entreat them for secrets, power, and patronage?
Bartering the bones of our dead for their greed.

- Crait, Retired Meow Street Runner

Back Of House

Hey everybody, I know things have been quiet for the past month but I've been busy writing on some cool projects. Here are the ones I can talk about:

I've contributed a mini-module to the 90's cyberpunk game Retropunk, by Samjoko Publishing, called Whalefall. Detailing the environs, hazards, and gigs you could get up to in the exclusive ship-breaking yard of the rich and famous. The game successfully kickstarted back in December and should be in print in April this year.

***UPDATE: I'm running Retropunk at Magcon and Chupacabracon this year. If you're in the area, come by and play!

Trophy is currently on Kickstarter with 48 hours to go and $150,000+ raised so far. It's a dark fantasy game of desperation and doom, if you like Darkest Dungeon, Hereditary, Descent, and The Ritual this game hits those notes masterfully. I wrote an Incursion (an adventure) for Trophy Dark called The Pit, it's a lot of High Plains Drifter, Dredd, and a little bit Event Horizon with swords.
It'll make sense when you read it. I'm also going to write a wing in the Roots of Old Kahldur mega dungeon.
So that's awesome.

If the campaign hits $185,000 then all the stretch goals will be included in the physical books.
***UPDATE: We hit all the stretch goals and all the digital content will be included in print.

Also - I'm working with Eli Kurtz and Dee Pennyway on a game called Oligarchy, a game of political folly, that's based on Trophy Dark and also on Kickstarter. The campaign has raised nearly $3,000 and beating that number would be really cool. In Trophy Dark you play doomed treasure hunters who meet their end scrabbling for glory and fortune. In Oligarchy you already have all that. You're rotten bastards in the Gilded Age, glutted on lucre and luxury. Every comfort at your fingertips and yet you want more. Not just more. You want it all. The world and the people will not take it any more.


Play an Asshole. Get Got.
***UPDATE: We raised nearly $4,000. Thank you! 

Borchardbriar: The Way of the World

 SETTING RULES

ACCORD - Every Wild Card starts with maximum Accord equal to 2 + half their Spirit die type. As things unfold the GM may call for a Accord check with a modifier based on events. An Accord check is a Spirit roll, the results may modify your current Accord score.

Murder -  Killing for any reason, other than self defense, causes an Accord check at -2.
Backlash - The GM may call for an Accord roll due to Backlash from Powers.
Fear - When you fail a Fear check, lose 1 point of Accord.
Cursed Relic - using a cursed relic causes an Accord check.
Open Road - Each day you're on the Open Road, make an Accord check. Start with a -2 penalty and add +1 for each companion.
Viciousness - Predatory and cruel acts cause an Accord check, with a penalty at the GM's discretion.

Sliding into Savagery
The real risk of losing Accord is uncontrolled transformation, the Land's wild magic using your flesh as a canvas. But maybe a little monstrosity is fine given the stakes. When you lose points of Accord, you temporarily gain a Tinge. Draw a card for each point lost and applying the card of your choice. At your next Advancement you can choose to keep the Tinge instead, otherwise the Tinge blows away on the wind. Be sure to conceal you Tinges, the Wyld Breakers are always on the look for Folk meddling with the Old Times.
If your Accord reaches 0 then you're lost as the wild magic overwhelms you

BEAST WITHIN - During character creation, choose a Kith and make note of the traits in brackets. Spend a Benny to temporarily gain an Edge (you must meet the requirements) or 3 points of Racial Abilities that reflects your Kith via those traits. Beast Within lasts for a scene.

FOUR LEAFED CLOVER - You've made it this far, all Wild Cards start with the Lucky Edge.

PACTSTONES - Relics from the Bygone Days, these rings of standing stone were erected where Folk swore oaths and spilled blood. In these Fallen Days they still crackle with turbulent energies and a daring beast could coax it to the surface for their own ends if they'd just open their veins a little.

You may draw upon a pactstone's latent power through a Dramatic Task (5 Task Tokens in 3 rounds) using Occult and similarly appropriate skills, spending Wounds (+2 per Wound) and Accord (+1 per Accord) for bonuses on your rolls. If successful, you gain a magical charge. This charge may be spent to:

• Treat every Power Point you spend as 2.    
• Increase the Range of a power to your Spirit in miles.
• Increase the damage of a power by +3d6

Backlash: Failing the activation check provokes an Accord check with a -2 penalty. Draw an additional card for the Drift if you fail.

You can also knap pactstone shards into crude blades or arrowheads, gaining 2 points of Armor Penetration and ignoring bonuses to toughness from powers or special qualities.

ADDITIONAL SETTING RULES YOU MIGHT WANT TO USE*:  Born A Hero, Dynamic Backlash, Wound Cap

*I use all of these.

NEW EDGES

BALLADEER
REQUIREMENTS - Seasoned, Performance D8, Arcane Background (Bard)
At the start of the session, roll 2 of your Perform dice and set them aside. You can replace any resist roll so long as you're Performing. Additionally you can use Perform instead of Taunt for tests and add the [Inspiring] tag to your Kith.

CUSTODY
REQUIREMENTS - Umbral Cabinet, Spirit d10
Throw back some Snakebite and let your ghost advisors take the wheel Once per session, you can add +4 to any skill the GM agrees is in line with one of your umbral cabinet's experiences.

DEMAGOGUE
REQUIREMENTS - Seasoned, Persuasion d8
You're able to gather Furred Folk to your cause with relative ease. Reduce the amount of Food needed to upgrade your cell by 1. Your cell cannot benefit from more than one Demagogue at a time.

FERVENT
REQUIREMENTS - Novice, Spirit d8
When you're outnumbered, add +2 damage and gain +1 Armor. Add the [Messy] tag to your Kith.

GLAMOUR
REQUIREMENTS - Seasoned, Bend Shape D8, Arcane Background (Chimerics)
You can alter minor details of your appearance with a Spirit roll (ie: fur pattern, coloration, etc). Also you can attract the attention from someone with only a glance. A botch calls attention from Above.

HUNTER'S EYE
REQUIREMENTS - Novice, Notice d10
With a successful Notice roll you can ask the GM a question about a given enemy and they must provide an honest answer. Each Raise gives you an additional question. Add the [Sharp Eyes] tag to your Kith.

NINE LIVES
REQUIREMENTS - Cat
When you would die, suffer an injury, or botch a roll then you can escape the consequences (ex: immediately recover 1 Wound, ignore the injury roll, or treat the botch as a normal failure). Each time you do this, reduce your starting Bennies by 1.

OPPORTUNISTIC
REQUIREMENTS - Novice, Agility D8
When you outnumber your opponent, roll an additional D8 for damage and drop the lowest. Add the [Underhanded] tag to your Kith.

POT-VALOR
REQUIREMENTS -  Veteran, Vigor D10, Spirit d8
After 3 shots of Snakebite, you back down from no one and no thing. Ignore 2 points of penalties to tests and increase your Strength die by one size.

PUISSANT
REQUIREMENTS - Arcane Background (Sorcery), Strength D8
When you deal damage with a spell, roll an additional die of the appropriate type and discard the lowest.

TUNNELER
REQUIREMENTS - Mole
You can burrow through the earth at your full Pace leaving a tunnel behind for others. It might be a tight squeeze though. You can also Run while burrowing but the tunnel collapses behind you..

UNDERFOOT
REQUIREMENTS - Roden
Non-Roden Folk suffer a -1 to hit you in melee combat. You lose this benefit when you're Entangled or Bound. If you have the Thief Edge, then add +1 when squirming out of bonds or through tight spaces.

UMBRAL CABINET
REQUIREMENTS - Novice, Spirit d8
You have a panel of 3 ghostly advisors to confer with. You can table talk with your fellow players who aren't present in the scene for 1 Fatigue level. If you have an Arcane Background then add +1 to activate powers dealing with spirits.

WARRANT
REQUIREMENTS - Seasoned, Arcane Background (Sorcery) -or- Persuasion D8, Connections
You hold a license to perform sorcery, regardless of your actual ability. Reduce the rarity of potent herbs, magical reagents, and sorcerous contraband by one category. The Wyld Breakers might still come knocking on your door if they have a reason.