A Brief History of Kult, and the controvercy debate.

A nice little video about the history of Kult from over on the other side of the pond from me. I'm in the USA, this guy is talking about Europe and such. So a few differences for what he saw versus what we saw over here when concerning releases. 

Counterfeit Collector booster? One of these things is not like the other

They are now producing the fake collector boosters complete in a fake box and shrinkwrap. This video shows the differences to look for. Forewarned is forearmed. 

DnD Starter Set not an RPG

Well according to the WPN page over on the Wizards site the Dungeons and Dragons Starter Set is no longer an introductory set to the roleplaying game. In that short little description they refer to it as a board game twice. Even calling it the "ultimate Dungeons and Dragons-inspired board game". 

This really says all you need to know about the direction that Hasbro is wanting the game to go. But I guess they don't know that Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying went this direction for a while as well. All pieces and parts with the least amount of roleplay as possible. That version was ultimately scrapped and they went back to a standard ttrpg design.

So with this being the new Starter Set and it not being a RPG I'm not sure what to recommend to folks who want to dip their toes into the DnD hobby. Guess some other starter for another game line. 

Scam Alert - They are changing up tactics now

 SCAM ALERT 

Well the scammers are now calling claiming to be the department of homeland security and immigration. Saying you're on a recorded line and asking if you know why they are calling you.

I played along for a moment and said no. 

Then they said they needed to verify who they were talking to and asked for my first and last name and address and all that. I told them no they can tell me who they think they are calling and I'll tell them if they got the right number.

They didn't like that. Tried the old we can't divulge personal information if they can verify it's the right person or not. So I said just give me a last name. She paused for a bit and spit out a random last name "Mr Collins". Nope, not me, nobody here by that name.

They hung up. 

Number they called me from was 325 600 6763 and shows up as from Texas. I tried calling the number back but it couldn't be completed as dialed.

 

Watch out for this new trick that is trying to get our personal information by preying on fear now.

Review: Labyrinths and Secret Chambers for Kult

 

Kult: Labyrinths and Secret Chambers

This is a sourcebook and map pack for Kult: Divinity Lost from Modiphius Games.

As I don’t run or play the latest edition of Kult I was hesitant to pick this one up. However the pictures I had seen of the product really spiked my interest. There are 100 different maps in this thing. Each printed on it’s own sheet with a basic black and white line version on one side and a shaded and more detailed version (furniture and stuff like that added in) on the other side. Then a booklet on how to use the maps and ideas for what they could be used for.

First lets talk about the 100 maps. They are not bound in a book, but loose and shrink wrapped with the book. The cartography is great but they aren’t done with squares for movement or anything since Kult doesn’t use mapped out tactical combat. Done in standard paper quality and very clean each one is numbered for reference. Now I tossed my into page sleeves and put them in a three ring binder for easier access and use. But I found out something I wasn’t aware of.

I had bought 100 page sleeves for 100 maps. Three of the maps aren’t one page. So they have the map number followed by a letter to keep them in order. You will need an additional 5 sleeves or, as I did, simply packed the ones with multiple pages into one sleeve. Honestly I don’t see this as a negative at all since I got even more than I thought I was getting.

Variety is the word of the day here. Maps for all kinds of stuff. Apartments, buildings, subway stations, railways, streets, a submarine, all sorts of larger locations and places that really feel like something out of Metropolis (from Kult not Superman). You have got a LOT to work with and you won’t be burning through all of these anytime soon. Plus many could be used multiple times for multiple things, but more about that when I talk about the book.

Second thing is the booklet. Plenty packed into this 64 pages. Starting with a list of the maps. We get a little mini picture, four to a page, of each map and three different things that particular map could be used for. Ranging from normal and everyday to more horror themed. Plenty of inspiration just by reading these.

After that we get a few pages on how the various Death Angels and Archons can have affects on locations. While very Kult lore themed there are still an abundance of ideas here. With several pages after that just covering inspiration names, locations, objects found, etc. So they just try to hand you as much material to get your imagination going as they possibly can.

So two thumbs up, very much worth it for me. Will be using a lot of these maps in my upcoming horror games. But just the resource of maps alone is well worth the price.

You can pick this up at your FLGS and, if they are part of the Bits-and-Mortar program, you can get the pdf for free. If not you can grab a hardcopy over on Amazon easily and the pdf on DrivethruRPG.

If you like this review and want to see more like it check out my Ko-Fi page and maybe show me some support! Thanks for reading.

Be A Better Gamemaster - PCs are not the Players

 

Normally I stray away from giving advice for gamemasters. I did better at giving advice for the players. But every now and then I just feel the need to say something. So guess no better time than the present.

I'm going to start off this series with one of the things that really irks me. It's when the Gamemaster doesn't seem to understand that the Player Character and the Player are different. They are not the same and it's sort of supposed to be that way. So stop expecting the player to be the PC. 

What the hell am I talking about? Let me explain.

To many times I've been at the table and my uber charismatic character is going to try and schmooze his way past some guards. So I tell the GM that's what I'm going to do. Then the response I get is "Well what are you telling them, lets here it" or they want to roleplay the scene and let that determine success or failure. Well you know what? I'm not an uber charismatic mother fucker. Nor do I think of great thing to say right at the drop of a hat.

They don't let you make a die roll or test against your maxed charisma or social skills. You, the player, are suddenly supposed to have all those skills in real life. Then you get told "oh well to bad" when you don't. 

So, gamemasters, don't fucking do that. If you or them want to roleplay it a bit that's fine. But don't let that be the arbitrator of success or failure. There still needs to either be that die roll or you let them succeed. 

Just like don't expect the person playing a character with all sorts of mechanical skills do be able to tell you step by step on how to check through an engine for a problem. Or the player playing the law enforcement officer to suddenly know every little law and ordinance there is. 

This also goes for puzzles, riddles, and how the PC can solve them. Their super brainy magic user is smarter than the player. Let them roll to figure it out if they want.

The characters are different than the person sitting at the table. That's the entire idea of ROLE PLAYING. So let them play the role a bit and let those really good stats or skill help move the character along. Not just the wit of the player. 

That's what I got this time. Short, sweet and to the damn point. If you like it go over to my Ko-Fi page and show some support. 

WttC - The Immunity Stat

 

Immunity

The world of ‘Welcome to the City’ is one rife with pollution, toxins and other nasty stuff that’s all around. This can take a toll on a human body, and it does. Especially for the Work Crews who have to venture into some of the worst areas of the city to take of their jobs.

The Immunity stat is how we keep track of how well their body is holding up… or not holding up as the case may be. Whenever the character is exposed to something highly toxic, gets splattered with waste or goes to long without their filter mask then a roll could be called for.

Rolling for an Immunity check is done by rolling a number of dice equal to your Immunity stat. Normally only one success is necessary although if there exposure is something drastically bad then a higher number may be required. This roll cannot be pushed. Success means you are fine but a failure results in your Immunity stat being reduced by one.

Every PC starts out with a six rating.

Now let’s talk about what happens as that level drops. For every point below six it increases the necessary XP to increase a skill or buy a specialty by two points. Example: If you are at a three Immunity then it will cost four extra XP. At a four you are at one negative die for all physical activities. At a two you are at two negative die for all physical activities and one negative die for all mental activities. At a zero they fall into a toxic shock and are broken and will die if not treated at a medical facility within a day.

Recovering Immunity.

If you reach zero and are treated at a medical facility they can stabilize the PC. The character then wakes up with an Immunity level of one.

You can receive a cleansing treatment at a hospital. This requires a substantial amount of money and a week stay in that facility. When finished you will gain back one point of Immunity and will make an Immunity roll. If you fail, nothing happens this time, but for every success you will an additional point back as well.

Also spending XP is another way. For every ten XP spent you will gain back one point.

Like what you see here? Then check out my Ko-Fi page to show your support. 

WttC - Year Zero Engine starting point

 

Reworking the game to use the Year Zero Engine from Free League Publishing. I'm really liking my experiences with that system so far and it's available for free to use. Going to try and push this one to actually make it to the playtest level, unlike before. 

What I've decided on so far. 

The four stats and twelve skills. Some modifications here to fit the setting but not much. 

Force (Strength)

Close Combat (Strength)

Stamina (Strength)

Marksmanship (Agility)

Mobility (Agility)

Piloting (Agility)

Machinery (Wits)

Observation (Wits)

Survival (Wits)

Medical Aid (Empathy)

Manipulation (Empathy)

Persuasion (Empathy)

Stealth will be a specialization instead of a skill. Computer Operation will be a specialization that works with Machinery since people who actually know how to do anything beyond the very basics with a computer are not that common. 

Stress Dice will be used. 

A health bar, similar to the one in Alien, will also be used.

Need to add in some sort of Toxic measure in there. To show how badly the toxic environment has affect the well being of the characters. Thinking of something similar to the Immunity Check that was in the old game Kromosome from the Amazing Engine line. Not sure how I'm going to do that yet.

That and the basics of Psionic abilities as well. 

My PbtA dislike in one sentence

 

Somebody summed up what I don't like about Powered by the Apocalypse games in one sentence really well. 

"The thing that many people miss with that is that PbtA isn't really meant for freeform roleplaying; it's about telling specific kinds of stories."

Right there. I'm here to roleplay, hopefully a good fun story comes out of it, but not always. I sure as shit don't want to tell a specific kind of story. This why every time I've played a PbtA game it has been my definition of 'not fun'. As little fun as a player I have means I sure don't want to be the poor fool trying to run it either. 

But guess what? I'm free to not like something. If you like it, good on you. Just stop expecting everybody else to think your favorite thing should be their favorite thing as well. 

Neuromancer — In Production | Apple TV+