Brave New World

Mongoose RuneQuest

We’re playing through Ravens in the Roost. The PCs just left the inn to confront the raging Broo. The dung-covered monstrous humanoids were intent on plucking some Duck and feasting on their marrow. The PCs aimed to stop them.

And the PCs kicked ass. All three of them rolled higher than the four Broo for Strike Rank. The Duck cloaked himself in shadows. Bones the Myth Questor cut a Broo in half with his huge axe. And Max the Cog took out the left leg of another. The remaining two Broo fled.

I like the way combat ran a lot. The Broo were taken out quickly, but if they had gone first they might have been a threat. Doing 1d6+1 points of damage each, they weren’t too dangerous but a threat for sure. A well-balanced combat I thought.

Monte Cook’s World of Darkness

Originally, I wrote this month’s column about how I started my MC World of Darkness setting, including dates and current events. But a new idea popped into my head, and I’m going to run with that idea first. Next month I’ll include a timeline.

My campaign will be set in Chicago. Those of you familiar with the WoD Chicago book from White Wolf will find Monte’s setting similar as about half the details are a direct import. But thankfully MCWoD leaves out the serial killers engaging in self-pleasure with a wall and the flesh and blood of victims. Yuck.

Anyway, Chicago. I want my own street for my players to call their own. They may get set up as private investigators and I figure they’ll be able to afford rent right on the edge of the South Side.

City of Darkness

I always talk about my brother Tim here because he’s a DM and the guy who got me into gaming. But I have two other siblings as well. And all three of them gave me some ideas about NPCs in Chicago. Each of these NPCs will be eccentric (whether following the real world or not I’ll leave up to others to decide) and possessed of a few capable skills as well as a few secrets.

My brother Jeff just landed a job running the restaurant for a country club. He’s doing well and I know he’s dreamed of getting a place of his own someday. So his basic idea will create basics for the tavern for late night hang outs (my whole family consists of Bear fans, so the basic ideas translate well). This tavern will be called Woody’s Pub.

Jeff has handled some challenging situations in his time and served as a Navy submariner (making him even crazier than me in choosing a military vocation in my opinion). Woody the NPC will reflect some of those traits (and craziness) as well.

My sister, Jos, owned her own coffee shops for a while. She’s the eldest (sounds better than oldest I suppose) and always had sound advice for us boys growing up. So Lynn’s Coffee Stop will be home for bleary eyed discussions in the morning. Jos doesn’t play D&D but Lynn, the NPC, will be a DM and a keeper of local wisdom.

And Tim himself gave me inspiration for the Magica Game Shop. Run by Ronnie James McRafferty, this game store is a connection to one of the PCs (who games) and to Lynn, who DMs for the PC and Ronnie.

Before I get back to describing Woody’s Pub, Lynn’s Coffee Stop, and the Magica Game Shop, let me introduce you to Jon “Mac” McRafferty.

Mac

Mac wrote a series of journals for the player characters before the campaign starts and before they saw the book. It covered rules, background, and the setting of Chicago. I’ve included the first journal, the intro I sent to my players, below (slightly censored for this column).

Introduction to the World of Darkness

Hi, my name’s John McRafferty, Mac to my friends. I used to be in the Army guarding the perimeter of the Intrusion. How I got out is another story. This story’s about you.

I don’t know whether you’re a vampire, werewolf, mage, or Awakened. Even a demon. Hell, you may not even know yet.

So I’m gonna help ya figure it out. Give you the sitrep (that’s situation report) on life in the good ol’ US of A. ‘Cause it’s still worth fighting for. So listen up.

A year ago in 2007, the Intrusion or as I call it the Great Clusterf^&* should have wiped us all out. A terrible force of ancient, inhuman power obliterated three hundred square miles of South Dakota. And it unleashed things, terrible things, into our world. Maybe it let them loose or only let them grow stronger. Or it brought them with it. Either way, those things want to kill the billions of humans who survive. Only most of us don’t know the war is coming.

But those of us in the know think our race is too stubborn to die. Some of us have already faced something worse than death. Possession by souls of dead murderers and cutthroats or spirits of wild hunting beast-things. Or the rare few being completely evil and inhuman souls clothed in rotting and inhuman flesh who have decided not to let the Earth die. Those are vampires, werewolves, and demons to you. Also, some humans found magic and became mages.

And I mean real magic not stage tricks. Flying, throwing fire, conjuring stuff out of thin air. But life can be a real bitch even for them. Haven’t you read Harry Potter?

Finally, there are guys like me. The Awakened. We’re human, but a little more so. Almost everyone else except some of the mages and a handful of the monsters hates us and want to kill us.

F^&* that. We kill ‘em first. Some of us have other lives too, but when we get a chance we whack a few of the bastards. Now that you’re the target of these f^&*ers you’ll want to learn how too.

I’ll tell you how.

Downtown

On the first adventure, Mac will introduce the PCs to Doctor Howard of the University of Illinois. The doctor fills them in on what he knows about the Intrusion. He also encourages them to set themselves up as private investigators who check out the weird and magical. At the very least, they’ll be legal for packing pistols.

The PCs won’t be able to afford an expensive office. So a little neighborhood just north of South Side set in Downtown would be perfect if they go this route.

And in the same neighborhood are Woody’s Pub, Lynn’s Coffee Stop, and the Magica Game Shop.

Woody’s Pub

Woodrow Wilson McRafferty runs Woody’s Pub. Like his siblings, he suffers from an “interesting” name foisted on him by his parents, Bill and Judy (who both have normal names). As a Navy SEAL, he got the nickname Woody and stayed with it.

Woody’s Pub features the Bear’s football team for a theme, along with fine wooden furnishings and brass fixtures. The hot wings, micro brews, and Bear burgers are famous in the Downtown area.

Woody and Ronnie are partners in ownership, but Ronnie leaves most of the day to day decisions to Woody. He’s always on hand to help out when the Bears are playing, however.

If the PCs earn Woody’s trust he could be the source for obtaining heavy weapons, false identities, bodyguards, and even needed muscle. Also, Jane McRafferty, Woody’s wife, is a nurse who could possibly patch up holes in perforated heroes.

Lynn’s Coffee Stop

Loretta Lynn Anderson runs this restaurant from early morning until late afternoon. Her husband, Terry, helps out and also does general maintenance, repair, and renovations for local businesses.

Lynn runs a new fourth edition D&D game out of Ronnie’s game store. She is not your average human and is a mage in her own right. She is the mentor for Jim Rathman, one of the PCs, and his DM.

Magica Game Shop

The Magica Game Shop is run by Ronnie James McRafferty. He also helps his brother, Woody, run his pub. His wife, Laura, works at the University with Doctor Howard.

Ronnie keeps the latest and greatest RPGs and board games out for demo. He runs weekly game nights for others on Saturdays and closes the shop at seven on Fridays to play in Lynn’s D&D 4th Edition game. Well known customers know they can interrupt the game if they really, really need something right now, but said customer had better bring a snack along to appease the other gamers.

Ronnie has a degree in history. He has written a non-fiction book about the history of Chicago and two fantasy novels. He wasn’t much surprised when the Intrusion happened. His mind has always been open to the idea that the universe holds more secrets than it divulges.

The Best Thing So Far About Writing Adventures for MCWoD

What I like so far about writing the first adventure is that there really is no good guy versus bad guy. The PCs can pick and choose to help some or none of the NPCs and make enemies or allies as they choose.

By the same token they can choose to research, reason, talk, or claw their way out of several encounters. They'll first have to decide what is going on, then what they want to do, and then do it.

And the preplanned encounters don't take in to account the many spontaneous encounters all of the PCs will come up with. Many of the PCs have to drink blood, eat hearts, and generally commit mayhem to get power. Picking on the wrong victim, though, can get dicey.

Should be a really interesting campaign!

Next Month

We’ll have played our first couple of games of MCWoD. The aforementioned and promised timeline with current events will be covered. I’m also going to talk about some other good RPG books to use with MCWoD.

Also, a good test drive of the system should help point me in the directions the PCs want to go next. They will have made an enemy or two, maybe an ally, and doubtless have killed a variety of people known and unknown by then.

RuneQuest, however, has not caught on with my players. I didn’t consult them before jumping into the game (I hope my last large GMing error for a while) and I don’t think it can compete with D&D for them. Unless something changes in the next month, I’m guessing that that campaign will not be continuing as I won’t have enough players interested to justify sustaining it. Which, as busy as I am, may be for the best.

More campaign and world building of MCWoD to follow.

Charlie