RPG Meta-plot: is it needed?
Meta-plot is one of those concepts that you either love or hate. Basically, the term is often used in RPGs and elsewhere to describe an over-arcing plot-line or extended storyline. You can see examples of meta-plot in the media too – the Shadow War in Babylon 5, Lucifer rising in Supernatural. Game of Thrones is one huge example of epic meta-plot, with lots going on and not all of it related to specific characters.
Yet RPGs often have a problem with meta-plot. Sometimes, even the sheer weight of meta-plot material can kill a product line. This is roughly what led to the White Wolf “reboot” of the World of Darkness (Vampire, Werewolf etc.) – they had loads of supplements and source-books that had largely bled (for want of a better word) the creative opportunity for GMs. Wizards of the Coast had quite a history of doing meta-plot resets, e.g. From the Ashes and the Greyhawk Wars series that rebooted Greyhawk for A&D 2nd Ed. Sometimes it is easier to start afresh and might also generate fresh revenue and invigorate a product line I suppose!
Players only appreciate meta-plot when they are active participants to some extent. It also often assumes some prior familiarity with a setting on the part of your players – and that in itself can be hard work for someone new to a particular setting. Here’s some examples.
Babylon 5 RPG setting
Gods, where would you start with Babylon 5 for someone unfamiliar with the series? Even watching a couple of episodes wouldn’t really bring someone unfamiliar with B5 up to speed with 5 years of plot. You’d have to be really hard-core fans of the series to make it work, unless you set it before the formation of the ISA and coming of the Shadows. The sheer volume of plot and events make it inscrutable to anyone who hadn’t watched a season or more!
Cthulhutech RPG meta-plot
You could say that the whole setting of Cthulhutech is one big meta-plot. I’m eagerly awaiting Dead Gods and Burning Horizons for Cthulhutech. One is likely to be a Storybook that features meta-plot and the events of 2086, the other “splat” book for the Rapine Storm faction (a cult of Hastur that purges/scours the earth for the arrival of the Great Old Ones). The Storybooks are interesting in that it gives your players a chance to participate in some of the major events/revelations of the year as part of the CT meta-plot. However, there’s a lot going on across the globe and its unlikely that your players would be at the Fall of Juneau or Shanghai. In my own Through the Looking Glass games, I’ve hinted at what’s to come, but can’t really bounce the players across the planet (or space in the case of Burning Horizons!) to a new location every session!
Ashes of Freedom (D&D)
Contrary to popular belief at ORC, much of the meta-plot for the Ashes of Freedom D&D game at ORC did not come out of any long-term planning on my part as such. It worked as a result and I could tailor the plot toward the PCs actions. Yes, I did have a few ideas for the long-term, but fitting it around the players worked far better. Also as the world was my own creation it meant that I didn’t feel compelled to preserve it, or avoid any events. To be perfectly honest, some of the plot was derailed from the first session so I had to come up with some new ideas quickly!
To answer my original question: is meta-plot needed? No – never let it get in the way. If you want a simple dungeon bash, for instance, you might not need it. Live free, and only use meta-plot when you want to give the game some flavour, or involve the players in some new conspiracy! Kill off a significant NPC? No problem. The PCs thwart the invasion that might have led to the founding of a empire of a thousand years of peace and prosperity? Oops! The whole party gets wiped out? GMs, it’s your game: you can do what you want with it.
The Secret Fire RPG: The Demons Shall Arise!
Last year I did some work on The Secret Fire RPG for Secret Fire Games – much of the flavour text in that book is from my own twisted mind as it were – mainly the monsters, a lot of the spells, and the setting descriptions. One thing I’ve learned from the game’s release is to develop a thick skin, especially online. Any product will come under scrutiny and the anonymity of the internet allows people to be far nastier than they would be in a face-to-face conversation.
The RPG.NET forums are especially unpleasant these days. I’ve never liked them as there seems to be a a fairly nasty undercurrent to a lot of the posters there – often it seems its little more than a thinly veiled ego trip for a lot of the posters there. Coleslaw on the Cthulhutech forum (on Cthulhutech’s own site) sums it up thus:
My brief stint at RPG.net can be likened to having to use a porta-potty in August.
The other thing I’ve learnt is not to build expectations – The Secret Fire RPG had a number of problems during its creation, and I think there’s a lot that could have been done differently. I don’t think it was the game itself that raised people’s hackles, more the way it was built up and marketed. However, I’m unlikely to visit RPG.NET again – I’m a member of many other online forums and it’s no loss to me. The signal to BS ratio has pretty much made me give up on it.
Although I’ve a few misgivings about how I’m going to find the time or if indeed I can stick to the deadline, it looks increasingly likely that I’ll be responsible for a chapter on the Demon/Druid war in the first supplement. I’ll also be including some information on the Soul Reapers, TSF RPGs equivalent of Supernatural‘s Crossroad Demons. I’ve got a number of ideas for them, as well as their origin and how demons are really are the Big Bad in the world of the The Secret Fire RPG. Hell, or Infernus, as it is named by the Soul Reapers, isn’t actually the home of Demons. It’s a crossing-over point.
I’ll examine why Demons are fascinated with humans and souls – and why the Druids hate them so much. As well as the more Faustian ones I’ll also be looking at how the Soul Reaper bargains are designed so that there’s what I’ll call The Catch: it’s not just your soul they want: chaos, misery, pain, and discord will give it a far more seasoned flavour… For example, a character that wants to live forever? “No problem,” says the Soul Reaper,”of course, I’ll give you the ritual”. The Catch: the ritual requires the death of a mortal every month – and the ritual sends the soul straight to Infernus. Failure to complete the ritual, and the Soul Reaper comes to collect the forfeit…
The Paths of Damnation
If there’s space, I’ll also look at something called the Paths of Damnation: how a mortal can become a Demon Marquis and the powers they wield. I suspect that a few players would love to take this route through a campaign. Its nothing new: it was done in both Realms of Chaos volumes for WFRP and the Book of Vile Darkness for D&D (I recently read that filming of the D&D movie of the same name is currently under way in Bulgaria!). In the past supplement that have dealt with demons or their powers are often held up as examples as “proof” of the corrupting nature of RPGs.
Hopefully we’ve outgrown this. Ascension toward Demonhood (or should that be descent?) wouldn’t be an option for any PCs, but it could make for a fun campaign. The PCs are duped into procuring items for the Demon-Wannabe NPC or are running around trying to prevent their Ascension in the first place. Remember the Mayor in Buffy: the Vampire Slayer?
RPG Piracy
RPG Piracy
YAAR! Or not. In the last week the SOPA and PIPA legislations were pretty much sunk. As is usual for such things there’s two perspectives you can have on this: one is that it a victory for civil liberties and privacy, and that such things are pretty much unworkable. The other perspective is that again heavy-handed actions by legislators that don’t understand the technology involved have again missed an opportunity to protect people’s intellectual property.
File share sites aren’t going to go away overnight. As soon as a product is released in digital format, it will be pirated. Unfortunately, there’s no way to stop this happening. When the Secret Fire RPG came out, a pirated copy surfaced on the Internet within 24 hours: unfortunately for the dopey git concerned, he’d left his email on the PDF, so I suspect his account with DriveThruRPG was shut down as a result.
I’ve said it before: I don’t condone piracy. Downloading a PDF with a view to buying the hard copy book is very different to knowingly downloading a pirated PDF. The obvious truth is, without product sales, many of the small press games will simply stop producing games or go out of business. Only a handful of companies can afford the legal fees to get sites shut down, and even then, they’re not in the same league as record companies. Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done to stop people ripping you off.
One of the creators of Cthulhutech, Matthew Grau, summed up the current situation for small-press games last October on the Cthulhutech website.
I remember a day when a mediocre release of a game book sold 3000-5000 copies, with healthy restock orders. Now, a successful release might sell 1000, if you are lucky, selling through the rest of your 3000 unit print run in three years – many companies print far less. Not only is the industry shrinking, but people don’t have to pay for their gaming books any more if they don’t want to. Unfortunately, unlike the music industry, we are not made of money. It costs a surprisingly large amount of money to develop a well-written and attractive gaming book and the return is not so hot. Without those extra sales, the traditional model of core plus regular supplementation isn’t really viable.
- Matthew Grau, Wildfire LLC
Now, here’s the thing: D&D, Eclipse Phase, Pathfinder and FATE have all released their rules on the internet, either OGL (Open Gaming License) or through a SRD (System Reference Document). These systems largely make RPG piracy minor as everything can be found online, although it does still take place. When you buy the book, you’re usually buying background information, the “fluff”, from these companies. Also, many folks resort to illegal PDFs when they’re unable to source old material – which is why Wizards have likely re-released their 1st edition publications. Although I wonder if any of the artists and contributors to those works will receive any royalties?
As such, I ‘d considered the best way to prevent piracy of the Mandragora: Ashes of Freedom RPG. In short, I’m not: instead, I’ll make use of it. As I’ll be using FATE, which is already OGL, there’s very little that won’t already be out there, either as part of the OGL for FATE or material that I’ll make available on the site. Copies of the rules may crop up on the ‘net, but this could help as a sort of viral marketing, especially if they are quick-start rules.
At one point Wizards of the Coast had their old adventures in PDF form, free to download. Then they dropped it and sold them online. Then they stopped making them available, citing piracy, which only made their products pirated more. Unfortunately the business model of having one form of product for sale just doesn’t work any more: when Wizards dropped their PDF sales, they made a serious mistake in my view.
Simply put: if there’s no reason to pirate your work, why bother? Although I have a few rulebooks in PDF, they’re no substitute for a hard copy version during play! With that in mind, the solution to RPG piracy is pretty clear: make your rules, or any antiquated or dead product, available online. Anyone that then pirates your work is clearly doing something illegal – so you can rain down whatever kind of legal hell if you want.
Unfortunately, RPG Piracy is here to stay, legislation or not. Until the internet becomes a police state – hopefully never – piracy will exist. If you’re a publisher, use it to your advantage.
Building the Mandragora Ashes of Freedom RPG pt.4 – Noble Houses
Mandragora: Ashes of Freedom RPG – Noble Houses
I’m still dealing with the concepts involved in the Mandragora: Ashes of Freedom RPG, and it’s taking up a bit of time to do so. I’m currently looking at the concepts for the Noble Houses of the Mandragora, in the Shirr’haim and elsewhere.
The Noble Houses
The Noble (and Imperial) houses are the core government and true power in Mandragora society. In M:AoF, the majority of Mandragora are part of, or affiliated with, a Noble House. These extended families are usually blood relatives or bonded servants – those with noble blood are called Scions. Each house is usually presided over by the eldest females, the Matriarchs. They are the motivating force behind much of a Noble House’s schemes and enterprises.
Building a Noble House
I’d like one of the most important game aspect of the Mandragora: Ashes of Freedom RPG to be the ability to create your own Noble House. It should also help create common bonds between PCs and encourage players to think creatively about how their PCs may know one another. I’m keen to avoid trying to shoe-horn player characters into this sort of thing but it would provide a basic building block for players and GMs to create adventures. I’m planning to create a section on the Renegade Mandragora though (guaranteed that someone will want to play one!).
Scions
Amongst the obvious House characters like the Matriarchs, there should also be a number of roles like House Warmaster, Captain of the House Guard, Archmagi, etc. as well as a “supporting cast” of other Scions. Noble Houses are very large, often with family members spread across Lonaraban on various schemes, including the army. Obviously the players and GM will have to come up with the ideas for these individuals, but I’d like to provide a basic framework for their creation and maybe even a sample Noble House.
In all likelihood the PCs will start off as lowly Scions at best, or affiliated as Bondsmen through their own family oaths that they have taken (if they do not have a noble background, or belong to the Worker caste for example). This will provide a basic “entry point” for all PCs.
Notoriety – mad, bad & dangerous to know
Most PCs and Noble Houses can get away with certain behaviour – so long as it stays within certain bounds. Notoriety points represents a running total of “bad behaviour”. When it reaches a certain level, there will be a certain response: the PC may be called to task for their actions by PeaceForcers, or the House has to account for its actions in the Shirr’haim.
Whether the House or individual is at fault or not, Notoriety points can lead to a PC becoming public enemy #1. Together with Darkness Points (which I’m tempted to call SoulStain), these can be both hindrance and help to both players and GMs. Notoriety can also be gained by doing the right thing as well – whistle-blowing on a political “smear” campaign, for example: while the PC may have done the right thing, those who instigated the campaign will see the PC in a far from favourable light. Notoriety can also give the character some status – fame and infamy go hand in hand!
Nobility, FATE & Fame
As FATE is OGL, I’ll be planning to make public the section on Noble Houses or at least the rules for them. FATE already has a generic way city creation process, so it will hopefully add to that section significantly. Fame and infamy will also be made OGL in a similar fashion, if GMs and players wish to use it.
Cthulhutech – running CT campaigns
Cthulhutech – running a campaign in the Strange Aeon
Cthulhutech can be quite a daunting game to run, especially if you’re new to running an RPG. The sheer volume of background material can be quite off-putting for a novice GM, or even some more experienced GMs. At the end of the day, it should be a collaborative effort between you and your players.
Before I begin,a disclaimer: Cthulhutech is a pretty dark and disturbing game, and the setting has a number of themes that many may find disturbing. It takes a certain level of maturity to run or play in certain adventures as a player or GM, so reader discretion is advised.
Know your players – choose a facet
The sheer variety of options available to player and GMs means that you (as GM) and your players should try and find some common ground. If your players prefer tearing across the landscape in huge robots and raining down hell, then an investigative game with para-psychics and Tagers probably won’t work for them. Mecha and Engel pilots will also find much of their skill set useless in a investigative game. What I’m saying is: choose a particular style of game, and don’t try and mix them up too much in a long-term game. You can do it, but it can be a bit of a stretch – it’s best to try and avoid more than two or more of Cthulhutech’s game “facets” below (see also Running a test game below):
- Tager – Tager games work best when the entire PC (Player Character) group are Tagers. Those without symbionts are at a huge disadvantage, especially when facing creatures like Dhohanoids. Tagers are hugely powerful, and normal mortals (Mundanes) can’t really compete with them in combat – even less so than Dhohanoid attackers. This works best when GMs treat the games as a sort of unseen war between Chrysalis Corp and the Eldritch Society (similar to the Guyver TV series), known in CT as the Shadow War.
- Private Eye/Government Agency (Mundanes) – mortal characters assigned to intelligence agencies or law enforcement agencies like the FSB, OIS, or GIA. Para-psychics or sorcerors can easily fit into these games – Tagers will tend to overbalance any encounter – and they are the easiest to run for those familiar with Call of Cthulhu and similar games. For military types, mecha or Engels are unlikely to be a part of many of the games in this facet – however, soldiers can be found everywhere in Cthulhutech so they can easily be seconded, on leave (medical or otherwise), or just involved some how using their background. GMs can also find it easier to reveal various aspects of the game such as Para-psychics and sorcerors gradually using this facet, as well as revealing some of the game background and Cthulhutech metaplot.
- Military/Mecha/Engels (MME) are some of the easiest games for a GM to run, requiring fairly simple objectives. The PCs are given their orders and are expected to carry them out, often with the necessary equipment provided. In the case where PCs are simple soldiers, expect to deal with a certain amount of PC deaths: most MME games will likely revolve around battles, and combat in Cthulhutech is pretty deadly! The NEG faces a number of Integrity-scale monsters who shrug off machine gun fire: the Rapine Storm’s Beast allies, Esoteric Order of Dagon (EoD) power armour and mecha, not to mention the Migou war machine. This doesn’t require a huge amount of work by a GM on a setting, but it does require the PCs to work as a team. However, it’s best to keep MME games using PC using powered armour and Engels/Mecha separate from those playing “grunts” – the average NEG soldier has poor survivability in games where Mecha and Engels are used.
- The Weird Stuff – this is one for those players that really love a challenge: there are rules in many of the books for playing some of the other beings: Ghouls, Dhohanoids, and Migou. This requires a lot of co-operation between the GM and players but it makes for a very unique, rewarding game – and pretty much restricts the players to a certain type of game.
Sell it to your players
If your players have played Battletech, the Mecha concept will likely appeal to them, as will Tager games if they are big fans of Anime. If they’ve played Call of Cthulhu, it’s likely that they would also like the chance to “get even” as it were! It’s also worth showing prospective players some of the artwork as it really evokes the game, or directing them toward the Cthulhutech website and the quick-start rules.
Running a test game
When I first ran Cthulhutech I ran a mini-campaign called When the Ocean Wept, allowing me to try out three facets: Mundanes, Tagers, and Mecha. A test game or short series of adventures is the best way to introduce players to Cthulhutech and the Strange Aeon, especially the Framewerk system and Cthulhutech setting. If you have a group of regular players, even better (especially if they’ve also played Call of Cthulhu).
Build PC backgrounds
Building a Cthulhutech PC is pretty detailed (see NPC Lists below), with a large number of Assets and Drawbacks used to add to the PC build. A number of these like Outsider Taint or Hunted, can also create a fantastic opportunity for a GM to create encounters and even adventures based upon these backgrounds, as well as helping a player flesh out their PC background. I’d also encourage players to create their PCs, rather than pick the stock PCs “off the peg” in the books, although you can use these for a quick setup.
NPC lists
Beasts and NPCs in CT are very detailed stats-wise – that can make it very difficult to keep track of during combat, especially with Vitality/Integrity scores. I try and keep lists of stats for NPCs and also break down the Health stats into their multiples to make it easier. Cthulhutech has a large number of sample NPCs – I now try and keep a list of them (or where to find them) so I know where to get details of gang members, para-psychics, soldiers, etc. It’s also worth creating a stock list of your own NPCs, which you can then use as needed e.g. “Blank” Mecha Pilots, Human Cultists etc..
Build in parts of the game
If your players aren’t aware of, or have access to, a large part of the Cthulhutech background, you can introduce it gradually. After all, much of CTs background isn’t really the sort of thing that a person on the street in the Strange Aeon would know: much of what they see on the news is sanitized and carefully vetted before release to the press. Don’t expect to learn all the rules at once: as GM you may not need to know the rules on Mecha combat if you’re running a Tager game for example. Take your time introducing it to your players.
Prune the fluff
There’s a lot of background to Cthulhutech, possibly too much. Don’t expect you or your players to know it all. Alter the Cthulhutech meta-plot if it doesn’t fit your plans – Scotland has fallen to the Migou in CT canon, but in my Through the Looking Glass games, Scotland is still in NEG hands. Sometimes it helps to reveal small parts of the meta-plot or background e.g. para-psychics and sorcerors are not commonplace: but if a player wants to bring a PC of that kind into the group that can springboard into other events such as awareness of the Arcane Underground.
Drama points
I dislike the Framewerk Drama Points intently and have found it slows things done immeasurably. Unlike the core rules, I allow players to have one Drama Point, and they can spend it in a similar fashion to Fate Points in Warhammer FRP e.g. if your PC falls off a cliff, you spend a point and your PC’s fall is broken by a tree before they hit the ground; your PC is caught in a an explosion, but manage to hide behind a door, etc. If you do wish to use them as given, I’d suggest that the players can only modify their own rolls.
Books you might need
And finally, I’ve summarised the Cthulhutech range of books and recommended what you need for each facet of game.
Cthulhutech also has a very nice GM Screen that also has some of the game’s fantastic artwork in handouts showing the various mecha, tagers, and beasts from the series. Along with these handouts are some of the more useful charts from the books.
The Cthulhutech core book is obviously what you’ll need as a player or GM and contains much of the background and rules you need to play Mundanes, Mecha or Tagers. The quickstart rules on the Cthulhutech website may be of use to players as well. There are a number of adventures and story hooks included as well.
- Availability: as a PDF and also from Amazon.
- Recommended for: all players and GMs – if you’re a GM, I’d thoroughly recommend getting a hard copy.
Vade Mecum is the companion to the core book and contains lots more information on Mecha, Engels, beasts and Parapsychic abilities, as well as those old Lovecraftian nasties, Ghouls as PC characters. I suspect that Vade Mecum contains the overspill of ideas from the core rulebook. It also includes a couple of adventures for different CT facets.
Dark Passions is a relatively slim volume compared to the other books in the Cthulhutech range, and details some of the Cults in the Strange Aeon, along with details for running games involving cults and Cultist PCs. The hard copy version is quite expensive for the page count (although the material is useful), so I’d go for the PDF version.
- Availability: as a PDF and also from Amazon.
- Recommended for: GMs looking to run games focusing upon cults.
Damnation View details the major events of 2085 and also allows GMs to find out a little bit more of the metaplot. In game terms it’s a pretty bleak year for the NEG, although there are triumphs. Damnation View has a range of scenarios for different facets and probably contains enough material and plot hooks for a year of games.
- Availability: as a PDF and also from Amazon.
- Recommended for: GMs wanting to run a variety of adventures using the CT metaplot, or use the core background.
Mortal Remains is one of the weakest books in the line and largely contains background fluff and information. It also contains an extensive section on the Migou (Fungi from Yuggoth), and how to use them as PCs. I’m not sure why this is so weak, but I don’t think the Migou’s intentions come across clearly – they should be utterly inscrutable and alien in my mind.
- Availability: as a PDF and also from Amazon.
- Recommended for: GMs wanting a bit more background on the Nazzadi and Migou.
Ancient Enemies is one of those books that was eagerly awaited and doesn’t disappoint. It’s a hefty hardback book detailing Tagers and Dhohanoids, and also features rules for creating Dhohanoid PCs as well as some truly awesome Tagers via Metamorphosis. There’s extensive background on Chrysalis Corporation and the Eldritch Society. It’s worth buying for the artwork alone!
- Availability: as a PDF and also from Amazon.
- Recommended for: Players and GMs. Essential for those who want to run Tagers and games featuring Dhohanoids, as well games involving the Eldritch Society and Chrysalis Corporation.
Unveiled Threats is the pretty much a listing of arms and equipment. It’s a pretty comprehensive list of firearms, armour, gadgets and arcane artefacts. There’s some pretty nasty ideas as well that have a significant “Yeuch!” factor.
- Availability: as a PDF and also from Amazon.
- Recommended for: Players (and GMs) who like having lots of cool equipment and other toys.
Conclusion
Cthulhutech is a very detailed setting and the metaplot makes it particularly dense content-wise. hopefully this article helps clarify what you need to do to get a decent CT game up and running!
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