[Review] Convention Book: Progenitors

The next in the updated line of Convention Books for Mage: the Ascension, Progenitors gives an updated look at the Technocracies masters of Life magics. Much like the N.W.O. and the Iteration-X, the Progenitors have been affected greatly by the Avatar Storm and as such have had to make some adjustments to survive in these modern times.

After the great impression left behind by the NWO book, I was very excited to check out the Progenitors as I knew the least about them. Thankfully the book served it’s purpose to present the new face of the Progenitors very well, and left me with a distinct need to play one the next time I ever get to join a Technocracy campaign.

Like the NWO book, Progenitors is divided into six sections, including the Prologue and the Epilogue, and an introduction to the new post-Dimensional Anomaly status quo. There’s also a section dedicated to the History, Structure and Methodologies of the Progenitor Convention and of course, the various toys and assets available to them.

I have to admit that I was quite amused with the Introduction of the book. I’m usually okay with game fiction in general but there was something about this particular one that drove home the point of how Progenitors see the reckless lack of responsibility and long-term thinking of the Traditions that just worked for me.

chapter One: Patient History gives a snapshot of the Progenitors as they are now, compared to what they were like before. An extended in-character paper talking about the Ethical History of the Progenitors was a nice touch, and I found this take a little more engaging than the one in the NWO book.

The section on how the Progenitors relate to the rest of the Technocratic Union and how they perceive the Traditions is a goldmine of plot hooks and is a refreshingly honest assessment of the good, the bad and the ugly side of working with and against the various other Mages (and supernaturals) in the Classic World of Darkness.

Chapter Two: Residency discusses the organizational structure of the Progenitors. I liked the mention of the sub-methodologies that work on less glamorous projects for the convention, including the Agronomists, who work on botany and agriculture, and the Shalihotran Society that works on veterinarian sciences. Both of these are very important to the overall picture even if they don’t necessarily bring in the usual reputation of the main Methodologies.

Each of the primary Methodologies is given screen time as well. Among them are the FACADE Engineers, the Genegineers, Pharmacopoeists, and the surprisingly “Action-scientist” non-Methodology: Applied Sciences, who have quickly become my personal favorite of the bunch.

Chapter Three: Prescriptions is a grab bag of sorts, offering some mechanical support in the form of notable NPCs, interesting places and plot hooks, Progenitor Fronts, a sample Amalgam, and the various toys ranging from Body Modifications, new Procedures and even Genegineered creatures.

The chapter finishes with a few sample characters, ranging from the usual labcoats and DNA sequencer types to more… ass kicking sorts like the Damage Control Operative.

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Convention Book Progenitors is an excellent follow up to the NWO book. There’s an abundance of enthusiasm with the book, and more than it’s fair share of neat little easter eggs for some people. I had to chuckle after reading about the Clark County Forensics Department’s amazing amount of privileges, and the mention of a child genius being part of something called the Howser Project.

That said it’s a great book which provides an excellent insight to the nature of the Progenitor Convention, and is probably the best of the 3 Convention Books of the Revised Edition so far.

Convention Book Progenitors is available from DriveThruRPG in PDF Format for $11.99 or roughly Php 492.00

[Review] Convention Book: N.W.O. for Mage: the Ascension Revised

The release of the N.W.O. convention book is perhaps the surest sign of the return of the classic Mage: the Ascension line to me. I’m a big fan of both Mage lines from the world of darkness, and I was also a very big fan of the Technocracy as well.  Having the NWO as a favorite convention, I welcomed (and secretly worried) about the release of this book. Was it going to be good? What if I’ve put up too many expectations on it that I’d be disappointed?

Now that I’ve had a chance to read through it, I’m glad that it wasn’t a disappointment at all.

For those familiar with the Revised-Era Tradition and Convention books, the NWO convention book retains the standard format. It’s a familiar and welcoming thing to people who are coming back to M:tA like me, and still fairly accessible to those new to the game.

The book is divided into 6 main sections, which include a fiction Prologue and Epilogue, as well as an Introduction to the current state of the NWO given the events that have taken place since Revised left off, and a discussion of the convention’s History, Organizational Structure and Methodoloties and finally the Assets of the New World Order.

The Introduction is a great piece, talking about the big picture and what the NWO is involved in given the shift in society. This is crucial in my mind to haul M:tAw out of the late 90′s and into the present day. There’s no doubt that the accelerated pace of adoption of technology and societal shifts over the past decade should impact a group so firmly entrenched in humanity as the NWO and it shows.

The History section is told through the lens of a lengthy academic paper written in-character with annotations from a superior. It’s a big section, and details many of the pivotal moments in the formation of the NWO. I found the section to be pretty helpful in terms of appreciating the origins of the Convention, but I can’t help but feel that it may have gone on just a little too long. The annotations and sidebars help in providing further information, and a presence of a group in the NWO focused on Gender Studies was a nice touch.

Division of Labor breaks down life in the NWO to digestible chunks. From the overall heirarchy to the the means by which they advance up the ranks, this chapter is the most useful to GMs who are looking to run a game which offers an in-depth look into NWO operatives. The Methodologies, or sub-groupings of the NWO are all excellently written, with each having a valid reason for their existence and their own specialties within the Convention. From old favorites like the Ivory Tower and the Operatives to the brand-spanking new Methodology focused on Information Technology called The Feed, each one is full of interesting hooks to make a character from.

Assets brings up a host of things, from interesting NPCs to a treatment of Data as Correspondence, complete with it’s own chart for determining sympathy for Data Procedures. These Data Procedures replace Correspondence ones for NWO operatives, and it is surprisingly useful for the convention to have a focus shift towards an increasingly wired society. Interestingly it’s not exactly exclusive to the technocracy, and the Virtual Adepts are also capable of taking this view of Correspondence on their own spells.

My favorite section of the Assets chapter is one that deals with the Technocracy’s toys. From the Enlightened Smartphone to the iconic Mirrorshades, and the amusingly named Gun For The Job I get happy warm fuzzies at the idea of actually employing these devices on the field both as a player and a GM. The chapter also wraps up with several NWO Procedures.

As with the tradition / convention books, the NWO book wraps up with several sample characters, including a Processed Traditionalist, which I found to be a great angle to work with if I were to play.

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Convention Book N.W.O. is an excellent way to kick off the return of Mage: the Ascension to active publication once more (though arguably the fact that the books are all available on PDF meant that they never really left.)

The New World Order has finally made it’s long desired comeback and I think the fans are going to be very happy with what they’re getting. Aside from a much-needed upgrade to a modern paradigm, the NWO convention book shows off all the neat details (and dirty secrets) of the faction, and more importantly makes me want to play it

Convention Book: N.W.O. is available from DriveThruRPG for $13.99 or roughly PHP 574.00

[Mage: the Ascension] For Old Times’ Sake?

I’ll have to admit that Mage: the Ascension still brings happy memories to my mind. Back in college, I picked it up as my first World of Darkness RPG, and I haven’t really looked back since. It was a strange mashup of all the things that I enjoyed: the urban-gothic nature of the setting, the high-minded ideals and philosophies at war and funky magic systems that let you go wild. I remember running games where I didn’t really have a concept of BadWrongFun, where anything goes. One of my players at the time had a character that was a Maurauder, a mage lost in a world of his own fantasy, seeing the entire setting as some sort of strange spy flick. I had to narrate certain scenes twice just for it to “make sense” in his world-view.

There was a lot of magic, lots of fighting, and not a lot of sense. But it was fun, and I enjoyed it.

Today, in the post-Awakening reality, I find myself looking back at Ascension with a mix of amusement and worry. I loved the game, and what I was able to pull off with it, but I want to do more with it. It has potential for all sorts of interesting stories much like Awakening did, and now that I’m older, I might just be able to tackle those. I’ve still got my M:tAsc books on my shelf, though I have to admit that the system has lost its appeal to me. I still prefer the new WoD system better.

 

That said, what would I run with it?

I’m thinking about it, and my recent holiday in Hong Kong is still fresh in my mind. I remember that I also used Hong Kong as a setting for my Mage: the Ascension campaign long ago, and I feel that perhaps a reboot might be interesting. I remember that I was quite happy with the Chinese factions introduced in the Dragons of the East expansion, and the Asian Technocracy just seemed to be a lot more interesting in my head.

So it’ll be a modern game, set in the modern times, things advancing beyond the apocalyptic tone of the old World of Darkness but still keeping with the themes of warring for the hearts and minds of the common man. The Virtual Adepts will be in a very strong position here, but the other Traditions still have powerful bases from which to work with in Asia. I’ll keep everything else, the Avatars, which jive well with my love for Personas and Jojo-esque Stands, and the Seekings which dictate how you evolve as a Mage.

Paradigms are a tough question, and one where I will have to put my foot down. If you can’t explain it via the character’s paradigm, it can’t be done, even if you have the proper Spheres. I know it’s tough, but at the same time, it’ll be a good way to exercise creativity within the boundaries of your own choosing.

The themes, as they always tended to be, will be the fight for the future. Control vs. Freedom, and the story of Ascension. No jaunting around in the Umbra however, I’d like to keep to the Mage: the Ascension Revised angle of keeping things on Earth, as it’s the only battlefield that matters. The Avatar Storm will probably be there, but to a lesser extent, as is it’s pretty punishing, but certainly can be used to spin off stories.

New Horizons sounds like a good campaign title to me.

On Being an RPG Enthusiast in the Philippines

I am forever resigned to the fact that Roleplaying Games aren’t going to ever become mainstream in the Philippines.

Over here, when people here “RPGs” or “Roleplaying Games”, they automatically equate it to a console game or MMORPG.  Only a small minority in this country even know of tabletop roleplaying games, and most of them are older guys who grew up under the shadow of the 1980′s “D&D is Satanic” persecution, and more than a fair share have had their books burned by devout catholic parents or grandparents.

I was a latecomer to the RPG boom of the 80′s having bought my first boxed set of Star Frontiers in 1989.  I had an inkling of what pen-and-paper rpgs where back then, having seen some of the older boys in my high school playing D&D.  It looked fun, and I had an over active imagination (just ask my teachers or my mom, I’m sure they’d agree), so it seemed like a great idea to me.

So on my ninth birthday, I asked for the boxed set, that retailed for about Php 489.00 back then, a hefty sum for a child living on a Php 20 a day allowance.  Thankfully, my mom decided to indulge me, and I came home with a bright shiny boxed set of wonder.

With that, I was set firmly on the path of rpgs that I am on today.  It was admittedly a lonely path as trying to communicate the concept of a game where the action took place in your imagination was a little hard to do for a nine year old boy surrounded by ADHD types.  Eventually, I realized that there was no way for me to actually play the game if I didn’t have a Game Master, and so I sat myself down, and started reading the rules again and again.  In time, I grew familiar enough to work the game in theory, so I decided to make the jump and start my own game as the Game Master rather than the player.

My first player, ironically enough, was my older brother.  He couldn’t be bothered to read the rules and run the game, so I ended up doing so instead.  Our early games were pretty silly.  Mission based ones where it was just a sci-fi version of “Go to yon dungeon and recover the objective.”  Still it was fun, and I spent countless summer days just working on NPCs and Maps and all sorts of things.

Flash forward to College.  By this time I had given up on getting a gaming group, but still opted to read through Star Frontiers now and then.  I was a card flopper at the time, having gotten into Magic: the Gathering in the late years of my High School, and dropping it in favor of the Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) CCG when I entered college.  RPGs came back in full force though, when one of my closest friends bought himself the L5R Roleplaying Game (1st Edition, by John Wick).  Being a big fan of the setting, and seeing the chance to finally play a game, I jumped at the chance to let him playtest it… only to end up being the GM again.

Not that I minded, the L5R campaign was my first attempt at a full blown campaign, and while some of the rules were strange (Unicorns get a bonus to all their skills while on horseback?!  Including Climb and Tea Ceremony!?), we all had a good time.  In some ways, this was the experience that really solidified my love for both the game, and the act of GMing.  From there things just got better.  I worked in a local hobby shop that catered to the Warhammer Fantasy and 40k Tabletop Wargames that also carried some roleplaying games on the side.  It was an interesting experience since this store was once the only place you could get anything, and despite issues I may have with how the franchise is being run now, it was the store responsible for introducing me to my next RPG fix:  the World of Darkness.

Mage: the Ascension was the first game line I decided to really collect, and White Wolf probably is a little wealthier now for my religious purchases of the books.  I floored by the concepts in the World of Darkness, and appreciated the similarities it had to L5R in terms of having easy to understand “splats” that players could relate to in terms of stereotypes that they could either follow or break in interesting ways.  It felt more organic than D&D’s classes, and it wasn’t very long that I ended up calling myself a Storyteller rather than a GM (forgive me, but at least I wasn’t emo at the time).

Fast forward to getting new jobs, and finally my own reasonable income.  I’d reached the point where I could actually afford RPG books without having to feel guilty about the funds not going to my savings.  Thanks to the internet, I’ve discovered so many other games:  Call of Cthulhu, Cthulhutech, Exalted, Metabarons, HERO, Adventure!, Qin: The Warring States, Weapons of the Gods, the New World of Darkness Line… so many new and exciting products coming out in the US and Europe.

Sadly, looking at the situation now, the Philippines isn’t the place for pen and paper roleplaying games anymore.  I know of only one place left that actually brings in new rpg books, and they’re all either D&D or World of Darkness and Exalted.  None of the smaller games are finding their way here, and the supply is barely there.

I’ve tried to touch bases with other gamers, and we all pretty much agree that there’s a drought in terms of new game books, and therefore less new gamers coming to the hobby.  Generations of kids are born with a Nintendo DS in their hands, but will never know the sound of a d10 clattering on a wooden table, the hours of outlining campaign notes, and the simple fun of having a bunch of friends play a game you spend so much time and effort to craft all for their enjoyment.

However, there are upsides to things… while the books aren’t found here, a resourceful kid with access to his parent’s credit card (and permission to use it of course) can purchase the books off the internet.  The Philippines also managed to finally make it to the roster of countries that can use all of Paypal’s features.  All we need now is a little more awareness.

I guess that’s part of why I write in this blog.  Part of is is musing on my experiences and my opinion on how games could be improved.  The other part is to be some sort of presence that hopefully some other Filipinos will find, be intrigued, and try out this wonderful, creative hobby that I’m proud to be in.

Mage: the Awakening and Complexity in an RPG

Despite being a guy who prefers to run World of Darkness (old and new, though the new version has been showing me tricks that have left me quite impressed), I’ve never really shied away from a complex RPG system.  I’ve actually read and GMed HERO System 5th Edition, which is admittedly not as difficult as people make it out to be.

Having established that, a friend and I got into a discussion on the complexity of Mage: the Awakening’s magic system.  I’ve always loved Mage, in both the old and new versions, and having had the chance to really sit down next to my copy with a notebook and a pen by my side and apply some good old college level elbow grease to get it all into my head, I’m pretty pleased with it.

I’m not going to lie and say that it’s simple.  The spellcasting route has a lot of tiny conditional rules, and I’m pretty sure that my preliminary notes missed a few spots.  But just so people can see what I’m talking about here’s what I drafted for Instant Spellcasting in M:tA, Extended Casting is similar but I’d rather not bore you with that.

Instant Spellcasting Checklist:

0) Declare the spell being cast, and Determine Base Dice Pool (in Rote Description, or Gnosis+Arcana if improvised)

1)  Check Max # of active spells = Gnosis+3

2)  Check Mana Costs:
+1 for Sympathetic
+1 for Non-ruling Improvised
+1 per Aggravated Damage
Mana expenditure per turn = Gnosis

3)  Assemble Dice Pool
+2 dice for using High Speech, requires 1 turn
-1 die for every spell on mage above the mage’s Stamina

3a) If Sympathetic, apply penalties:
-0  Sensory
-2  Intimate
-4  Known
-6  Acquainted
-8  Encountered
-10 Described
If the Target’s True Name is unknown, increase Sympathy penalty by two degrees
-1 per dot of Fame or Occultation target has

4)  Apply Target’s Defenses:
Contested: Resistance Attribute + Power Stat
Automated: Subtract Resistance Attribute
Aimed: Subtract Defense
Countermagic: Dispel Magic; Magic Shields; counterspell
Friendly Target: None

5)  Apply Additional Spell Factors, if Any
-2 per extra point of Potency
-2 per x2 Targets
-2 per +10 Size
-2 per x2 extra Radius or Volume
-2 per additional step of Duration

6)  Assemble Paradox dice pool (if vulgar or improbable)
+1 Accumulative; each paradox roll after first
-1 Using a rote
-1 Using a magical Tool
+2 Sleeper Witness
-1 per Mana spent to mitigate Paradox

7)  GM Rolls Paradox dice
a) Each success reduces Spellcasting Dice Pool by 1
b) Number of successes determine type of paradox
1 = Havoc
2 = Bedlam
3 = Anomaly
4 = Branding
5+ = Manifestation
c) May take successes as backlash instead.

8)  Make the Spellcasting Roll
Other Bonuses that apply:
Willpower +3 Dice
Rote Specialties +1 die when using a Rote utilizing the Rote Specialty skill

Cute, ain’t it?

Before we go cross-eyed over the number of steps and tiny considerations, let’s go and look at the purpose of all of the above.  I’m a firm believer that Rules in an RPG exist for a purpose within the game.  Sometimes, looking at the rules gives the reader a hint as to the agenda of the writers.  I’m not saying though that it’s not possible to subvert this agenda (as many a munchkin will do), but merely that the rules serve more than just tell you how a feat is resolved, but if you squint and hold your head to one side just right, you can make out what the rules are trying to say about the world.

Back in the days of Mage: the Ascension, the spellcasting rules could be summed up to:

1. Player wants his character to do this spell, using this Sphere or Spheres of Magic.
2. GM thinks about it, then asks how the character plans to cast the spell in the context of his Paradigm (or magical style.)  This is sometimes and optional step if it’s painfully obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people will try to justify being able to fly when their magical style is Voodoo.  And no, making a Voodoo Doll of yourself and hurling it in the air won’t get you more than a few seconds of airtime, Mr. Smartypants.
3. Player comes up with a wild explanation of how his paradigm justifies the spell.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 a couple of times until the player starts getting annoyed or the GM gives up on paradigm
5. GM comes up with a difficulty value for the roll, based on how difficult he feels the spell should be.
6. Player rolls for his character and succeeds or fails accordingly.

As you can see, it’s a far cry from the earlier example.  So what does this tell us?  Well, old Mage was really about being able to work any kind of magic as long as you believe in it hard enough (within the context of how your belief was couched, hence Paradigm).  New Mage decided to ditch that in favor of a universal paradigm that will justify your magic without the debate, but focuses more on how magic should be quantified.

Old mage had a few rules as to how many targets you could hit with a spell and all, but new Mage explicitly spells it out, and provides penalties and bonuses accordingly.  New Mage is more complex, admittedly, but it is also more stable.  It’s slightly more resistant to GM fiat, and player fast talk.

Ultimately, I like the complexity.  I like the Rules.  They’re labor-intensive at times, but it’s also more stable.  As a GM I usually do most of the back end data processing anyway and I’m comfortable with that.