Mob United Media News and Info

Fight Like a Legend!

2008-05-20T03:33:11Z

Fight Like a Legend!

The first supplement for Æternal Legends rips open the combat system to include new and variant rules. Send your legend into the thick of battle with:

* Alternate Combat Rules: This section includes new combat systems that favour simple, fast action over tactical detail.
* Stylized Fighting: Hack the system to add rules for special actions that go above and beyond standard bullets and strikes.
* Fast Injuries: Replace the core game’s “stepped pyramid of doom” with hits and conditions that give you a new way to track injuries.
* Social Conflict: Sometimes, words are a Legend’s strongest weapons. This section adds detailed rules for giving speeches, intimidating enemies and winning debates.
* Legendary Action: We conclude with Legend-only tactics. Send your enemies running with a single strike or a well-chosen word, or win the day with an unforgettable sacrifice.

Each section in this 15 page PDF is designed to be a separate plug-in for the Æternal Legends core book. Use them piecemeal or together – either way, they’ll help you customize game play at your table.

Note: Requires the Æternal Legends core rulebook, available in PDF at RPGNow here, or in print at Lulu, here or in print with a FREE PDF at Indie Press Revolution, here.

MUM40001
$3.25

Now is the time to become a Legend. Æternal Legends is a fast-playing, 158 page modern fantasy game devoted to Legends: elves, dwarves, gnomes and humans driven by their beliefs to fight against the dark lord Da'ath and his minions. This game isn't ashamed of traditional fantasy -- instead, it tries to give classic motifs the intensity they deserve.

Thanks to RPGNow's bundle specials, you can buy Fight Like a Legend and Æternal Legends together for just 12.25 -- just 30 cents more than buying the core PDF! Check it out by clicking here!

Æternal Legends is Stewart Wilson's trademark for his game of fantasy adventure, used with permission.

Æternal Legends Reviewed at Flamesrising

2007-12-17T19:07:40Z

Check it out here.

Aeternal Legends + IPR + Design/Dev Notes

2007-11-02T10:25:55Z

Mob United Media has joined Indie Press Revolution to start distributing and selling its games.

Mob United Media is ENnie Award winning author Malcolm Sheppard's game design house, but it's not just about him; it features refined designs, owned by their creators. We're beginning our relationship with IPR selling Stew Wilson's game, Æternal Legends. IPR is the only place where you can get the game's PDF (available separately here) FREE when you purchase the print edition.

Here's the blurb:

Magic seethes beneath everyday affairs. Turn a ways, and wander into a Pocket Kingdom where witches and alchemists sell their wares right under the noses of a mundane population. But one person in 20 is Aware, part of the secret lands of magic. Of those, a special few are Legends: epic heroes who fight evil with strength, cunning and raw idealism.

Elf, dwarf, gnome and human Legends use the mystic Spheres to defend their beliefs. Their quests turn them into avatars of magic or send their swords against Da'ath, Lord of the Abyss. Idealism is more than just a buzzword—it's the source of magic. The old traditions of classic fantasy, from the Dark Lord to a hero's quests, burn with new life, bound to the Legend's spiritual journey. Every Legend has a path to enlightenment—and glory. His beliefs (in the form of actual game traits) give him power, whether he honors or betrays them. He moves through secret, strange lands in a modern supernatural setting whose protagonists don't skulk in alleys, but rule entire cities and Ministries of mystic power.

Æternal Legends is a 158 page, complete modern-era RPG. Two or more players need nothing more than a handful of six-sided dice, pencils and paper to play. Combat's quick, but doesn't sacrifice tactical choices for ease of use. Freeform magic and simple spells combine into one flexible, quickly resolved sorcery system. Your character's supernatural Clade combines with her archetypal Spheres to grant distinct superhuman abilities. The game's Ready 2 Run system emphasizes fast character creation, detailed action and enough discretionary "wiggle room" to suit a wide range of campaigns.

Created, written and designed (and importantly, owned) by Stewart Wilson. Core system design and development by Malcolm Sheppard.

There are *lots* of previews, here.

Now, getting past the blurb for a second, I'd like to talk about where the game comes from. The Ready 2 Run system that's the core of the game is about three years old. I originally developed it for my personal games. I wanted a game where:

* I could make pregens very, very fast.

* It would take very little time to describe how the system works. In its current build (the 4th since I started working with it), I've found that the only unusual feature for most people is the injury system, which is derived from spending a long time designing around limited health levels/boxes for my own games and professionally.

* I could have cool action scenes with some crunchy tactics, but not in a way that restricts descriptions. One of R2R's features is that *you* build your actions and attach the label you want instead of being fed a list.

* (Later) Powerful tools for scaling from the smallest to the biggest things around. This isn't a feature in Æternal Legends -- well, it's more accurate to say that the game doesn't need it because there aren't any massive starships or anything. That'll be in the *next* creator-owned game to use the system, Chris Challice's KotHS. When you see that aspect, it should plug into Æternal Legends easily, if you need it for some reason.

It's been through extensive personal playtesting and has also been run by two other groups, and seems to fit the bill. Stew came into the picture because I've know him for a while and he submitted an earlier version of Æternal Legends for the first build of the system. I liked it a lot, so when I started publishing games I contacted him and asked him to do a polished version of the thing. It's his world, my core system, and his themes, my development. A lot of my work with Stew involved identifying intriguing and fun things and asking for more, as well as keeping him focused on the objectives he laid out for himself.

What were those objectives? We've both done WoD work and know where the structure does good work . . . and where the cliches are particularly heavy. Between the original outline, design and development, the game coalesced into something with these aims:

* Traditional fantasy in the modern world. We wanted elves, dwarves and magic swords. We wanted the challenge of *making* these cool through our own efforts, instead of just lettin the motifs do the heavy lifting. In the game, we don't go, "So here are some elves." They get full splat-style treatment just as if they're the new Clan/Tribe/Kith/Whatever you're seeing for the first time. Instead of revisionism for the sake of revisionism, we asked what we could uncover by *celebrating* what these things mean.

* Similarly, we wanted to introduce a certain degree of innocence and idealism. We decided that the kinds of guys we've written about before, the supernatural politicos compromising with their morals, would be the *bad* guys. That's why Stew added Beliefs and why they're where magic comes from, not in the Mage-paradigm sense, but in the right-and-wrong sense. After that, the basic conflicts in the game fell into place and gave us a way to reexamine traditional fantasy heroics as something with moral and (in the setting) cosmic import, in a sort of, "When you meet the Buddha on the road, he sends you to fight a dragon," way. Character classes were subsumed into the quasi-Kaballistic Spheres, where the characters explore the faces of heroism on the way up to Lord Da'ath.

* Finally, we wanted to just admit that the secret-supernatural convention is a ruse, not a simulation. It's a way to have shotgun and sword coolness. We wanted the scope you see in Harry Potter instead of warehouses and penthouse suites. We wanted streets where gnomes sell songs that clean you car. We wanted tax forms for dungeon loot. We wanted you to be able to meet a wizard in a bar to send you on a quest and have it make perfect sense because you're a hero, there are wizards and everybody bloody well knows it. I art-directed a picture for the game that featured a sorcerer giving a kid the power to fly as something representative of everyday wonders -- of a society of wonders.

What we didn't do was aim to be different for the sake of being different. We wanted to find distinctive, fun things in the stuff people have passed over in 30+ years of fantasy gaming. And the funny thing? We did find some things that ended up being kind of different, organically. I think this RPGNet post is a good third party description, especially the last line.

Æternal Legends Released: The Age of Legends is Now!

2007-08-24T14:48:29Z

Magic seethes beneath everyday affairs. Turn a ways, and wander into a Pocket Kingdom, where witches and alchemists sell their wares right under the noses of a mundane population. But one person in 20 is Aware, part of the secret lands of magic. Of those, a special few are Legends: epic heroes who fight evil with strength, cunning and raw idealism.

Elf, dwarf, gnome and human Legends use the mystic Spheres to defend their beliefs. Their quests turn them into avatars of magic or send their swords against Da’ath, Lord of the Abyss. Idealism is more than just a buzzword – it’s the source of magic.

Æternal Legends is a 158 page, complete modern-era RPG. Two or more players need nothing more than a handful of six-sided dice, pencils and paper to play. The game's Ready 2 Run system emphasizes fast character creation, detailed action and enough "wiggle room" to suit a wide range of campaigns. Every Legend has a path to enlightenment -- and glory. His beliefs (in the form of actual game traits) give him power, whether he honors or betrays them.

Created, written, designed (and importantly, owned) by Stewart Wilson (writer for White Wolf's Werewolf: The Forsaken). Development and core system design by Malcolm Sheppard (writer for White Wolf's Exalted, Dark Ages and ENnie Award winning Mage lines).

Explore the game by reading Mob United Media's extensive previews.

Enjoy the game two ways:

Get in in print at Lulu.com
Lulu Product ID 1137037
$26.95

Get it at RPGNow
MUM40000
$11.95

Æternal Legends: Designer's Statement

2007-08-23T17:33:42Z

I created Æternal Legends three years ago. I'd been challenged to
write a modern fantasy story, and almost immediately I saw that it had
the foundations for a fantastic roleplaying game. Malcolm was working
on the system that would become R2R, and I melded the two into the
bare bones of a game.

I was always very sure that I didn't want a generic modern fantasy
game. Sure, elves and orcs and a hidden world, Harry Potter meets
Middle-Earth — these are all good things. But some things about
Western fantasy just don't sit right with me. I initially tried to
flavour the clades using traits of the alchemical elements. The groups
— Spheres — are derived from the cabala. I came up with a magic system
reminiscent of Ars Magica, Mage: The Ascension, and Nobilis. I wanted
to make a game which had all the surface trappings of "fluff fantasy"
but had deeper aspects just below the surface.

When I look at Æternal Legends today, I see the core of that game.
Lots of things have changed since then — a lot changed between that
original game and my pitch to Mob United Media. The core's still the
same. I still see heroes giving their all for what they believe in. I
see the division between Light and Dark, between heroes who do
anything for their beliefs and those who ignore what they care about.

It's been a long, weird road. A year after writing that initial story,
I wrote a pitch document — a one page breakdown of the game. From
there, I progressed to outline, from outline to manuscript, and from
there to the final draft. As Malcolm mentioned previously, while
Æternal Legends is definitely my game, he was my editor. Thanks to
him, I could create the game in a more structured way with feedback at
every stage. That structure really helped me work out what was good
and what wasn't.

I wrote about a quarter of the first draft on an HTC Universal
smartphone with a bluetooth keyboard. I snatched moments at work when
I should have been eating to create the game that burned in my brain.
Some of what came out of that was brilliant, some wasn't so good.
Fortunately, I had a chance to change the bits that didn't work. It's
a strange feeling, pouring so much of your life into one book that
might never see print.

Things don't really change. Even in these last couple of weeks we've
had printer errors. I don't really know what's going to happen when
I'm actually holding Æternal Legends in my hands. That's a lie,
actually. I know precisely what I'm going to do. I'm going to leaf
through the book that I wrote with a large whisky in hand, and I'm
going to think about what stories I want to tell. Then I'm going to
meet some friends and talk to them and find out what stories they want
to tell. Once we've done that, we're going to tell those stories.
Æternal Legends isn't a book to read. It's a game to play. I hope
everyone who reads the book plays the game.

Stewart Wilson, Designer.

Æternal Legends goes on sale tomorrow through Lulu, RPGNow and DrivethruRPG.

Æternal Legends: The Mobworx Philosophy

2007-08-16T15:26:15Z

Mobworx is the imprint/brand that we're releasing Æternal Legends under. This is really important to Mob United Media because, well, it's important to me -- Malcolm Sheppard, the owner/operator.

I've been working in tabletop gaming since 1999 -- not long compared to others, but long enough to witness changes in the way people think about RPGs and how they should be produced and marketed. Back when I started there was a thriving "freeware" RPG scene. I really respected their producers and some of them deserved a commercial offering. Nowadays, though, the Open Gaming License and the rise of hobby businesses that accept (or at times, refuse to admit) effective losses have overshadowed the free scene. Some of these developments have been good -- others have not. My main concern is the way they foster exploitative labour practices without actually providing value for gamers. At its worst, the current state of affairs:

Supports vanity projects that are released without quality considerations.
Operates at a scale that passes along increased costs to consumers.
Attempts to keep costs down for the producer and consumer by devaluing component labour.

This isn't true all the time, but it's true a lot more often than many will admit.

Now over the past year and a bit I've had to work hard -- very, very hard at times -- to raise enough capital to make the Mobworx stage work. Æternal Legends isn't my RPG, but it represents the ethos behind Mobworx. My opinions are not necessarily Stew's, but they do explain why Æternal Legends is what it is. The guiding philosophy includes:

Worthwhile Wages or Shared Rewards

I have friends who are excellent artists, good at layout and who are skilled, creative writers. In many cases I'm sure they'd be happy to do work for nothing, or next to nothing. I've had the offers. But I don't treat my friends like that. Even when they offer. Especially when they offer.

Everyone who worked on Æternal Legends was paid the standard fees for their services. In some cases, when the work ended up being more involved than I thought, I paid more than we negotiated. But two people didn't get paid: Me and Stew. We're sharing the success of the project, whatever it may be, because that's the right thing to do.

Too often, small creators either exploit labour from others in the community or contribute to a scene where you are expected to devalue your efforts. If the game is free or created at cost, there's no problem with this, but how many creator owned games have talked about the business value of their actions? How many of them succeeded on the proceeds of undervalued labour? Too many.

Let me spell it out:

You cannot claim the privilege of friendship to reduce labour costs while operating for profit. It's unethical.

That goes double for larger companies that offer low wages and use the promise of exposure or appeal to love of the hobby as excuses.

Mobworx doesn't do that. We either pay well or we invite the contributor to share profits. The second option is risky, but if a game succeeds financially, it succeeds for everyone -- not just the guy who published it.

Creator Ownership with Critical Discipline

The process behind Æternal Legends' creation might not be familiar to people who've done micropress games, but it's found in other sectors writing and game design, albeit in a slightly different form. In short the creator's opinion isn't the only opinion that matters, and other opinions have more of an impact than uncertain "peer criticism" or simply waiting for gamers to vote with their money.

Æternal Legends is Stew Wilson's creation. He ultimately decides what goes in and what doesn't. Everything it the book exists to flesh out his vision -- but I keep him honest. As developer, it was my job to get him to expand on interesting bits, turn an intriguing subtext into obvious text and provide the odd harsh comment. It's an arrangement where we both have power. Stew could have taken is work away with him and I could have declined to publish.

According to some people, this "isn't indie." So be it, but the alternatives aren't enviable. Peer criticism is a nebulous process that is too easily bound up in other social relationships, not to mention advertising and promotion. (If I see a problem with my friend's game, do I want to say something bad about it online, where it might hurt his sales? Or ever, because it might hurt him?)Right now, you have arguments in multiple communities about whether you can even trust that process.

We use focused development instead because it gives someone permission to get ruthless and detailed, and to develop a one on one rapport. The Mobworx process depends on exploring a game in a deep, focused fashion. Still, it's not quite the same as development for a mainstream game based on somebody else's intellectual property. The developer doesn't decide what the game means and how to keep it consistent. Instead, it's his job -- my job -- to get the creator thinking and exploring his own ideas.

When you buy the game (we hope you do!), keep the above in mind. You're paying for a game whose creators got paid a fair wage, or who share in the risks and rewards. You're getting a game where we wanted the creator to really express himself -- but where we didn't let pretense rule over the craft of design.

Check it out, soon.

Remember: Æternal Legends debuts in 8 days!

Æternal Legends: Sample Characters

2007-08-10T18:47:47Z

We've been quiet for a few days because work -- in gaming, around the house and otherwise -- put itself in the way of regular updates. Let's get back to them now. Today, let's look at characters from Æternal Legends creator Stew Wilson's game. You can read about sessions here at RPGNet.

Jorgen, Son of Jotun

A dwarf raised in a traditional dwarven Pocket Kingdom (we're thinking less
Moria, more isolationalist Earth First types with an affinity for rock and
metal), showed an aptitude for the forge at an early age. He ran away from
the kingdom to learn more about the modern world. He was enamoured with the
destructive potential of modern weapons, and set out to learn about them.
He's currently studying weapons engineering at MIT, as a "transfer
student", giving plenty of time to his studies as early experiments have
left him looking less than pretty.

Clade: Dwarf Sphere: Beauty
Body 3 (Short) Health 9
Mind 3 (Destrictive Imagination, Methodical) Wits 7
Presence 1 (Scarred) Will 5
Ethos 4 Conviction 8
Degeneration 0 Magic 8

Enchantment 2
Engineer 2 (Gunsmith)
Beauty 1

Expertise:
Weapons Testing (Body + Engineer)

Beliefs:

Rocket Science Ain't
Offence is the Best Defence
I Can Make It!
Home and Hearth must be Defended

Commonly carries normal student stuff (pens, paper, dictaphone, no laptop as
he's not too good with computers), some mundane (and magical) crafting
components, from a penknife to a small quantity of thermite, and an
experimental weapon (currently a revolver with the Seventh Bullet power of
the Retribution revolver, changes each story).

Notes:

Jorgen's being played by our "hit first and damn the questions" player, who
happens to be an engineering student. While he's so far been a tank with
mostly hidden depth, that's just because he's not had a real chance to
shine. The climax to the first story will give him that chance. After that,
his path involves a growing disconnect between his ancestral home and his
new life as a hero.

Morgan Benyata

A spirit told Morgan to come to Americai from Kenya. Spirits had spoken to
him since he Manifested, but this one was different -- a large cape
hunting dog with a dishevelled tail told him to go to America, to hunt the
sandwiches. He travelled across the oceans and ended up in Boston, though
doing so wreaked havoc on his body. Learning the native tongue from a
spirit, Morgan landed on his feet amongst the city's Aware, plying his trade
as healer and "spirit talker" to Unaware and Aware alike, for whatever price
his patrons can afford

Clade: Human Sphere: Mercy
Body 1 (Sickly) Health 5
Mind 2 (Faith) Wits 6
Presence 3 Will 7
Ethos 5 Conviction 9
Degeneration 0 Magic 11

Natural Healing 2
Magecraft: Curses 2 (Night's Curse)
Mercy 1

Expertise:
Field Medicine (Mind + Healing)

Beliefs:

The Law of Just Return Holds True
An Eye for an Eye when You are Wronged
I Must Help Those Weaker Than Me
The Spirits Must Be Appeased
Mental Strength Will Overcome Physical Infirmity

Commonly carries a range of medical supplies, including a basic first aid
kit and a large number of herbal preparations. Surprisingly well-dressed,
still wit dreadlocks and tribal tattoos. Carries a rusty knife, just in
case. Curse magic involves a lot of conditional effects and spells attached
to items that aren't themselves enchanted. Night's Curse is a
straightforward "if you cross me you shall be struck blind for a day and a
night".

Notes:

Morgan's player is very nonviolent, coming from a background heavy on
political Vampire games and investigative CoC. For this reason, he's hid
behind Jorgen in physical confrontation and isn't much for fighting -- he'd
much rather fix things up. I'm not sure what's going on with the spirits
yet, it's a dangling story hook that I'll work out what to do with after
the current story is over. He and Jorgen will both get a chance to shine in
the climactic part, saving the world from magical nukes.

Cameron Forbes

A Harvard man through and through, Cameron's a researcher and mystery
archaeologist always on the look out for items of Aware history to
catalogue and understand. He's more comfortable among the abstract than the
physical, and to that end has studied the arts of thought-magic to back up
his relatively pacifist worldview. Cameron's an untenured professor at
Harvard.

Clade: Gnome Sphere: Splendour
Body 2 (Nimble/Weak) Health 6
Mind 4 (Bookworm/Oblivious) Wits 8
Presence 2 Will 6
Ethos 3 Conviction 7
Degeneration 0 Magic 7

Academic 2 (* Research)
Magecraft: Thought 2
Splendour 1 (Heart's Shield)

Expertise:
Mystery Archaeologist (Body + Academic)

Beliefs:

Violence is the Last Resort of the Incompetent
All Minds are Sacred and Must Be Preserved
Knowledge is the Ultimate Treasure

Commonly carries a laptop, research notes, digital camera, etc. He's
splashed out on an endless notebook, a simple enchanted item to allow him to
take lots of notes even in places where tech doesn't work. No weapons as
he's nonviolent in general.

Notes:

Cameron's been getting a fair whack of screen-time so far, he's the
researcher and does the setup work to get the others where they need to be.
His unlocking the Plane of Weapons was the players' first introduction to
the power of an Expertise. He's a strict pacifist (I didn't award any
Degeneration for the fight with Luis, but the player rationalised that as
Cameron having been incompetent to get into that situation). He's still more
than a little detached from the greater Aware community, and further plots
involve his integration into the world in which he lives (a nice contrast
with Jorgen and Morgan both).

Æternal Legends: Character Sheet

2007-07-30T15:28:35Z

Take a look at the next-to-final character sheet here. Things will change a little bit while we complete galley edits. The main thing to check out? Ethos and Beliefs. These are the central elements of the game. See how they work in a bit more detail in the huge excerpt we posted last time.

Æternal Legends: 21 page excerpt!

2007-07-27T14:50:55Z

In celebration of one of the last phases in our production schedule, we'd like to give you a free 21 page excerpt from Æternal Legends through Lulu.com.

Get it here!

Æternal Legends: What Waydowntown Looks Like

2007-07-24T03:26:18Z

Another piece by Chris Huth bringing the Pocket Kingdom called Waydowntown to life:

Æternal Legends: The Power of Belief

2007-07-20T10:33:43Z

Ethos

Ethos is self-belief. Self-belief is ignoring all those little lies that make mundane society work in favour of knowing what you personally want. Society says: "Money makes me happy." Society says: "It was just a one-night stand." Does money really make you happy, or does it just let you buy stuff that you don't really want or need to stop you thinking about how little you do with your life? Was she just a one-night stand because you were drunk and horny, or because you could never love a girl like you loved Jenny, when she was alive?

Self-belief is cutting through the bullshit and excuses and finding out who you are, down at your very core. It's not always pretty, but it frees your brain up for contact with the magical field surrounding the planet. It’s the hardest thing anyone can do, but it's also the most rewarding.

Belief

While it’s rated in numbers, the Ethos Attribute is mostly shorthand for your character’s beliefs. There’s not much point in having strong beliefs without ever knowing what they are. Ethos is a link between your character’s list of Beliefs and mechanical constructs like Conviction and Degeneration.

Beliefs are used in the game to help judge your character’s actions. Beliefs on the character sheet don’t have to colour everything she does, but standing up for a higher goal in the face of adversity is a core conflict in Æternal Legends. To that end, Legends can spend Conviction to help them achieve those goals.

The Light

The Light isn't a higher calling – it's all higher callings. Lightsiders live by the rule that conviction is magic, and that denying themselves that conviction in times of stress is “selling out.” Some follow the Light because they can't imagine a better way. Others came dangerously close to slipping to the Dark at some point in their lives and seek redemption with particular zeal.

A Lightsider has to live with the consequences of his convictions, so he doesn’t indulge his more unsavoury beliefs too often. He must be true to himself no matter what, because he’s forging a personal path to apotheosis from his beliefs. He must be careful to plan his path, directing his immediate urges to a more constructive goal. If he indulges himself all the time, he sacrifices the big picture for short-term satisfaction, but if he ignores what he cares about, he can’t take that next step.

While he must respect the bigger picture, no Lightsider can go for long without testing his beliefs. If he goes without for too long, he gets complacent. That stops him traversing the Spheres or advancing in his own Sphere.

The Dark

Darksiders don’t test their beliefs. Self-awareness lets them know when they’re putting their own survival (or convenience) above their spiritual needs. Some Legends reach the Dark by a singular personal disaster; others find themselves unable to live up to the requirements of the Light.

Darksiders walk the Shells: the empty mockeries of the Spheres of Light. They advance by obliterating their beliefs. They surrender hope for the sake of quick power. They give up the Source within them and give the imprisoned Gods more power – power that they might use to escape their prison. And beyond even the Gods, the Dark Lord Da’ath provides the template for all Darksiders, who transform themselves into his avatars when they reach the pinnacle of power.

The Aware

Save for Legends, all Aware – even those of the Dull Clades – are followers of the Light on some level. If they were not, they would either cease to exist or would never reach Awareness. Legends gain power through idealism and cynicism alike, but a life among the Unaware is the only thing awaiting those Aware who deny their inner calling.

Some of the Aware choose one side or another because their beliefs fit the vision of the faction provided by a charismatic Legend. A larger number don’t consciously care about the Light or Dark. They believe in nothing other than the heroism of a particular Legend, if that. Gangs of dwarves, gnome artists, and goblin sneak-thieves depend on their beliefs to remain Aware, but do so without any pretence of a particular alignment. And even if they follow the Dark, they don’t commit so strongly that it would compromise Awareness itself.

Æternal Legends: More Art!

2007-07-16T05:11:15Z

Here's some more art by Chris Huth.

A gnome and orc-lord face off.

At play in a world of magic.

Æternal Legends -- the System

2007-07-14T09:53:16Z

Æternal Legends uses the Ready 2 Run system. R2R is designed to let you create characters quickly using rules that are easy to understand. At the same time, the system is designed for detailed enough resolution to support a dramatic sword duel or a complex magical ritual. Here are two prominent differences from other systems:

General Aptitudes: You don’t have a set of clearly marked skills. Instead, you have Aptitudes: broad abilities that represent a profession, personal background or wide field of interest. You’re a Soldier or a Scientist, not a guy with a Sword or Chemistry skill. R2R assumes a basic level of trust between everyone in the game so that people will balance their Aptitudes and not worry about everything their character can do from the get-go.

Description is up to you: The action and combat rules allow for a fair amount of detail in resolution – but only after you have your say about what the numbers really mean. There’s no “Parry,” manoeuvre or “ambush” tactic, but the systems exist for you to use a Defence or prep (see Combat) in this fashion.

Everyone works together: This is not a system designed for competitive players or groups who don’t want to compromise or cooperate. If a player isn’t sure how her Aptitude fits a task, make suggestions – but don’t get bossy! The GM should keep the game moving and the pacing fast, but needs to listen to what players want. The game is designed to be optimal for a group of good friends who like to game together. If you’re just getting to know the other players, try to use that spirit. It’ll be good for the game and good for your group, too.

Dice Pools: The Basic Mechanic

To attempt an action, calculate and roll a dice pool.

Dice pools are composed of a number of d6s equal to your Attribute + Aptitude (if applicable). Add Edges, Flaws and Skills where applicable. 1s or 2s on the d6 succeed; ignore other results. Add the dice numbers on all successful dice (1s and 2s); the result is the number of points scored. These points measure how well the character performed according to the benchmark used for that action (the Task). Note that you add the actual numbers on the dice.

Example: Lydia rolls a dice pool of 6. Her dice come up with the following numbers: 5, 4, 2, 1, 1, 3. The 5, 4 and 3 are discounted. She adds 2, 1 and 1 for a total of 4 success points.

See the Cover!

2007-07-09T22:14:38Z

See a giant image of the Beta cover here!

Æternal Legends: The Clades, Part 4 -- Gnomes

2007-07-06T17:40:09Z

Gnomes

Born of Invention

Overview

The last Clade created by the Gods before they sank from memory, gnomes are incarnate spirits of invention. Before the Gods took mortal lovers, humanity’s erratic creativity attracted (or perhaps spawned) countless spirits of invention. Jealous of their talents and their intimate link to humans, the Gods imprisoned these spirits in flesh. If the Gods hoped to punish them, they failed. Given the chance to interact with the physical world and give their ideas material form, the newborn gnomes never looked back.

Few gnomes are historians. The past is boring, full of antique ideas and half-realized dreams. To a gnome, new creations are important. Inventions are exciting and interesting, virgin ground waiting for someone to experiment and create. If the innovator destroys something on her way to glory, so be it. Nobody really knows how something works until they take it apart. Young gnomes mercilessly deconstruct of musical genres, dismantle phones to “find the voice inside,” and saw of couch legs to right the smallest wobble. When she’s found what she needs, putting things back together is at the bottom of her agenda.

A gnome constantly bounces from one idea to the next. This can make her appear hyperactive, but it’s how she works best. Why work on realising one idea when you can realise ten? When she works on a project, that’s her only focus; days pass by without food or sleep while she writes esoteric code or sonnets in invented languages. Inventions build upon all prior efforts using the most available materials. Gnomes believe that their work comes before ephemeral definitions of ownership. They take what they need and return it with credit later, if they remember. Some gnomes cut out the middleman; they invent new forms of burglary or con-artistry. At first, they might do it to support a conventional field of study, but theft is its own obsession, passionately pursued by gnomes who consider it to be an art form.

A gnome who creates physical devices has a burning need to test her creations, feel them with her own hands and see them with her own eyes. Likewise, a musician never allows anyone to play any of his work before he unveils it. At that burning moment, when a program runs or the notes ring out, the gnome tastes perfection: emanations from the Source. It’s one hell of a rush, even addictive, but once it’s over, going over the same ground is never as good as moving on. Commenting on code or writing gallery guides is just more pointless make-work getting in the way of the next project, the next hint of perfection. Every gnome has a collection of their past creations. These often come in handy at a gnome’s most desperate moments.

Clade Characteristics

Thanks to their unique hands and fine motor skills, Gnomes are naturally better at tasks requiring manual dexterity. When they focus on a task, however, they have a hard time relating to anything outside of their current obsession.

All gnomes have the Body Edge: Nimble and the Mind Flaw: Oblivious.

In a Pocket Kingdom, a gnome character can create a common, household appliance or device in a day. These technologies often work using principles drawn from the gnome’s current interest instead of Unaware engineering. They write songs that clean dishes and make ovens that turn stones to bread. These devices don’t work in the mundane world.

Legends

Superlative Ability (Passive): Legendary gnomes certainly live up to their purpose. Whether their specialty is with computers or cars, sonnets or surgery, the Manifestation ensures that they are one of the best they can be. Choose one Skill that the gnome already possesses. It adds two dice rather than one. This Skill cannot be traded to increase its related Aptitude unless the gnome discards it and chooses a new obsessive Skill. It takes a day to make the switch and the character must already possess the new Skill.

Touch of the Muse (Active): Before they had physical form, gnomes had to settle for inspiring others into creative feats. With nothing more than a conversation, the gnome inspires someone to do something creative with one of their Aptitudes. This project normally takes about a week, during which the subject doesn’t need to sleep or eat. When the subject has completes the project, she rolls Mind + the Aptitude in question. The gnome regains Magic up to the number of points scored on this roll. A gnome can only use this ability on one subject at a time.

Æternal Legends: The Clades -- Part 3: Dwarves

2007-07-02T11:28:18Z

Dwarves

Lords of Earth

Overview

As long as there has been matter, there have been dwarves. Forged from the rock of the Earth, the Gods gave the dwarven Clade dominion over the material world. Dwarves are the guardians of rock, metal and precious gems. Opinion is divided as to whether their ancient birthright extends to water and plants, though many say not. Other Clades have their duties, whether they remember them or not. Dwarves are the stewards of the planet, responsible for the integrity and health of the Earth. Once, dwarves crafted fabulous items for human and God alike, shaping stone and metal like clay. Once, Low Kings held court in caverns deep within the hearts of mountains. Once, each dwarf was the very embodiment of the world, immune to the concerns of man or God. The world changed, and the Lords of Earth changed with it.

A spark of the Earth’s power sings within every dwarven soul. Some dwarves submitted when the Gods invaded their creation. They embraced the divine and sacrificed the magical world. Many more felt the silent scream of a creation brought too close to its makers. They resisted with legendary weapons and masterful traps. Their victory made the world a prison for the wayward Gods. Despite this, dwarves are not gaolers or prison wardens. They remain the Lords of Earth, and understand that a lord must guard his domain. Depending on his heritage and the culture he grows up in, a dwarf may believe himself to be one of thirty-six tzaddikim or one of the Shitenno, who guard true dharma. Every culture tells tales of the world’s guardians – tales that dwarves take to heart.

In modern times, dwarves are practical, pragmatic, and stubborn. A dwarf must be able to rely upon herself first and foremost. Some go as far as never admitting injuries or problems. They don’t like to share their burdens, but only Legendary dwarves possess physiques that can handle grave injury without a care.

A dwarf Legend’s circle becomes a part of her family. Her enhanced vitality isn’t something she wastes; she must use it as befits a custodian of the world. Away from dangerous situations, dwarves test plans for points of failure and work out the consequences of their choices. A dwarf might decide to take on a suicide mission, but only after weighing the gains against the outcomes and confirming that it’s the best thing to do.

Clade Characteristics

Dwarven minds are best at working through intricate problems. They don't jump to conclusions, but bring together everything they know to work out a solution. Unfortunately, their physical stature is a significant disadvantage in a world made for taller, Unaware humans.

All Dwarves have the Mind Edge: Methodical and the Body Flaw: Short.

In a Pocket Kingdom, a dwarf character can move and shape earth and stone up to her own size at once with her bare hands. Many dwarves working together can build large underground complexes in very little time.

Legends

Iron Constitution (Passive): Legends of dwarven heritage find themselves hearkening back to the first dwarves, the lords of stone. Their innate magic lessens the impact of serious diseases and makes them far more robust than members of other Clades. Dwarf Legends add 2 to their maximum health at character creation (Body + Edge + 6 as opposed to Body + Edge + 4).

Eternal Guardians (Active): The Gods made the dwarves to be guardians of the world. A guardian needs to be vigilant. By touching the ground, the dwarf can “see” everything in a radius of a quarter of a mile, and knows if anything in that range needs her attention. The dwarf’s player establishes a single question for her search. The answer can only provide information that might be understood through the five mundane senses at the moment of use. Dwarves cannot penetrate illusions or magical concealment in this fashion. A dwarf’s player can spend additional Magic on this power; one extra point adds an additional question or another quarter-mile to the radius. The dwarf can spend as much Magic on a single use of the power as his Mind Attribute without Edges or Flaws.

Æternal Legends: The Clades -- Part 2: Elves

2007-06-30T13:09:06Z

Elves

Princes of the Otherworld

Overview

Before matter or thought, the spark of divinity flickered in the Source. It found form and consciousness in the world of ideals. The Gods were born. They made all things to mirror the perfection of the Source, but as finite beings, their creations were imperfect – but imperfection led to more creativity. Matter and magic flowed into new shapes, ever seeking to reflect the Source.

The Gods looked upon their creations and saw a spark of creativity that they would never have. The Gods lusted after that spark, and a few decided to take it by force. Some of the humans and dwarves gave in to the Gods' carnal demands, but many didn't. The gods raped humans and dwarves, and god and mortal gave birth to a new Clade, born of the divine but clothed in matter. Violation and love created the elves.

Elven historians cling to their shards of divinity, claiming that their heritage extends to the Source itself, as ideal forms that predate the material world. These elves believe that they’re obviously the oldest Clade. Members of the Clades don't often care, but press the argument anyway, as popping a particularly inflated elven ego is a popular pastime. The spark of the Gods shapes elven bodies from below the surface. Only when Manifestation brings a wellspring of magic does the primal force burn forth. Legendary elves have an aura that anyone can detect. Their altered forms become more pronounced.

Local legendry influences an elf’s Aware physique. Fantasy fiction also plays a part, especially if it influences a human’s reflexive image of an elvish, fey, or semidivine form. A strongly Catholic area produces elves with shining haloes and feathered shoulders – even wings. Elves from an area with a strong Middle-Eastern presence have the bronze skin and crowns of smokeless fire attributed to jinn. Ancient legends have a more powerful influence than modern fantasy, but there are still no shortage of elves with willowy bodies and pointed ears.

What’s the link between legends and the elven form? Some say that elves unconsciously wield the divine ability to fulfil human desires – the same power that the Gods once used to attract and rule their worshipers. In elves, the power is weak and instinctual; they can only alter their shapes to fulfil human dreams, and only unconsciously, at the moment of Manifestation. Another theory holds that Unaware humans influence the laws of the Gods’ prison. Their legends bind the Gods to the world. Elves have some of that spark, so humanity locks elves away from the Source by confining them to limited, if mythic forms.

Most elves don’t have a superiority complex, but they’re used to people agreeing with them. In the Unaware world, an elf’s natural beauty gives her a legion of yes-men – even a cult of personality if the elf’s social acumen is strong enough to support it. The presence of other Aware usually grounds her in humble, practical issues. Still, when a circle of Legends makes a group decision, its elves are often the last to commit to the consensus. They dislike compromise and exude confidence – and have trouble admitting to errors. Other Aware know that this is part of the elven psyche and appreciate the flipside: An elf can rally heroes behind her and stand tall against dragon fire, if the situation demands it.

Developing the Venice Chronicles

2007-06-27T23:45:13Z

With the Venice Chronicles Beta out, I thought I'd talk a bit about how it got put together. I'm oing to start with a chat about the online medium.

Those of who've been following my thoughts on RPGs know that I think that online roleplaying represent an important "parallel" hobby. People are taking roleplaying and running with it in directions that didn't really exist before because of the advantages of the online medium. Let's go over these:

Avatar Embodiment: Though it's romantic to think about the importance of raw imagination, the ability to completely disconnect your character's appearance and style from yourself is a huge advantage to those who want it. In chat games this began with the "textual avatar:" a block of descriptive text. With the advent of easy image uploading and web design we've moved to self-made graphical avatars. Combined, these two methods create a powerful vision of the character. Not only that, it's easy to refer back to, where verbal description can twist and change over time in people's imaginations.

Distant Intimacy: This sounds contradictory, but isn't. With the strong player/character disconnect, right down to physical location and OOC socializing, there's a much braver approach to certain themes: sexuality, characters' personal lives and so on. In the White Wolf chats, this struck me petty strongly, especially when settings designed to support "safer" play sometimes acted against the interests of players exploring these themes. This became apparent after being involved in a scene where a character gave birth. There was a *lot* of handwaving past the setting to make this possible.

Now you do get some cheesy and objectionable things coming out of this, as well as fringe elements like cybersex. But these aren't flaws, but examples of what the process can support. You can have dumb things in any game, but you can't have *these* dumb things happen as easily outside of online play, and these dumb things are aspects of things that can be used to construct powerful scenes.

Fluid/Negotiated Spaces: Online play usually falls into a bunch of forums/channels which are easily conceived of as "rooms" -- but they don't have set *spaces*. A room can be a vague physical location, a theme or a class of spaces. Players enter these rough templates and make them their own. The room is the basis for communication, so it always has *some* thing to direct play, even if it's just the pubs of early Usenet-based play.

Parallel Interaction: Related to this are tools that provide multiple contexts within the same space. It's easy to label OOC conversations and even take them to a parallel space, allowing people to interact on multiple levels explicitly instead of interrupting. Parallel conversations are extremely useful, especially when it comes to clear communications about scene objectives.

You can also use this to easily provide information on multiple "meta" levels by, for example, posting interior thoughts. This is a matter of choice. Back when I played on other chats I had a "play hygiene" rule where I *never* made interior thoughts exterior, but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't benefit from people who didn't follow that rule.

Next: How we harness these benefits in the Venice Chronicles and how we wanted to go to the next step and allow uses to define their own level of commitment to roleplaying.

Æternal Legends: The Clades -- Part 1: Humanity

2007-06-25T12:34:32Z

This week and next, we'll be looking at the Clades: the peoples that choose Legendary lives. We're starting with a group you might be familiar with: Humans!

Humans

Lords of Beasts

Overview

In the beginning, the Gods created humans and dwarves. Roaming beasts needed wardens. The Gods made humanity for that duty. More adaptable than any beast, humans took to their role with a skill and dignity that surprised their creators. As hunters and farmers, nomads and settlers, humanity swiftly filled every land. Their creativity inspired elves and dwarves to create, and mesmerised the spirits who would become gnomes. This creativity was the downfall of not only humans, but all the Clades.

For some reason, humanity did something that no other Clade had considered: It rejected its true nature. Nobody knows whether humans created the Dark when they did this or if they just recognised something that already existed. What people do know is that humanity ignored their dominion over beasts. They pursued individual passions without heeding their primal purpose. They turned away from the Source and created towns, then cities, drifting further away each time. They even questioned the Gods. Were they moral? Were they what they claimed? Did they even exist apart from human dreams? The Gods called upon the Source to teach and punish humans – and the Source struck the Gods down. The Gods found the world was their prison, too mundane to countenance divine magic.

Being true to oneself is a noble goal, but nobility impedes progress. Progress didn’t need nobility, and nobility was the essence of magic itself. Without it, humans were Unaware, trapped in the Gods’ jail. Other Clades looked for the humans there and were also ensnared. The newly Unaware took the shapes of the first, human inmates and forgot their Clades’ magical natures.

Aware humans broke out of the Gods’ prison, left their creators behind and started on a new path. An Aware human never leaves a problem unsolved. It may take time, but she will always defeat the obstacle. More than the other Clades, humans adapt to every situation. Some harness their natural creativity as artists or writers; others provide a sensitive ear from behind a bar or a pot of coffee. Whenever a community identifies a niche, a human will step up to fill it. Human Legends blaze forwards with new ideas, reconnecting with the Gods’ lost magic and giving Aware people everywhere a slim hope for redemption.

BOGO? BOGAE! Buy One Get Almost Everything!

2007-06-24T15:15:27Z

Here at Mob United Media, we have two traits that should serve you, the customer, well:

1) A socially progressive vision of tolerance.

2) A love of questionable puns.

Therefore, in honor of Pride Week, we're offering the BOGAE Special:

BUY ONE GET ALMOST EVERYTHING

For $8.00, you'll get ALMOST $50.00 WORTH OF PRODUCTS. That's the majority of our products.

No, really.

This includes two independent RPGs, one complete light OGL RPG, three new core classes, five supplements for "Olde School" gaming, two expanded OGL combat rules sets and more.

Okay, here's the list. If you must know.

1E Heroic Abilities (6 pages)
Advanced Quick20 (66 pages)
BUDO: Hard Style Wushu (18 pages)
Codex: Story Gaming for Creative People (30 pages)
First Edition Feats (11 pages)
OGL Universal Fist (15 pages)
OGL Universal Sword (18 pages)
OGL: The Fighting Priest (12 pages)
OGL: The Thief (7 pages)
OGL: The Warbard (8 pages)
Olde School Monk (10 pages)
Olde School Swashbuckler (8 pages)
Steel and Stealth: A Universal Class Collection (48 pages)

This bundle will be up for a VERY LIMITED TIME. Today is the last day of Pride Week in Toronto -- but we like gamers everywhere. That's why we'll be keeping the bundle up until June 28th.

Even if you're only interested in a couple of things, this should be a bargain. A big BOGAE bargain.

Get the BOGAE Special at:

http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_i...ducts_id=22307&

MUMBOGAE1
$8.00

Enjoy -- and good gaming!

Æternal Legends: Legends!

2007-06-23T06:15:45Z

Aware heroes serve their beliefs. They’re as true to themselves as they can be, but the magic never completely on their side. A mundane human goes from flipping burgers to someone marked by destiny in the span of an evening. Magic is capricious. Some people don’t discover that they’re marked for greatness until long into their lives, but they still bear that mark. It doesn’t matter how hard anyone works or who their parents are; something in the ebb and flow of magical energy causes Manifestation. Scholars claim that magic itself is sentient, perhaps omniscient. Whatever the truth, some people – whether they’re Aware or not – come face to face with their magical heritage.

These people are Legends. They don’t start out as heroes, but destiny grips their lives, forcing them to act. A Legend lives her life immersed in the magic around her: power that drives her to one of the archetypal Spheres. Each Sphere is a core role that channels her magical power. Through that role, she becomes great.

I want to go on a lager frenzy. No magic swords. No gems of occult significance. No rune-crusted wedding rings. Just a shitload of beer and a sore head in the morning.

Okay, maybe one gem.

– Grant Cassidy, Unquiet Retirement

A Legend can stick with one Sphere from Manifestation to death. She’s as true to herself as she can be; her Sphere externalises her underlying beliefs. Other Legends walk the Spheres, discovering how each archetype shapes what they believe about themselves. Some Sphere-walkers talk of haunting dreams featuring a Dark Lord who pursues them through their nightmares, of glimpses of impossible knowledge and forbidden thoughts. It seems that nobody can attain one of the three highest Spheres without these phenomena, but none who’ve strode so far discuss their experiences through anything more than metaphors and puzzles. These rarest Spheres are a trinity, headed by the mystical Crown: a living bridge to the Source.

Legends are adventurers – period. It’s just the way things are. A circle of Legends can’t go to a coffee shop without someone begging them to go on a quest. Spend a night in a bar, and a wizard might ask one to find a chalice last seen somewhere in the Clockwork Palace. If he wants to clean up part of his town, there’s going to be a conspiracy or a magical threat to bind. No Legend can deny his destiny. Once magic gets its hooks into your soul, you can’t ignore its call.

Manifestation

Manifestation is a deeply personal experience. No Legend goes through exactly the same ordeal when they find that magic has chosen them. Some Manifestations are sudden infusions of power, often out of the new Legend’s control. Other Legends walk a slow path towards the realisation of their personal potential. All Manifestations resonate with the Legend’s personal beliefs and show him a part of himself that he may not have known about before.

There’s no obvious trigger for Manifestation. A gang of orcs attack an Unaware guy on his way home from work. In the middle of the fight, something reminds the victim of all he holds dear, all he has to protect. There’s a blinding flash; he lashes out with renewed vigour. A mother praying at the bedside of her dying son finds herself working through her own thoughts. After confronting her demons, she lapses into a trance. She wakes up two days later next to her fully healed son. An Aware waitress who knows everyone in her part of the city has a fleeting encounter with a strange elf who seems more real than anyone else. She wanders through a hallucinatory labyrinth formed from the city streets. When she understands the pattern and escapes she unlocks her own magical potential.

Although some Manifestations are a rush of power that later subsides, the knowledge and perceptions of the world remain. While some draw parallels between sudden Manifestation and the Buddhist concept of Kensho, the ongoing effects are much closer to satori – not the first faltering steps on the path of enlightenment, but real walking. Kensho, being only a starting point, is closer to Awareness.

The journey of a Legend follows the routes magic carved throughout the Spheres, and the paths that lead between the Spheres. Each trail reveals a new facet of self-awareness; a Legend discovers other aspects of her personality. She has to be careful; there aren’t any guardrails, and she might not notice when veers off the edge. Only internal changes reveal what’s happening. If she is careful and true – and helped by other Legends – she can reverse her fall towards the Dark.

The Light

Spheres of the Light are deep and broad: the totality of a concept and all of its creative fruits. The Sphere of Strength puts force in service to a higher goal. The Sphere of Victory unleashes emotions that conquer all other sentiments. Nonhuman Legends of the Light transform into the Bright form of their Clade, no matter what they were before Manifestation. These Legends have to be careful – the path of the Light is both hard and individual. Nobody’s giving out any easy answers.

The Dark

While the Light runs deep, the Dark is shallow. Instead of following his deepest beliefs, a Legend of the Dark gives in to immediate gratification. The Shells of the Dark are arranged like the Light’s Spheres, but differ in their execution. The Shell of Strength is the path of bullies and hot-heads, where might makes right. Dark Beauty squeezes toxic applications out of cheap junk. The Shells channel magic by denying the meaning of the Spheres. This enslaves a Dark Legend to a Shell, so that the hero gives up his ideals to it instead of harnessing it to serve them.

Æternal Legends: Art and Lydia

2007-06-18T05:54:50Z

Today, let's look at our artists. Æternal Legends has two of them: Leo Lingas and Chris Huth.

Chris Huth is an Ontario College or Art and Design trained illustrator who specializes in surreal, richly textured work. I asked him to do something in a more comic book style for Æternal Legends. Here's a sample of his work with Lydia Grange, one of the game's signature characters. You can look at more of his work at http://madmanofprague.deviantart.com/

This is his Lydia:

Leo Lingas' work has been featured in products by White Wolf, Green Ronin and other companies. Leo's an OCAD graduate and someone I've known off and on since high school. Starting with a background in manga and contemporary comic art, Leo's skills have expanded to encompass multiple styles ranging from classical painting to vivid, four colour pop art. You can see more of his work at http://www.leoillustrator.com .

This is Leo's Lydia:

We'll be using both. Leo's Lydia is an element of the cover; Chris' Lydia graces the interior, along with the rest of his work.

And before you ask -- I do know how you're supposed to use a PR-24 baton. She doesn't use it that way.

Mob United Media Introduces the Venice Chronicles

2007-06-18T04:23:31Z

Digital Service Combines Roleplaying and Next-Generation Social Networks, Begins Open Beta

Mob United Media has completed the first stage of content creation and development for Inter-Canel’s Venice Chronicles: the first application to integrate roleplaying and social networking.

Our story is set in a continuous Masquerade, incorporating inspiration from the classic La Serenissima period, when Venice was the de facto center of an empire. You portray members of one of the city’s seven ruling families, competing for power and influence over the night. And behind the masks and plots, the mysterious force of Fortuna gives rise to strange events and unnatural abilities.

Interact with story content on many levels. Live entertainers – professional actors – portray major characters. Users can delve deep into the story by interacting with them, even earning Venetian Credits (the Venice Chronicles currency) when they successfully uncover clues and add their own stories to the ongoing narrative. Videos, images and hidden web pages all reveal Venice’s secrets. Plot with other nobles or investigate the clues and fragments provided.

The Venice Chronicles contains all the features of a fully integrated social networking application, including blogs, image hosting, webcams, conferencing, chat features, friend listing tools, VOIP and advanced functions like cross-platform SMS and true telephony. All of it is bound into a converged, user friendly interface. Use the service to explore the story, use it as straightforward social network, or do something in-between. The Venice Chronicles supports users doing what they want to do – not what a GM or administrator thinks they should do.

The Venice Chronicles begins with an open Beta. Grow with us as we unlock the potential of the service. Register your own account or try one of three sample profiles at: http://www.venicechronicles.com.

Æternal Legends: Life Among the Aware

2007-06-15T15:18:43Z

Surrounded by the Unaware, Aware who live in the mundane world have their own way of doing things. With the Ministry acting as government, the Aware group together into communities as much as any mundane cultural group. The Aware cluster at the same coffee houses, bars and diners. They can’t avoid the Unaware world, but they can keep its interference to a minimum.

These communities are spread out through a city, but there’s usually a hub. Sometimes it’s a bohemian district where artists and counterculture aficionados spend their time. The Aware also favour the local demimonde, living around students, drop-outs and addicts. Aware communities favour places where mundane authorities rarely interfere. Some towns don’t have anywhere suitable, so the Aware stake a claim on a building or street where they buy up the property and exhort visitors to keep quiet.

Above all, the Aware deal in reputation. Someone in good standing doesn’t need as much cash as someone who’s got a bum rap. There’s no formal enforcement and no centralised authority, so pissing of Mrs. Singh means you pay more in her store and get a hard time from her friends. Jarvis over the street is might cut you more slack, but he expects a favour later on. Only a few people have earned universal respect in their community. They form local governing bodies. The Ministry recognizes their authority as long as they don’t contradict federal regulations.

The Provost is his community’s judge. He hears disputes, interviews witnesses, and accepts counsel from the peers of both accuser and accused. Provosts range from those few gnomes who specialise in understanding their communities to orcs who’ve stood beside everyone at some point. They enforce their decisions through the respect of their community. If this doesn’t suffice, the Provost has the power to appeal to the Ministry, which appoints four other Provosts from surrounding regions to form a Tribunal. Its decisions stand no matter what anybody else might have to say about it.

A community’s Castellan should be a shadow. When things are running smoothly, the community never sees her. She deals with the Ministry (usually in the form of the County Warden) and handles day-to-day community administration. Her reputation lets her get away with saying and doing things that may be unpopular in the short term but have benefits further down the line.

If you have a complaint, the office is open for that purpose every day at thirteen o’clock. Generally, people who really need me to intervene can, well, make the time, if you get my drift.

– Kristen Millgate, Castellan

The Sentinel handles security. She works with the Provost to track down criminals and conduct investigations. It’s also her job to keep the Unaware ignorant of the community, breaches of secrecy always land on the Sentinel’s desk sooner or later. She can also recruit Stewards to help her. Sentinel and Stewards both serve their community, the respect of their peers ensuring that people will co-operate.

Jurisdiction

The relationship between a Warden and the local government is much like the relationship between federal and municipal mundane governments. The Warden’s chief job is to represent his Secret County in the National Council, and implement its rulings locally. The Ministry theoretically has more authority than the local community, but only as a body; the Warden needs Council backing to get anything done. For the most part, this takes the form of laws that are already on mundane books. Most major offences (murder, theft and so on) are as illegal among the Unaware as the Aware. If local government won’t enforce the law, the Warden can ask the National Council for the power to overrule the government. If the community balks, the Ministry will send its own personnel to enforce its decisions. In practice, though, rebellious communities that still pay taxes and don’t endanger the rest of the Aware are allowed to do as they please.

Peoples

The oldest tales speak of Gods who created the world. Enough common threads run through thousands of tales to hint at an alternate history. The Aware know much of that history and thus, the true nature of the world.

The Gods made the world from formless void, and made dwarves to rule the domain of Earth. They made the creatures that live on the planet, and made humans to rule the domain of Beasts.

But the Gods fell in love with their creations. They descended from their heaven of pure conscious energy. They condensed into flesh and discovered lust. At last, they could experience acts instead of ideas, endless imperfect variety instead of pure, eternal form. Durenal, the Maiden of Deep Waters, spent seven months in carnal embrace with Snorri Glodrison. The erotic sings that record the story still inflame Dwarf passions. Other Gods simply took what they wanted, using force and glamour to slake ever more obsessive and elaborate lusts.

Without divine contraception, mortals and Gods alike fell pregnant. The offspring of these divine couplings grew into the demigod elves. Gods lashed out at the spirits of invention who had long ago found a home in the minds of the mortal Clades. They envied this freely exchanged intimacy, so they imprisoned the spirits in mortal bodies and created the gnomes. With that last act, the Gods proved they were not worthy of their power. The Source – the power above all Gods – imprisoned them within their own creation. The Gods’ legacy lived on, growing and changing according to the laws set down by the Gods and the Source.

Humans

Once rulers of the domain of Beasts, humanity has fallen far from its original glory. Nobody knows for sure why the Unaware are trapped in human bodies. Theories and myths abound, but there’s nothing concrete to confirm one story or another. From their domain capturing too much power to cosmic vengeance on the other Clades, from increased responsibility to a terrible joke, nobody knows. Able to turn their hand to magic, invention, and philosophy, they are jacks of all trades among the Aware. Dark-driven humans don’t have obvious physical signs. Humans just are. They’re the unknowing fundament that supports the world.

The Bright Clades

Long ago, allegiance divided the Clades. Those who favoured the Light called themselves the “Bright Clades” or “Fair Folk.” They took pride in bodies and minds that were unmarred by the Dark.

These absolutes no longer hold; some doubt that they ever did. Most Legends of the Clades retain their affinity for the Light or the Dark, but families find sticking together and remaining true to themselves more important than an abstract ideology. Gnomes and dwarves are as likely to follow Dark Lords as goblins and trolls. An elf can use his beauty to ensnare fools in the self-slavery of the Dark or urge hesitant heroes into the Light.

The Dull Clades

Even the Aware indulge in discrimination. Legends only emerge as one of the Dull Clades when they turn to the Dark, so the Bright Clades have long considered them tainted. For uncounted generations, the Dull Clades have done what they needed to survive and connect with society, even when it means menial, dirty work or efforts that force them to the fringes. Many in the Bright Clades fear that the Dull Clades’ Darksider ancestors still taint their wills, but only extremists actually admit to it. The Ministry forbids discrimination against the Dull Clades but doesn’t have the resources (and in some cases, the will) to enforce the law.

Creatures of Myth

Cockatrice, unicorns, and manticores; all these and more still exist, though outside of Interstices their numbers are vanishingly small. Dragons and other powerful creatures retreated to Interstices. Without a high level of magic they can’t survive. Pools of magical weirdness – whether pre-existing or made by the creatures – are perfect lairs. Some even manipulated the mystic constants of their realms, but others remain trapped with no knowledge of how to escape.

I don’t know what you humans are worrying about. It’s perfectly simple, if you think about it like a cat. Or if you are a cat.

– Anatolé the cat.

Hidden from Unaware eyes in Interstices, magical creatures craft worlds more to their liking. Powerful Darksiders sometimes try to bring them out into the mundane world, but this requires incredible amounts of magical power. Some Dark Lords think the expenditure’s worth it; an enraged dragon can demolish a large city in just under an hour. Nobody’s tried to release a dragon for fifty years, but it’s only a matter of time until the next attempt. Legends of the Light have foiled all such plots up to now. The Ministry maintains pre-designed cover stories that include terrorist nukes and enemy missile strikes, along with enough magical firepower to deliver serious counterattacks.

Other creatures benefit from the same disguises that the Aware use. They bind their essences to mundane creatures. A wizard usually has to perform the binding, but some creatures are intelligent and powerful enough to forge the bond without any help. Bloodlines of hidden creatures propagate like the Clades, but many have gone extinct. Even seemingly mundane animals may be more than they appear. A wizard’s talking cat is just one example.