Black Lives Matter - Support Black Creators

American cities are burning as police respond to protests about police brutality with even more brutality. I don't want to talk about GMing today. Instead I want to take this moment, and use what limited platform I have to instead point you to this article: Pay Attention: Black Voices in the RPG Community

If you know names that belong on that list but aren't on it already let me know.

Here are a couple more:

• Brandon Dixon - Swordsfall
• Graeme - POCGamer

Breachworld Kickstarter Now Live

Just an update folks. The Breachworld Kickstarter we talked about last week is now LIVE and with Day One bonuses if you pledge in the next 14 or so hours!

Check it out, support it if you want, and enjoy!

Legend of Five Rings Beta - Now Live

Following up on the announcement made last week, Fantasy Flight Games released the beta for their Legend of Five Rings RPG this week, and it is not what I expected, but I am definitely intrigued by the results. As of this writing I haven't had chance to do much more than skim some of the rules, but there is a lot in there that makes me happy and a lot that I think will cause some edition wars as purists don't like change, especially change this large.

System wise, the game is powered by the love child of L5R's traditional Roll and Keep system and the dice system pioneered by Star Wars and Genisys. Players and GMs roll specialty dice equal to their Ring + Skill, and keep a number of those dice - their choice - equal to their ring. The dice have non-numerical faces with up to 4 possible results: success, explosive success, opportunity, and strife.

Success is as simple as it sounds. Explosive success is like rolling a 10 in old Roll and Keep, it lets you roll an additional die of the same type and choose whether or not you want to include it in the roll. Opportunity is a chance for something else - generally positive - to happen. For example, not only do you skillfully perform a play in front of the Imperial Court, but you arrange for a private meeting with the Hatamoto of the Scorpion Daimyou at the same time. Strife is where things get weird.

Per the description, Strife is an upswell of emotion - positive, negative, or neutral. Strife adds up as a scene goes on, building and building until the character has so much built up emotion that they can't contain it. At which point...stuff...happens.  I haven't had a chance to read fully into it, but from what I have read it reads like losing face is now a mechanic, and I rather like that. Especially with a core mechanic for character tension being "Duty" vs. "Self."

Other changes are more minor. Honor, Glory, and Status are now a 100 point scale instead of a 10 point scale, but honestly that means nothing when you consider that you tracked all 3 by tenths of a point before.

I'm excited to read more, and hopefully will get a chance for a test game at some point in the near future.

7th Sea: Khitai - Kickstarter

At 9am EST yesterday, John Wick Presents launched the second kickstarter for 7th Sea 2nd Edition. The idea this time? To make a separate, but fully compatable, game of 7th Sea but for the East where the idea behind what constitutes a hero is a little different. 3 hours later - slower than the initial kickstarter but still fast - the game funded. As of the time of this writing, they're sitting just below the 100k line and looking to go forward.

It should be no surprise by now that I love 7th Sea. The game has a blend of indie game novely and big game crunch that's hard to come by. I'm intrigued by the mechanics, and amazed at how they handle some very complex things with a speed and efficiency I long accepted was simply impossible in table top.

Look, I could sit here and type the praises of the game, the world, and the makers forever. So all I'm going to say is this. The foreword of Crescent Empire, an expansion for 7th Sea second edition, included an anecdote where some people thanked John Wick because in his game they not only could be heroes, but were depicted as heroes throughout the book. That's the point of the game. 7th Sea is a world where anyone - no matter their race, creed, or class - is capable of rising up and being a hero, and finding out what that means.

It's a message we could use more of today.

So I hope you'll take a look at the kickstarter info presented here, and if you find it to your liking throw them a couple bucks and preorder a wonderful game. If nothing else, you can get access to the PDFs of every 7th Sea book released so far, both 1st and 2nd edition, and that's a great deal considering the price it is offered at.

Well, I'm Excited (Legend of Five Rings Open Beta)

If you didn't get the news earlier this week, follow this link and read the announcement. FFG is dropping the Open Beta of their next Legend of Five Rings product, and it is the RPG. I haven't seen any word as to what system is powering the game but most people seem to be expecting the narrative dice system that FFG produced for Star Wars and is using for their universal system Genisys. The reasons people think this stem from FFG liking the dice sales (and dice profits are likely much better than book profits) but also, if you're putting out a universal system why would you release a game that wasn't compatable with it? Especially when the system is very well received.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the drop regardless. L5R has been a huge part of my gaming career and my development as both a GM and a Player. If the system isn't to my tastes, it wouldn't be the first time I've strongly disagreed with a game designer for a world/game I love. That said, I doubt it will be bad. I like FFG's systems. I think their behavioral mechanics (the Squad system in Deathwatch, Obligation/Duty/Morality in Star Wars, etc) has fallen short of my preferences and expectations, but never so badly that I couldn't see what they were going for and make them work for me with slight tweaking. And it is unreasonable to expect every aspect of a system to appeal to everyone anyhow.

Either way, I'll be reading when this system drops. I'm also likely going to try to get some GM time in with it. If it's just Genisys: L5R that's ok. I'm curious how they'll do schools and reflect the culture of Rokugan in the mechanics all the same. I'm also intrigued by the concept of the Self vs. Duty as a core struggle for every character.

Hopefully it'll be a lot of fun!

Vote in the ENnies!

It's award season again. If you're no in the know, Table Top RPGs have their own awards. They're called the ENnies and you can vote in them right now! Follow this link. Vote for your favorite in each category. Then, come GenCon, see if your favorite game won any awards.

I find myself pulling for 7th Sea this year, but Evil Hat always has a spot in my heart too - they just do so much good stuff. The big guys like Paizo and WotC are also there, and if something they did truly sticks out it is also worthy of recognition.

But don't let me tell you how to vote. Go out there and support the games you love!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR THE ENNIES!

Genesys - A 'New' RPG from Fantasy Flight Games

It should be no surprise that I'm a big fan of the Star Wars RPG put out by Fantasy Flight Games. Recently they announced Genesys a 'Universal' RPG using the same system.

I'll let FFG say it best with the quoted article below, but basically it is the core system behind Star Wars but in a system designed to work with any setting. This means getting the benefit of the narrative dice system in a western fantasy based dungeon crawl, sci-fi space adventure, or wild west romp through the badlands.

I wouldn't be surprised if FFG releases future RPG products with 'Genesys Source Books' for the worlds (such as L5R) but that is purely conjecture on my part.

Anyhow, you can find the press release here and more information on Fantasy Flight's website.

Five Years And Counting (The Gameplan Going Forward)

Around this time in 2010 I had the notion that I had a lot to say about gaming and table top RPGs. I theorized that I could probably go on for years, daily, talking about gaming, what it meant, tricks for doing it better, and all that. Turns out, in a way, I was right. How do I know? Because we're now around this time in 2015 and Reality Refracted is still here.

Christmas Release: Breachworld is GO!

As of you reading this, Breachworld should be live on RPG Drive-Thru for you to purchase. For those that don't know, Breachworld is a game made by Jason Richards of Rifts/Palladium fame. In Breachworld players get to experience a world that has been opened up to inter-dimensional chaos. It is a game that, at it's core, is about the pervasiveness of the human spirit and how we - as a species - adapt to overcome and survive despite not being objectively special when compared to the world around us.

We've talked about this before on Reality Refracted. Most notably, we were lucky enough to have Jason answer some questions about the game when the Kickstarter was going. You can find that interview by clicking here. Once you've done that, if you so choose, you can head over to Drive-Thru RPG and grab a pdf copy of the game by clicking here.

I hope you'll check it out. If nothing else, Mini-6 is a strong engine for a game system and when you combine that with Jason Richards's skill as both writer and game designer, it means Breachworld should be one hell of a game for us all to dig into.

Happy Gaming, everyone!

Breachworld: Answers from the Creator

I've talked before about my small blog-based friendship with Jason Richards. With his kickstarter now up for his new game Breachworld I thought that I should help him get some press out there. With that in mind I sent him a few questions, and Jason agreed to answer them. So pull up a chair and see what the creator of Breachworld has to say. Oh, and those links above will go to Jason's facebook page, and the kickstarter. More blatant links come after the break.

News - Mindjammer: FATE Powered Transhuman Sci-Fi RPG from Modiphius Entertainment

I can'tr remember the last time I got to be part of a solid sci-fi RPG. Not to say I'm wanting for good games, but my group here tends to stray more towards Fantasy than Sci-Fi and that is just something that happens. Still, I saw this in my inbox and it just looks way too cool to not share. Bonus points being that with this game being FATE powered a huge chunk of the book should be freed up for all the wonderful Sci-Fi setting bits and pieces a world like this could make use of. Press Release below the break, complete with links.

GenCon Bound

I've been debating announcing this or not, but figure I may as well. This year I'll be going to GenCon for the first time. I'm still debating putting in for a press pass, but either way I'm hoping I'll be able to get some decent coverage of at least some of the events going on for you guys.

This will be my first con in like fourteen years, so I'm pretty excited. That said, it's also my first con in fourteen years and the first con near as big as gencon as I'll be going to. Any advice? (I know the basics: shower, snacks, water ;) ) Right now we're trying to secure closer housing but that's more or less a moot point for now.

So yeah, this year I'll be at GenCon. If it goes well, hopefully I'll get to go to more in the future. Anyone else going?

Kickstarter: Ultimate Werewolf Deluxe Edition

Howdy folks.

I mentioned wanting to do more press stuff and sure enough the next day my inbox had an interesting news stories. Bezier Games, makers of the party game Werewolf, have a kickstarter up for a deluxe edition. Now, this game isn't the normal table top fare, but the times I've played it - or even just seen it played - I've had an absolute blast.

Below the break is a direct cut and past of their press release. Or click here to go straight to the kickstarter. As always, make your own decision on if you like it or not, but I'm likely going to be buying in.

State Of The Blog: Year Four and Forward

As I said on Monday, this week marks the 4th birthday of Reality Refracted. As such, I thought it would be a good idea to do a state of the blog to let you guys know what was going on with me and where, at least right now, I see this blog going.

Four Years...

Technically it's not for a few days yet, but January 9th marks the 4 year birthday of this blog. I say this blog, but what I mean is "my gaming blog" as a concept. See, four years ago I started this blog on live journal with the name ArtOfGaming. I was only active for a week or two before making the jump over to blogger. All the posts from the live journal were moved over, andI've been blogging here ever since.

Evil Hat Street Team

I've talked before, ususally while plugging their Kickstarters, about how much I like Evil Hat and their business practices. Well, they're doing something cool right now to help give back to the folks who help spread the word about their product. The idea? They're doing an Evil Hat Street Team.

How it works is simple. You do one of five challenges (detailed on the above link or by clicking here) enter your information and get entered to win prizes. Which is all sorts of awesome. They're giving away stuff just for participating. Heck, they're letting it count just for talking about the plan - which makes this post a lot more selfish than it may have seemed at first.

Anyhow, Evil Hat is an awesome company so you should check them out and maybe throw a hand in to help them out. Who knows, maybe you'll win something.

State Of The Blog: Now Through November

Heya folks.

I just wanted to give a heads up that starting next week (Monday, October 28th) and right through November that updates are going to be a bit more sporadic. I intend to still get at least 3 posts up a week, but I am not willing to commit to more than that.

Traditionally when I do this I still update every day. Not sure why, but it happens. This time I'm not so sure.

The reason? Well, November kicks on NaNoWriMo which I intend to use to try and write the first draft of a novel I've had in mind. The week before I am hoping to wrap up a novel I am working on right now before November begins. I am also putting edits on a story I wrote earlier in hopes of maybe getting it out to an agent or two before people start sending in piles of NaNoWriMo stories to editors.

Between the three projects I am expecting most of my writing time to be taken up. We'll see how it goes, and as I'll still be gaming I'll still be talking about gaming. I just might be talking about it a bit less.

That out of the way, anyone else here participate in NaNo? If not, and you have any interest in writing, it is definitely worth a shot.

Missing Worlds Media - City of Titans (Kickstarter)

I'm not sure how many of you guys played the game but I was a huge fan of NCSoft's City of Heroes mmo. I played in the beta and had an account from beta all the way through until the servers were taken down because for some reason NCSoft's overlords decided to axe a game that was self funding and making a profit.

Interestingly enough though the community refused to take the death of City of Heroes lying down. The usual efforts were put in with petitions and such to save the game and those failed. The community took the initiative and started to work on its own game, a spiritual successor. That game is now called City of Titans and it launched a kickstarter yesterday for development funds to get the game made.

This project is obviously near and dear to my heart. It is also near and dear to several people close to me's hearts. It is also just a wonderful example of what a community can do when it refuses to take no for an answer. I'm probably going to talk about this Kickstarter a lot over the next 33 days, not to drown you in noise I'll keep it limited, but because I want people to hear about this.

So please, if you like gaming at all, or super heroes, or just communities telling corporations "you want to take our game back? Fine we'll make our own damn game" take a moment to check this out and maybe through a dollar or two their way. Every bit helps.

KICKSTARTER LINK

News: Dragon Kings Update

I know I said there wouldn't be an update until Wednesday, but this hit my inbox over the weekend and I thought it was pretty cool and that I should share it. Below is the first clip of music from the upcoming Dragon Kings campaign setting. Read the official press release here.

News: Dragon Kings

Sorry to break up the Social Combat bit I was writing, but this is something that I thought was too cool to pass up on. One of the news articles I missed in my recent hiatus from checking the blog email was about this project. What is the project? Well, it's called Dragon Kings and it is a world from the creator of Dark Sun and 2300 AD.

Awesomely enough they're going all out for this world. Alongside the Pathfinder and Savage World rules being made, there are plans for music and fiction as well.

Look, I'm going to just put it bluntly: this is the spiritual successor to Dark Sun. Check it out. Below the break you'll find a couple of their press releases.