The first scenario I ran was The Forgotten King’s Tomb by Mike Franke adapted to Green Ronin’s excellent AGE system. The premise of the adventure is that the adventurers are members of an elite cadre of kobold irregulars sent to seek a tomb with supposedly enchanted writing that their Akinji (dragonkin lord) Shard had discovered during an expedition into the Sands of Sorrows many years prior.

The mix of kobolds covered the standard archetypes of an adventuring party, but with the added benefit of some infighting politics centered around who really led the group, despite what the Akinji decreed. The kobold irregulars selected by the players were Char (pyromaniac mage and leader), Night Shade (thrill-seeking sniper), Klikjack (warrior enforcer for Char), Ghost (opportunistic albino rogue), and Dractus (elementalist mage and Char’s rival).

I started the irregulars off already trekking through the Sands of Sorrows looking for their Akinji’s lost tomb. The players received the information from the adventure background and roleplayed their meeting with their dragonkin lord in a flashback before we resumed play in the present. The players really seemed to enjoy the Arabian feel of the Dragon Empire as well as the high magic vibe of the setting with the idea of ley lines, magical travel, and magic used to transform oneself and station.

The players all said that they had a fun time playing as the kobolds, and I fielded several questions concerning the Midgard setting and the AGE system. As the session came to a final close the consensus seemed to be that Midgard offered a solid variety in terms of the types of games one could run with the setting and that the AGE system really brought the cinematic aspects to the fore with the stunt mechanics. Overall the first scenario and game set in Midgard was a very positive experience.

The second Midgard scenario I ran at MACE 2012 was Beyond the Ghostlight Reef by Christina Stiles. For this game I adapted the scenario to Savage Worlds to help facilitate the adventure fitting into the four-hour slot I had to run it in. Savage Worlds is a great system for a variety of reasons, but one of my favorite aspects of the system is its combat resolution that facilitates fast play at the table, a real bonus when running games at conventions.

I really liked the premise of the Seven Cities backdrop that the adventure was set in. The Seven Cities are a collection of nation-states made up of a variety of races in a near-constant state of warfare and political infighting set against the backdrop of the ruins of a once mighty empire. The area seemed, upon reading, to be very dynamic and a place where enterprising adventurers could forge their own fortunes.

For the adventure, I created an assortment of characters for the players to select from that highlighted the variety of player races that the campaign setting offered and lent themselves to the idea of a freebooting adventuring company seeking their fortunes. The pregens that were selected by the players were an arrogant human blade master, an impulsive kobold alchemist, an honorable Northman warrior, a greedy minotaur ranger, a heroic dwarf cleric, and a curious gearforged wizard.

The adventure opened with the freebooters answering the summons of Balack Giolan, a wealthy noble of Fruila. The adventurers made some common knowledge rolls to get some background about the noble and the general state of affairs in Fruila. This gained them the information about the rivalries of The Bibliotori and their desire to constantly outdo one another with secrets and knowledge. After some aggressive negotiations, led by the greedy minotaur, the group accepted the noble’s commission to secure a set of recently recovered chests in possession of the red hags of the Ghostlight Reef.

As with the previous adventure, my players all said that they had a fun time playing in the world of Midgard. Several of the players enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t just the typical fantasy races that were available to play. In addition, the sheer variety in terms of the types of games one could run with the setting seemed to really stand out to everyone as we talked about Midgard. As before, the adventure and setting proved to be a very positive experience.

My third venture into the world of Midgard was this past April at MACE West 2013. Christina had contacted me about helping with the Midgard Mayhem event and for this convention I decided to come up with my own scenario rather than use either of the ones I had used at MACE 2012. I had really liked the Zobeck entry in the Midgard Campaign Setting so I ordered the Zobeck Gazetteer from DriveThruRPG to gain a deeper understanding of the free city. When I had finished reading through the gazetteer I had decided that the adventurers would all be characters of a decidedly gray morality.

Using Savage Worlds once more, the pregens that were selected by the players for Zobeck City Nights were an honorable darakhul (true ghoul) paladin of Marena (the death goddess), an elf-marked swashbuckling magus, a greedy gearforged warrior, a huginn (ravenfolk) assassin, an impulsive kobold pyromancer, and a curious gnoll archer. Each of the characters was of veteran rank with a few magic items for each that put them closer to heroic rank. I had developed a series of questions related to the group’s identity as The Six-Fingered Hand and their individual lives. This allowed for a faster immersion of the players into the free city while organically developing their bonds as members of a very mercenary adventuring company within Zobeck.

The adventure opened with the group finishing a commission for a mysterious patron that involved the capture of a would-be crime lord. The group successfully defeated the crime lord’s retainers and captured the man alive in a pitched battle in the Dock District.

In all, I was very pleased with how Zobeck worked in play and that the evocative nature of the setting allowed for the shades of gray play I was interested to see happen in the city-based game. The players all stated that they had a fun time and most of them really liked the variety and diversity of Zobeck specifically and Midgard as a whole.

I have enjoyed helping Christina with the Midgard Mayhem events at these last two conventions. I think the events help to showcase that the setting handles a wide variety of play styles as well as game systems. Looking at the various locales contained within Midgard, each with their own distinctive flavor and adventure potential helps to make the campaign guide a truly great resource. I look forward to running additional adventures set within the Midgard campaign setting and encourage anyone at a convention that is running a Midgard Mayhem event to find a game and have some fun.

Sure, there are still many hours until registration opens for the Best Four Days in Gaming, but you’re going to want to know what grab in that mad scramble when the electronic gates lift on May 19th. We’re here for you…well, we’re here to show you where to find Midgard in Indianapolis. A kobold’s gotta have limits.

These are the events Kobold Press has scheduled and live for Gen Con:

The GMs are:

Amanda Hamon
Thomas Johnston
Brian Liberge
Karen McDonald
Ben McFarland
Britian Oates

…and the inestimable Wade Rockett.

Here’s hoping we’ll see you at Gen Con!

Please email Ben McFarland (brickk@gmail.com) if you’re interested in running Midgard adventures at the convention. (Today would be best, but soon will work, too!)

Hope to see you in Indianapolis from August 15-18th!

They are the holy days of our people, and the planning is underway. We will quaff beverages, roll dice, swap stories, and laugh with gusto. (Like Paizocon, but with more beverages—really, more everything!) A number of Midgard scenarios are rolling out at the show, plus some exciting, new material. You could run an adventure from out of the upcoming Midgard Tales collection!

Come get your game on, and help us rock out the Best Four Days of Gaming!

Friday 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Savage Worlds—Midgard Mayhem: Zobeck City Nights (GM Marc Francis)

Friday 8:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.
Pathfinder—Midgard Mayhem: The Raven’s Call (GM Dawson Kriska)

Saturday 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Pathfinder—Midgard Mayhem: Grandmother’s Fire

Saturday 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Dragon Age RPG—Midgard Mayhem
Pathfinder—Midgard Mayhem

Sunday 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Pathfinder—Midgard Mayhem: Grandmother’s Fire

That was the Friday of Gen Con 2012—and I don’t mean the fact that the panels went well, or that a seat opened up at the Ars Magica game, although that contributed. I mean that I sat down to run “Grandmother’s Fire” from Tales of the Old Margreve and had it rocking on all cylinders, exactly as it was supposed to be. To be fair, I have to warn you that spoilers follow.

Still here? Then let me continue.

Things boded poorly at first. I had only two players until about six minutes into the slot, and I seemed to be missing one of my pregenerated characters. But, by fifteen minutes after one o’clock, I had a great table of two regular Pathfinder Society players, two newbies, and a friendly older grognard who willingly took up my last pregen—the female elf bard—and managed her with panache.

What followed next was three hours and forty-five minutes of sweet, sweet roleplaying, ass-kicking, improvisational tactics, and some of the hottest dice I’ve seen in a while. They blasted away at ghouls and lich hounds, then agreed to hear the peasants’ plea and visit Baba Yaga. After skillfully interacting with the Fell Crone, they left the Dancing Hut and tracked the thief into Heart of the Forest, where they discovered he’d apparently become the prisoner of werewolves.

While trying to scout out the lycanthropes’ camp, the rogue inadvertently drew them from the clearing with a horribly failed Stealth roll. But quick reflexes and good rolls got Ozla into a tree and out of sight before they could find her. Now close enough for the rest of the party to identify, the characters attacked the werewolves with the declaration, “Time to be heroes.” The irony was delicious, but the cherry on top was Ozla’s pure, brazen courage. Her player looked at me as the other characters quickly debated their charge from hiding and said, “Can I attack from the tree?”

Dive from a tree into a group of four werewolves alone? Go for it! She rolled a 20 for the attack and a 20 to confirm it, doing massive damage in a surprise round ambush that left the would-be hunter dead on the forest floor. She then won the overall initiative, took a 5-foot step and began eviscerating the rest of the pack with a solid hit and another critical, nearly hitting the massive damage point again. By the time the rest of the party crossed the 50 feet to join her, she’d nearly halved their numbers. From this point, I joked, she was Ozla the Terrific, because “she’s terrifying.”

They dispatched the rest of the wolfish hunters and freed the thief of Baba Yaga’s cinders to hear his story. They let the dwarf reavers loose to return home, and bound the thief to lead them to the vodyanoi’s hidden pool. The reveal at the tree bridge was perfect, and the group seemed genuinely sorry as they prepared to face the river fae in his secret pool.

The battle was, to quote them, “epic,” and this gamemaster’s heart grew two sizes that day. They squared off against the cinder-spawned elementals and called out the vodyanoi. They taunted and bantered with the fae, remained steadfast when the first of their attacks failed to hurt it, and then shifted their tactics to wreck him with but minutes left in the slot.

My voice, which began somewhere between terminal smoker and archetypical diner waitress (“wouldja like a cuppa cawfee, sweetie?”) seemed rejuvenated just long enough to let me roll out fantastic sequences of what they called, “great combat descriptions!” and we closed out the slot with the last bits of concluding interaction with Baba Yaga just minutes before the scheduled ending. Ozla’s player asked if she could take her character sheet with her as she rushed off to play Call of Cthulhu and I happily agreed.

I was ecstatic and hustled out to get ready for the ENnies, not even concerned about how the awards might turn out. As far as I was concerned, I’d just run the best adventure right there, and it was a blast! If you haven’t, I strongly recommend running this one at a convention—it’s a great opportunity to take chances and go for glory. After all, you’ll never play those characters again, right?

Friday, August 31, 2012

Title: Adventure Design 101
Description: Want to design an adventure or module? Talk to one of the lead designers of the company that refined adventure design!
Time: Fri 02:30 pm Location: Grand Salon B – Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Publishing Your Own RPG
Description: Learn how to go from zero to published! Dream the dream and publish your own work!
Time: Fri 05:30 pm Location: Grand Salon B – Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Gaming with Children
Description: Want to game with your kids? Or bring gaming to the next generation? Find out more here.
Time: Fri 07:00 pm Location: Grand Salon B – Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Title: Gamer Girls Unite!
Description: Whether it be at the table top, in a computer game, over an MMO, or even with a foam sword, we talk about gamer girl culture.
Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: Grand Salon B – Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Fantasy World Building
Description: Join the creators of some of the most fantastic and out-of-this world settings for a one-on-one discussion of creating fantastic settings.
Time: Sun 02:30 pm Location: Crystal Ballroom – Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)

But, I’ll expand on that.

First, I have to say how overwhelmed I was by the kindness many of you showed me in answering my pleas for assistance in attending Gen Con. Without your aid, I would not have made it to the Big Show. I responded with personal thank-you notes as donations came in, and I did get to say thank-you in person to some of you, but I can never truly express how much getting to Gen Con meant to me.  This has been a geek girl’s lifetime dream, and you made it happen! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I honestly can’t say it enough.

So, what happened at my first Gen Con ever? Many, many things. But I’m just going to highlight a few of the things that made me ecstatic.

• I was attending Gen Con as an Industry Insider Guest of Honor. Yes, this geek girl from small-town South Carolina was in the Gen Con program and talked on panels and everything! Man, what an honor!!!
• At the fans’ request, Gen Con included more women game designers at this year’s show. There were five of us (me, Jess Hartley, Michelle Lyons-McFarland, Susan Morris, and Elizabeth Shoemaker Sampat). That was totally historic! I’ve even got a pic! See?
• I sat on nine panels and ran two games! I was crazy-busy.
• As a member of the Streets of Zobeck team, I won a gold ENnie for Best Adventure!
• Stone Skin Press (part of Pelgrane Press) released copies of the New Hero II anthology, which has my second published short story in it, “Killing Osuran.” Several of us authors signed copies while we were there.
• I got to meet Ben McFarland for the first time. We’ve talked on the phone and been on G+ hangouts, but I finally met him in person.
• I got to hang out with the kobold fans at the Hard Rock Cafe and at three panels. I even had lunch with the very nice Mike Dean (hey, Mike!); supper with Jarrod Camire (well, he’d already eaten when I ran into him at the restaurant, so he really watched me eat while we talked); I ran “Beyond the Ghostlight Reef” for some new fans; and I ran my Rogue Mage game with Matt Stinson (fellow ENnie winner), Michael Wice, William Senn, and Aaron Phelps.
• We had four kobold minions in one place! Brandon Hodge, Ben McFarland, Wade Rockett, and I worked the “Meet the Kobold Minions” panel. At PaizoCon, I was the lone minion at the panel. (Note, I still didn’t get to meet Miranda Horner, the Kobold web guru, at the show, and I’m bummed about that. [As am I.—MH])
• The Kobold Overlord invited the minions to a steak dinner—and we weren’t even the steaks! The food was UNBELIEVABLE.  Thank you, Great Overlord!!!
• I got a cool Midgard t-shirt, and I got to hold a mock-up of the Midgard Campaign Setting book. The cover is beautiful. This is really going to be a major book that you won’t want to miss out on.
• I met many, many game designers: All the wonderful ladies I mentioned above, Tavis Allison, Ed Greenwood, James Ernest, Matt Forbeck, Rob Heinsoo, Robin Laws, T.S. Luikart, Ryan Macklin, Dominic McDowell-Thomas, Jeff Tidball, Gareth-Michael Skarka, and James Wyatt.
• I hung out with the Troll Lord Games folks for an evening, and Tom Tullis, Fat Dragon extraordinaire, FINALLY acknowledged me (he avoided me one year at Origins, you see—well, that’s my story, anyway). Oh, and Wolfgang gave the Trolls a copy of the Kobold Quarterly with the Castles & Crusades monsters in it. They loved that!
• On the way to Indianapolis, I actually got to talk with gold-ENnie-winning Savage Worlds Brand Manager Clint Black. I’ve known Clint for years, but we always see each other at cons—where we don’t get to talk to each other. I rode up to the con with the Blacks, so Clint and I finally got to chat about game-designer stuff after all these years (or, as his editor wife Jodi joked, we YAKKED for hours).

Whew, that’s a lot of stuff! And yet it’s only a fraction of the fun I had at Gen Con. If I can ever get back, I will. If you’re a gamer reading this and have never been to the con, you should definitely make the pilgrimage—it truly is the gaming Mecca.

My adventure was titled “Danger at Deathless Gulch,” and for the pre-gen characters I either ported Midgard Campaign Setting classes to Old School Hack and turned their powers and abilities into talents, or I reskinned existing OSH classes and talents to give them a Midgard flavor.

Here’s an example of a new class I created, and its talent:

Black Spire Sorcerer
Talent: Writhing Arms – focused spell, usable only once per arena
Your arms become constantly writhing tentacles. If you successfully cast the spell in combat, it increases your Armor Class by one category and you can attack unarmed without penalty. The effect lasts until you take damage from a successful attack. You cannot wield weapons or hold objects while under the effect of this spell.

And here’s one that I reskinned, using the Dwarf class’ “Make an Oath” talent:

White Knight of Bourgund
Talent: Knightly Oath – focused attack, usable only once after rested
As a White Knight of Bourgund, you are connected to an armor-bonded mage who casts spells through you. By spending a few moments making some sort of solemn vow (“You shall not pass”, “Only you shall feel my blade”, etc.), you invoke this magical relationship to get a +1 bonus to all attack rolls as long as the vow’s conditions are in effect. Once the vow is broken somehow, all your combat rolls suffer a -1 until the combat ends.

The PCs were members of the Duke of Verrayne’s elite Black Band of warriors, sent on a mission into the Goblin Wastes to retrieve the Black Spire Codex from a dwarven airship that had crashed in Deathless Gulch. Numerous interested parties were converging on the crash site, including a trio of Minotaur outlaws, a representative of an old Barsellan pirate family, and a villainous ink mage known as Black Quill. If that weren’t enough trouble, the gulch was sacred to the Ghost Goblin tribe, who believe that anything that dies in Deathless Gulch rises again as undead. The party had to evade, outwit or out-fight their opponents and secure the Codex.

The players did an amazing job, getting right into the Midgard spirit and taking advantage of OSH’s free-wheeling, over-the-top nature. Many awesome points were handed out, and the winner got one of the brand-new Midgard t-shirts. It was a great time, and one of the best experiences I had at Gen Con 2012.

(The GM screen you see in the photo is a Savage Worlds customizable screen. I inserted pieces of Midgard art in the front, and on the GM side were a couple of printed rules pages from OSH and an outline of the adventure.)