Knocking the Dust Off of YouTube (RPG Videos)

I had some downtime this week so I managed to film some RPG videos.

Here's a quick video about The Sword of Cepheus (Fantasy Traveller).

https://youtu.be/HcQMWZ9jca4


This one is about a collaborative world building project where the setting is designed one statement at a time with the goal of getting to 100 statements.

https://youtu.be/MFe55s_f4to


My son wanted to film a video about some things that happened in the little games I run for him so here it is.

https://youtu.be/tekfANTzccQ


I've been reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, and it's really inspired me to build a new world.

https://youtu.be/_GCHyPKGQwY

Character Generation pt. 3 for The Sword of Cepheus (Fantasy Traveller)

Let's try to whip up another character. It's rather fun to just sit down and try to crank out several characters as character creation really is a neat little solo mini-game. Will they survive?!

Step 1 - Characteristics

Again I'm using a 3D6 drop the lowest straight down the line method of generating stats.

I get: Str 8 (+0), Dex 10 (+1), End 4 (-1), Int 6 (+0), Edu 10 (+1), and Soc 11 (+1).

Step 2 - Background Skills

I choose Savage Hinterlands so I get:
Athletics-1, Recon-1, Survival-1.

Step 3 - Careers

I try to go for Pirate but I fail the Qualification throw. So I pick Noble as a backup since I can get right in there with my Soc of 11. Otherwise I could have picked Peasant or Vagabond.

For the Noble's Basic Training I get the six service skills at level zero:
Riding-0, Carousing-0, Rulership-0, Leadership-0, Melee Combat-0, and Archery-0.

Survival throw... I just make it. I suspect that this was a poison attempt by a rival noble and I just got sick and survived. It's fun to add some fluff to these results. It stirs the imagination.

It's the first time through the career so I roll twice for skills and since my Edu is high I roll on the Advanced table and get Religion twice so it adds up to Religion-2.

The Advancement throw is successful so I go up one Rank in Noble.

??? So is this when I get the Rank 0 Noble benefits??? 

I just started there because I was not sure. So rank 0 Noble. So I get Carousing-1.

My Event is Hunting so my Survival-1 goes up to Sourvival-2.

I re-inlist successfully.

I got Religion again so it's up to Religion-3. Holy cow! :D

I succeed on the Advancement so he's a Rank 1 Tribune. No benefits for that.

For the Event it was Politics so I choose Deception-1.

I re-inlist again.

The Survival roll is a success so I think it must have been a botched assassination attempt.

No Advancement.

He gets Elevated thanks to an Event and goes up to a Rank 2 Noble (Quaestor).

I re-inlist again but die with the Survival roll. I should have mustered out after the last 4 years of service. Oh well. Rest in peace dead noble character that never got to play. :D

Character Generation pt. 2 for The Sword of Cepheus (Fantasy Traveller)

It was suggested that I blog about making a character to see if I'm messing up. I think that should help get me more familiar with the process so here we go.

Step 1 - Characteristics

I'm using a modified version of one of the optional generation methods. I'm rolling 3 dice and dropping the lowest and then placing them in right down the line from Str to Soc.

Here are the results:
Str 10 (+1), Dex 10 (+1), End 11 (+1), Int 12 (+2), Edu 11 (+1), and Soc 9 (+1).


Step 2 - Background Skill

I chose the Rural Village background and I got the following skills:

Animals-1, Riding-1, and Watercraft-1.

*Note that these are NOT a negative one. That's just how Traveller (and Cepheus Engine games) mark their skills.

Step 3 - Careers

You start at age 14 and each term of service for your career adds 4 years to that.

1. Choose a Career

I pick Priest.

For the Qualification roll I need to roll 2D6 and I got a 7 when I added in the Int modifier. I needed Int 6+ so that is a success.

2. Basic Training

This part confused me at first but now it's clear. You get 6 skills at zero level. These are the 6 Service skills listed for your career.

So I get:

Religion-0, Liason-0, Leadership-0, Rulership-0, Streetwise-0, and Art-0.

3. Resolve your term of service.

I roll the survival roll listed for priest with 2D6 and get a 7. I survive... barely as I needed a 6. This aspect of character creation is evocative to me. It maked me think of a mishap with rival neophytes of the faith that could have ended in my death.

This is the first term, so I roll twice for skills and get 2 of them. Since my Edu is higher than 8 I can roll on the Advanced table.

I get:

Deception-1, and Medicine-1.

??? I have no idea if I can roll on the Specialist table so I've not done that... ???

Advancement roll fails (I rolled a 3) so I don't get an additional skill.

I roll for Events and I get Purge. I get an enemy and get the following skills:

Stealth-1 and Recon-1.

I'm going to say it was a Ratfolk Purge so one particular Ratfolk wants me dead.

I choose to reinlist so I roll a 6 and barely succeed (I needed a 5).

When you reinlist you start over with the steps again.

For Survival I roll a 3 and DIE in character creation at age 18. Hehe.

Looks like I need to start over.

*Some GMs might opt to have the character have some calamity befall or that they get hurt or maimed and survive however.

I'll try to post more characters in future posts.

Character Generation pt. 1 for The Sword of Cepheus (Fantasy Traveller)

My one gripe with The Sword of Cepheus is that while it seems great for those who are familiar with Traveller it probably is less so for brand new players that are unfamiliar with how it all works.

I want to emphasize that I love the randomness of a lifepath character creation.

I have only ran a few one-shots of Classic Traveller so I put myself into that newbie category.  The tables used for character creation are efficient but a bit jam-packed with info. It leaves me wondering if I'm creating characters correctly or giving them too many bells and whistles (too many skill ranks for instance).

I'm having fun exploring the system with my son however. I need to make some spellcasters to see what the magic system is like as we've only used a Barbarian and a Thief so far.

P.S. Are there any good links out there to helps those new to Traveller and The Sword of Cepheus grok it all?  Thanks.

The Sword of Cepheus (Fantasy Traveller): First Session

I ran a one-shot of The Sword of Cepheus for my son today. He managed to defeat some bandits (via ambushing them), and followed their trail to their secret hideout. 

He had a challenging encounter with a Lizardfolk who had summoned a Fire Elemental. His Theif retainer got unwillingly sacrificed to The Voice in the Flames but that sealed a pact where the bandits were defeated in one fell swoop via an avalanche. 

My son seemed shocked by the turn of events, but in a good way. :D. I hope to run more little sessions for him in the future.

I enjoyed running a fantasy game with Traveller mechanics.