The Sounds of Gaming

I’ve seen other bloggers mention music at their gaming sessions. Sometimes it just seemed to be something that was playing in the background, other times people choose it as a sort of game soundtrack. I don’t know how widespread either of these practices are; Neither have been common in groups I’ve played in, but I don’t know that I have a big sample.

It would seem to me that music might break immersion in the game at times--at least popular music--as it might have very different associations for a person or take them out of the game at hand. Then again, immersion isn’t terribly important to all people or all games at all times--and it’s not like plenty of other distractions don’t present themselves that have no possiblity of game enhancement.

I can think of one game I ran where we did use music and sound effects where it very much enhanced everyone’s enjoyment. In a FASA Star Trek game back in the nineties (when dinosaurs ruled the Earth) we approached the sessions as if they were episodes of a Trek TV series. We would begin with a teaser or cold open to sort of get the adventure started, then my friend whose house we played at would cue up the theme song on his computer. Periodically, we’d also interject appropriate turbolift, transporter, or computer sounds--not always, but enough to remind us of the sensory environment of the world we were trying to emulate.

Those touches and a group of players who were all knowledgeable Star Trek fans made that the best media property based game I’ve played. I’ve dabbled in a fair number of licensed rpgs over the years, but none of the have ever come close.

So what about you guys: experiences good, bad, or otherwise with music and sound effects in games?

I Walked with a Xombi

A trip to the comic book store last week informed me that the new Xombi series from DC I had been anticipating had already arrived. Issue #3 was on the stands, in fact. Not wanting to jump in there, I haven’t started the new series yet, but the original was one of my favorites. It may just the the best bit of 1990s Vertigo-esque weirdness not done at Vertigo.

Xombi debuted (with an (at the time) trendy 0 issue) from Milestone in January 1994. It was the creation of writer John Rozum and artist Denys Cowan. The titular Xombi is David Kim, a scientist working with a nanotechnological virus for tissue regeneration. Kim is gravely injured when the villainous Dr. Sugarman attempts to steal the still-untested virus. Kim's assistant injects him with the nanovirus, saving his life--but at a price. Kim awakens to fine his poor assistant has been partially devoured by the nanites, scavenging for raw materials to rebuild him.

The now enhanced Kim is virtually indestructible and potentially immortal (a “xombi”)--and this is only the beginning of the weirdness. Kim becomes involved in the struggles of various supernatural forces secretly living among humanity.

It’s the offbeat cast of supporting characters and villains are really what made Xombi great. The evil Dr. Sugarman uses spindly, mummy-wrapped beings called “rustling husks” as henchmen--homonculi created from the corpses of insects that died trapped between window panes. Kim’s allies include the clairvoyant Nun of the Above, and her superpowered junior associate Catholic Girl. There’s also Rabbi Sinnowitz, an occult expert and golem manufacturer, and another Xombi--this one created by magic in ancient Africa. Did I mention the siblings Manuel and Manuella Dexterity? It’s just that kind of book.

I’m hoping for more of the same from the new series. The original Xombi is good read, particularly if one likes nineties-style quirk comic weirdness. Too bad it hasn't been collected yet.  It would be great inspiration for modern occult conspiracy games like Unknown Armies, but it has ideas that could be put to use in horror or supers games as well.

Arriving at the City

It’s been a long time coming, but the Warriors & Warlocks game I was GMing is drawing to close, and I’m going to be running a game set in the City. Hopefully, I’m going to have a couple of new players joining as well--two folks whose games I’ve had the pleasure of playing in--who were interested in getting in on a City-based game.

One of the questions has been: What system? I wanted something fairly “rules lite”--I have better things to do than learn and adapt a complicated new system. It also needs to be fairly amenable to tweaking since I wanted some rules elements to reflect the setting.

I was initially thinking of using Labyrinth Lord as my base, but I’ve recently changed my mind. Stuart Robertson’s Weird West has the elements I like in old school systems distilled to their basic elements, and given a little more flexibility, thereby.  

So as I gear up for the game, I’ll be talking about some of my modifications. Honestly, I’m not as much of a rules-fiddler as I was in my youth. This heresy in some circles, no doubt, but "perfection" of rules just just doesn’t interest me that much, now (though I’m glad it interests others, so I can benefit from the fruits of that interest) .

Like I said, I'll make some modifications/additions, though.  I've already thought about some cosmetic changes.  I thnk I'll rename Skill; It seems like the name confuses some people initially as they think of it as representing knowledge, whereas mechanically, it stands in for dexterity and physical skill.  Maybe "knack" or just back to "dexterity?"  Likewise, I may broaden Magic to "knowledge" which more broadly reflects its game use (though I don't find that name as snappy, admittedly).
   
I think magic will be something that gets some attention--not so much to change the basics, but to add some detail in keeping with the diversity of magical practice among Weird Adventures setting spellcasters.  Like I say, I think the basic system is resilient and can handle these additions with little fuss. 

Anyway, more to follow in days to come.   And of course, my choice of system for my game won't affect Weird Adventures--which is designed to be rules lite to begin with, but uses the OGL where it does touch upon rules elements (like monsters).

Trouble with Doubles

“Listen to me! Please listen! If you don't, if you won't, if you fail to understand, then the same incredible terror that's menacing me WILL STRIKE AT YOU!”
-Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) trailer

So might one hear some paranoid derelict rant on the streets of the City--and they just might happen to be right. The creatures called "doubles" are one of the insidious tools of subversion used by the Reds in their tireless attempt to remake the world in the image of their freedomless subterranean society.

Doubles are either an artificial lifeform created by the Reds or their former (now extinct) masters or “natural” underground creatures--perhaps selectively bred over generations to optimize their utility. Whatever their origins, doubles are force grown in gestation pods then sent to surface world to steal the identity of humans and replace them. Normally, they're spindly, vaguely humanoid creatures, unsettling in their bland featurelessness, but they can perfectly assume the form of anyone they mimic. Without the use of magic or medical tests, only the unsual glow of their eyes that can be glimpsed in certain lighting conditions gives them away--a situation the doubles seek to avoid if they can help it.

The doubles must observer humans they plan to duplicate. The longer and more detailed the observation, the better the duplication in terms of appearance and behavior. This is often accomplished by the surveillance devices of the Reds. Doubles can change forms on the fly, but their mimicry won’t be as convincing.

It’s believed Reds mostly target government officials or other important figures for replacement, but given the psychological warfare they wage against humanity, they aren’t above random replacement of regular individuals simply as an act of terror.

[Doubles are, of course, doppelgangers with a new veneer for the Strange New World. This version would work just as well in a pulp, atomic age, conspiracy, or maybe even supers game, though.]

Send in the Clowns

From The Mundy Guide to the City: A Comphrensive Guide to the Five Baronies of the Metropolis:

The neighborhood of Little Carcosa is one of the City’s most mysterious ethnic enclaves. It’s narrow, cobblestone streets, exotically dressed residents, and unusual scents given the feeling of stepping into the Old World--though where in the Old World is part of the mystery. The Carcosan homeland doesn't appear on any known map.

The people of Little Carcosa are as enigmatic as their homeland's location. Their swarthy complexions and the cadences of their speech recall the Near East, perhaps some place in Empire of Korambeck. Their clothing, manners, and ever present smiles make one think instead of the Orient and Yian.

Besides its general ambience, Little Carcosa holds other delights for the visitor. Its markets are small, but often have unusual items imported from all over the globe. The primary local craft is hand carved masks, both fanciful and grotesque, which are sought by a small, but dedicated, group of collectors. The spicy cuisine is an acquired taste, but many City gourmets extoll its exotic charms.

A rare treat is Little Carcosa’s street festival. It’s occurrence is hard to predict based as it is on an arcane sidereal calendar, but the Carcosans must plan for it well in advance, despite no outward preparation apparent to outsiders. Young and old alike take to the streets in masks, forming a raucous procession following a group of clowns. These clowns are apparently master contortionists (and possibly even illusionists of some sort) performing feats that scarcely seem humanly possible, and sometimes border on grotesque.

Outsiders are urged to leave after the the main part of the procession has past for their own safety. A final performer sometimes follows the parade, wearing a pale mask, and dressed in yellow, tattered robes, his appearance tends to whip the already excited crowd into a frenzy. While there have been no verified cases of violence, and urban legends of disappearances or mental breakdowns are certainly simply that, the intensity of the proceedings may be beyond the comfort of the casual visitor.

Warlord Wednesday: Conspiracy

Let's re-enter the lost world with another installment of my issue by issue examination of DC Comic's Warlord, the earlier installments of which can be found here...

"Conspiracy"

Warlord (vol. 1) #56 (April 1982)

Written by Mike Grell (Sharon Grell); Penciled by Mark Texiera; Inked by Pablo Marcos

Synopsis: In the back alleys of Shamballah, a group of street urchins gang up on another young boy--a boy they know as “Tinder,” but we know as Joshua, the lost son of the Warlord. The urchins want Tinder’s armlet (really a wristwatch given to him as a baby by his father), but he refuses and holds his own against them. He’s been toughened up by life on the streets since his adopted parents were killed by the Therans.

The urchins are finally dispersed by their Fagin, a mustachioed man named Darvin. He offers Tinder a place to stay and a place in his gang, but when he gets too close to the armlet himself, Tinder warns him off with a knife. Darvin considers killing the boy and taking it, but then he intuits in some vague way that its worth more with the boy than without. Instead, he reiterates his invitation, and Tinder joins him.

Meanwhile, in the palace, Morgan is in his fancy duds (last seen in Kaambuka) and is putting his adventuring accoutrements away in a chest. Shutting that chest is a momentous thing for Morgan, but when he discovers Tara watching him he takes her up in his arms and leaves it behind.

Elsewhere, a conspiracy is set in motion by Morgan’s return. Praydor, one of the treasonous plotters, makes his way from the palace to rooms in a bad part of town. There he meets a man whose features are in shadow, but we’re told he’s an impersonator of some sort. He’s tired of waiting and he’s eager for his costume to arrive. Praydor assures him it will be there soon. He also asks what they’ll do with the “package” once they’ve gotten it. Praydor tells him they’ll turn it over to Darvin, who’s possessed of a deep dungeon. Praydor takes his leave with one last instruction to the other man: “Make your move soon.”

Back in the palace, Morgan and Tara discuss politics. Morgan’s planned reforms for Shamballah don’t sit well with some people in power. Tara’s even heard rumors of an overthrow plot, but hasn’t been able to confirm them. A council meeting soon follows, and Morgan is at odds with some on the council and ends up storming out in anger.

Tara finds him in a garden hitting rocks with a stick. She assures him they’ll implement his ideas eventually; they’ll just have to get around the council. Their conversation is interrupted by a servant, Remald, who brings Tara a message that there's a man seeking an audience with her. He told Remald to recite a for Tara the poem “One Dark Rose,” and Tara smiles as she realizes who the visitor is. She leaves Morgan in the garden. Morgan soon gets irritated--and curious. He goes looking for Tara and finds:

Tara introduces her old friend Graemore, and introduces Morgan to him as her “royal consort.”

Morgan quickly excuses himself and goes to his chambers. He looks at himself critically in the mirror. He flexes his biceps. “Face it Morgan,” he tells himself, “You’re old, and that guy isn’t.” He turns from the mirror--but glimpses that his image doesn’t turn with him. Perplexed, he swings around to look at it. It smiles at him, gloatingly.

And then he’s knocked out by Praydor’s blow to the back of his head.
 
Things to Notice:

• This is the first appearance of Graemore--who looks like cross between a seventies rocker and Robin Hood in this issue.
• We're never told what exactly Morgan's "radical" plans for Shamballah are.
• Morgan's vanity comes to the fore when he's out of his element.

Where It Comes From:
Political intrigues with duplicates are a staple of adventure fiction.  The grandfather of this trope may well be L'homme au masque de fer (The Man in the Iron Mask), the final section of Alexandre Dumas' The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later--the last novel in the D'Artagnan series.  We'll see more of this next issue.

(Pre-)Summer Reading

I don’t care what the calendar says: 98 degrees is an evocation of summer if there ever was one. Close enough at least to mention some vacation reading selections that could also provide some rpg inspiration.

Leviathan, and its sequel Behemoth (and Goliath on the way) by Scott Westerfield imagine a quite different World War I where the Entente Powers are Darwinists (utlizing “fabricated” animals as technology) and the Triple Alliance are Clankers utilizing mechanical technology far advanced of our real history. I suppose the setting might be called steampunk, but the mechanical technology is firmly hydrocarbon-powered, and the biotech adds a new angle. The series follows Deryn Sharp--a Scottish girl masquerading as a boy so she can join the British Air Service, who winds up serving on the bioengineered airship, Leviathan, and Aleksander of Hapsburg--secret heir to Austro-Hungarian Empire, currently being hunted by his country’s German allies.

There is, of course, the hint of possible romance between the two, and conveniently the adults are often out of the way so our teen protagonists can save the day (these are YA novels), but there's plenty of action--and beyond that--there’s a lot of interesting worldbuilding and plenty of neat alternate tech for any sort of rpg. Then there’s the great illustrations by Keith Thompson to really inspire:

The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman is also about a Great War, but this one is in a fantasy (rather than science fiction) context. The West--a part of the world only becoming “stable” as it's settled by humanity--has become a battleground between two groups controlled by inhuman powers. The agents of the Gun are notorious outlaws, given superhuman abilities by the demons inhabiting the firearms they carry.  The people of the Line live regimented, industrial lives in the service of 28 sentient Engines. Caught in between are the mass of unaligned humanity, and the mysterious and powerful Folk--the original, nonhuman inhabitants of the West. The knowledge that there is a weapon--a thing of the Folk--that could end the war sets in motion a race to retreive the one, brain-damaged man that may know its whereabouts. This man, an aging general, and his hapless doctor get caught between the forces of Gun and Line.

One caveat: there's a sequel coming, so it's not "done in one."  Don't let that dissuade you.  Gilman’s world has a lot of great ideas to steal for an rpg setting, and gives great example of non-medieval secondary world fantasy to stand beside those of Mieville, VanderMeer, and King.