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Topics - Tadanori Oyama

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1
Hello everyone! Annual GenCon planning thread is a bit late this time around in large part because I went through a round about way to get my housing this year and wasn't as focused on stuff. But, now that the rush for housing has ended the time for more detailed organization begins!

MOD HIJACK

Ross (me) is on Twitter as @rosspayton - tweet at me if you have questions and I will try to keep on top of that.

The RPPR Facebook Group is good to post messages that will be seen by the RPPR community for a while - messages in chat apps disappear quickly - https://www.facebook.com/groups/10556964513/

We have a Discord for those who want to use that: http://slangdesign.com/forums/index.php/topic,2073.0.html

We have several Groupme chats set up to coordinate things.

The Announcement/Coordination Groupme: https://groupme.com/join_group/15124681/oydwH9 ONLY USE THIS TO ANNOUNCE WHEN AND WHERE YOU ARE RUNNING GAMES OR EVENTS AT GEN CON. NO SOCIAL CHAT.

The social/hangout groupme (LOTS OF MESSAGES AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY)  https://groupme.com/join_group/9334088/kIcxoS


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General Chaos / Red Markets Beta Campaign: Spires of Deception
« on: August 14, 2015, 03:44:24 PM »
I've decided to make a thread that will chronicle the progress of our playtest campaign of Red Markets. I will be posting notes and details at the end of each job and I'm providing players incentives to provide additional information, specifically in character journals to get their character's perspective on events.

Player generated Enclave:

1 ) Name
Deception

2 ) Location
Deception Pass, Washington State on the connecting island of the Deception Pass Bridge


3 ) Defenses
Built on an island. Spires were raised prior to the Crash on the island which were repurposed for broadcast and vision. Bridges have had fortifications and gates built onto them.

4 ) History
Founded by a group of non-commissioned officers and enlisted from the military base on Whidbey Island left behind during evacuation. They assumed the military would be back for them but after a few months began broadcasting for aid. A group of millers and a collection of fishermen eventually responded, bringing much needed food and supplies to build up the island into an actual Enclave.

5 ) Exports
Raw wood and lumber and specialized knowledges

6 ) Imports
Building materials (nails, glue, tools) and medical supplies

7 ) Competition
South Whidbey: Founded by the naval enlisted who split off from the marines it was later reinforced by a local yacht club and the ferry operators. They have salavaged a few of the state ferries and are one of the only options for moving large amounts of gear around the sound. There is a deep rivalry between the South Whidbey enclave and Deception.

Hospital: A collection of surgeon and farmers manage a small enclave which produces food, medical services, and burials. Located on Whidbey Island itself.

The Carvers: An enclave in the port city of Everett run by the workers at the wood and paper mill. They are supported by the engineers for the train system who have directed the tracks and trains to serve as mobile zombie defenses and distractions.

The Free Market: A protected bay in Anacortes managed by the wealthy citizens of the town and the US customs agents from the border patrol with support from the forest service.

Steel Wheels: An enclave with the ability to produce metal goods in Mukilteo. They are also the only enclave with a professional made distillery.

North Point: The military base, originally abandoned by both the marines and navy enlisted has been reclaimed by the Recession as a Settlement. Insult to injury, many of the officers at the settlement are the same ones originally removed from the base. North Point presents navigational difficulties due to their tendency to fire on ANY ship that comes within their sights and range.

8 ) Social Structure
Tribunal rule with the head of each of the groups sitting on a council. Individual disputes are brought to the tribunal and majority rules. The exception is matters of enclave security which must be resolved unanimously.
Due to the marines having been left behind while their officers were saved the adage "don't call me sir, I work for a living" has been enshrined into law. This attitude has spread even to the non-military citizens and a general dislike of military officers and of anyone in a "command" caste is common to citizens of Deception.
Everyone works in Deception. You do duty or you do labor. The enclave hates the idea of leaving anyone behind (see above) and will find work for anyone in normal circumstances. Exceptional circumstances sometimes result in exceptions but people are sympathetic and will allow others to "donate" to supply someone unable to work. Willful violation of a duty is a capital offense punishable in one of two fashions, determined by the criminal. They are either allowed to leave via the bridge road on the condition that they do not make any attempt to come back or they are set adrift on a non-millable section of wood.

9 ) Neighborhoods
The Spires- The bridge spires where intel and technical individuals live and work.
The Road- The bridge itself has become a no-go zone. Only The Watch, the military responsible for manning the gates, is allowed to stand on the road. Anyone who steps on the road and gets noticed by The Watch is forced to work a full 8 hour shift by weight of tradition (this was intended to discourage kids from wandering around but has become a game, trying to dodge the Watch and walk the road without getting caught).
Up Town- The wooden shacks built high on the island, under the bridge itself. They are the most protected from the elements and the most comfortable. The upper class lives there.
Down Town- The majority of the settlement, quickly built wooden housing, often in long house form with a dozen or more people in a single "home".
The Yard- A protected pool and work area used by the millers to float wood and do the rough cuts before refining the trees into building materials.
The Dock- Across the island from the Yard, the dock is the rough port, a pier that sticks out from the island to provide some shelter for the boats. Some of the fisherman live here.

10 ) VIPs
The Tribunal (also known as Top, Chop, and Slop)
Top, military leader Sergent Gibbs
Foreman, lumber leader George Foreman
Cap'n, fishing leader, Tanelle

Gun and weapon quarter master Rodriguez

Master of the intel spire Vlad

Corporal Robert O'Nell, in charge of the falconry program

Salty, political extremist and isolationist who is attempting to built a fence in the ocean

Dr. Nathan Simms, former oceanographer turned bootlegger who has converted his research vessel into a refinery. He's gone more than a little crazy but the brew he makes from seaweed is basically rubbing alcohol which is actually useful to the enclave so he is allowed his oddities.

Muckscraper Jolly Buccanon, phobia of heights, he cannot live in the main city and lives in a wrecked boat pulled onto the rocky shore.

Former botanist (and former companion to Dr. Simms) Dr. Herbert Olivia, attempting to breed crops to survive the harsh environment of the islands.

The Red Horizon Cult- A practical joke that got out of control, this cult believes that they can undergo vision quests, like the native americans, by fasting an entire day and then drinking the alcoholic mixture that Dr. Simms creates in his lab. They are called the Red Horizon because they believe a new disaster is approaching, something as bad or worse than the Crash, and want to forewarn the others. The enclave thinks they are harmless enough but is somewhat concerned that their practices could result in a self inflicted death of the members aren't careful. Dr. Simms is viewed as a prophet by the cult but the doctor himself isn't a member and doesn't even seen to be aware of the cult's practices.

3
General Chaos / New Orleans charm
« on: May 29, 2015, 01:36:58 PM »
I've got a game currently set in New Orleans and the surrounding area. It's a World of Darkness game, players are werewolves, and I want to have stuff happen to individual players. Does anyone know any fun facts or odd things about New Orleans? Odd places, strange stories, or weird history are all great; I'm trying to make sure each player has at least one weird b-plot with them at the center of it.

4
General Chaos / Prodcut Recommendations: Headset
« on: April 29, 2015, 04:38:48 PM »
I need to upgrade to a wireless headset for my PC. I need something wireless with a good signal range and at least a few hours at battery life. High mic quality would be nice since I intend to use it to run Skype games. Any recommendations?

5
GenCon 2015 is much earlier than normal.

Convention days run July 30th through August 2nd so you'll need to update your time accordingly.

Why am I posting about GenCon 2015 when it's still over two hundred days away? Because it's only six weeks until badge registration opens, followed extremely quickly by hotel registration. Anyone who remembers hotel registration last year can tell you that being on point is paramount.

True madmen like myself have actually already begun. Hotels in the area are currently open for non-GenCon block reservations and if you are willing to pay the price you can have a safety net coming into late Janurary. Booking outside of the GenCon block is way more expensive but it gets you in ahead of virtually everyone else.

As usual this thread will serve as an anchor for the lead up to the big event filled with information, alerts, tips, and events. Anyone is free to post about things they plan to do or events they want to arrange. Given the extreme success of social netowrking in organizing RPPR fans last year I plan to leverage that again for an even better result this time around.

Set the Crash Clock!

UPDATE

RPPR Panels at Gen Con:

http://gencon.highprogrammer.com/gencon-indy-2015.cgi/event/SEM1569717
http://gencon.highprogrammer.com/gencon-indy-2015.cgi/event/SEM1569751
http://gencon.highprogrammer.com/gencon-indy-2015.cgi/event/SEM1569743
http://gencon.highprogrammer.com/gencon-indy-2015.cgi/event/SEM1569694
http://gencon.highprogrammer.com/gencon-indy-2015.cgi/event/SEM1569750
http://gencon.highprogrammer.com/gencon-indy-2015.cgi/event/SEM1569673

Ross is also doing this: http://gencon.highprogrammer.com/gencon-indy-2015.cgi/event/SEM1571666

Caleb is also doing this: http://gencon.highprogrammer.com/gencon-indy-2015.cgi/event/SEM1570061

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General Chaos / Help request: Creepy records
« on: August 05, 2014, 12:09:25 PM »
I have a new scenario I'm running at GenCon which involves finding a number of reports and records from other investigators that are supposed to unnerve the players. During play tests I described this effect broadly but the for the convention I'd like to have short, creepy descriptions to go through.

Having some trouble myself I'm extending a request to my RPPR pals and asking for short (one or two paragraphs) horror stories that Call of Cthulhu investigators might write down that could be found. If you have an idea I would love to hear it. If you have one ready to go I would be grateful if you let me use it.

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General Chaos / RPPR Haiku Thread
« on: March 05, 2014, 07:55:05 PM »
To encourage mediative thought I would declare this to be the RPPR Haiku thread.

Let's get poetic!

It does not make sense
There are monsters in the school Tom
I am satisfied

8
RPGs / Seasonal Games
« on: December 09, 2013, 03:06:27 PM »
I had a spark of inspiration for a series of linked games to do over December. My usual group will be missing someone and I have an out of town guest so I wasn't planning to run my usual games and then, it hit me, that I could do a series of conjoined adventures spread across all of my usual groups as a sort of special holiday event.

Thought I'd ask if anyone else is taking the chance to enjoy some seasonally influenced gaming.

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General Chaos / GenCon 2014 and the 5th RPPR Fan Meet-up
« on: November 29, 2013, 03:08:56 PM »
It's not even time to think about getting pre-badge purchases yet but when has that stopped me thinking out the next GenCon?

Last year's meet-up was alot of fun for me and I only spent an hour or two there because of my schedule.

As a celebration of Base Raiders being release I had an idea for a possible event to do at the meet-up in 2014: giant murder base death trap. Much like the death matches past, except in a huge, pre-designed base filled with powers sources, implements of murder, and traps.

Thoughts? Objections?

EDIT: Thursday night, at the Hyatt is the plan - try to get there around 6 pm. We will then go to the Delta Green panel at 8 pm http://gencon.highprogrammer.com/gencon-indy-2014.cgi/event/SEM1459823 and then hang out after the panel

There is a GroupMe thing set up for RPPR listeners: https://groupme.com/join_group/9334088/kIcxoS

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General Chaos / Ennie Awards
« on: July 25, 2013, 04:20:46 PM »
http://ennie-awards.com/vote/

Time one again for the vote.

Night's Black Agents is up for alot of categories and it deserves each and everyone of them in my opinion.

Hopefully we'll see Baseraiders up for something next year!

11
As is my usual method, I am emulating RPPR. In this case, however, I am doing it prior to the public release of a series.

Last night I ran the first Nights Black Agents game in a new chronicle. I took characters from thriller media to recreate in an effort to give the players some material to go off of. To that effect, I present to you their daring team:

Dean Winchester, from Supernatural

Nicholas Angel, from Hot Fuzz

Michael Weston, from Burn Notice

Zack Addy, from Bones

Their rampage is truly a sight to behold and is likely to quickly end with him being ripped apart by vampires if they don't tone it down in the very near future.

Current body count:

Human: 11
  • Killed by cocaine overdose: 1
  • Shot: 2
  • Killed by others as a result of PC actions: 2
  • Run over: 4
  • Car crash: 1
  • Executed: 1

Not Human: 1
  • Bhuta: Stuck to a tree by a blessed crossbow bolt and left for the sun to rise.

12
RPGs / World of Darkness update
« on: May 08, 2013, 10:12:10 PM »
The newest version of the World of Darkness rules are out, contained in the God Machine Chronicles game setting: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/113340/World-of-Darkness%3A-The-God-Machine-Chronicle?src=s_pi

You can get the rules as a free PDF, all hundred pages of them.

I am extremely excited. Just got my PoD version of the book in the mail today. If you like the World of Darkness than check it out.

13
General Chaos / Things Players have destoryed in Round 1
« on: March 06, 2013, 01:44:36 PM »
Inspired by Tom's Star Destroyer story (newest podcast episode) I wanted to do a thread about the things players have managed to utterly destory by luck, rules mistakes, or power gaming, in basically one round of combat.

The one that stands out for me is a Warhammer 40K game were I had the players encounter a demon bound inside of the body of an dead Inquisitor. Built up to it the whole game and when the final fight came up they put a sword through its chest in the first round that basically killed it. Oops.

14
So, listening to the Better Angels playtest game I started thinking about morality in a game that involves knowledge of the ultimate destination of the soul.

It seems like something that would change the moral arguements players might normally make or consider when you add the real and certain knowledge that some individuals will be dragged to a literal Hell by a demon when they die. This, to me, vastly changes how one must weight life and death.

Specifically, from the game itself, the players go out of their way to stop Stargazer from his plan of swapping bodies with a younger man in an effort to prolong his life. Their efforts are personal in some cases, such as Jason who was being compelled by his demon to finish the old man off but individuals like Ross and Aaron had no personal stake in the event and Tom was generally an otherwise helpful person.

My basic moral question is: "Why stop his plan?"

If he had succeeded than Stargazer would have a new lease on life and been able to continue trying to find a way to escape his demon. The model would have been put into the body of a sick old man and likely lived a short time before dying. This deed is morally wrong. On the other hand, he failed, was killed, and taken to hell by a demon. The model is unaffected.

So in both results someone dies; the difference is if someone ends up in hell or not.

How do you balance that?: The death of an innoccent vs the damnation of a soul.

As a player, I probably would have ended up helping Stargazer with his plan because I consider the end results were someone is not taken to hell to be the better (but still wrong) moral choice. Essentually the lesser of the evils available.

I'm curious what others think, especially the RPPR players involved, and Caleb since I would except this kind of moral consideration will factor into the Better Angels long-term campaign.

15
General Chaos / GenCon 2013 & The 4th RPPR Fan Meet-Up
« on: January 04, 2013, 07:44:32 PM »
Hey guys, it's time to bring up GenCon again! Badge registration and hotel reservation is coming up at the end of the month (the 27th and 29th respectively). If you want one of the close by hotels make sure you get online and do your reservations fairly earily that day because they tend to go pretty quick. You'll need your badge code to get into the GenCon Housing Block and get the discounted hotel rate too.

For those wanting to run their own games, early event registration is Janurary 11th through Feburary 8th. You'll want to get your events in during that gap if possible since people who do that get better spots (in general) and are guaranteed to be given time and a space in the book (not a sure thing if you throw in later).

Secondly, we need to consider what to do with the RPPR Fan Meet-Up. For those who made it last year, you probably remember it was a bit of a mess. We had way more people than we'd had previously, so many we had to change locations. Farthermore, it wasn't possible to handle such a huge group in one game easily.

So, I suggest for this year we plan a tournament. If we have Base Raiders, we use that. We do two or three groups of players with Ross running one and volunteers running the others. The last standing and/or winner (depending on if we do deathmatches or goal based events) moves onto the final round, run by Ross, to determin the true champion.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Internet bile?

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