Psychonauts with FAE?!

Hello readers,

It's no secret that Psychonauts is awesome. What is Psychonauts? Oh, just a little video-game by Double Fine that is artistic, hilarious, and awesome. You play as Raz, a psychic circus runaway who infiltrates Whispering Rock Summer Camp, a place where they train young psychics to eventually join the international, psychic, spy organization called the Psychonauts! While there, he uncovers a conspiracy about a crazy dentist stealing kid's brains to make psychic death tanks.

It's awesome.

Why am I telling you about this? Well, mainly because I think this game can be modeled very well in the FAE system. I don't discuss this system on my blog very often, but it is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to take a generic or established setting and play it in a tabletop RPG. Not to mention, you can get it for basically free, so there's no excuse not to go check it out.

So, after doing some figuring and playing through the game in question again, I've developed a mini-hack for those of you who want to bring a little Psychonauts to your game table using the Fate Accelerated Edition. There's more that needs to go into it, such as stating out censors and actually testing it, but I think this is a good start.

Enjoy the psychic explorations below!

Psychonauts: With FAE!

Psychic Powers:

Access to Psychic Powers is activated by a relevant Aspect, usually the 'High Concept.' Experienced psychics, such as a member of the Psychonauts, have access to all of the following applications of their psychic power. Less experienced psychics, such as campers at Whispering Rock, may select three to start and can unlock the others through play.

PSI Powers – Clairvoyance, Confusion, Levitation, Invisibility, Pyrokinesis, Marksmanship, Shield, Palm Bomb, Telepathy, Telekinesis, Psi-Punch

Stunts can be used to further refine specialty in one or more of these disciplines.

Example: Because I can Talk to Fish, I get a +2 when trying to cleverly create an advantage by talking to aquatic creatures with my telepathy.

Because I'm a Recovering Pyromaniac, once per session I may give an 'On Fire' aspect to someone or something with pyrokinesis.

Entering the Mental World:

In order to enter someone's mindscape, they must have a Psycho-Portal, which is a small object shaped like a door that can attach itself to someone's head. Then, determine if the subject in question is willing to have you enter his mind.

If they are unwilling, you must succeed on an overcome action rolled against them. If they are willing, you may enter freely.

Then, do a Create an Advantage with an Easy difficulty (+0) for a willing participant, and a Moderate difficultly (+2) for an unwilling one. Every step above the required difficulty level determines your number of Astral Projection Layers. If you fail, you are not allowed to enter the mind for a number of hours equal to the steps below the target you scored.

Astral Projection Layers: When in the mental world, it is possible to be stressed out with no real-world consequence, so long as you have an astral projection layer left. When you fill in your last stress box while in the mental world, remove an Astral Projection Layer, then remove all of your stress. If you fill in the last stress box and have no layers left, you are kicked out of the mental world and take a moderate consequence in the real world.

Activity in the Mental World:

Activity in the mental world follows FAE rules, with the following additional possibilities:

-Astral Projection Layers (See above)

-Going from zone to zone in the mental world is usually blocked by a complicated series of platforms and obstacles, requiring an overcome action to get past. The conditions for success and failure are modified in the following ways for these particular overcome actions.

Fail: Succeeding at a serious cost should result in checking off a stress box. This represents a series of attempts that resulted in some falls into bottomless pits that were quickly resolved, succeeding only after many, many attempts.

Tie: As written.

Succeed: As written, with the following addition. Collect figments equal to steps achieved times five. Collect 100 figments in the Mental World, and you may unlock an additional psychic application, or earn a new stunt if all the applications are collected and if you don't exceed your refresh by taking the stunt.

Succeed with Style: The player may select a boost of their choice, or one of the following options:

Collect Figments along the way, equal to steps achieved times ten.

Find an Emotional Baggage Tag, or the Emotional Baggage for a tag you've already found. You cannot do both on the same Overcome action. When a tag and bag are reunited, you may earn an additional psychic application, or earn a new stunt if all applications are collected and if you don't exceed your refresh by taking the stunt.

Find and Open a Mental Vault: This reveals one of the Aspects for the person whose mind you are in. You get one free invocation.

-Some equipment that would be useful in the Mental World that a camper or Psychonaut can own or purchase from the camp store can be represented by stunts. Examples:

Because I own Smelling Salts, once per session, I may exit the mental world with no consequences.

Because I own a Cobweb Duster, once per session, I can collect mental cobwebs in an inter-zone obstacle, lowering the difficulty of crossing it by two.

Because I own Dream Fluff, once per session, I may clear all of my stress boxes while in the Mental World.

That's all I have so far! I hope you enjoyed this post! If you didn't, here's a funny picture.

-Wes

Fisticuffs: Why Is There So Much Violent Conflict Resolution?

Hey, readers!

The following is going to be another editorial related to the amount of violence in role-playing games and why it seems to be the go-to option for most conflict resolution. This is sort of related to my previous thoughts on why there has to be so much action in an RPG, but I think it is a little more mature look. Obviously, every story involves conflict, and conflict needs to be resolved. You could call any attempt to resolve conflict as 'action', so the previously proposed question is almost moot from a certain point of view.

So, let's imagine a rather common scenario in a role-playing game. Your party of adventurers, heroes, or what have you is looking for information of some kind. This could be the location of whatever noun you'd like, or some bit of further information in order to move plot points around and clarify things that have happened in the past. You find a person or group that has said information, ask for it, and they are unwilling to give it to you.

What do you do?

If you're in most of the groups I've participated in, the group will either push the guy with the best diplomacy or intimidation out front to force it out through good rolling, or the weapons come out and the rumble occurs until they are more apt to share what they know.

Now, while these are the two seemingly most obvious ways to resolve this situation, they are only two in a sea of possibilities that are often ignored. Why do we, as players, go for the guns and swords so often as a way of resolving conflict?

I ask this primarily because it seems to fly right in the face of what people experience on a daily basis. I can honestly say that throughout my lifetime, every conflict that has been brought up was settled without violence. This obviously isn't true for everyone. Still, human nature would dictate that most people would want to avoid distress and pain as much as possible, therefore solutions beyond violence would be preferable since they have a lesser chance of causing physical harm to oneself.

Still, one could argue that most roleplaying games are heightened to a place of adventure, where the world is dangerous, but you are more than equipped to deal with all of the dangers and show off how tough you are. This may be true, but since when did adventure equate to consistent violent solutions? Do we need to beat up everyone who stands in our way? Does every conflict between two factions have to be resolved through combat, or the threat of annihilation?

The answer to this question is relatively simple, and usually related to the system one is running and the characters that are in play. If one starts at the first, Dungeons and Dragons is, at it's core, centered around combat. Most of the things that differentiate between classes have to do with combat, or how one performs in violent situations, and usually this is how your character is measured. In fact, a big percentage of the rules are dedicated to this. When you are playing a fighter, and things don't come down to blows, then you feel like all of the mechanical goodies on your sheet are wasted.

Also, some people just enjoy a good scrap. The tactical and visceral nature of games of this breed appeal to a lot of people. In fact, role-playing games are reportedly the offspring of war-games which are made to solely simulate combat on multiple scales, so the progression seems natural. Combat is central to many systems, and it is the body, while flavor text and roleplaying encounters would make up the heart and soul.

Personally, I find it to be a little distasteful. I'm not coming at this from a moral high-ground, or the position of 'games shouldn't be violent' and such, but rather from the perspective of someone who understands the basics of good storytelling and likes to get into the heads of their characters. Honestly? I think games become much more fun when the alternatives are found. A search for information could become an adventure unto itself rather than a goal where bad guys on the other side stand in the way. More skills can come into play, and the personalities and varied skills of the characters start to matter more than how many hit-points they have, or whether they can do a 'Power Attack.'  The game starts to come alive and feel less like a mindless video game and more like a narrative with actual, thinking people.

From a character perspective, I think a lot of people don't realize the weight of taking another life, and how that can affect your character. Think about, say, a bubbly Gnome bard whose life is rather gleeful. After a dungeon where scores of semi-sentient or sentient beings were mowed down, do you think said character would remain so bubbly and gleeful? Causing injury and death to another being, regardless of what your differences are, is always a significant emotional event, unless you are either insane or hardened to the point where it doesn't matter. Granted, a lot of characters fit into those two categories, but I digress.

The bottom line here is this: play however you want, but remember that fisticuffs doesn't have to solve every encounter. Sometimes thinking outside the box can lead to a better story.

What are your thoughts about the amount of violent conflict resolution in games? Leave me a comment, start a discussion!

Hope you enjoyed my editorial! If not, here's a funny picture.

-Wes

More Villains! (DC Modern) - MHRP

Hey, readers!

I enjoyed the response from the stat blocks I posted last time, so I think I'll continue by putting up more of my content from my Teen Titans game for you to peruse, steal, copy, edit, or what have you! As before, these are different from standard DC flare since they are from my revamp of said universe, but with a little tweaking, they can be right at home in your Justice League, Teen Titans, or what-have-you games.

Like last time, we're going to have the name and a brief description before the meat of the datafile. These are a collection of villains from either one-shot episodes or mini-arcs. However, the Riddler presented below was pretty much stolen from someone on the old Margaret Weis forums with a few minor changes, so I can hardly take credit for that particular brilliance. If I remembered the username, I would put it on, just so you can pour the praises on! Alas, I do not.

Without further ado: Villains!

Bane

According to the members of his Neo-Luddite society, the story of Bane is as follows. The dying town where his entire family grew up was apparently saved by the creation of a chemical factory. While the factory provided work, it also slowly killed the environment and those working inside. A tragic accident occurred while a teenage Bane slaved away, and he wore the gas-mask evermore to hide his scars, swearing to abhor and eradicate the sins of modern technology, modeling himself after an 18th century revolutionary.  Contrary to the regular look, Bane is a tall and lanky individual, whose strength defies his appearance.

Affiliations: Solo d10, Buddy d6, Team d8

Distinctions:

Technology is Evil

Cult of Personality

“I Will Break You”

Power Sets:

Venom Addiction:

Superhuman Strength d10

Superhuman Durability d10

Superhuman Stamina d10

SFX:

Venom Burst – Step up or double Superhuman Strength for one round, then step it back to d8.

Broken – Step back the highest rated die in your pool. Then add d6 and step up physical stress inflicted by one.

Healing Factor – Spend d6 from the Doom pool to recover physical stress and step back physical trauma by -1.

Limit:

Venom Dependent – Shutdown Venom Addiction powerset when you don't have access to Venom.

The Mask:

Cybernetic Senses d8

SFX:

Immunity: Spend a d6 from the Doom Pool to ignore toxins and poisons.

Venom Reserves: Spend the highest die from the Doom Pool to restore the Venom Addiction powerset if it had been shut down.

Up the Dose – Spend a die from Doom and add d8 emotional stress to step up Superhuman Strength or Superhuman Durability for the remainder of the scene.

Limit:

Gear – Shutdown The Mask to add d6 to the Doom pool. Spend d6 from the doom pool to recover.

Specialties:

Combat Expert

Tech Expert

Psych Expert

Menace Master

Crime Expert

The Riddler

One day, mild-mannered computer programmer Edward Nygma came to a startling realization. The world was getting dumber. People stared listlessly into their devices, relying on computers to think for them while they flopped to the tune of capitalism. At this rate, evolution would break down, and humanity would be unfit for survival. Therefore, he devised a system. He would test humanity, starting with the loathsome underbelly of human life, to see if they were intelligent. If not, they would fail the test and die. If they survived they were fit to live, and possibly help him continue to test humanity. Thus, the Riddler was born.

Affiliations: Solo d10, Buddy d8, Team d6

Distinctions:

Knowledge is Power

World Renowned Hacker

Riddle Wrapped in an Enigma

Power Sets:

Weaver of Conundrums:

Enhanced Senses d8

SFX:

Complex Puzzles – All assets, resources, and complications created by the Riddler can only be stepped back, rather than being shutdown, when targeted. Once it goes below a d6, it is shutdown as normal.

Ingenious – When creating an asset, resource or complication based on a riddle or puzzle, step up the resulting trait by +1.

Limits:

Outsmarted – When an asset, resources or complication created by the Riddler is shutdown, take a d8 of Emotional Stress.

Specialties:

Crime Expert d8

Tech Master d10

Psych Expert d8

Menace Expert d8

Solomon Grundy

The Lazarus Pits are a wonderful natural phenomenon that have the possibility to grant immortal life to those who find them. However, it is not usually possible for a Lazarus Pit to bring one back from the dead. This does not explain the creature only known as Solomon Grundy, who is assumed to be a Robinson Cursoe who found one of the fabled Pits, but a tainted one. Upon his death, the island's pit brought him back to life... Wrong. Seemingly immortal, Grundy is a curiosity, and potential weapon, for those who wish to live forever. 

Affiliations: Solo d10, Buddy d8, Team d6

Distinctions:

Dumb as the Dead

Hulking Abomination

Unstoppable

Power Sets:

Lazarus Pit Pariah

Godlike Strength d12

Godlike Durability d12

Godlike Stamina d12

Enhanced Speed d8

SFX:

Area Attack: ~

Healing Factor - Spend a die from the Doom Pool to recover physical stress and step-back trauma.

Nothing Hurts Grundy – Spend a die from the Doom Pool to ignore physical stress.

Grundy Smash – Against a single opponent, double Godlike Strength. Remove the highest rolling die and keep an extra die for your total.

Limits:

Wasting Away – Every time Grundy uses his Healing Factor, his stamina is stepped down by one until he returns to the Lazarus Pit from which he spawned.

Specialties:

Combat Expert d8

Menace Expert d10

Amazo

Dr. Ivo seeks to live forever, but his experiments have only brought about temporary results. He has heard of the properties of the Lazarus Pits, but their temporary relief from the mortal coil was unsatisfactory. Upon discovering the Island of Solomon Grundy, he set up a base of operations and begun a series of test involving the Lazarus Pits while also working on the ultimate evolutionary being that he will eventually transplant into. The prototype is finished: Amazo, the amazingly adaptable automaton!

Affiliations: Solo d10, Buddy d6, Team d8

Distinctions:

Infinitely Adaptable

Cold-Hearted Android

Ivo's Greatest Creation

Power Sets:

Adaptoid Android

Enhanced Senses d8

Superhuman Durability d10

Enhanced Flight d8

Mimic d12

SFX:

I Cannot Process that Emotion – Spend a die from the Doom Pool to ignore emotional stress.

Fast Learner – Spend a Doom Die. Amazo gets the “Stolen Power” asset immediately equal to the die spent.

Limit:

Strengths and Weaknesses – Amazo is subject to the limits associated with the power sets he mimics.

Specialties:

Combat Expert d8

Tech Expert d8

Hope you enjoyed these datafiles! If not, here's a funny picture.

-Wes

The Fearsome Five! (DC Modern) - Marvel Heroic

Hello, readers!

Happy New Year! After our last editorial about NPC Overload, I thought it would be a nice ironic turn to show some stat sheets for NPCs! Since I've blogged quite a bit about my experiences with Marvel Heroic, I think giving back to the community with some DC-related datafiles would be just peachy.

Keep in mind that these are altered for my particular version of the DC Universe which I call 'DC Modern', but with a little adjustment here and there, they can be perfectly usable in your regular Teen Titans game, or any other setting which would require the use of the Fearsome Five!

Before each stat-block, I'll give the name and a little blurb about them. I'm pretty proud of some of the SFX and Limits I cobbled together, since I think unique permutations of the system are what fan-created content is all about!

Mammoth

Baran Flinders and his sister, Selinda, struck out on their own as High School drop-outs who were looking for trouble. They eventually wound up throwing in their lot with a gang that owed its true allegiance to the Cult of Blood. When Baran mocked the gang leader's girlfriend for her witch-like appearance, she cursed him to forever be a Mammoth. Twisted and ugly, but with the brute strength required of an enforcer, Baran was forever changed! He seeks a way to remove his curse with the help of her sister while also getting back at the gang that scorned them.

Affiliations: Solo d6, Buddy d8, Team d4

Distinctions:

Sibling Bond

Driven by Revenge

Cursed Behemoth

Power Sets:

Cursed Form

Superhuman Strength d10

Superhuman Stamina d10

Enhanced Durability d8

SFX:

Second Wind: Before you make an action using Cursed Form, move your physical stress to the Doom Pool and step up a Cursed Form power +1 for this action.

Versatile: Replace any Superhuman Cursed Form power with 2d8 or 3d6 for your next turn.

Haymaker: Double Superhuman Strength for an action, then add the second-highest rolling die from that action to the Doom Pool.

Limits:

Self Conscious: Step up any emotional stress related to comments about Mammoth's appearance.

One Track Mind: After making an attack against an opponent during an action scene, you must only attack that one target for the rest of the scene. Spend a die from the Doom Pool to change targets or do something else.

My Sister's Keeper: If Shimmer takes trauma, take emotional stress equal to the highest die in the Doom Pool.

Specialties:

Combat Expert d8

Crime Expert d8

Shimmer

If there's one thing Selinda Flinders desires, it's power. Having grown up destitute her entire life with only her brother to watch her back, she sought a way to transcend her existence and rely on herself rather than others. The chance came when her addictive habits for mystically imbued drugs landed herself and her brother in the gang life. Before they were tossed to the curb for Mammoth's insolence, she tried an experimental mixture of drugs that wound up giving her the power to change elements. Now gifted with the knowledge and power to advance their status, Selinda seeks even more power and a cure for her brother's monstrous transformation.

Affiliations: Solo d4, Buddy d8, Team d6

Distinctions:

Power Addict

Amateur Elemental

Sibling Bond

Elemental Control

Superhuman Transmutation d10

SFX:

Elemental Supremacy: Add a d6 and step up the effect die when creating an asset or complication to turn something into something else.

Family Ties: Double an Elemental Control power when creating an asset intended to be given to Mammoth.

Limits:

Inorganic Only: Elemental Control may not be used on organic lifeforms.

My Brother's Keeper: If Mammoth takes trauma, take emotional stress equal to the highest die in the Doom Pool.

Specialties:

Crime Expert d8

Science Expert d8

Gizmo

No one's quite sure where Gizmo came from. He doesn't go by any other name, and his short stature is hard to miss. However, his skill as an inventor is invaluable. He can make anything out of anything, so it seems, and his services often come at a high price, especially in cities where advanced fire-arms can be hard to come by. Now, he makes his home in the Motor City, scrounging together the pieces of dying industry to make a healthy profit in the underground.

Affiliations: Solo d8, Buddy d4, Team d6

Distinctions:

Short Temper

MacGyver-Style Inventor

Maniacal Midget

Power Sets:

"I Can Build That"

Enhanced Senses d8

Mimic d8

SFX:

Technological Intuition: When using Mimic to create technology-based assets or complications, add a d6 and step up your effect die.

Limit:

Prototype: When you create an asset or complication with Mimic, shutdown Mimic until the asset or complication is eliminated, removed, or recovered.

Cobbled Together Arsenal

Weapon d8

Flight d6

Enhanced Durability d8

SFX:

Charged Blast: Step or double Weapon on your next roll, or spend a doom die to do both, then shut down Weapon. Recover through an opportunity or during a transition scene.

Limits:

Gear – Shutdown a 'Cobbled Together Arsenal' power to add or step up a doom die.

Specialties:

Tech Master d10

Crime Expert d8

Science Expert d8

Vehicle Expert d8

Psimon

Once, Simon Jones was the second highest ranking member of the Cult of Blood with only Brother Blood above him. While the master directed the mystical side of their organization, Simon organized the gangs and the financial side of their various endeavors. However, Simon desired more, and his prayers were answered by a direct endowment of energy from the Being of Chaos Himself, Trigon. Through psychic revelation, he was able to be in limited communication with the Chaotic Incarnate, and thought that this made him higher than even Brother Blood himself! Therefore, he left the Cult of Blood in order to pursue Trigon's interests on his own.

Affiliations: Solo d8, Buddy d6, Team d4

Distinctions:

Cult of Blood Turncoat

Untapped Potential

“I Should Be in Charge!”

Power Sets:

Psychic Powers From Chaos

Mind Control d8

Telepathy d8

Psychic Resistance d8

Psychic Blast d8

SFX:

Area Attack: ~

Echo of Trigon: Step up or double any Psychic Powers From Another Dimension power for one action. If that action fails, add a die to the Doom Poop equal to the normal rating of that power die.

More Powerful Than I Thought: Step back the highest die in your attack action pool to add a d6 and step up mental stress inflicted.

Limit:

Trigon Clouds My Thoughts: Both ones and twos count as opportunities. Twos can still be used as effect die or to add to totals.

Specialties:

Psych Expert d8

Mystic Expert d8

Dr. Light

Arthur Light was a brilliant inventor for LexCorp before the company began to massively lay-off its work force in the wake of Lex Luthor's terrorist fiasco. All he could take away from his work on developing technology to defeat superhumans was his Light Suit. VATOR offered him a leadership position in their Suicide Squad taskforce, but he was swiftly fired when he proved to be utterly incompetent. Undeterred, he now focuses his malice on the teenage heroes who made him lose his position, and has proved a constant foe to the Titans.

Affiliations: Solo d8, Buddy d4, Team d6

Distinctions:

Mad Scientist

“No One Takes Me Seriously!”

Photon-Felon

Power Sets:

Light Suit

Light Control d10

Invisibility d10

Flight d8

Force Field d8

Light Blast d10

SFX:

Too Bright!: Add a d6 and step up the effect die for blinding complications.

Light Absorption: On a successful reaction against a Light-based action, convert your opponent's effect die into a Light Suit stunt or step up any Light Suit power by +1 for your next action. Spend a d6 to use this stunt if your opponent's action succeeds.

Multi-Power: Use two or more Light Suit powers in a single die pool at -1 step for each additional power.

Limit:

Gear: Shutdown Light Suit and add a d6 to the Doom Pool. Activate an opportunity to recover.

Specialties:

Science Expert

Tech Expert

Business Expert

Notes:

-All characters are lowered to minion status, but can be advanced to up the difficulty, especially if they are working by themselves or in a pair.

-Area Attack is abbreviated by a '~', because I find it tedious to rewrite the same rule that I have practically memorized.

Hope you enjoyed today's Marvel Heroic stats! If not, here's a funny picture.

-Wes