Lead Your Players Not Into Temptation

I've been thinking recently that I'd love for a way to tie religion into the Alignment system in my Caliburn setting. The battle between law and chaos in the wake of the King's death is a large setting wide conflict, but on a smaller and more personal scale it is the battle between good and evil that plays a much more important role. Obviously no one, in the real world or a fictional setting, is perfect.  We each have our vices and our virtues.  To emphasis this fact, and to track each for the PCs, I've made a Temptation Mat.

This is kind of a rough draft of the Seraphist version (A religion that blends of several real world faiths and includes many Judeo-Christian beliefs and values) which pits the Seven Deadly Sins against the Seven Heavenly Virtues on a sliding scale.  At the beginning of the game each player will be given thirty five points that they are allowed to assign to one of the seven scales.  Since the starting point for each scale is the -5 spot you could either start with a totally blank slate (all Zeros) or you can have some virtues and some vices. 

During play the scales with shift depending upon the actions of the character.  If a character murdered someone who slighted him his Patience/Wrath would slide a point toward the Wrath side.  If a character gave a poor stranded man his horse his Charity/Greed would slide a point toward Charity.  Only significant events or a multitude of smaller events would result in a shift. 

Alternate Ability Score Generation 2

I talked previously about coming across an ability score generation table based on percentages rather than a 3d6 or 4d6 roll.  One of the principal things about this method that intrigues me is the great degree of flexibility it offers.  I made an initial attempt at what at graphing the altered probabilities of the various stats which looked like this:

 

What I really wanted to do from there was create graphs for each individual ethnic group Caliburn game to see what that might look like.  I used a bar graph this time since the line graph was getting a little hard to read.  Here is a look at that attempt...

A lot more tweaking is going to be required before finalizing these, but I think they are a step in the right direction.  I think I want to go even further in making each group's stat probabilities unique, reflecting the different circumstances in climate, technology, and genetics that each group sees. I also need to complete a graph for the fifth ethnic group, the Prydainians who I left out.  Oops!

New Old Map

Starting a map is much easier than finishing one.  This fact is never so true as when to are working a map that you really love.  The more time and work you put into the it the more there is to do.  You like something, then decide you can do it better so you go and change it.  You think of another thing to add so you go and work it in messing up a host of other things you've done previously so you redo them all to match the new thing.  On and on it seems to go.

That's kind of where I am with my Caliburn map.  I've been working on it on and off for months now and have made so many changes that it barley resembles the map I started with.  Maybe I'll never be done with the damn thing, maybe I'll keep going back and making little changes here and there, but every time I do go back and redo the map it really seems to get better.  

This latest, and possibly final version, deals with a host of problems that the previous version had.  One of them was the transparent mountains and hills which caused the political lines to look a little silly.  I fixes that problem and made the towns, castles, and other settlements stand out more on the map by giving them a fill as well.  I also did some altering to the coastline, filled in the forests, and added some additional labeling. One of the things I tried to do but still seem unable to pull off are roads.  They just never seem to look right for some reason.  If I add anything else that will certainly be at the top of the list.

Retouched Final Campaign Maps

After some great feedback I've gone back and done some alterations to the final versions of my maps for my Caliburn game.  There are four versions; the basic landmass version, the political version, the ethnic version, and the religous version.

Changes range from redoing the forests to changing the labeling for the religion and ethnic maps.

Final Campaign Map

After much work, and much procrastination, I finally finished my campaign map for Caliburn.  I started back in march and though I took several breaks, including those to create an Ethnic and Religious version of the map, I have been working on this one periodically over the last several months.  I'm happy with the end result and feel it is my best work to date. 

Feedback is always welcome, so have at it.

Religion Map

I've done a couple of copies of the Caliburn map to show religious affiliation throughout the continent in much the same way that the previous map showed ansestry. 

Originally this map showed three religions but as Constelanity, the religion of the Nordish people, is found in such small pockets throughout Northern Caliburn I didn't think it was worth displaying on this map.  Rather I focused on the two main religions, Druidism (a sort of Pagan tradition that was the original religion of Caliburn) and Seraphism (sort of a blend of several real world religions that has taken hold in most of Caliburn).  The conflict between the two religions is a central plot running throughout the setting.  The Old Ways are slowly but steadily being beaten back by the New Religion, and soon there may be nothing left for the supporters of the Old Ways to save.  I think you can get a sense of that when you look at the map.  The red has eaten away at most on the continent starting in the east where it was first introduced.  Now even parts of the far west are falling under its influence.

Now if I could just finish the regular map.  I'm sure I'll get there eventually.

Final Ethnic Map

Here is the final version of the ethnic version of the map.  I added a bit more detail and several filters on the landmass portion.  I also moved some of the labeling and set it to Luminocity which I think helps it blend with the rest of the map better.

Interested what people think, and very glad to be able to move onto something else.  This took longer than I thought it would. 

Ethnic Maps

Naming has become the great bane of my existence.  Trying to find names that are both good and consistent with the setting has taken more time than I care to contemplate.  To take a break from all that hooplah I decided to work on the Ethnic version of the Caliburn map.  It's general goal is to depict which groups hail from which areas.

The first version of the map looked like this...

The Cymrians have sort of been on the chopping block for a while.  First of all I was never sure that I needed six ethnic groups, it seemed like it was starting to be too many.  The Cymrians really aren't all that different from the Albonese, the most populous group on Caliburn.  If they aren't unique, they they certainly are superfluous. The straw that broke the camles back though was this map.  It has an odd symetry about it that just doesn't strike me as realisitc. You have two groups up top, two in the middle, and two on the bottom.  It bugged me so much that I redid the rough draft without the Cymrians.  It looks like this...

Overall I like version 2 better.  Immedietly one can tell that the Albonese are the most populous group, and one can easily infer that they populated the entire south until the Tytherian pilgrams came and settled in the southeast.  For draft 2 I'll need to go back in and use more detail.  The Nordish are supposed to have settled the east coast as far down as the edge of the Moontrips.  The Prydainians should have pushed farther south into the edges of the lowlands of Norgales.  Even with those and a few other changes to makes the map is not terrible overall and does convey the information I am looking for.

More and More Maps

Over the last few weeks I have continued to work on the map that I started here.  When  I began I didn't realize what an epic undertaking it would be.  It has over 550 layers and the photoshop file is nearly 600MB in size.  It's been pretty exhausting and it still isn't finished, but hopefully by next week I'll be done.

First I'll start by showing you where I left off.  This picture on the right was the last version of the map that I had posted.  I had just finished drawing the political lines and layering the shields on top of each kingdom to mark which was which.

Since then I've had to change the political lines (twice) which was a bigger pain that I realized it would be.  I also added mountain ranges, hills, forests, and rivers.  Many of these natural features provide markers where one kingdom ends and another begins.

Labeling is still a work in progress.  The major seas, Lochs, Firths, and straights have been labeled; the mountains, a few passes, some marshes, and major hills also, but so far no cities, towns or castles have been put down or been labeled.  The forests and lakes also need labeling, that being the next step I plan on taking.






To the left is the most current version as described above.  As I said the political lines are slightly different though each kingdom is in more or less the same place.  This represents a good bit of work, and though I think it looks to be coming along well, I would appreciate some feedback.

I was messing around with various filters and came up with this alternate version of the map in sort of a faded monotone look.  I don't think I'll use it, but  it looked kinda cool so I figured I might as well share it.


















Finally this last version of the map is what I call the Pirate Treasure map version.  Don't think I'll use this style either, but I love treasure maps.

A Gamer's Bibliography

"Cite your sources!!!" Mrs. Marsh, my 10th grade English teacher, shouted at us over and over again.  While I'm not doing a paper on Mark Twain anymore that doesn't mean that I'm done with research.  In fact I find myself doing more research for Gaming than I ever did in school, and enjoying it far more.

Research can add depth and a sense of stark reality to your games.  It provides rich details, and insights you wouldn't otherwise have to the setting in which the game's adventures take place.  For my current Caliburn game I've found myself doing a host of research on everything from Knights to the Black Plague.

We are fortunate to live in the information age.  The amount of information we have access to is simply mind blowing if one stops to think about it.  Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, is a perfect example of this.  In just a few seconds one can search about nearly anything they want from astrophysics to pistachio nuts. It is a great tool for getting general information and finding refence material to continue your research.  Google books is another great research, with over 10 millions books scanned. 

Here is a list of books I am using for research for my Caliburn game, while they are by no means all equally useful sources they have all had some important information to offer.

Armies and Warefare in the Middle Ages: The English Experience

Sword in Hand

The Archeology of Weapons

The Politics of Enchantment

Medieval England

The Landscape of Britain

Archeology of Medieval English Monarchy

Medieval Castles

Woman in Early Britain

Early Metallurgy

Food in Medieval England

The Norse Colonization of the North Atlantic

Ancient Europe

the Archeology of Medieval Ireland Armies

For those with less time or inclination for in depth research you may find some shortcuts.  For example TSR did some really great historical setting books during 2nd Edition's reign.  I've found some very good information in the Celtic Campaign Sourcebook as well as the one for Vikings, Romans, and Crusaders.  Books such as these have done a good deal of the research for you and help save a lot of time. 

Maps Galore!

I finally stopped procrastinating and sat down to redo the Caliburn Map.  The map I was previously using can be seen here.  Obviously there is nothing wrong with that map, and to be honest I loved it when  I made it, but I doesn't look as good to me anymore and more to the point it doesn't match with some of the other maps I've been working on for the game. 

So without further ado, here is a look at the new version.

As you can see the basic layout is very similar, but coast lines are more detailed.  There are other changes as well such as the font, the compass and the nav lines.  The border is also new, I had previously been using the border from Spirit of Excalibur, but for this new map I opted to use a silver celtic patern.

Obviously that map is just the basic map from which I'm going to create the various versions to be included in the game.  The first version I set out to do was a political version.  Previously this look like this, but I decided to change things and move some Kingdoms around.  I'm still not set on the political boundaries, and they will almost certainly change before the final product is done, but here is a look at the first draft. 

With the political boundaries set I decided rather than labeling the map with words that I would use the shields of the various Kings.  The idea is that with rampant illiteracy in Caliburn it would allow the maps to be more easily understood.  Here is a look at the map with the shields on them.

So that's pretty much it for now!  I'll post other version of the map, or revised version of this map, when I finish them.  Feedback is always welcome.  I find this map to be a large step forward both in terms of detail and style, but I'd like to hear other opinions. 

Currency

I was doing some work on the Money and Treasure section of my Caliburn game and I thought it would be cool to have a visual for the coins of the realm.  One of Gareth's (the King Arthur parallel) big contributions during his long reign as King was a unified currency that everyone still uses after his death.  I did some mock ups which you can view below.  The coins are called Copper Castles, Silver Stallions and Golden Crowns.  You'll see one of each depicted on the "heads" side below.  The tails side of each coin features a Celtic knot design, a symbol of Calibrese unity. 

As always click the image for higher resolution and feel free to leave your opinions in the comments section. 

Final Campaign Star Map

 

I more alterations to the Star Map and I think I'm happy with it for now.  It certainly has come a long way from the original I did in Paint.  I was going to toss in a nebula over the Maiden constellation, but I decided against it.  I might do a separate map that has things other than stars, such as other planets, nebulas, etc.  But I think for now this is sufficient. 

New Nephelim Star

So per Prof. Obscure's comments I decided to make some quick changes to the Nephelim star.  I filled the the middle with writing to make it seem more like the Seraphim stars, but I used a different writing.  I also changed the characters in the surrounding circles to match. 

Better, worse, or the same?

Moving on to the next Religion

Having completed work on Seraphism I decided last night to take a crack at redoing my mock up of the night sky.  The men of the north worship gods that they can see in the sky by night via constellations.  For the Caliburn Basic I created a diagram.  Not exactly one I'm proud of, but it gave a good idea of the constellations, what they look like, etc.  I posted the picture before, but here is a reminder of what it looked like.

 

Like I said, not great.  Hey, what can you expect?  I'm devoid of any semblance of artistic talent!  One of the things that I wanted to change in the new draft was to stop being so literal about the constellations.   Constellations in the real world little resemble what they are supposed to be.  So as I said, last night I had another crack at this thing.  Results were mixed, but it isn't too bad for a rough draft. 

The less literal constellations I like, but the ones I started with were far to small.  I also think I want to rearrange them a little bit.  I don't necessarily want all the human like constellations in the middle.  I think I'd like to have the Warrior constellation opposed by either the Stag or the Dragon.  Oh well, work for another day.

Final Three Stars

So I finished my work on the other two stars for my Caliburn game's primary religion of Seraphism.  I put all three together so you can see what they look like next to one another.  The bottom one is actually the Star of the Nephelim who are the seven fallen angels cast out of Heaven for their rebellion.  The Nephelim star is bolder and darker than the two Seraphim stars, a key I took from my friend who designed the fourtheen sigils for me. 

Once again I have put this on a parchment background similar to the one that will appear in the book.  As always feedback is welcome.  Click on the image to view the full sized version.

And I'm off!

The Wife and I are off to the Bahamas for our honeymoon.  I won't be back until next Saturday so things will go quiet here for a bit (unless Revil comes through with another amazing submission). 

Before I take off I wanted to give  you guys a peek at something I just finished for my Caliburn game.  My friend Josh, who is a very talented artist, gave me a hand by creating sigils for the Seven Archangels and Seven Archdevils from my setting.  I took those and incorporated them into a seven pointed star symbol.  This style is for the Tytherian (The resident dominant empire similar to the Romans) Church, the Church of Caliburn will have a slightly different version that I haven't had time to create yet. 

So anyway here is the rough draft of the Tytherian Seven Pointed star of the Seraphim. 

  I put the example on a parchment background because as you've seen, that's the background I used in the Caliburn book I'm creating for the players.  Let me know what you guys think, and I'll back next week! 

Marching On

The pain of the superbowl is finally starting to subside... ok not really, but it's time to move on to better things.  To that end I have attempted to fix the crappy dungeon map I attempted, resumed work on my Caliburn game, and rented BioShock 2.

 

Let's start with BioShock 2 as this will, like the game itself, be brief.  I know this isn't necessarily an RPG, but I know many of our readers are also video game players and I think they need to hear this.   I picked BioShock2 up on Tuesday, it's release date. I finished it on Wednesday.  Yeah.  

Now the first one wasn't my favorite game of all time, but it was entertaining and I figured since the first one was such a success and since they took forever to release the sequal that we would see all kind of improvements.  I was wrong.  Two is much the same as One.  It has a different story, obviously, but it isn't even as good as the first one.  But that isn't my main problem with the game.  My main problem is that I got it for the campaign (I don't have Xbox Live) and the campaign lasted for all of TEN HOURS.  Now I should tell you that I rent games from Blockbuster on their freedom pass, so I didn't shell out 60 bucks for this thing, and can only imagin how ripped off I would feel if I had.  While I didn't complete all the achievments in the game (I never found all 14 weapon upgrades) I did find and deal with every single little sister in the game.  I researched every plasmid.  I even opened every tonic slot.  I was pretty thourough, though not overly so.  Yet all that netted was 10 hours.  Disgraceful.  If you plan on picking up BioShock 2 for the multiplayer then fine, since I don't have XLive I couldn't even see what the Multiplayer menu incorpartated.  It could be great... Maybe that is where 2 years and millions and millions of dollars went.  But if you plan on getting the game for the campaign here is my suggestion, DON'T.  Either that or rent it like I did.  Trust me you won't be charged a late fee on this one.  

The good news is that since I've taken longer bathroom trips than BioShock 2 I was able to resume work on my Caliburn game.  Continuing to put off a final version of the map I decided to pick up working on character creation.  Part of the character creation process won't involve the player's characters at all.  Before they can get to that they must design the noble house to which they are apart or serve.  

To do this I am modifiing the ASIF RPG's House creation system.  Green Ronin did an amazing job with this innovative feature that let's the players design the House themselves from the ground up.  By making the house themselves the players feel a sense of ownership with the game and the setting, a sense of comradery with one another, and an investment in key NPCs who also serve the house.  

In creating a House I am giving the players the choice of which of the fifteen Kings of Caliburn they want to serve.  Choosing a Kind is about more than which banner looks cool.  Each Kingdom grants certain bonuses and penalties to the House's statistics (a feature that is built into the the ASIF RPG House creation system), grants a special bonus and liability, and has a completley different setting and story.  The goal is that the players are just as invested in the game, and have nearly as much control in shaping the outcome, as the GM.   Typically I run a more structured, plot driven game, but this game is more about everyone playing a role in shaping the story.  So if the players want to focus on political intrigue they will likely serve Cador Von Draken of Albion.  But if they wanted to focus more on exploration then they would choose to serve one of the Frontier Kings of a more remote region.  

Above is a preview of one of the quick reference pages in the House creation chapter of the players book.  Obviously it isn't finished and formatting is still a work in progress.  I'm using Indesign, and it isn't all that easy to use.

The 15 Kings of Caliburn

Finally finished the shields for the 15 Kings of Caliburn.  First the old versions...

Click on the image for a larger version.  And here, in the same order, are the new versions.  You'll notice some have been changed quite a bit.

Again, just click on the image for a larger version.  Please feel free to leave feedback in the comments section and let me know what you think of the new versions!

Quality Rating

I have been giving weapons and armor a great deal of thought latley.  Specifically I have been thinking of new ways to make weapons stand out from one another.  You'll remember that I discussed the issue in length here, but now I am considering more how to create a mechanic to respresent item quality without giving combat bonuses as a result and I think I have an idea.


Quality Rating -   Quality Ratings are a measure of both the quality of craftsmenship and the quality of the materials that go into a weapon or piece of armor.  The Rating becomes inportant in any situation where the the item is about to break, whether it be because of critical fumble or any similar mishap.  This rating would give the item a save against breaking, the better the item, the better the rating, the less likely it is to break.  Using the Hackmaster skill system this rating would essentially be a percentage.  The percentage would be the Weaponsmith or Armorsmiths skill total modified by the quality of the materials he is working with.  A sword made by Hattori Hanzō using Adamantine would have a score of like 130 (100 for his skill +30 for the Adamantine) making all but unbreakable.  However, some situations would result in a penalty to the roll.  For example; Hanzō was walking through a mountain path to deliver his new blade to a great warrior on the other side.  On his way he was buried by a great avalanche.  Though he is killed his masterly crafted sword is not necessarily destroyed.  It’s rating is 130 but it suffers a -50 for a massive bolder falling on it.  The GM rolls a d100 to see if it is destroyed.  130 - 50 = 80, so If the GM rolls a 1-80 he knows that the sword survives even the avalanche that killed its creator!  

For an added level of variance I am having the craftmanship quality rating be based on the average of the craftsman skill AND his skill roll when creating the item.  So Hanzo has 100 in weaponsmithing and rolls a 50 on his skill check.  That would be mean the swords rating would be 75 (105 with the +30 bonus from the adamantine as above).  This is just an idea... not sure I need the extra level of complexity, but it is worth considering.  


Overall I like the quality rating.  I may need to flesh it out a bit more, but I definetly think I'll be using it in my upcoming Hackmaster game.