Game Concept: Machinations of the Baroque Tyrant

One game I wrote about briefly last year, when the blog was still relatively fresh and new, was Baroque Space Opera*. While a product for the often maligned storygame FATE, if one choose to ignore the game's chosen 'system' what one end up with is a rather interesting and very solid space opera setting. An RPG book isn't just its system, especially when it is a setting book and I still firmly stand by my convictions that Baroque Space Opera is an excellent setting book even if its system of choice is not to my tastes. It is a book well worth reading even if one has little to no interest in FATE.

For a while now, I forgot about BSO: it just wasn't all that around in my head because I wasn't running anything space opera related. However, now with a copy of Machinations of the Space Princess, the game has returned to occupy my head. On the surface these two would appear to be night-and-day: Baroque Space Opera is a byproduct of the storygame crowd and has a setting which stress the sense of grandiose and wonder while Machinations is a bit more rowdy, lurid, has characters likely to be scumbags.

What I propose is this: the two aren't mutually exclusive and in fact compliment each others very well.

The BSO cover alone should sell you on the setting
and what style of scifi it is aiming for.

Setting Basics and Presentation

The setting of Baroque Space Opera would form the core identity and base. It is a setting set in the very far future (or is it past?), steeped with baroque imagery and ruled by a posthuman elite who are bound in impossibly arcane traditions of rulership in order to promote their imagery as gods. When looking at the society of the Dominion, the viewpoint presented in the BSO book that it is an orderly society steeped in traditions, strict social positions and impossibly obtuse rules is true. However. That is how the Dominion see itself or at least how it choose to present itself. Initially this would appear at odds with how Machinations present itself, calling its own game as 'Sexy, sleazy’ swords & Sci-Fi’.

Well, as most of you should know, societies which are extremely bound by rigid rules tend to breed a lot of backroom bullshit. The way I see it, the society of the Dominion as presented in the core BSO book is somewhat more idealized, even if it is called the Tyrantine Dominion. What I mean by 'idealized' is that it make the posthuman rulers seem, while not necessarily noble or good, somewhat above the petty human needs of sex and money. This, however, is a facade. Given this is a setting which combine mythological imagery with science fiction, presenting the higher society of the Dominion as all a bunch of secret bastard, perverts, greedy scumbags and con-men doesn't seem all that implausible. In fact it seems the most logical. They may be bound by tradition in public and around each others in a formal setting, but what about behind closed doors? My theory is that there is a massively seedy side to the higher society of the Dominion which is kept under a very tight lid.

Of course, this isn't going to completely describe the entire setting because of the simple reasons that I was briefly active on the BSO Google+ group and I'd rather not copy paste that entire book as I'm fairly certain this would be a poor idea. Trying to explain all of the Baroque Space Opera setting in one post is like trying to explain Warhammer 40 000 or the expanded Star Wars universe. It is, simply put, impossible. As such I hope this post at least hint enough at the setting to make sense without going into complicated lore breakdown.

Space Scumbags

The Baroque Space Opera setting has a lot of room for characters more in line with what is presented in Machinations. There is plenty of room for pirates, raiders and other scum of the galaxy-type characters at the edges or in the cracks of the Dominion. What this mean is that this option gives a GM a pre-baked setting to establish who is who, what is what and who hold the reins on what while still allowing himself and the players a lot of freedom on the basis that the planets and places described in the book are usually those under stricter Dominion control. These aren't the places where the characters would be adventuring anyway, not unless they are deliberately there to sabotage or steal something.

Killing For Profit

The posthuman elite of the Dominion do not fight each others: that would be utterly barbaric. However, as one would expect, what is done in the shadows is a completely different story. Sabotage and assassinations are the rule of the game and this open up another style of games where the players are Proxicutioner and their allies and agents. They infiltrate and they kill to complete their missions and ensure the 'Feud by Proxy' is a success. The dark truth is just how little is actually sacred to the Gods.

Battlemasters!

The other major option would be to play as Battlemasters and their allies/retinue. The Battlemasters were once an order of human warriors (think Metabarons meet Jedi) but they have fallen in disfavor with the Dominion since their glory days. Many of the younger Battlemasters wish for their orders and families to once again regain the power and glory of the past and seek out adventure, working as mercenaries to the Dominion and/or its enemies. The Battlemasters are a very good choice for high octane, high action adventures and would arguably be even more interesting outside of a 'storygame'.

Character Options & Races

What is any RPG without some list of 'things you can be'. The Baroque Space Opera setting is impossibly vast but it has several things which are prime character material.

• Human (Regular and Transhuman): Obviously, the setting has humans. They come in a staggering variety, from mostly-identical to 21st century baseline human to odder mutations and genetic alterations. Here, the term 'human' mean anything which is either akin to a baseline human or some variation which is not one of the posthuman elite. These include variations for lower or higher gravity or aquatic humanoids or stranger crossbreed of human and alien genetics. This category, in a way, also include any human-like alien or anything forming the lower classes of society.
• Elevated Human: Mechanically, the Elevated are no different from the other human types. What's different about them is their cultural role as the retainers and servants of the posthuman elite.
• Pharisto: The Pharisto are the deipotent, the oft mentioned in this post posthuman elite. Taller, smarter, more long-lived and extremely bound by pomp and rituals the Pharisto are seen as Gods. Playing a Pharisto in a more low-key game would mean one plays a renegade of some kind or perhaps one whose life has been ruined by politics and now the character lives in exile.
• Theor: The Theor are a variant of the Pharisto template and are comparable to the Mentat of Dune, what with their history as coming into being to replace machines. While they are deipotent like the Pharisto they tend to be more reclusive, more cerebral and overall quite detached from the pompous politics.

There are other beings in the setting but not all of them are suitable for player characters, namely the Genesis Adept and just about everything they create. Befitting the bio-punk and transhumanist elements of the setting there exist a special type of Deipotents loyal to the Tyrant called Genesis Adept, which are expert at cloning and bio-engineering. The reason they would be a very poor choice for a smaller game is that, as per the lore, they have the innate ability to compel their creations. There are even more unusual and potent options, such as the supersoldier Dominar or the shape-shifting Mirror Men but outside of a storygame these might just end up a tad too powerful by default.

The Alternate Option

Of course, there is another option for me: which is to run this setting not with Machinations of the Space Princess but rather Stars Without Numbers, in which case a lot of which has been written so far applies with a few added things, namely that certain options could be highly specific classes and/or Foci for 'heroic' characters, which is to say playing SWN with the type of mechanics found in Scarlet Heroes or Godbound.

• Amarenthine: They are those individuals (usually mostly Pharisto and Theor) chosen by the Tyrant to be gifted with immortality; they never age and cannot die. They are comparable to the Inquisitors of Warhammer 40k in terms of setting role, even down to some being sanctioned psychics who can use their normally-illegal gift for the Tyrant's agenda.
• Dominar: These genetically engineered super-soldiers are the ultimate troops in the Dominion. They are strong, hard to kill and most importantly short lived and easily controlled (relatively speaking). Their setting niche is similar to the Space Marines but personally I find they remind me of the Jem'Hadar from Deep Space Nine.
• Mirror Man: Each Mirror Man is identical and they really hate this fact. Fortunately, they are shape-shifters and as such as highly useful agents able to assume almost any shape and infiltrate the ranks of enemies and rivals.
• Remnants: Before the outlawing of machines, the Remnants were the Dominar. Essentially, they are the previous model which has been discontinued and forgotten by history. Each is a monstrous amalgalm of posthuman flesh and machinery.
• Transmuter: They are Theor wizards using nano-technology. That's basically it in a nutshell.

Of course, in addition to this, Heroic Battlemasters, Heroic Elevated, Heroic Pharisto and regular Heroic Theor would be an option.

(Note: I am not affiliated with either of these games. I'm simply linking to their store page for quick reference in case people who read this post are interested in buying these products.)

Silent Legions: Fighting Zombies (And dying doing so!)

The Resident Evil 2 remake may very well end up being one of the videogame highlights of 2019 and sets a really high bar really early into the year. That said, it has got me interested in survival horror and zombies again. Zombies were a monster that became rather over-exposed and over-used in fiction in the past decade but having a flesh-eating walking corpse grab my character and tear out his throat in gruesome detail while turning a dark corner of a police station reminded me why these bastards are terrifying.

"Hi sir may I help you? Anything you want?
Oh you want my warm flesh, okay that's...nice."

Zombies In Combat

In theory, a zombie is a truly pathetic monster: slow and stupid it doesn't have the combat presence of eldritch abominations. It's 'just' a walking corpse. The thing with zombies is that in zombie stories they are the main threat and when you combine survival horror with OSR resource management you realize the two are basically the exact same thing. The 'dungeon' is an abandoned hospital or some other locale. The torches are replaced with batteries for your flashlight. Arrows are now bullets. The zombie is a weak monster individually, yes, but the problem is that where there is one there is ten and you only have so many bullets.

Special Attacks

That said, to think the average zombie is completely harmless in combat is a lie. This is especially true in tight, dark spaces where your escape options are limited. Once the zombie is up close and personal, it will try to eat you. Even the most basic zombie can be spiced up with these special maneuvers which make them far deadlier than their presumably low HD make them out to be.

• Lunge: Moving past a shuffling zombie is dangerous as most varieties are capable of a sudden burst of speed. This is usually accomplished by lunging forward and basically almost falling on their prey. This is simple and similar to attack of opportunities. When running past a few feet of a zombie, it can make a free attack as it basically stumble forward in the general direction of the prey.
• Vomit: Some zombies spew vomit and/or blood on their prey, either their own or the chunky goop of the last poor sod they just ate. After lending a successful attack on a target, a zombie has a one-in-six chance to 'zombie vomit'. The target must make an Evasion save or become blinded by the horrible goo spewing all over their face, which they can wipe on their turn as a free action. Obviously, there are downsides to being blinded that need no explainingé
• Throat Rip: Once a zombie has you in its cold, icy grip it will attempt to bite the throat and rip out as much flesh as it can. Obviously, this is fatal in humans. After lending a successful attack on a target, a zombie has a one-in-six chance 'to go for the throat'. Doing so sacrifice the damage of the first attack as it represented a painful, but ultimately not lethal grab. It must roll a second attack and if it hit, the attack now inflict 2d6 damage. In addition anyone bit this way is now bleeding to death and will die in 1d4 rounds unless it is somehow stopped.

Random World Extra: Quick Character Generation for Caldbrygg, Cryham and the Orcfen River

Just some quick tables to generate a character for the still unnamed Random World. These tables are designed with Random Fantasy in mind.

Generating A Character

Rolling on these tables generate a character for the Random World using the Basic Fantasy rule set. These tables are a mixture of crunch and fluff and should allow for a fairly simple yet efficient foundation to who is the character, what they are and where they come from as well as possibly shed some light on their background or at least plant some basic seeds if a player wish to expand on them.

D20	Origin
1-3	Caldbrygg, the Mystical City
4-6	Cryham, City of Spells
7-9	Middle Lands
10-12	Glanda
13	Waywood
14	Furnace Wastes
15	Orcfen
16	Jungle of Spears
17	Yarford
18	Cafeld
19	Mavre Woods
20	Scarwood Forest

The other results will be for later posts but, suffice to say, it is generally accepted that these three locales are the most well-suited for an initial party and part of the area which, in general, is good for fairly 'basic' or 'default' tabletop fantasy matters as it has your fighter, thieves, mages, clerics and some fantasy races.

CALDBRYGG
D8	Race	Class and Background
1-2	Human	Black Market Scum (Fighter or Thief): You are a thug or thief of some kind, member of some lesser brotherhood of ill repute. Your kind are often paid in secret and behind closed doors by the Mystics to ensure the city guards never see whatever cursed trinkets enter the walls of Caldbrygg. Be it by force or guile you ensure the flow of money.
3		Man-At-Arms (Fighter): You are part of a commoner militia whose main purpose is to bolster the ranks in times of need. You are now using your training to live as an adventurer in search of gold and glory.
4		Lesser Noble (Fighter): While of noble blood you are of a lesser standing, with very little resources beyond a home and some ancestral weapons and armors, some possible in poor shape. You also lack the funds to support an aerial mount.
5		Lesser Mystic (Cleric or Magic-User): You are a priest of the lesser orders. In spite of your clear talent and connection to the divine (as you can cast spells) you are by a mixture of bloodline and politics mostly a second-rate priest in the eyes of nobility. Perhaps a suitably great deed or miracle will earn you a place among the greatest Mystics?
6		Guild Mage (Magic-User): As a member of the lesser orders of mages you’ve spent one or two decades bent over parchments or reciting gibberish and nonsense until the day you’d be (perhaps) ready to be initiated into the true mystic arts. The guilds are notoriously cheap and cutthroat, leaving you mostly a spell casting hobo.
7	Dwarf	Dwarven Peddler (Thief, Magic-User or Illusionist): As a travelling dwarf you bring with you knowledge of the arcane, cunning and a flair for opportunities. You are distrusted by the people of Caldbrygg but your skills make you useful to those with no scrupules.
8	Hobgoblin	Hobgoblin Servant (Fighter or Thief): As a hobgoblin you’ve been trained and/or empowered from the lesser ranks of goblins to work as a warrior, thug or assassin. You could be masterless and in need of sustaining your powers (and thus needing to complete at least one ‘quest’ or ‘adventure’ worth a level of XP) or you could be ‘loaned’ to a party of adventurers by your master.

CRYHAM
D8	Race	Class and Background
1-2	Human	Burnout (Fighter, Thief or Magic-User): You used to be someone with a better life but you’ve spent more than you’ve made and abused substances. Burned out, you have to make a living somehow even if it mean going down in some dirty tomb to find forgotten treasures.
3-4		Mercenary (Fighter, Thief or Magic-User): You offer your services to the highest bidder, plain and simple. Your actual skill set may very well vary but it doesn’t change the fact you work purely to recover objects for rich wizards or to do certain tasks for them.
5		Aspiring Magician (Magic-User): You are truly dedicated to your craft, which you hope will elevate your from your humble beginnings. However, arcane research are extremely costly and you need to make a living somehow so...
6	Dwarf	Dwarven Peddler (Thief, Magic-User or Illusionist): As a travelling dwarf you bring with you knowledge of the arcane, cunning and a flair for opportunities. In Cryham your kind is somewhat more common than in Caldbrygg.
7		Clan Warrior (Fighter or Fighter/Illusionist): With more Dwarves established in Cryham than elsewhere in the region, there exist some small enclaves and pocket of dwarven society. As a warrior of your clan you’ve been trained to protect your kin and now use this skill set for personal gain.
8	Hobgoblin	Hobgoblin Servant (Fighter or Thief): As a hobgoblin you’ve been trained and/or empowered from the lesser ranks of goblins to work as a warrior, thug or assassin. You could be masterless and in need of sustaining your powers (and thus needing to complete at least one ‘quest’ or ‘adventure’ worth a level of XP) or you could be ‘loaned’ to a party of adventurers by your master.

ORCFEN
D4	Race	Class and Background
1	Human	Orc Hunter (Fighter or Ranger): You live to kill orcs. Some people who have never been around orcs may find this violent or obsessive but you know better. You know the wilderness well and you know how to fight.
2		Swampfolk Villager (Fighter or Thief): You are one of the isolated ‘swampfolks’ living around the Orcfen river and your ancestors have lived there for as long as you can remember. It is possible you’ve left to find adventure.
3		Swampfolk Witch (Magic-User): The swampfolks know of magic...and fear it. You are among those few who are willing to tackle supernatural forces and use them to protect the swampfolks. The Witch-Trees hate you.
4		Bandit (Fighter, Thief or Ranger): You are (or was) one of the many scumbags and low-life who dwell around the Orcfen river, living off pillaging settlements around the area or emerging from the swamp to attack roads before diving bad into wilderness you know nobody else would follow.

Yoon-Suin Pathfinder E6: More Thoughts

This is a sequel to this post. It mostly consist of thoughts and rambles on how to adapt Yoon-Suin to Pathfinder, which I've long stopped playing/running yet it remain one my players and their friends are familiar with. These are mostly rambles too short for a full post and some observations.

Alignment In Yoon-Suin

Personally I really don't like Alignments but they are quite 'baked' into D&D 3e and Pathfinder, so a few thoughts: in Yoon-Suin the vast majority of people and entities are Neutral, Lawful Neutral and Chaotic Neutral. This doesn't mean there aren't good/evil person, in fact most people probably lean more toward Good or Evil. The reason they remain listed as 'Neutral' is that most people are inherently prone to selfish need, desires but also moments of compassion and cruelty in equal measure which often go against their usual behavior. Ultimately, most people are a dispassionate Neutral and Lawful/Chaotic generally indicate more of a code of behavior. So what about Good and Evil, then?

• Good is the alignment of selfless enlightenment. It is a rare Alignment, since even the nicest people are really Neutral. To be truly Good (and to register as such with magical effects) requires one to be a truly enlightened and selfless soul. Of course, hardly every enlightened being is Good. Think of it more as the Bodhisattva, saint and martyr Alignment.
• Evil is the alignment of malevolence and spiritual decay. Most douche bags aren't Evil, as they remain capable of moment of compassion and love, even if that love might be extremely selective and self-serving. To be truly Evil is to sink to the depths of immorality and/or to consort with malevolent spiritual forces.
• Deities usually lack the Alignment domains in their list of Domains. They also lack any sub-domain related to the various D&D-derived Outsiders as these do not exist in Yoon-Suin.

Goblinoid

The Goblinoid Subtype in Yoon-Suin refers to some loosely related creatures with vaguely simian traits and a somewhat blurry nature when it come to whether or not they are supernatural and malevolent beings or simply another race of sentient humanoids. Unlike other settings, Goblins are never portrayed as these invading armies of monsters. Rather they are elusive creatures which live usually far away from civilization.

• Bhuta: The Bhuta of the Mountains of the Moon are Humanoid with the Goblinoid subtype.
• Kardan: This Bugbear variant is likely called something else but the core principle of the monster remain the same, which is to say a monstrous woodland stalker with illusory powers. They are found across Lahag and other jungle areas where they prey upon children and eat them alive.
• Monkey Goblin: These creatures can represent a variety of forest-dwelling trickster beings.
• Vanara: The Vanara race has the Goblinoid subtype.

Akashic Races

The book which introduce the Akashic Magic has several race options, all of which are a combination of human and animal traits, which make these races a bit of a parallel to the likes of the Slug and Crab-Men. If used, these races don't require much thought in how they are used as they are all based off are found in the Indian subcontinent. It is likely, however, that none of them are found living full-time in the Yellow City outside of exotic slaves and a few odd sages working full-time alongside some Slug-Man noble. With their connection to the Akashic powers, it is possible that Slug-Men themselves could have such a power. If one decide to make Slug-Men unique among the other animal-men, then perhaps their disconnect from Akashic Magic hint at some form of spiritual decay of some kind.

Psionic Races

The previous post mentionned the use of Psionics, so I figured it would be best to try and see where the various Psionic Races fit in Yoon-Suin based on the methodology of Pathfinder to have as many options as possible. Four of the Psionic Races are loosely fitting into Yoon-Suin (if barely!) and their presence is purely optional. In particular, the Noral's description of being rather egalitarian among those who have undergone the rites which make them Psionic, combine with their diplomatic talents hint that they could come from a land distant from the Purple Land. Should the Purple Land truly open to the rest of the world, who knows what could happen?

• Dromite: As previously mentioned, the Dromite are a psionic race of intelligent insectoid humanoids. Found in the Oligarchies, they live in underground hives and trade with others, if only just barely. Their way of life is alien to that of humans and even that of the Slug-Men. It is not uncommon for nobles and scholars of the Yellow City to wish to know more about the many mysteries of Dromite culture.
• Duergar: One alternative is to use Duergar as the racial stat for all Dwarves and depicting the whole race as odd beings with unusual mental powers.
• Elan: The race of Elan is an unusual one, born of centuries upon centuries of secret manipulations of the human body and mind by odd psionic guru in hope of unlocking some great potential. As a whole they are a race of rare, elusive eccentrics who delve into mysteries of the mind best left unanswered.
• Noral: The Noral inhabit a city somewhere beyond the Gulf of Moray. Their society is alien to that of the Slug-Men and they have an odd way of life which is utterly at odd with the more arcane and convoluted caste system of the Yellow City. They are distrusted by nature due to their oddly egalitarian way of life but they have their use as traders to the outside world. Some speculate that they could have once been human while others say the resemblance is only coincidental.