Happy Darkest Friday
5 months ago
– Fri, Nov 24, 2023 at 02:12:40 PM
Yesterday, I learned that while many Canadians celebrate a Thanksgiving (in October), francophone Canadians do not, because "It's an anglo- thing." And over the rest of this week, Ryan and I have been frantically assembling this document for release today.
Download the Darkest Friday sneak preview of the Sorcerer!
This contains a current draft of the Sorcerer splat, as well as the basics for using Metaharmonic Magic. Go forth! Playtest! And here's a couple of things that you should know when integrating a Sorcerer into a game of K&T.
- Magic is complicated. You don't have a pre-defined list of spells you can cast (Vancian magic, for the nerds). Instead, you build out effects called "Chords" from the "Keys" you can access. It's powerful, but we suspect it can get complex. We've had a lot of fun with it in testing, but it is likely to take some getting used to—both as a player working with their own magic, and as a Herald helping guide a game and dealing with a protagonist that can make reality do nearly anything.
- Sorcerers lean on the rules for Compacts, particularly with entities beyond their normal plane of existence. Whether as a Herald or a Player, you may want to brush up on those rules. As well as figure out what sort of entities might be listening for opportunities to take advantage of a sorcerer.
- Sorcerers have knowledge of their own fate...meaning death. This doesn't mean a protagonist literally has to die within the scope of a game, rather we think it's an interesting opportunity for story and roleplay that's really distinct from other splats.
- We rushed to finish up this document on time. There are inconsistencies, probably some errors, incomplete sections, etc. That said, it should still be quite playable. And we're happy to answer questions, either here or in the Galileo Games Discord server. (Invite link good for 7 days: https://discord.gg/QMSHYf7e). I'm hoping to run some online games in December, and would love to see some of y'all there!
- And finally, that it's likely to change. Hopefully not a lot, this version of things has been pretty well tested, but there's a lot going on here.
If you have feedback, comments, or just neat spells you came up with, post 'em! We'd love to see them!
p.s. The Technomage is also well underway but we've got a LOT of elements remaining to iron out. Especially, working to make sure that their magic feels really distinct from the Sorcerer's magic.
And with that, we'll let you to it.
Thanks friends,
Tim & Ryan
Día de los Muertos — Darkest Friday Preview
6 months ago
– Wed, Nov 01, 2023 at 09:00:12 PM
::digs self out from under piles of life and dust and 2023:: “wait, what time is it?”
Oh crap it’s been nearly a year since we sent an update.
Okay here we go….
Con toda mirada // con toda caricia // me acerco al agua // bebiendo tu beso
– Lhasa - Con Toda Palabra
Tim here!
You know how sometimes life sneaks up on you and ruins your year? Well, it wasn’t ruined, but damn if this tweet didn’t encapsulate 2023 for me at least.
Suffice to say our target of early summer circa last Darkest Friday’s update didn’t remotely happen. I mean, we worked on it and actually got a big chunk of it done, but there was a LOT of other stuff that got in the way this year.
…and now we’re finally actually emerging.
The Magic Book
Okay, so let’s talk about this since it’s been teased an awful lot. This book is about the two "magic-heavy" splats—sorcerers and technomages—and playing in a magic-heavy Darkest Cosmos.
Sorcerers: Metaharmonic Hubris
The original sorcerer concept was loosely that of the reality-bending madman, definitely drunk with power, and entirely unable to see how this power was destroying them. We’ve still got some of that as thematic, but the focus has shifted a lot in developing both the new cool splat features, as well as making sure these are actually protagonists that can be played in our supernatural drama context.
To achieve this, the Sorcerer has a feature we’re (currently) calling “Fated Downfall.” Essentially, as part of a Sorcerer’s commitment to their own path, they get to see their own doom. And this is great, because they have a sneak preview of how they will definitely go out. Mechanically, this has some elements in common with the Werebeast’s Inclinations and how it recharges their Anima pools. The sorcerer has a pool called “Calamitas” used as an magic-only source of Pneuma, akin to the werebeast's Anima.
Speaking of their magic, sorcerers call their practice Metaharmonics, as it's about metaphorically drowning out the symphony of reality around you with your own selfish, powerful song. It’s one part unbridled hubris, one part favors from greater powers, and totally fun to play with. There are a handful of limitations, but really it’s an immense amount of possibility in one single splat. You want to be a fireball blaster? Take the metaharmonic key “Dynama” that's all about manipulating energy. How about specializing in teleportation wizardry? “Potamia” has you covered, as it's all about space-time.
Technomages: Rebels with Causality
The technomage took most of this year to get right. In fact, most of 2022 and 2023 involved writing a technomage draft, testing it, then lighting that garbage on fire. But we finally nailed it down by shifting away from pure "gear-porn" aspects of the splat, and into what sort of person even becomes a technomage in the first place.
Imagine you have some core belief about how the world is wrong, and a compulsion to fight to change it. Or an insatiable curiosity or need to push boundaries. That's step one in who can even become a technomage: the drive to expand or change the world. Add to that just a little dash of Having Visions of Future Science and Technology You Suddenly Understand, and you're a technomage!
What you can do as a technomage partly comes from the fields of Inspired Hyperscience that floods your brain, and the innate technology within and around you. Maybe you know a lot about the Field of Continuity—the branch of hyperscience involving organic matter, mental concentration, history, orbital pathways, etc.—so you know how to actually make an Animus a la Assassin's Creed because for you "genetic memory in a drop of blood" is just part of reality.
(And if "organic matter," "mental concentration," "history," and "orbital pathways" don't sound like they belong in the same field, then a technomage would just tell you you're living in an outdated reality that needs patching. Future hyperscience doesn't necessarily make sense to our current understandings.)
But as with the sorcerer and Fated Downfall, being a technomage isn't all about power. Technomages have an internal sense of responsibility to shape the world around them. If they become complacent, they start to lose their connection to those future technoarcane forces. This part is tricky as designers, though, because here's where we risk deprotagonizing characters if the mechanics do it wrong.
That's all for now!
Looking forward to sharing the magic with you in the coming weeks and months! In the meantime, we'd love to hear about your characters and campaigns!
We'll have another update for you for Darkest Friday.
#YOLF
Wishing you a speedy Darkest Friday!
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Nov 25, 2022 at 11:17:22 PM
A black day in a black town we're // killing time without a sound
- The Merry Thoughts "Black Day"
As is semi-tradition, here's our Darkest Friday post! This is the first Darkest Friday after the book's release, so let's share something you don't have to pay for: a play-aid for Katanas & Trenchcoats!
Download the quickstart protagonists PDF
Ryan made two-page, home printer-friendly versions of each splat as an experiment for the Gen Con and other exhibition games back in August. After some significant and well-warranted critique, he… let them sit for three months, as his day job took over his life. But with some time to rework each quickstart splat, we're ready to provide this to y'all!
The intro page explains how the quickstarts work. If you find problems understanding the quickstart or have any feedback—especially if you've tried it with your group!—please let us know. We're set up to revise these over time.
What's on the Darkest Horizon
Tim and Ryan are working on the magic book. Earlier this week, Tim shared some really cool ideas with Ryan about rewriting one of the sorcerer's core aspects of hubris—which would be exciting to share, but would take a few paragraphs to set the context since you can't peer into our heads.
(Or can you…)
That said, we aren't foolish enough to try reforming our playtest groups before January, as the holiday season messes everything up logistics-wise. But overall our vague plan is to have the magic book out in early summer 2023.
Alongside that, Ryan has more play aids he wants to make. Gen Con and other players might have seen some playmats for helping folks understand how protagonist dice pools work, but they need some more refining, and to be paired with playmats for the Herald. There's also a convention scenario framework he originally made alongside the protagonist quickstarts, but it… uh… it's kinda broken garbage in its current state.
Galileo will be representing at PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia next weekend and should have some games of K&T available through Games on Demand.
Getting Katanas & Trenchcoats now
If you're interested in getting a copy of Katanas & Trenchcoats (and this is a public post, so maybe you are!), it's available at Galileo's online store: SoManyKatanas.com
Use code DARKESTFRIDAY for 30% off any online order.
Right now, we only have softcovers as part of our convention stock and not very many, so they're not orderable/shippable (but they will be at PAX Unplugged at the IGDN booth #3650!). We still have a small number of hardcovers remaining, but when those are gone, we won't be printing more.
And if you're the "digital is for me" type (or the "omg international shipping is hellish" type), Katanas & Trenchcoats is available on DriveThruRPG.
That's all for this Darkest Friday! May it be safe! (Unless you live a Brennan Lee Mulligan lifestyle.)
#YOLF
