The Eleven Splats Described
about 8 years ago
– Fri, Apr 08, 2016 at 10:33:31 PM
First, Metagame Update
Current total: 137 Points. DRAMA-FOCUSED ADVANCEMENT RULES UNLOCKED! Woo! Next up, at 150 points is a guide on otherworldly/extraterrestrial locations and notable NPCs.
Special weekend bounty: Since I'm going to be at Emerald City Comicon (see below), I've decided that every person who does an illustration and posts it to #YOLF on Twitter over the weekend earns another 2 points, up to 20 points. Takes only ten people to make that happen! Remember, you can be "terrible" and still be terribly awesome. :D
The Eleven Splats
All beings who possess a sense of Apeiron are serious players in the Darkest Cosmos. All others—normal mortals—are pawns, prey, or collateral damage. The core types (a.k.a. "splats") are as follows. Each is listed with this Inherent Domain: the Domain that group has the strongest connection to both story-wise and rules-wise.
Earthly (or Primary) Supernaturals
The trinity of earthly supernaturals—immortals, vampires, and werebeasts—are locked in endless struggles that dance to the Darkest Cosmos's whim.
Immortals are the toughest of all human-born supernatural beings. Made endless by the power of Apeiron, their nature is to fight—amongst each other and with other supernaturals. With their ability to manifest mystical swords from nothing and conjure iconic sorcerous tricks, they the apex predator among supernaturals. But for all their power, they have limitations, among which is their inability to curb their passions. (Inherent Domain: Fight)
Vampires are the natural schemers of the supernatural world, empowered through Apeiron to steal life and mind from mortals. Their sorcery is more manipulative, and though some can display immense strength their true power lies in the web of allegiances and deals made over centuries. Immortals and vampires sometimes fight shadow wars, but just as often would an immortal bargain with a vampire cabal to help take out a rival. (Inherent Domain: Influence)
Werebeasts are what happens when Apeiron chooses to forge beings from humans and creatures. Long ago, their ancestors were made slaves by immortals and vampires, so today many rage back and fight to topple the civilization fostered by their would-be masters. Though some make the choice to be seneschals for other supernaturals still. And those not technically immortal, they have a resilience that makes them somehow beyond mortal. (Inherent Domain: Impose)
Exceptional Mortals
Exceptional mortals are mortals who can, in their own ways, sense and manipulate Apeiron, but do not have the fortitude of other supernatural beings.
Sorcerers and Technomages are gifted through Apeiron with the ability to perform extraordinary feats of reality manipulation—one through an occult lens and the other with a mystical bond to machines. There's a saying about how mortal sorcerers can do so much more than their immoral cousins: the candle that burns as bright as a nuke doesn't burn for long, but damn does it leave some damage behind. Apeiron drives sorcerers to discover, and technomages to create. (Inherent Domain: Forge)
Hunters are those who have been imbued with a power best described as anti-Apeiron, or perhaps a different side of Apeiron. Hunters are drawn to beings of Apeiron, even when they don't realize it. And hunters hunger to end those who are touched by Apeiron. That said, hunters can befriend supernaturals, provided they get a chance to sate their murderlust by fighting alongside them. (Inherent Domain: Intuit)
Car wizards are the newest breed of exceptional mortals, who can achieve genuinely superheroic acts in a very particular paradigm—one fueled by the prominence of the automobile due to modern media. (They're quite competent outside of a vehicle as well, just as their media counterparts are, so don't underestimate them.) The rest of the supernatural world is still trying to fight out how these Apeiron-fueled thrillseekers fit into their schemes, but tread carefully: when behind the wheel, they seem powerful enough to take on an immortal. (Inherent Domain: Move)
The Otherworldly
Some supernaturals come to the Realms Mortals from other points in the Darkest Cosmos, with power that rivals the terrestrial supernaturals.
Ghosts are harbingers of doom who have found their way from the Atramentous Lands back to the Realms Mortal. Unstuck from life and touched by raw Apeiron, they are forces of prophecy and entropy. Nothing can escape the notice of ghosts, for they can see through lies as easily as through walls. They can offer sage counsel and shepherd beings through otherworldly places, or they can sow chaos to feed from the emotions of mortals. (Inherent Domain: Perceive)
Feytouched are humans transformed by long exposure to the Faerie (or their descendants), and come in two varieties. Some are emissaries of the Sidhe Nobles, beings of immense power whose whims reverberate in the Realms Mortal. Others are those given leave to explore being on Earth for a time, to eventually make the choice or returning of being stripped of their awesomeness and left mortal and vulnerable. Through their natures they can find their way into any place they need to—the desired trait for the Sidhes' heralds and a useful talent for those who are exploring freedom. (Inherent Domain: Heist)
Angels are beings from the Heaven, a realm of souls ruled by beings known as Archangels, all forged by the Creator's Light—a power that seems not unlike Apeiron. Angels visit the Realms Mortal on the behest of their masters to fight "forces of Sin" and "purify mortal souls." They're on par with immortals as universal badasses—some even speculate that there's a strong link between immortals and angels. They're also super arrogant, and aren't above telling ghosts and they feytouched that they're unnatural abominations. (Inherent Domain: Fight)
Demons are beings from Hell, a realm of souls ruled by Lucifer's Archdemons. Hell is a dark mirror of Heaven where a heart made of Apeiron beats, and demons travel to the Realms Mortal to tempt souls into their abyss, so their heart can feed. Once on Earth, though, many demons get a taste for mortal living and are loathe to return. They're on par with vampires as wicked manipulators, though demons are more focused on individuals. (Inherent Domain: Influence)
There are other sorts of beings, certainly, though rarely seen or now extinct. You may see that none of those on-screen in this modern day hold Hide as their Inherent Domain, though of course any such beings so tied to Hide would be those we'd rarely see…
Emerald City Comicon
I'll be floating around Emerald City Comicon this Friday and Saturday, so if you happen to see me, say hi! I'll also be at the Worldbuilders charity event, happily just as an attendee getting to enjoy some time with awesome fellow creators.
#YOLF
—Ryan
System Overview Part 1: Essences & Domains
about 8 years ago
– Wed, Apr 06, 2016 at 04:28:55 PM
The first Wednesday of the campaign means the first post about the system behind Katanas & Trenchcoats.
At its core, the dice system K&T uses is familiar: You take a thing that looks like a core attribute and a thing that looks like a skill. Gather that many d10s and roll them. 7s and higher are successes. Compare and bam, you have a victor (or tie) in that moment. (Optionally, rolling three 0s means something literally explodes in the scene.)
There are two spins, though. First, we've learned a lot about how to make such dice games more interesting—in play and in output—over the last decade. When you play the system in full, you'll see DNA from Fate, Cortex Plus, Apocalypse World, etc. just as much as you will the '90s inspirations. Second, those core attributes and skill-like things? In K&T, they're esoteric, in-world, kinda ridiculous concepts called Essences and Domains. This post is about them; I'll build on this to talk about how the dice play out in an upcoming post.
Essences
All beings in the Darkest Cosmos are made up of four inherent Essences. These core Essences go by many names, but the game itself calls them: Cunning, Finesse, Potency, and Tenacity. There's a fifth Essence possessed only by those of supernatural and exceptional mortal natures: Apeiron, the stuff the Darkest Cosmos is made of. Each Essence fits a particular range of intents and modes, and each comes with downsides that could happen as a result of failure of success alike.
Potency is about in-your-face action. It's direct, blunt, all about displays of power. Actions involving Potency include using physical strength, brute intimidation, psychic imposition, etc. Of the four classical elements, Potency is Fire.
On the other hand, Potency is loud and obvious. When you use Potency for an action, it's not subtle. People will notice. It'll likely leave evidence or an impression. Those you shove around will come back for vengeance later, with more force than you (or a clever plan) used to make sure they can overcome you. That is, if they don't just immediately turn to rash or violence action right then.
Finesse is about being fluid and flexible, in mind as well as body. It's indirect and instinctive. Actions involving Finesse include rapid movement, quick reaction, and most things delicate. Classical element: Water.
On the other hand, Finesse is flashy and memorable. Unlike Potency, it can be subtle and quiet, but if noticed it leaves an impression—a good impression if successful, a humiliating one when not. Witnesses of your finesse may talk, with word spreading to folks you'd rather have not know about you. Or they'll study you for weaknesses after seeing how badass you are.
Cunning is about being observant and quick of mind, in a deliberate manner opposed to the instinctiveness that is Finesse. Actions involving Cunning include situation analysis, quick thinking, and exploiting weakness through the unexpected. Classical element: Air.
On the other hand, Cunning is humiliating, and it easy leads to overconfidence. People really hate it when they're tricked, conned, or otherwise manipulated. Using Cunning against smart people leads to them trying to con you back to make you look the fool and regain a sense of superiority. Using Cunning against dumb people can mean getting punched in the face for making them feel small and demeaned.
Tenacity is about being indomitable and unrelenting, whether that's bracing for an ambulance coming to hit you, beating back psychic compulsion, or spending hours brute-forcing your rival's computer password. Actions involving Tenacity include resisting attacks and manipulations as well as long and tedious tasks (which are best handled as a single die roll, then moved on form). Classical element: Earth.
On the other hand, Tenacity is passive and focused. When you put your guard up or push yourself to a single task, your metaphorical (or literal) flank is exposed—you aren't defending other stakes. And even when successful, that action can mean losing ground elsewhere as the cost of enduring that moment.
Apeiron is about tapping into the heart of darkness and power in moments of hubris or desperation. Anything can be an Apeiron-fueled action. In fact, if you don't like having failed an action you attempted with a normal Essence, you can always call upon Apeiron to bail you out, at a cost.
On the other hand, Apeiron is chaotic and weird, and all supernatural beings take notice. When you fuel actions with this trait, you're tapping into a whirlwind of cosmic forces you don't understand to attempt some action in a grand fashion. Shit's gonna get funky. Even success likely leaves you shaken or scarred. Failure… well, let's just say you don't want any part of that badness—including being near someone who uses it poorly.
Domains
Characters in Katanas & Trenchcoats don't simply have skills that delineate what can and can't be done. One instead measures their command in different domains of meta-influence—or Domains for short. Each Domain holds a wide breadth and strange depth mortals often find baffling. For instance, one who is strongly connected to the Fight Domain could be both an MMA champion and a medalist sharpshooter. One strongly connected to Perceive is a revealer of truth, whether through words spoke, written, or unuttered.
The core Domains are:
Fight: Making people being less alive than they were a moment ago, or keeping yourself from that same fate.
Forge: Making and breaking things—physical, technological, and metaphysical.
Intuit: Investigating circumstances, happening upon a realization, seeing through deceptions, suddenly knowing things you shouldn't.
Heist: All forms of cheating and breaking into things—theft, hacking, bypassing astral wards, etc.
Hide: Not just hiding from plain sight, but also sneaking around, stashing something, concealing emotions, and other deceptions from normal and mystical sense.
Impose: Forcing yourself upon a situation, like breaking down a steel door with your bear hands (specifically relevant to werebears), stopping some con going down, or bullying your way into a vampire guild meeting.
Influence: Playing with minds, by getting people to like/trust you, lying convincingly, pushing their buttons, etc.
Move: Making the Darkest Cosmos part around you, like water parting around a shark made of jet engines.
Perceive: Finding hidden truths—through your casual senses, decoding/cryptanalysis, arcane methods, etc.
When you act, you describe what you're doing, and the Story Master tells you which Domain and Essence to roll. (Unless you're using Apeiron, in which case you lead with that declaration. The SM rarely tells you you're tapping into the darkness—that's up to you, though that topic is its own post.)
Why These Things
The Essence + Domain system has three goals, and I'm pretty happy with how it hits all of them:
- There's a level of familiarity with combining such things, so it's not so weird as to be unusable. The original K&T system of Trait + Skill was usable only in certain situations, and its humor broke down when you tried to do stuff outside of that too often.
- The concepts therein are a bit weird, to reinforce the idea that K&T characters are Others in a world of mortals. A strong person might not be great at breaking something well, unless they're connected to the Forge Domain. Someone with a high rank in the Move domain could parkour or fly a jet. (Well, mostly, but that's what a post on how knowledge works will cover.) Every K&T character is just weird.
- These terms are just on the edge of overwrought or silly enough to say to remind you of the game's tone as you play, but not to being oppressive about it. Sometimes that will move into the background, then it'll come back up when needed and you'll remember that this is Katanas & Trenchcoats, not The Actually Super Serious RPG.
And these things are actually in-world forces. That won't come up often in the game, but does make a difference if you're trying to do weird sorcerous effects or want to get a read on your nemesis's strengths and weaknesses.
Where Are the Original Traits?
Fans of Year One will note you're not rolling "Awesome Sword + Fight" or "Kickass Wardrobe + Move." Those elements are definitely still in the game! One of my requirements for reshaping the rules into something functional is we couldn't get rid of having things like "Awesome Sword" and "Kickass Wardrobe" from the character sheet.
Those have become powers and abilities tied to each sort of supernatural character, so all immortals have an awesome sword (or sword-like thing), mystical talents, raging passion, ancient memories, and kickass wardrobe. They affect what you can do, and no longer are just about what dice you grab.
With that, this post is around 1300-words long, so I'll wrap up this up…
Metagame update
Current total: 115 Points. We're two emo pictures away from getting drama-focused advancement rules!
More Writers Announced!
Some more writers I'm talking with about being a part of Katanas & Trenchcoats:
- Jess Hartley (Changeling: the Lost among many other games, including the fey-touched bit for the original Katanas & Trenchcoats)
- Rodney Thompson (Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, designer on Destiny)
- Jennifer Brozek (whose novel Never Let Me Sleep is up for the Bram Stoker Award this year)
- Filamena Young (a host of Onyx Path titles; she and I also share bylines on a number of game books)
- Jeremy Tidwell (one of my writers on the Convention Books for Mage: the Ascension)
Also, K&T got a writeup in GeekDad! :D
#YOLF
—Ryan
First Unlock! And a Clearer Metagame
about 8 years ago
– Tue, Apr 05, 2016 at 04:25:24 PM
Grandeur point total: 105!
That means Katanas & Trenchcoats now includes other locations on Earth beyond Darkest Vancouver!
I got some comments about the Metagame being too vague, and people wanting it to clearly know what people were really getting and which activities were worth effort. So let's demystify the Metagame.
Rewards Detailed
So here's what you get at different goalposts:
- At 100 points (just now!): Other locations on Earth beyond Darkest Vancouver.
- At 125 points: Drama-focused advancement rules.
- At 150 points: Extraterrestrial locations and characters, for those of you that like to play games off-world.
- At 175 points: Detailed magic rules for sorcerers, technomages, and other mojo-slingers.
- At 200 points: Deeper detail on the cosmology and metaphysics, for those of you that want to make chronicles about cosmic events.
Once we get to the 200-point unlock, I'll unleash the next set of five!
Actions Detailed
-
Photos yourselves dressed up as K&T characters: 5 points. Bonus if the backgrounds are awesome, like you're a character in history or guarding some grand monument.
-
Illustrations of K&T characters and scenes: 5 points. Bonus as above.
-
Fanfic about your character or some other story of the Darkest Cosmos: 5 points. Bonus for being extra overwrought.
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Fan videos of in-character soliloquies or scenes: 20 points. Bonus if multiple people are involved, you use wicked SFX, etc.
-
Ballads of the Darkest Cosmic: 5 points if written, 10 points if sung. Bonuses for musical accompaniment, multiple singers in harmony, etc.
-
Other creative stuff I haven't thought of that wows me: at least 5 points. (Warning, I'm kinda easily wowed.)
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Each $1000 the campaign raises: 5 points.
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Get #YOLF trending on Twitter with awesomeness: 100 points.
After today, when I post a new update about the game, I'll include at the top the current state of the Metagame. That way, I'm not spamming with separate posts about that. I'll also keep the campaign story up to date at around the same time.
Let me know if you have other questions? Hope I made the whole "how to stuff more awesomeness into Katanas & Trenchcoats" clearer!
#YOLF
—Ryan
Why the Focus on Immortals?
about 8 years ago
– Mon, Apr 04, 2016 at 10:14:30 PM
It's Monday, so here's another bit about the game!
Turns out that when you have ageless immortal humans and undying vampires in the same setting, people ask: "What makes immortals special?" And that's a super-great question I've been playing with over the last year.
I love stories of wandering ageless badasses with messy, centuries-long romances and grudges. I love the idea that all of those characters share a mysterious origin they don't fully understand. And I love the idea that they can try their damnedest to put down the sword and pick up a plowshare, but the world won't let them live in peace for long. (Likewise, movies like Unforgiven have left their mark on me.)
You get much of that with vampires, but vampires are also alien predators. In the "vampires wants to be cool with the human world" narrative, vampires are running from themselves along with trying to not be taken down by each other. You've got that deep internal conflict of "are you my lover or are you a snack?" Immortals don't have that added layer—their own tragedy is simpler, and a little more focused because of that.
So What Are Immortals, Then?
Immortals can be summed up as ageless badasses with unsubduable passions.
In Katanas & Trenchcoats, immortals are ageless humans that are connected to the forceful, violent side of Apeiron—the essence of the Darkest Cosmos. They're the supernatural world's fiercest combatants. Between being able to sense other beings infused with Apeiron and being able to summon their soul-bound weapon at will, they're never entirely caught off-guard. Some wield sorcerous abilities, like channeling lightning or communing with the dead. Others can shrug off having a building fall on top of them. All in all, being an immortal is a sweet gig.
But immortality isn't all cool cutlery and rapid healing. Every sort of supernatural being has a downside, and the downside to being immortal is being a slave to pride and passion. If an immortal turns their back on their deep yearning, all that awesome power they have is yanked from them, leaving them vulnerable to anyone they've ever pissed off. This leads immortals to act largely on emotion and impulse. They're not great at long-term planning unless it's directly about their deep yearning.
So Why Have Vampires?
Having a world with immortals and vampires means getting to play off of two very different sorts of ageless beings. There's a lot of cool drama potential there, especially when you get into things like love affairs between immortal Juliets and vampire Romeos.
If that's not your thing, don't worry. Katanas & Trenchcoats can easily play in an immortal-only mode—the book will talk about how that works out. That's just not the default because I love those urban fantasy worlds where a bunch of very different sorts of supernatural beings coexist in secret. (I was a fan of the Dresden Files novels long before I was hired to work on the RPG.)
The Differences Between Ageless Beings
Let's do some compare/contrast with immortals and vampires.
Immortals dominate and duel, and are slaves to passion and pride. They are the strongest of the primary supernaturals, in terms of physical and metaphysical combat. They are powerhouses, with the dark force of Apeiron manifesting as raw might and endless endurance. But their curse is to be driven by emotion—the Darkest Cosmos wants them to follow their hearts into chaos, and those who would deny their passion lose their connection to raw power.
Vampires scheme and organize, and are slaves to hunger and greed. Being undead, vampires are undying and have superior fortitude, but they're beings of shadow. Their sorcerous powers are tied to subterfuge—being able to hypnotize mortals, cloak into mist, and blend into darkness and death. But being undead comes with the curses we're all familiar with: a severe allergy to sunlight, a particularly inconvenient dietary restriction, etc.
Why don't immortals rule the world? Some have grand aspirations, and immortals control some major corporations today, but for the most part being immortal means getting embroiled in personal struggles that get in the way of board meetings and press conferences. And vampires aren't particularly interested in immortals ruling over them and humanity, so the heads of the vampire guilds conduct wars of influence.
Why don't vampires rule the world? The stock market isn't open during the midnight hours, so that puts a minor crimp in things. (Though less so in today's interconnected world.) Some major vampires hold stakes in corporations you and I are familiar with, and they don't have the immortal curse of passion to distract them. But a lot of immortals see themselves as "defenders of humanity" and enjoy dismantling vampire power structures. Add to that their predatory nature to compete with each other, and you have the vampiric condition in a nutshell.
As the game's system is unveiled, you'll see how immortals are expressed as beings of force and passion. The setting stuff described here isn't just fluff—it's reinforced in how the dice play out and what characters are able to do, either with ease or with difficulty.
I hope this answer gives you a cool glimpse into where Katanas & Trenchcoats is going. Next up, I'll shift gears to talk about the system and mechanics.
Don't forget to play the Metagame!
#YOLF
—Ryan
The Metagame: Unlocking New Stuff
about 8 years ago
– Sat, Apr 02, 2016 at 08:19:01 PM
It's common for tabletop game Kickstarter campaigns to have stretch goals, with new stuff that gets unlocked at different amounts of funding. I like that first part, but I'm also throwing a lot of conventional wisdom out the door, so I'm not gonna hold to that second part so much.
Welcome to the Metagame
Throughout the campaign, we're all going to play the Metagame, but to do that I have to explain a mechanic in K&T called Grandeur points. This was called Grandeur Rank in Year One (my term for all the 2015 K&T stuff), and it was based on how overwrought your characters' backstories were, modified by the Story Master at whim.
In playtesting the changes, the group wanted to actually do something with Grandeur beyond just a silly stat on the sheet, but not in a way that made characters more powerful simply because one player was able to write a five-page poem while another was too busy to do or felt intimidated or bored doing the same thing. So it turned into a currency used to force implausible dramatic moments.
I'll dive more into that in a later update. For now, all you need to know is that the game has Grandeur points. And so does this campaign.
Grandeur points are earned by y'all, and we spend them to unlock new stuff for K&T.
How You Earn Grandeur Points
- Pictures of yourselves dress up as K&T characters—whatever that means to you—earns points. More so if the backgrounds are awesome, like you're a character in history or guarding some grand monument. Could be photos, could be illustrations.
- Videos of in-character soliloquies. Music and sound effects are optional, but encouraged.
- Fanfic about your character. (Jeremy Kostiew did this enough in Year One to where I asked him he should write actual K&T stuff for me.)
- Ballads of the Darkest Cosmos
- Other creative stuff I haven't thought of, and you'll likely surprise me with.
- Each $1000 of funding (including the first $10,000) earns points. I don't want to shut out people who are happy to talk about the game to others, but don't want to.
Put all that on Twitter with the hashtag of #YOLF — "You Only Live Forever". Hell, if we can get #YOLF trending with amazing fan stuff, that'll also get us some points. If you're not on Twitter, post a link in the Kickstarter's comments and mark with the hashtag so I can easily find them.
Please be mindful of usage rights. Don't rip off of others' hard work unless you have permission. That said, you know part of my video where you can see the green screen? You totally have permission to use that to make a K&T fan thing.
How many points are these things worth? The scoring system is sliding-scale, and I think you'll find out the mechanisms as we play the game. :)
What We're Playing For
The first ten things to unlock, in no special order:
- Other Darkest locations on Earth beyond Darkest Vancouver
- Extraterrestrial locations and characters, for those of you that like to play games off-world.
- Deeper detail on the cosmology and metaphysics, for those of you that want to make chronicles about cosmic events
- Detailed magic rules for sorcerers, technomages, and other mojo-slingers
- Sigils for the ruling immortal Houses
- The Buffet—host of optional rules, including a random table to decide which optional rules to use in a given session (to simulate the Darkest Cosmos going through a great flux)
- Designer's notes, for those of you that like peeking under the hood and getting explanations of design decisions
- In-character book of immortal lore
- Drama-focused advancement rules
- A weird-ass Fate variant by Leonard Balsera and myself
When Unlocks Happen
At least three times a week, I'll tally up what I've seen and add to the pool. If we hit the next goal, something unlocks!
By the way, we're at 55 points already, and the first unlock happens at 100. :)
Why I'm Trying This
At PAX Dev, I saw the keynote by Elan Lee, where he talked about the Exploding Kittens Kickstarter and the achievement system. I wrote down in my notebook "This is how I do K&T." Since then, that's been confirmed by seeing other game producers do that.
Going beyond that, I like the idea that people who can only afford to put $15 in can still influence what gets produced. We should all get to play, so I came up with this way of trying an achievement system that feels more like how K&T plays out that like a video game trophy system. I hope it'll be fun for us all!
Let the Metagame begin!
#YOLF
—Ryan
