Badass Kung Fu Demigods, draft # 8 is done!

Who could possibly be interested in regular blog posts? Your audience? Potential buyers of your game? Naaaaah.

Sorry it's been so long. The good news is that I have been hard at work on Badass Kung Fu Demigods. Just completed the 8th draft a few days ago and figured I'd go over it here...that being the entire point of this blog.

Badass Kung Fu Demigods v 0.8  

So, it's a little bit lighter on the major structural changes to the mechanics, but there's some significant differences here. 
  
Fighting Styles and Backgrounds: 
The biggest one is that I've split Traits into two categories: Fighting Styles and Backgrounds. This is actually a huge throwback to the game that eventually transformed into Badass Kung Fu Demigods, the PDQ martial arts game Battle Royale. So, why am I going back to the start? 

First is that I realized that while having combat and non-combat Traits mixed interchangeably works okay for some games like vanilla PDQ, in Badass Kung Fu Demigods your combat abilities are going to be of paramount importance. It's a game about being walking powerhouses who can tear apart aircraft carriers and smack around kaiju. There's no reason that anyone should be building a "non-combat" character in this game. Sure, you can have characters who are good at things outside of combat, and even characters who aren't as focused on fighting as others...but roles like the classic "skill monkey" or "face", characters who might be helpless in combat but provide other advantages don't really fit in a game where everyone's default powers are enough to smack Superman around.

So, drawing from the same "pool" of resources to buy both combat and non-combat Traits means that characters who want to be the very best (like no one ever was) at fighting are going to be sacrificing their non-combat abilities to do it, while someone trying to develop another style of character could fall into the trap of thinking a non-fighty build is viable only to find their utility Traits don't contribute very much when it's time to power up and fight three-headed space dragons. By dividing the Traits out the gate I can ensure that everyone has the baseline combat competence they need without sacrificing utility and roleplaying Traits. 

It also helps solve an issue I've been wrestling with ever since I started working on Badass Kung Fu Demigods...balancing the utility of combat and non-combat Traits. Part of it is that some combat traits are significantly useful outside of combat (things like speed or reflexes in particular see a lot more use than something like swordfighting outside of the battlefield). It was never a huge deal, but it was significant enough to be a constant headache. Especially since earlier drafts focused on the idea of using Declarations to "lock down" certain Traits, and some of them were much more vulnerable than others. 

Introducing Fighting Styles allows me to cut through a lot of that by simply expanding all combat abilities to roughly the same level. No matter what your fighting style is you can attack, defend or destroy stuff roughly equally well. No swordfighter is going to lose access to their Trait when they're disarmed, super-strong characters don't also have to purchase an armor or toughness trait to allow them to defend themselves and it helps solve the puzzle of using magical or psychic abilities in combat in a more meaningful way (namely by dividing up the combat and non-combat uses of these traits). 

The Form rules (another throwback to the original Battle Royale rules, mapping very closely to it's forms with the exception of the lack of a Flame form) also allow me to do something I've been trying to do for quite some time...introduce some mechanical distinctions in how characters fight. For some games a looser style is fine where the guy with a big hammer fights the same as the little speedster who fights the same as the wizened martial arts master. However, you don't play a game called Badass Kung Fu Demigods without focusing on the combat and since everyone fights it's important to feel like your character fights differently from your fellow PCs and even your opponent. I've tried a lot of different ways to get this to work while keeping the light framework that BAKFDG operates on and I think this is the best implementation so far. 

Fighting Styles are divided up into four different Forms: Might (strong and tough), Flash (fast and agile), Tech (skilled and focused) and Arcane (using magic, mind bullets or similar non-physical combat abilities). The differences aren't huge, but they're enough to make your choice meaningful and even introducing a bit of strategy where fighting the right opponent can make a significant difference in battle. The inclusion of Hybrid forms (combining two of them together) gives even more options. 

I spent a lot longer pontificating on just that one aspect of the new draft, so I think I'll save the rest for a different post...which hopefully will be in just a day or two rather than the previous long wait.

Badass Kung-Fu Demigods: Development Journal pt 1

So, last week I mentioned what I've been doing as far as new conversion material, but quite a lot of my free time has actually been spent on games of my own. The one I want to talk about first is Badass Kung-Fu Demigods.

The name alone should give you some idea of the sort of game you're dealing with.

BAKFDG is an original system, the latest of several I've been working on and despite that it has the distinction of being the system closest to feeling complete and ready for action. It's "clicked" in a way very few of my other works have and I've already reached a point where it's almost out of the "rough draft" phase...something Battle Royale hasn't managed despite several years of work.

The fourth draft is available here: Badass Kung-Fu Demigods (v 0.4)

So...if I feel like it's practically finished already, haven't I kind of moved beyond commenting on the game's development? Well, here's the thing...I feel like it's practically done, but that doesn't mean it is. The intent behind this is to more or less break down my own game, chapter by chapter. I'll discuss the ideas behind the mechanics and the ideas and hopefully that'll help me spot any areas in desperate need of sprucing up or help me feel like things are definitely and firmly "good".

Part 1: Origins

Just to start with, I'll go over how this game got started. It all began with my long-time project, Battle Royale. A game that, while I'm still quite enthusiastic about it, certainly has not solidified with anything like the quickness or surety of BAKFDG. I've gone over and over the system for Battle Royale, tinkering and rejiggering to see what feels right.

In this case, I was thinking of creating a playtesting "setting". But if you remember any of the Battle Royale material I've discussed before, the game is designed to provide multiple different power levels for different types of games. I started originally making different playtesting scenarios for different settings with different power levels...but I was having enough trouble getting together a playtesting group for one setting, let alone several to stress test Battle Royale at different power levels.

So I hit upon the idea of having a single setting with characters who were capable of adjusting their own Power Levels up and down from the lowest rank to the highest, allowing for the possibility of testing the rules for different power levels all in one game!

The setting was called "Kung-Fu Demigods" and owed a bit to Exalted and the Korean Manhwas Veritas and Breaker The premise being that in the ancient world existed secret martial arts societies run by 13 near godlike Great Masters who were capable of the highest levels of martial arts ability and whose power would carry from one life to the next through reincarnation. These 13 Great Masters dealt with spirits, maintained the balance of the world and fought one another in epic martial arts throw-downs.

Five of the Great Masters formed an alliance and through various means developed the means to create semi-mystical drugs that could elevate the chi of their students. Backed with a small army of lesser (but still amazing) martial artists these five Masters defeated the other 8 and then dominated the rest of the world, shaping society as they saw fit.

Fast forward to the modern age, the world is ultimately dominated by the Unified Martial Arts Society, still led by those 5 Great Masters. Artificial chi-boosting drugs are mass produced and used to elevate those with talent, called The Gifted, above ordinary human beings.

Of course, the players would be reincarnations of the former 8 Great Masters, with the potential for near-unlimited martial arts power...but the five Great Masters have centuries of skill and massive support in the form of the Martial Arts Society they created.

The players would have the ability to push their way, at will, from the lower power levels to the higher power level, immediately gaining the benefits of the new level of ability...with the downside being that doing so attracts the attention of someone of the same Power Level. So while you could Power Up to Cosmic power level and kick a mugger into orbit that'll alert the remaining Great Masters that something is up.

For whatever reason, this concept really caught me. Most games, even the high-powered ones like Scion or Exalted, work on the premise that (powerful or not) you start at the low end of your respective power-scale and gradually work your way up. Why not, I thought, have a game where absolutely ridiculous levels of power are available from the very start...sure, there's always room for lateral growth or new tricks...but why not throw the players raw power and set them loose in a world where their choices have truly massive consequences.

And that thought is where the seed of Badass Kung-Fu Demigods began.

Playtesting

Now that my work for Acthung! Cthulhu has moved to the layout stage I'm ready to get the ball rolling on the playtest for Battle Royale!

The playtest is going to be completely open, anyone who wants to can get onboard and help me out, just make sure to let me know how it went. The playtesting packet includes the rules for Battle Royale's "default" Power Level: Cinematic, suitable for action-movie style martial arts. I've also included an optional short, intro adventure and a collection of pregenerated martial artists.

If you want to take part and help move the game one step closer to completion then you can go to my website http://zombietoast.com/ and download the playtesting material and get started. If you've got the time feel free to keep me updated via your social media of choice.

PDQ Week Pt 4: PDQ# and Swashbucklers of the Seven Skies

Now we come to the latest PDQ offering. Technically speaking both of these are really the same game but I'm splitting the info up for reasons that should become apparent. 

PDQ#

PDQ# is the newest "edition" of PDQ. It's not a 2nd edition or a revised edition so much as it's an...alternate edition. Basically when working on Swashbucklers of the Seven Skies Chad incorporated a lot of ideas introduced in various other PDQ books along with several new concepts and by the end of it the final result was something different enough to be considered a new version of PDQ. He made the results of this new "core" system available on his website as PDQ# (or PDQ "Sharp").

Why doesn't this count as a 2nd edition of PDQ? Mostly because PDQ# is very focused on the genre of swashbucklers (of the Seven Skies). Swashes and the buckling thereof are threaded throughout the system. The system introduce a different form of Conflicts called Duels designed to be played out as one-on-one contests between characters as well as Techniques, special tricks or conditions that grant a bonus when using a Quality in a specific manner. 

However, despite the swashbuckling focus PDQ# introduces a ton of ideas that fit perfectly in other PDQ games, so perfectly that it's common for PDQ gamers to incorporate many of these new ideas when playing games designed for the original PDQ. Techniques especially are an incredibly flexible and useful tool to give PDQ characters a few more interesting tricks without really increasing their complexity. 

In addition to swashbuckling PDQ# likes to play around with new ways to get players involved in the action and storytelling. For example, the results of dice rolls (whether success or failure) are normally narrated by the player (although they can always pass the narration off to the GM or another player if they're out of ideas). The other major innovation of PDQ# is Style Dice. Fate/Fortune/Karma points are a very common thing to see in PDQ games, but Style Dice are a new breed, namely because of how they are spent and earned. GMs have two sources of Style Dice to hand out to players. The Bowl is the first and it's for rewarding creativity, flair and coolness but it is also limited by quantity. The Box is the second and it's unlimited, but only used for "mechanical" rewards such as being affected by your Weakness (called Quirks now) or similar misfortunes. However, any dice spent go back into the bowl, encouraging players to spend freely to ensure that the Style Dice economy flows smoothly. 

So even if you're not necessarily interested in running a swashbuckling game, PDQ# is practically required reading (fortunately it's free) for PDQ GMs so they can mine it for new ideas and mechanics. 

Swashbucklers of the Seven Skies

That's a cool cover right there. Now I talked about PDQ# earlier partially because if you want you can check it out separate from Swashbucklers of the Seven Skies (what is with PDQ games and the long names?) but also so I could get the mechanical stuff out of the way and jumping into the setting here. Because the setting deserves a lot of attention. 

It's not the first "complete" setting for PDQ (that honor probably goes to Dead Inside) but it's certainly the most fleshed out and robust. Since PDQ games are so player-driven and DIY-oriented mechanically it's no surprise that they have a lot of DIY when it comes to the setting. Most PDQ books are more like toolkits geared towards a certain genre sometimes with a light setting draped around to give things context and provide inspiration. That's not a criticism, it gives a lot of opportunity for freedom and inspiration in a light, compact form. However, at the same time a great setting can be a draw regardless of the system (just look at games like Exalted).

S7S is definitely an interesting and very well-thought-out setting. The magic, the history and the "geography" (areography?) are all well detailed and thorough without being just a massive fantasy atlas. So if you're looking for an original and well-written swashbuckling fantasy setting then I strongly suggest S7S. 

And while most of the game's system innovations can be found in the PDQ# document there are a few original ideas that you can only get in the full version. The most remarkable is the rules for ship-to-ship conflicts. It's a really great mechanic for teamwork and works equally well when taken into different settings (whether it's commanding a starfleet or soldiers on a battlefield). 

My only regret is that I don't currently have much in the way to offer with house rules (so sadly no bonus material today) because I frankly haven't actually had a chance to play a full game, this being the most recent addition to the PDQ family. However, I've made extensive use of the PDQ# rules already by incorporating them into other PDQ games. 

Battle Royale Preview

Since I don't have anything strictly new to add today I'll instead take the opportunity to talk a bit about my own upcoming PDQ game, Battle Royale. It's a game of the "toolkit" variety designed for playing martial arts themed games at a wide range of power levels. 

So with the addition of PDQ# there are now two primary forms of PDQ combat. You've got the traditional Conflicts from regular PDQ and the new Dueling rules from PDQ#. Now the Duel rules are great for adding extra tactical flair to PDQ but they suffer from one major problem...they're designed almost exclusively for one-on-one conflicts (or one PC against a group of Minions) and they aren't nearly as elegant when used in a situation where a larger group gangs up on one or two powerful foes (such as the classic "boss fight" scenario). 

So, while I wanted to keep the new ideas and strategy introduced by Dueling but I didn't want to limit how the players might want to engage their opponents. So I went with the simplest and most obvious solution: use both. Battle Royale will feature both standard PDQ Conflicts but also Bouts, one-on-one battles based on PDQ#'s Dueling rules.

Sketches I made at work

Just a few sketches I found and scanned while moving.

The first couple here are villains from a brief pirate-based playtest I ran for Battle Royale.

These next two are a bit less clear. You ever find something you did a while ago and you can't figure out why? Or what the hell inspired it?

Mythic play-test continuation.

Scene 3 (Chaos 5)

Considering this the start of a new session so Willow's Spirit Dice are refreshed to 6. Also since the "tone" of the last scene was significantly calmer I drop the Chaos rating by one. I've got no immediate plans for what the next scene involves so I roll a random event. I get...Remote Event and Cruelty/Randomness. I decide this means that the mysterious Daimyo has occupied the nearby village with his soldiers and is engaging in all sorts of random acts of wickedness to try and force a reaction from Sagacious Diamond. Willow will try and sneak out of the school to confront the guy. I roll and find out it's an Interrupted Scene so I ask if I've been caught and the emulator tells me that I have. I ask if it's someone from the school and I get a no. So I decide it's Copper Tree. He's upset I made Wandering Moon cry with my verbal abuse and is going to ambush me on the road.

That evening Willow slips out of his blankets, pouring the pot of medicinal tea on the ground. His ankle is fine, Master Diamond's healing skills are exceptional and he's only forcing Willow to rest to keep him out of danger. He had heard other students talking in the hallways about the mysterious samurai lord and his followers attacking the small village of River Bend. Willow sneaks out of his room and into the hallway. He winces as he steps on a creaking floorboard. Pausing for a moment he gathers himself, relaxing himself with breathing exercises before moving onward. Fortunately the other students seem to be sleeping soundly and he easily makes it outside and then it's a simple matter to leap atop the school's wall and from there down to the road below. He makes his way down the path towards the village. Before he gets more than 100 yards down the path he's suddenly tackled from behind by an unseen attacker.

Mythic GM Emulator quasi-review and self-playtest.

After hearing about it for a while I recently got my hands on the Mythic GM emulator set of rules. I've been flipping through it and I've been itching to give it a shot. So I decided to give it a try and post a summary of the results here. And since I've been working on Battle Royale (previously referred to as PDQ-Fu) I figured I'd take the opportunity to do a little solo playtesting, which sounds like a euphemism if I've ever heard one but I swear I'm wearing pants. 

News!

Today I completed the very rough draft of an rpg rule-book I've been working on for quite a while now. It's a martial arts sourcebook for the PDQ system, currently only titled PDQ-Fu. Essentially it'll provide a set of rules for games focused on the martial arts genre for "power levels" ranging from essentially realistic all the way up to ridiculous cosmic-scale face-punching. While I work on editing the text and working on the final layout I'll be playtesting the game over the course of a few months with my local group. I'm hoping to record these sessions and make them available online to give folks a good idea of how the system looks in actual play. 

Nearly wiped out that same group by accident today, sprung a random encounter on them that went south fast (an attack by a cluster of Lightning Elementals). A series of bad rolls left one party member hanging upside down over the side of the airship, held up only be a rope that was looped around their foot with a measly five hit points left. This was the merciful option. Fortunately the encounter was cut short before a Total Party Kill occurred without relying too heavily on DM fiat.