Epidiah Ravachol is locked in his trivia dungeon, and I believe Michael Miller is out injecting people with...

Epidiah Ravachol is locked in his trivia dungeon, and I believe Michael Miller is out injecting people with radioactive animal saliva to create more players for Sunday Evening Superheroes, but... maybe you're free?

I'm up for classic Swords or that newfangled Starward, whichever people prefer.

Originally shared by Epidiah Ravachol

 
Sunday Morning Swords: 24 January 2016

#WintersWrathEdition

Good morning!

Here's our organizational thread. Comment below if you're interested in playing this morning and mention if you're comfortable being an Overplayer and whether or not you have play Swords before.

When we get an Overplayer and three or four Rogue Players, those players will run off and start their hangout. For now, let's focus on getting everyone into a group. We'll probably wait until 9:30 EST to start the last group. If you can't make that, check back in a few hours. Another one will fire up at 9 AM PST for those who wake at a more civilized time.

Feel free to use the hashtag #SundayAMSwords should you desire to chat about your game on the social medias.

P.S. Got some tips on how to do this and links to useful files here: http://www.worldswithoutmaster.com/blog/2014/7/14/sunday-morning-swords
http://www.worldswithoutmaster.com/blog/2014/7/14/sunday-morning-swords

Regrettably, I cannot participate in #SundayAMSwords tomorrow because I'm stuck in a 50-hour trivia contest.

Regrettably, I cannot participate in #SundayAMSwords  tomorrow because I'm stuck in a 50-hour trivia contest.

But it is a 50-hour trivia contest, which means sleep-deprivation and waking dreams. Another #Starward -esque campaign world for Swords is brewing in my feverish skull. One, perhaps, a bit weirder.

Following Michael Miller's lead, I figured I should let you guys know that the tradition of #SundayAMSwords will...

Following Michael Miller's lead, I figured I should let you guys know that the tradition of #SundayAMSwords  will continue at Breakout 2016; a new dedicated multi-day convention purely focused on table-top gaming in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Swords Without Master will be running on Sunday morning at 9am. :D
https://breakoutcon.com/

Someone just posted a Swords Without Master event to the Indie Games eXplosion at Dreamation:...

Someone just posted a Swords Without Master event to the Indie Games eXplosion at Dreamation: http://ipressgames.com/index.php/igx-update/

Starward

Wondrous aliens, worlds and cultures. Battles with swords and ray guns and sorcery alike. Turbulent and nail-biting dogfights. The galaxy is vast and starlit and teems with trouble for a rogue like you. Have you the mettle to play the greatest space fantasy of them all?

A rogue, who has been dancing in my mind for while, to have some alternatives to Dario. Enter Julene.

A rogue, who has been dancing in my mind for while, to have some alternatives to Dario. Enter Julene.

Julene, fist cleric of Jokin

All that deserves a name:
Jokin: Her former companion, and now her divinity.
Ordalia: The shared quest where Jokin achieved godhood, losing all senses but the smell in the process.
The 'stink': The gift of Jokin to Julene, reflected in her ability to generate any scent at will.

Feats heroic:
Jovial: The smell of brimstone permeates the air around her when Julene joins the fray.
Glum: The stench of death disappears wherever she paces in the aftermath of the battle.

Trick:
Canny cognition: Emulating Jokin, she can turn out four senses and perceive the world completely just using smell.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5180/5578039708_c56d4ba6e1_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5180/5578039708_c56d4ba6e1_b.jpg

Sunday Morning Swords: 24 January 2016

#WintersWrathEdition

Good morning!

Here's our organizational thread. Comment below if you're interested in playing this morning and mention if you're comfortable being an Overplayer and whether or not you have play Swords before.

When we get an Overplayer and three or four Rogue Players, those players will run off and start their hangout. For now, let's focus on getting everyone into a group. We'll probably wait until 9:30 EST to start the last group. If you can't make that, check back in a few hours. Another one will fire up at 9 AM PST for those who wake at a more civilized time.

Feel free to use the hashtag #SundayAMSwords should you desire to chat about your game on the social medias.

P.S. Got some tips on how to do this and links to useful files here: http://www.worldswithoutmaster.com/blog/2014/7/14/sunday-morning-swords
http://www.worldswithoutmaster.com/blog/2014/7/14/sunday-morning-swords

Nergüi

Nergüi

A #SwordsWithoutMaster Rogue.

An outrider, scouting from the High Steppes.

All that Deserves a Name
Chuluun - Nergüi's fleet-footed horse, dun, scarred, and fearless in battle.
Khergit - the horse-archer peoples from whom Nergüi hails.
Sanjar Noyan - the war-leader of the Khergit hordes, who demands their fealty.

Feats Heroic
Barbaric - Nergüi barks forth a disturbing, unhinged laughter as he draws back his bowstring, sighting down the arrow with murder glittering in his eyes.
Jovial - Singing in the way of his people, Nergüi howls deep in his throat as he charges forward, wicked curved sword gleaming as he goes.

Trick
Unparalleled - Nergüi has a "Barbaric" tone instead of "Glum".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mA_Fh8vuIM

I ran a playtest session of SwM before I run it at Gamicon at the end of February. Here’s how it broke down.

I ran a playtest session of SwM before I run it at Gamicon at the end of February. Here’s how it broke down.

The Jovial
Talked about Swords & Sorcery touchpoints. Mentioning Xena helped!
My checklist and the Phases and Tones handouts worked well together
Sample Eidolons were helpful to half of the group
Session Eidolon was very effective
Rogue creation took about a half an hour, right on schedule
The ending was really satisfying for all the players
Afterward, a player said the he loved the game, now that he knew how to play

The Glum
Players often struggled with narration and leading questions
Related to the above, the Threads sheets were sparse
Players were very hesitant to “cut loose” with their Rogues

The Moral
Players need to know the Rogues’ Constraints and Affordances
Emphasize 3rd person narration

The Stymies
Unparalleled is not a good Trick for a Neophyte player or Overplayer

I'm working on a version of What Is A Roleplaying Game?

I'm working on a version of What Is A Roleplaying Game? that hits the theme and mechanical highlights of Swords. It'll be a bit longer than 500 words (probably 2-3 pages), but it's still going to be tight and focused only on the very core of the game. So what do you think is the very core? I have my list, but I'm interested in seeing yours.
http://www.dig1000holes.com/what-is-a-roleplaying-game

For anyone interested, I've started a #Starward board on Pinterest for Eidolons and Simulacra: https://www.pinterest.

For anyone interested, I've started a #Starward board on Pinterest for Eidolons and Simulacra: https://www.pinterest.com/stalwartip/starward-eidolons-simulacra/

I'm more than happy to add people to the board. Just contact me over there so I'm certain I'm adding the right person.
https://www.pinterest.com/stalwartip/starward-eidolons-simulacra/

Sunday Morning Swords: 17 January 2016

Sunday Morning Swords: 17 January 2016

#StarwardSequelEdition

Good morning!

Here's our organizational thread. Comment below if you're interested in playing this morning and mention if you're comfortable being an Overplayer and whether or not you have play Swords before.

When we get an Overplayer and three or four Rogue Players, those players will run off and start their hangout. For now, let's focus on getting everyone into a group. We'll probably wait until 9:30 EST to start the first group. If you can't make that, check back in a few hours.

Feel free to use the hashtag #SundayAMSwords should you desire to chat about your game on the social medias.

P.S. Got some tips on how to do this and links to useful files here: http://www.worldswithoutmaster.com/blog/2014/7/14/sunday-morning-swords

http://www.worldswithoutmaster.com/blog/2014/7/14/sunday-morning-swords

I'm sure I'm not the only one completely smitten with #Starward.

I'm sure I'm not the only one completely smitten with #Starward. The Ritual of Strange & Wondrous Encounters is highly effective at generating great alien material for play. Let's share our alien races and planets!

Rogues, I'm at the Arisia convention this weekend, so I won't be able to #SundayAMSwords with you.

Rogues, I'm at the Arisia convention this weekend, so I won't be able to #SundayAMSwords with you. But don't let that stop you!

The Vaex Wars Saga, Chapter 1

The Vaex Wars Saga, Chapter 1

A #Starward tale/campaign, overplayed by me, with Jonathan McGraw, Eugene Wheeler III, and Mike Leavitt.

Gametable: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1_XYySgPVluo546KnkFenDZlKMVqHILdoj1dXrOOtm94/edit?usp=sharing

Opening Crawl

The Vaex Armada has tracked the Resistance fleet to the farthest reaches of the Anixel System, hellbent on exterminating the insurgents at last.  A raging naval battle ensues in the asteroid belt hinterlands.

A small band of Resistance infantry and specialists have landed on an abandoned asteroid weapon station buried deep in the hinterlands, racing to the controls of ancient weapons which may yet turn the tide of the naval battle raging above.

---
Dramatis Personae
Nog, a Gnaean warhusk living his twilight terminal-life inside a Cortex armor suit, defending his people as his life ebbs away.  He is guided by the voices of dozens of Gnaeans who have worn this suit before him; a high-tech version of ancestor spirits.

Qanas alAzraq, a shadowy sniper and stealth warrior, bearing a powerful rifle and a carapace-like armor flecked with tools and displays.

Oz, a machinegunner and grizzled combat veteran.  One of the few survivors of the Vaex obliteration of the 181st Regiment; he now seeks vengeance.

The Vaex, alien warriors with overactive regenerative processes and extremely weak immune systems; leading to continuous molting and vulnerable to virtually any contaminants.  As they age and become more decrepit, they use environmental encounter suits to protect them from even “normal” environments, augmented with prosthetics to replace body parts.  Their heavy reliance on technology would be crippling to them, were it not so brutally effective.

---

Chapter 1

Our heroes are pinned down and being pushed back by Vaex infantry and towering Armor who have teleported into the darkened approach corridor.  The battlespace is lit only by Armor running lights and the constant flicker of blaster fire.  After a quick suit-sensor scan of the surroundings, Nog finds a station control which fires a defensive EMP down the corridor; the security system here was set up to repel an active assault on the control room.  The Vaex mech-suit Armor sags, slams to the floor, and begins to reboot itself while the younger, not-yet-biomechanical Vaex infantry press toward the beleaguered Resistance troops.  

Oz lays down chattering repeater fire and motions up the Resistance infantry toward the disabled Vaex Armor and infantry, but more Vaex infantry teleports in behind friend lines, and the lead Vaex Armor finishes power back up and resumes blasting .  Qanas takes precise but ineffective shots at the Vaex Armor, then is ambushed by a teleporting Vaex footsoldier. Qanas grabs the Vaex trooper, and manhandles him into opening fire on several of his friends and absorbing return fire as a shield.

The lead Vaex Armor is now back online, and charges at the boulder Oz and several fellow Resistance troops are using for cover.  Oz and his friends dodge away at the last moment, and when the Armor pushes the boulder over, it reveals a "this side toward enemy" sticky mine.  The resulting blast rocks the corridor and sends chunks of that Armor everywhere.

The tide turns.  The Vaex infantry fall back to the control room doorway, deploying energy shields that deflect projectile and energy weapons harmlessly into the stone of the corridor.  All but one remaining Vaex Armor hunkers down behind the shields and unleashes heavy fire on the Resistance troops.

The ancient voices living in Nog’s Gnaean armor tell him that the energy shields aren’t Vaex technology.  Emboldened by this knowledge, Nog bodyslams the nearest Vaex Armor, throwing him around to smash several Vaex infantry and before throwing him through the energy shields, which are NOT rated for such a large projectile.  Qanas, meanwhile, cuts all lights and indicators, ghosting into the surroundings, slips behind the shields and climbing aboard each of the remaining Armors to slit power lines, dropping the enemy’s remaining heavy weapons in a giant cloud of blue and red flickering smoke.

Token enemy resistance remains; the way to the weapons’ control room is clear.

But the Vaex have now realized the seriousness of the situation aboard the ancient weapon, and their flagship dreadnought begins firing on the asteroid base.  A veritable earthquake begins under the bombardment.  Our heroes push down the hallway as the last of the Resistance and Vaex infantry attempt to gain the upper hand, finally reaching a giant door with a glowing keyboard.  Vaex infantry, realizing their failure, rushes to stop them from getting through.  The dark hallway lights up like a star with Oz's automatic gunfire laying down supressing fire to cover Nog, who rips the door open with main force, rips the door from its hinges and tosses it over Oz and Qanas atop the oncoming Vaex troops.  The entire facility shakes, on the verge of coming apart under heavy Vaex naval gunfire.

A vast control room lays beyond, smooth black stone control panels with holographic glyphs floating in blue and green and red.  The station continues to shake as the dreadnaught pours on artillery fire.  Qanas rushes to the central control platform to figure out how to fire the weapon and save the Resistance Fleet, but it is first blasted by the last, barely-functional Vaex Armor, spewing gas and sparks with one arm blown off. It stomps into the control room raises its remaining fist to smash the floor in a roaring show of force…  Except that Oz grabs a Vaex energy shield station and tosses it in front of the Armor, whose swinging fist triggers the projectile defense and pulses mightily, blasting the Armor to pieces.

As the station continues threatening to disintegrate under the Vaex Dreadnaught’s bombardment, Nog strides to the downed Armor pilot, grabs him by the throat, and drags him to an apparently-secondary control panel for the base’s weapons system.  “We couldn’t have done this without you,” he laughs at the helpless Vaex.  He wipes his armored palm across the Vaex’s bloodied face, then uses the blood to trace a symbol on a control panel, activating the station’s core doomsday weapon.

A combination of the Anixelians’ long-dead studies in eugenics, epidemiology, and long-range phase technology, the weapon beams a customized virus through the whole system keyed to the Vaex genome.  The station suddenly grows silent as the bombardment ceases; the Resistance fleet radios our heroes their congratulations.  Nog laughs maniacally; without the Vaex counterassault on the control room, there would have been no blood sample to calibrate the weapon.  Oz grumps, "I hate being bait." Qanas, simply eager to be off this rock, asks the fleet to beam them up.

fin

Might there be use for a Pinterest for #Starward eidelons?

5 different characters here. Oh to play a Tale where each player was one of these wizards.

5 different characters here.  Oh to play a Tale where each player was one of these wizards.

Originally shared by Benjamin Feehan

Wizard Alley by Sean Murray

Join me on an adventure into the theoretical.

Join me on an adventure into the theoretical. Let's look at the game through this particular filter and see if we can fill in a particular blank.

Let's say a Strategic Plan is your big picture goal, what you want to accomplish stated in a succinct and easily reference manner.

The let's say your Tactical Plan are the various goals you think are going to lead to you the fulfillment of your Strategic Plan. If you're Strategic Plan is to conquer the known world, then a good Tactical Plan would be raise an immortal army of the undead.

Finally, let's say your Operational Plan is the moment to moment instructions of how you intend to accomplish your Tactical Plan. 7:15 AM to 10:45 AM Monday, research necromancy in the Hall of Forbidden Texts. That sort of thing.

So here's what I'm curious about. When you're playing Swords Without Master:

• The Strategic Plan is to toil together "to craft an enthralling short story of sword and sorcery."

• The Operational Plan is the rules as they are presented in issue 3 of Worlds Without Master.

• What's your Tactical Plan?

Where do you like to search for eidolons? Specifically images.

How strictly do you play that rogues "own no land and are not clearly employed in any respectable sense?" An obvious...

How strictly do you play that rogues "own no land and are not clearly employed in any respectable sense?" An obvious counter-example would seem to be Conan in the later stories like "The Hour of the Dragon" or "The Scarlet Citadel." Is there no room for tales of the fates of kingdoms and empires?

The Ritual of the Gravid Silence

The Ritual of the Gravid Silence

When a player is offered the dice in a Rogues' or Discovery Phase and stares off into the unwritten distance, all else will prove their patience while anticipating the response or revelation, for the pauses and silences are part of the natural ebb and flow of the game.

--------

I was just thinking about how much I enjoy it when a group of players falls into silent, thoughtful contemplation clearing space for the player with the dice to let their imagination roam and hunt down exactly what they want to say. I've witnessed it so many times in #SundayAMSwords  games. Folks get the dice and then look off screen as they think about their answer. And everyone else is so goddamn respectful of it, instead of breaking in with suggestions and whatnot.

I love it. And, of course, the best way to show your love for something is to immortalize it in rules text.

As time drags on I realize that getting into a Sunday AM Swords session (or a Saturday morning or Saturday night or...

As time drags on I realize that getting into a Sunday AM Swords session (or a Saturday morning or Saturday night or Wednesday afternoon) seems less and less likely.

Has anyone attempted play-by-post Swords? Seems like it should work. Would anyone be interested in attempting such a feat?

I thought some more about how I would use SWM to do Doctor Who, and came up with this idea...

I thought some more about how I would use SWM to do Doctor Who, and came up with this idea...

The Ritual of Regeneration
Before your first tale begins, the Overplayer must choose an eidolon for The Doctor. Then each player, in turn, selects a Trick for The Doctor. Write these down. The Overplayer then adds All That Deserves a Name. In play, anyone may describe The Doctor and their Named, and once per session, instead of using their own Trick, a Companion may choose for The Doctor to use one of their Tricks instead. Each Trick, as always, may only be used once, and The Doctor may only use one Trick per tale.

If The Doctor has used all of their Tricks, the Overlord may, at the conclusion of the Perilous Phase, trigger the Ritual of Regeneration again.

And a new Trick...
Solace: When you reincorporate a thread, you may give something from your list of Named to The Doctor, or take something from their list of Named. If you do, give The Doctor an additional Trick of your choosing.

The Tones Without Master Commentary Thread

The Tones Without Master Commentary Thread

I'm starting this thread to comment on the tones folks are coming up with in this thread: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+EpidiahRavachol/posts/fonuGLxM91o

Because I really like having one tone per comment in that other thread. Don't know why.

So we talk about them here, instead of there.

Tones Without Master

Tones Without Master

Let us, then, list all the tones we can think of, unfettered by planet, plane or time.

One tone per comment.

If you want to discuss this thread or the tones in it, shoot on over to here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+EpidiahRavachol/posts/dVKGjZwRZ9i

Yesterday morning, three brave souls—Michael Miller, Keith Stetson, and Stras Acimovic—joined me for a ...

Yesterday morning, three brave souls—Michael Miller, Keith Stetson, and Stras Acimovic—joined me for a #SundayAMSwords  experiment where we veered a little left of sword & sorcery and tested #Starward , my new space fantasy mash-up of Swords Without Master and Vast & Starlit.

Mr. Miller has very capably recapped those adventures here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MichaelMiller1000/posts/7D3LdHNPFTU

It was a fucking blast. And I wanted to share some of my thoughts on it right quick before they fade from my mind like so many Roy Batties in the rain.

• The Ritual of the Opening Crawl was easy and powerful. Three sentences and we were in. We started with the greater situation and zoomed into the immediate situation for our rogues. I may nudge those rules around a bit to ensure that happens every time.

• The Ritual of the Wandering Tone was a delight. We visited the Cascades, twin planets rotating so close to each other that water falls between them. Immediately, I swapped Glum out for Drenched and it led to all manner of trouble for the crew and especially their ship.

• Speaking of ships, I'm tempted to let folks add a Tone to an environment using the same rules for adding something to your Named during the game (pages 26 & 29 in Issue 3 of www.WorldsWithoutMaster.com), because by the end of the session, I was kind of jonesing for a Tone aboard the Lazerhawk.

• Speaking of the rules for adding to your rogue's Named list during the game, the Ritual of Duels & Dogfights pretty much guarantees that you have a chance to do just that with your foe should you want to. How cool is that?

• I need to add a Ritual of the Cliffhanger which let's everyone know that the session is supposed to end with open questions and in media res. 

• I'm going to build a campaign style based  the Novella (page 45 in Issue 3 of Worlds Without Master) but every session should end with a cliffhanger instead of an epilogue.

• I am also tempted to build a giant list of Tones that people can roll on and mash together in order to generate planets and other significant environments.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4nYXSvbVX-AZ2JLTTFpN241MDg/view?usp=sharing

J'lmood

J'lmood

A #SwordsWithoutMaster Rogue

J'lmood is a towering Qurn, a rare race of nomads from the high plateaus and savannahs. He is on a pilgrimage to the end of the world, where the spirit-talkers said he could destroy the artifact that had torn his tribe asunder.

All that Deserves a Name
Mokohu - J'lmood's crash, from whom he is in self-imposed exile.
The Coka - An artifact of the sky gods, which J'lmood has sworn to destroy. He allows none to lay eyes upon it, lest they suffer the same dark fates as some of his crashmates.
The Sky Gods - Inscrutable deities above the clouds who cursed J'lmood's people.

Feats Heroic
Jovial: J'lmood bellows forth a great howl, his stomps shaking the very ground itself in his passion.
Glum: The lumbering mokohu warrior snuffs and shakes his head sadly, thinking of home.

Trick
Inevitable Foe: Clayton, a wily poacher who has killed other Qurn for their horns and hides. He has tracked J'lmood since an oasis some time ago, and is out for blood after J'lmood gored one of his henchman.

Starward

Starward
Episode X
"Mysterious Cargo"

It is a time of peace negotiations. The Automatrix Dominion and the Federation of Free and Willing Systems are meeting on  e Cascades—Binary planets that orbit so closely together, water falls from one to the other. Massive armadas on each side circle the planet.

The independent freighter Lazerhawk must avoid naval entanglements to pick up a mysterious cargo.

*
A starship hiding under an island in an interplanetary waterfall. Alana's piloting at Captain Will's command. Shadowing a Federation patrol ship by copying its standard operating protocols. STVe's knowledge showing the way. A figure in coral armor riding on a flying fish marshalling a starship to land. Ba2 distracted by Quantum anomoly, missing the danger to the hull seals, bursting under water pressure. Occasionally the power of the material world does NOT pale next to the power of the Quanta.

*
SIDEBAR: Enhanced datafile on native species Gamma native to The Cascades:
Eacy being is, in fact, an individual hive of quasi-independent organisms. The dorsal surface has a coral-like protective carapace. When facing outward, resembles coral armor. They are renown throughout space as warriors unparalleled in non-lethal combat. They can vary their internal density. They have no teeth, drinking nectar for sustenance. They can project stinging, paralyzing tendrils from their appendages.

*
On an island rotating, slowing becoming a cliff. The Lazerhawk grounded and surrounded by Federation troops. Waterfall in falling sunlight. Rainbows everywhere!

Laser drills brought to bear on stubborn hull. A shout! Blaster fire. Efficiency versus pluck. A mortar brought to bear. Too powerful its anchoring jets. The island rotating and Federation troopers drenched. Angelus, the fish-woman, paralyzing troops with stinging tendrils. Steam from blaster bolts enveloping the battlefield. Ba2 reflecting laser bolts off polished sword-a distraction. Captain will destroying the laser drills. "I just fixed that."

Off the troop transport, Brigadier Armstrong, in cavalry hat and breathing apparatus like moustaches and muttonchops. A fencing salute. Sword skills perfectly according to training. Ba2 drawing the battle closer to the Lazerhawk. A devastating deviation from standard protocol! Ba2's katana twisting through the weird gravity. How does a Federation officer understand Quantum flux? Magnet boots on outer hull of The Lazerhawk.

STVe thrown into the mysterious, precious cargo during liftoff. Brown, earthy, fragrant, spongy.

Water in the ship. Bailing out the engine room. Icicles of vented moisture on the outer hull. A flashing light on a robotic tracking unit, unseen on the outer hull. They're tracking us. You didn't think our escape would be so easy? Angelus screaming at Captain Will: "You said you could deliver it in time. The colony needs to leave when the wormhole opens. The next wormhole is in ten thousand centuries. I don't live that long!"

Angelus and Ba2 picking the mulch from STVe. The cold chill of fear in a robot’s central processor. Impossible Quantum energy packed into this mulch. The Nth-power Quantum mulch: The question isn't what it can do, but what it can't do! How can the Nth-power Quantum mulch be neutralized?

Days later, the prismatic drive too waterlogged to track. No FTL means our pursuers are looking in the wrong place. The ol' "too slow to follow" gambit. First mate Amara not at the controls. Angelus also missing. Ba2 uses a mote of mulch to search the Quantum field.

A cloaked ship secretly docked with the Lazerhawk! Alana and Angelus onboard. The cephalopodic ship launches into prismatic drive. Captain Will vents atmosphere and water all. A plume of prismatic ice crystals blooming from the ship’s hull. Prismatic drive restored! STVe skillfully navigates to match cephalopodic ship's course.

Powered by Nth-power Quantum mulch, Ba2 leaps the distance, but overpowered. Android body smashing through cephalopdic drive system, and tumbling out the otherside through void. Captain Will bringing The Lazerhawk to bear on the cephalopodic ship. Zoom out. The Automatrix Dominion surrounds both!

The wormhole opens.

A single Federation ship appears near the floating helpless Ba2. On bridge, a figure cavalry hat, bearing both saber and katana. "Gotcha!"

**********
Epidiah as the Overplayer
Stras as Captain Will and first mate Alana
Keith as STVe
Myself as Ba2

Our virtual tabletop: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1Tl964iNFt2_YdVSiLaf2I24FZfm40uPoXVWnPJCOYP0/edit
The Lazerhawk: http://imgur.com/ztSKgBb

http://imgur.com/ztSKgBb

Captain Will Orden

Captain Will Orden
#Starward  Rogue

All that Deserves a Name
The Lazerhawk - Captain will’s well used, but still functional ship (http://imgur.com/ztSKgBb) (Tone: Rad)
Alana M’lari - The green-skinned and fire-haired first mate of the Lazerhawk.
Earth - The captain’s faraway home.

Feats heroic
Jovial - With wink and a grin, Will throws the first punch.
Glum - On the captains mark, the Lazerhawk evens the playing field with great precision.

Trick
Locus - On board the Lazerhawk, floating quietly through multi-colored, faintly glowing gas.
Compact - … we rely on the prowess of the Lazerhawk.

Sunday Morning Swords: 10 January 2016

Sunday Morning Swords: 10 January 2016

#StarwardEdition

Good morning!

Here's our organizational thread. Comment below if you're interested in playing this morning and mention if you're comfortable being an Overplayer and whether or not you have play Swords before.

When we get an Overplayer and three or four Rogue Players, those players will run off and start their hangout. For now, let's focus on getting everyone into a group. We'll probably wait until 9:30 EST to start the last group. If you can't make that, check back in a few hours. Another one will fire up at 9 AM PST for those who wake at a more civilized time.

Feel free to use the hashtag #SundayAMSwords should you desire to chat about your game on the social medias.

P.S. Got some tips on how to do this and links to useful files here: http://www.worldswithoutmaster.com/blog/2014/7/14/sunday-morning-swords
http://www.worldswithoutmaster.com/blog/2014/7/14/sunday-morning-swords

STVe

STVe

A #Starward  rogue (art by Wouter Gort)

Items Deserving Specific Designation
The Upgrade - The installation of Version 2.0 software the indicates an android's entrance to adulthood. The installation STVe and his ilk have fled.
The Transistors - STVe's gang of greasers. Literal greasers.
Tachyon Drift - Illegally modded space motorcycle. Dangerously fast, as well as just dangerous
Hybrid cables - The non-spec cords hanging from STVe's right hand. Can transmit information to sentient beings and electrical impulses to all.

Distinguishing Performances
Glum - Cold, blue light flickers from STVe's cathode ray display while the servos in his left hand crush the obstacle before him.
Jovial - STVe jumps on Tachyon Drift and flies circles around his competition.

Trick
Canny Cognition - STVe jacks into the Galactic Central Core system, jumping lines of code like an acrobat and chases down the 0s and 1s he seeks.

I'm sick again/still so I'm not sure how early I can get up tomorrow morning, but how awesome would it be to have ...

I'm sick again/still so I'm not sure how early I can get up tomorrow morning, but how awesome would it be to have #SundayAMStarward ? 

(Sooooo awesome)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4nYXSvbVX-AZ2JLTTFpN241MDg/view?usp=sharing

The galaxy is vast and starlit, peopled by multitudes on its myriad of strange and wondrous worlds.

The galaxy is vast and starlit, peopled by multitudes on its myriad of strange and wondrous worlds. There is darkness among the stars, where we can hide among the thousand-thousand secrets and seek our fortune between the grasping claws of tyranny. This is why the restless, the hungry, and the dispossessed turn ever #Starward…

Starward is a space-fantasy hack of Swords Without Master (www.swordswithoutmaster.com) set in the universe of Vast & Starlit (www.dig1000holes.com/vast-starlit).

INFLUENCES

Leigh Brackett's Skaith Trilogy & the Flash Gordon comic & serial
For wondrous aliens, worlds and cultures. For battles with swords and ray guns alike. For a healthy dose of sorcery with our high sciences. For the opening titles crawl from the Flash Gordon serial.

Kurosawa & Seven Samurai
For gathering a crew of masterless rogues. For tense and decisive sword fights. For something a bit more complex than powerful strangers coming to help.

WWII Aviation Films
For turbulent and nail-biting dogfights. For tense bombing runs. For a handful of crewmembers holding a stubborn craft together with elbow grease and a few prayers.

THE RITUAL OF THE OPENING CRAWL
Each session begins with the Overplaying reciting the opening crawl, a brief introduction to what has gone on before and what it about to happen. In the opening crawl, the Overplayer must answer at least two of the following:

• What is going on in the greater struggle?
• What has happened just before now?
• What machinations have lead to the beginning phase?

The opening crawl need not tightly knit previous adventures with the current one.

THE RITUAL OF STRANGE & WONDROUS ENCOUNTERS
(All but nine words taken verbatim from Vast & Starlit.)

Whenever you need an alien species, culture, or environment hold the action, step out of the game, and follow these steps:

Create Your Base
Alien species—One player selects 2 types of animals they are familiar with.

Alien culture—One player selects a culture or subculture they are a part of.

Alien environment—One player selects a location & a climate all are familiar with.

Deviate Aspects
The next player picks an aspect of the base, such as a cat’s aloofness, the pettiness of oˆce politics, or a half-frozen bog. Then the next player chooses to tweak, reverse, or exaggerate this. Repeat this step 3 to 5 times until it feels alien.

Combine & Synthesize
The next player makes a coherent whole from only the deviated aspects, not the base.

THE RITUAL OF DUELS & DOGFIGHTS
When you stand against a worthy foe with sword or pistol, or when you scream across the sky in frantic battle with enemy aces, it never ends as it begins. If your dogfight or duel ends up part of an element on a Motif, your struggle cannot be resolved in just one phase.

If the current phase is the first phase featuring this particular dogfight or duel, you must wait until this phase ends and the next one begins before ending it. Additionally, the Overplayer must attempt to follow the current phase with the next phase on the chart below (though this may be subverted by a Trick).

• Follow a Perilous Phase with a Rogues' Phase
• Follow a Rogues' Phase with a Discovery Phase
• Follow a Discovery Phase with a Perilous Phase

If the duel or dogfight has already lasted through more than one phase, you may resolve it whenever.

THE RITUAL OF THE WANDERING TONE
The base Overtones are Glum & Jovial. Planets, spacecraft housing three or more crew, and other significant environments may have one or more alternative tones, like below. 

The jungle planet of Ul-Gallaroon:
• Lush
• Cacophonous
• Claustrophobic
• Misty

The Golden Moon:
• Opulence
• Austerity

The Princess May, the star galleon of Captain Ceres and her stardogs:
• Brutal
• Treacherous
• Vibrant

A space freighter in chronic disrepair:
• Clunky

Such environments have their own die as well. When first you come upon a significant environment with alternative tones, the Overplayer chooses one of the tones already in play and swaps it for one of the environment's tones as they swap the tone's die for the environment's die. 

As the rogues wander through fanciful vistas, the tones will wander with them. Once swapped, the new die stays in play until swapped out by another. All who roll must now adhere to the new tone, though their Feats Heroic and certain Tricks may affect this. Unparalleled rogues ignore any new tone that replaces the tone they have already replaced, but must adhere to tones that replace the other. For example, Captain Ceres is Unparalleled—she is Raucous instead of Jovial—and if aboard The Princess May the Overplayer decides to swap Jovial with Vibrant, her tones remain Glum and Raucous; but if the Overplayer swaps Glum with Treacherous, her tones become Treacherous and Raucous. She will always have Raucous as one of her tones as long as she's Unparalleled. 

You will only ever have two tone dice in play and whenever you come upon an environment without its own tones, the Overplayer may swap Glum or Jovial back into play.

THAT WHICH IS DESERVING OF A NAME
Occasionally the story is as much about the ship or companions or gear of the rogues as it is of the rogues themselves. When you create your Feats Heroic, if one of your Feats features something named on your rogue's sheet, you may choose a second Trick for your rogue that also focuses on this named thing.

The stardogs are a group of rowdy space pirates that Captain Ceres holds to her command and has named on her rogue's sheet. Her Glum Feat Heroic is to "Commit a loyal stardog to a doomed course of action that just may save The Princess May." Because she features the stardogs in her Feat Heroic, she can have another Trick (in addition to the previously mentioned Unparalleled) as long as that Trick also features the stardogs. She chooses Ill Fate and writes the lesson "Never fully trust your second in command."

(PDF Version of this post: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4nYXSvbVX-AZ2JLTTFpN241MDg/view?usp=sharing)

Folks, if you haven't been following closely, I've been running a Choose Your Own Adventure style game on Twitter...

Originally shared by Epidiah Ravachol

Folks, if you haven't been following closely, I've been running a Choose Your Own Adventure style game on Twitter since November using Twitter's new poll system. By the third tweet, we fell into a flashback and last week we finally played through the entire flashback back to the present. To celebrate, I'm going to pay an artist to illustrate one of the tweets. But I need help deciding which.

Here are the three I'd most like to see illustrated:

• https://t.co/cD7iY08Ijk
• https://t.co/OOX7tG4lh6
• https://t.co/Z0gx1Kymmh

But I'm letting you decide. The tweet from the story with the most retweets by January 6th is the one I'm going to have illustrated.

Right now, the very first tweet in the story (https://twitter.com/Epidiah/status/661981894175793152) has the most retweets by virtue of being the oldest and the first, but not necessarily the most worthy. I have only until Jan. 6th to correct this! So go forth, my rogues, and retweet the worthiest tweet.
https://twitter.com/Epidiah/status/661981894175793152