Are You Reading Wine & Savages?

Sean Bircher has sure said some nice things about my blog in the past, especially in regards to me being a Savage Worlds blogger, but the truth is, he's another guy (like Jack Shear) whose output just outright makes me jealous.

I first truly became acquainted with his blog, Wine & Savages, after I posted an article about using Savage Worlds to duplicate "Bioware-style" play, ala Dragon Age or Mass Effect, and we had a nice exchange about how he and his wife play lots of one on one games.

All that is good and well, but why should you take the time to read his blog?

Well, if you like Accursed, like I do, then Sean is making your life easier by expanding the game dramatically with more Witches, Banes and Witchbreeds. Want to add Loki, the Gender Bending Witch, to your game? Sean has you covered. Want to play a heroic Jason Vorhees? Sean has you covered. The guy is killin' it with expanded Accursed material.

Sean also has a wide selection of Savage Worlds Edges and Setting Rules (at least one of which I'm likely stealing for my Deadlands game.

Sean is also working on a couple of settings, a Revolution-that-never-was and an Urban Fantasy setting for Fate Accelerated.

And that's just the front page stuff. Dig around and see what he's got. It'll be worth your time.

Marvel Accelerated: The Midnight Sons

Three more Marvel characters that I enjoyed in the 90s and haven't care much for their recent stories: Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze and Morbius of the Midnight Sons! The I Am A Midnight Son Aspect that all three shares pretty much ties them into the war with Lilith and her Lilin, rather than creating a second aspect that essentially covered the same ground.

Name: Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch)

High Concept: The Spirit of Vengeance

Trouble: What Demon Am I?

Aspects: I Ride When Innocent Blood Is Spilled, I Am A Midnight Son, Barbara Ketch’s Death in on My Hands

Approaches

Careful: +0

Clever: +1

Flashy: +3

Forceful: +2

Quick: +2

Sneaky: +1

Stunts

Because I Have A Flaming Motorcycle, I can drive wherever I need to.

Because I have the Penance Stare, once per game session I can spend a Fate Point to add a new Consequence when Cleverly Attacking an opponent with innocent blood on their hands.

Because I have a Mystical Chain, I gain a +2 when Forcefully Attacking or Overcoming an Obstacle using the chain.

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh 3

Notes: I made Danny Ketch much less of a factor than Bruce Banner is for The Hulk, because Ketch tended to be a much smaller part of the Ghost Rider book than Banner was. The Penance Stare may seem a tad underpowered, but in my experience, it always proved to be more of an informed ability as the only characters that ever seemed to be completely neutralized by it were relatively minor villains. This is the version of Ketch that isn't aware that Noble Kale is inhabiting his body, rather than Zarathos or another demon.

Name: Johnny Blaze

High Concept: Ex Spirit of Vengeance

Trouble: Deal With The Devil

Aspects: World Class Stunt Rider, I Am A Midnight Son, The Quentin Carnival is My Family

Approaches

Careful: +1

Clever: +2

Flashy: +3

Forceful: +1

Quick: +2

Sneaky: +0

Stunts

Because I have a Hellfire Shotgun, I gain a +2 when Forcefully Attacking or Overcoming an Obstacle using the Shotgun.

Because I have a Mystical Motorcycle, I can drive wherever I need to go.

Because I Hunt Demons, I gain +2 when attempting to Cleverly Create an Advantage against supernatural foes.

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh 3

Notes: I love Hellfire Shotgun Blaze. Rather than give him a Stunt for his motorcycle riding, I left it alone and he'll just use the Aspect as needed. Though Blaze is free from Zarathos, he knows he's never REALLY free...and Deals with the Devil are not broken lightly.

Name: Morbius

High Concept: The Living Vampire

Trouble: I Must Only Drink The Blood of the Guilty

Aspects: Nobel-Prize Winning Biochemist, I Am A Midnight Son, I Must Find A Cure

Approaches

Careful: +1

Clever: +2

Flashy: +0

Forceful: +1

Quick: +2

Sneaky: +3

Stunts

Because I can ride wind currents, I can spend a Fate point to glide long distances.

Because I can mesmerize my foes, I gain a +2 when Cleverly creating an Advantage against an opponent.

Because I am Hard to Kill, I can spend a Fate Point to downgrade a Consequence once per session.

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh 3

Notes: Morbius doesn't heal quite as fast as Wolverine does, but he does heal quickly. He's struggling with his bloodlust and has agreed to only drink the blood of the guilty. Being a Living Vampire, he has some of the abilities and weaknesses of a vampire, but not all of them (he doesn't burst into flame in the sunlight, but he tries to avoid it, for instance).

Again, I'm a Fate novice...so I'm open to comments and suggestions.

Marvel Accelerated: Wolverine and The Hulk

All of this Marvel Accelerated stuff is clearly still a work in a progress...but my son is enthused at the idea of playing Spider-Man in Fate Accelerated, so work will continue on the Marvel adaptations, and stuff will likely change and be tweaked over time. I've got four more to add to the mix today: Wolverine and The Hulk, as well as their arch rivals Sabretooth and The Abomination!

Name: Wolverine (Logan)

High Concept: Feral Mutant Loner

Trouble: Am I A Man, Or An Animal?

Aspects: What I Do Isn’t Very Nice, I Go Where I Wanna Go, I’ve Lived Longer Than I Can Remember

Approaches

Careful: +0

Clever: +3

Flashy: +1

Forceful: +2

Quick: +1

Sneaky: +2

Stunts

Because I have a Mutant Healing Factor, I can downgrade a Consequence by spending a Fate Point.

Because I am The Best There Is At What I Do, I don’t have to reduce damage to gain a Boost when I succeed with style.

Because I am Older Than I Look, once per game session I can reveal that I already know a character introduced in the session, and discover one of their Aspects.

Because I have Adamantium Claws, I can claw through any surface or material, given enough time.

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh 2

Notes: I did read another conversion of Wolverine someone did, and I like the idea that he starts with fewer Fate Points, so he has to accept bad stuff happening in order to get the points to kick butt. I went with the "What I Do Isn't Very Nice" as an Aspect because it's a lot easier to use it for good or ill.

Name: The Hulk/Bruce Banner

High Concept: Gamma Powered Goliath

Trouble: Hulk Just Wants To Be Left Alone!

Aspects: Strongest One There Is!, You Wouldn’t Like Me When I’m Angry, Mild Mannered Bruce Banner

Approaches

Careful: +0/+2

Clever: +1/+3

Flashy: +2/+1

Forceful: +3/+0

Quick: +2/+1

Sneaky: +1/+2

Stunts

Because Hulk is Strongest One There Is, Hulk can spend a Fate Point to eliminate an opponent’s Forceful Approach modifier in a Physical Conflict.

Because the Madder Hulk Gets, The Stronger Hulk Gets, the Hulk can spend a Fate Point to add the Stress he’s accumulated when attempting to Forcefully Create an Advantage or Overcome an obstacle.

Because the Hulk is really Mild-Mannered Bruce Banner, once per session Hulk can shift back to Banner, gaining the second set of Approaches instead. Alternately, he can start the session as Banner and shift into Hulk once per session, gaining the first set of Approaches.

Because Hulk Just Wants To Be Left Alone, Hulk can leap from zone to zone at all, or exit a scene entirely by spending a Fate point.

Because Hulk Will Smash!, Hulk gains +2 when Forcefully Attacking in a Physical Conflict.

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh 1

Notes: I almost left off the Hulk Smash stunt, but in the end, it felt wrong not having it there...and Hulk is an INCREDIBLY (no pun intended) effective brute. This is the most complicated FAE write-up I've done thus far, attempting to meld Hulk and Banner into one write-up, with Banner essentially serving as a very detailed Aspect of Hulk. Like Wolverine, Hulk will have to take some punishment (accepting Compels) before he can REALLY get rolling, but life tends to suck for The Hulk anyway.

Name: Sabretooth (Victor Creed)

High Concept: Sadistic, Unrepentant, Bestial Mass Murderer

Trouble: Can’t Let The Runt Be Happy

Aspects: Law of the Jungle, Weapon X Training, Psycho For Hire

Approaches

Careful: +0

Clever: +2

Flashy: +1

Forceful: +1

Quick: +2

Sneaky: +3

Stunts

Because I Heal Real Fast, I can spend a Fate Point to downgrade a Consequence.

Because I WILL Find You, I gain a +2 when trying to Cleverly Create an Advantage or Overcome an Obstacle while stalking my prey.

Because I Live Inside Wolverine's Head, once per session I can Create an Advantage against him automatically.

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh 3

Notes: I stole his High Concept directly from TVTropes.Org. While Sabretooth is probably as strong as Wolverine, that's not what makes him scary in his best appearances. Sabretooth is sneaky, cunning and relentless. That last just came to me as I was posting it...the fact is, Sabretooth does revolve HEAVILY around Wolverine.

Name: The Abomination (Emil Blonsky)

High Concept: Gamma Powered Ex-Spy

Trouble: Banner Did This To Me!

Aspects: Nowhere to Call Home, Monster With A Brain,

Approaches

Careful: +2

Clever: +2

Flashy: +0

Forceful: +3

Quick: +1

Sneaky: +1

Stunts

Because I’m Smarter Than I Look, I gain a +2 when attempting to Cleverly Create an Advantage against an opponent.

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh 3

Notes: This one was a little harder for me, but this is one of those cases where the villain probably isn't going to be as developed as the hero, in part because the "camera" doesn't focus as much on them. If there's any big time Abomination fans out there, I encourage you to offer suggestions, either for Aspects or Stunts.

Thoughts? Comments?

Marvel Accelerated: The Fate of Spider-Man

So a while back I backed the Fate Core Kickstarter, in part because of the INSANE amount of stuff you could get for a $10 pledge. I felt so guilty about how much I was getting for $10 that I ordered Fate Core and Fate Accelerated in print.

Now, Fate Core is more up my alley than Fate Accelerated, being the crunchier of the two without going overboard...but the more I look at Fate Accelerated (available in print for $5 or in PDF for whatever you want to pay), the more ideas intrigue me...until I thought about maybe converting my short-lived Marvel SAGA game I ran for my kid into Fate Accelerated.

Why? Fate Accelerated has that breezy, "Saturday Morning Cartoon" feel, so that's a plus. The other thing is that I'd like to run it in Spider-Man's wheelhouse: A Marvel Team-Up style...which Marvel SAGA is kind of a pain in the butt for.

So I decided to play around with the characters that I had used in the two sessions of SAGA I had ran, as well as The Kingpin (just because I felt like it), and I thought I would share those below. I'm still learning Fate (and Fate Accelerated), so even if we DO go this route, I'll probably tinker with stuff some more, as making supers in Fate Accelerated very much seems to be an art and not a science and my design ethos is going to be "capture their essence and their role in the series, not nitpick everything about them"...and I'll probably cherry pick at times, focusing on the parts of the characters I prefer most.

Name: Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

High Concept: Friendly, Neighborhood Spider-Man

Trouble: My Costume Is Alive!

Aspects: Hero or Menace?, Aunt May Worries About Me, With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Approaches

Careful: +0

Clever: +2

Flashy: +2

Forceful: +1

Quick: +1

Sneaky: +3

Stunts

Spins A Web, Any Size: Because I have webshooters, I get a +2 when I Cleverly create advantages when I can fire webs at an opponent.

Spider-Sense Is Tingling!: Because I have a Spider-Sense, once per session I can choose to go first in a physical conflict.

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh: 3

Notes: This is a teenage Peter Parker with the symbiote costume, as those who read the actual plays would see. I was going to swap Hero or Menace? and My Costume Is Alive!, but decided the former had more positive uses than the latter, making the latter being his Trouble make more sense. And yes, I know Spider-Man is super strong, but you can always use Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man for the relevant boosts there, as the others tend to fit his "style" more. Per Fate Accelerated rules, he still has another Stunt that can be named before his Refresh is affected.

Name: D-Man

High Concept: Pro Wrestling Superhero

Trouble: My Heart Can’t Take It

Aspects: Soft Spot for the Homeless, Trained By Captain America, Boosted by the Power Broker

Approaches

Careful: +2

Clever: +0

Flashy: +2

Forceful: +3

Quick: +1

Sneaky: +1

Stunts

Tag Team Partner: Because I’m a Tag Team Wrestler, I gain a +2 when I Flashily create advantages or overcome obstacles when I’m working with an ally.

Super Strength: Because I am Super Strong, I gain a +2 when I Forcefully create advantages during a physical conflict.

  

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh 3

Notes: I love the Marvel Universe. You know why? Because I use guys like D-Man in my games. D-Man's not particularly a tag team wrestler per the standard Marvel Universe stuff, but making him one here gave me a viable stunt for him and fit the theme of the first adventure I ran. Trained by Captain America can be used against him as he's targeted by Cap's more powerful and competent foes, just like Boosted by the Power Broker can come back and haunt him, given how evil Power Broker is. I figure there's no need to get into his drug addict past for a "kid's" game, but the weak heart is fair game.

Name: Ares

High Concept: God of War

Trouble: Can’t Back Down From A Fight

Aspects: Violence Is Its Own Reward, Who Dares Challenge Me?, Smarter Than He Looks

Approaches

Careful: +1

Clever: +2

Flashy: +2

Forceful: +4

Quick: +1

Sneaky: +0

Stunts

Lord of War: Because I am a Master Tactician, I gain a +2 when I Cleverly gain advantages or overcome obstacles in a conflict.

Join My Army: Because I am The God of War, once per session I can use my powers to boost mooks, changing their aspects and increasing their stress boxes.

Stress 3

Consequences

Refresh 3

Notes: Ares was a little tougher. I ditched the starting bonuses and gave him a higher Forceful because he's a God. Join My Army was my first attempt at really playing around with Stunts, and tied into his actions in the SAGA adventure, where he powered up two pro wrestlers to make them powerhouses. I played with the idea of Ares being a bit smarter than he's generally portrayed, being a God of War and all.

Bonesaw McGraw and Crusher Hogan

Magically Empowered Pro Wrestlers, Beholden to Ares

Skilled (+2) at: Grappling, Intimidating

Bad (-2) at: Out thinking opponents, knowing when to quit

Stress: 2

Notes: These were Ares' mook wrestlers (based off of Peter's opponents in his wrestling debuts in comic and film, obviously). As a former pro wrestler, these names almost offend me, but it's a continuity nod.

Slyde

The Teflon Coated Man, One Trick Pony

Skilled (+2) at: Getting Away, Chemistry, Robbing Banks

Bad (-2) at: Fighting

Stress: 1

Notes: I toyed with this one for a bit, but went with statting Slyde up as a mook. Why? Because he's not really a serious villain most of the time, but he's a bit better than your "average" mook because he has three things he's Skilled at and only one thing he's Bad at.

Name: The Kingpin (Wilson Fisk)

High Concept: The Kingpin of Crime

Trouble: My Wife Disapproves of My Position

Aspects: CEO of Fisk Enterprises, Sometimes A Man’s Got To Get His Hands Dirty, Mountain of a Man

Approaches

Careful: +2

Clever: +2

Flashy: +0

Forceful: +3

Quick: +1

Sneaky: +1

Stunts

The Streets Are Mine: Because I rule the streets, once per session I can summon an NPC ally to aid me.

This Isn’t All Fat: Because I am faster than I appear to be, I get a +2 when I Quickly create advantages in a physical conflict.

Stress: 3

Consequences

Refresh: 3

Notes: Kingpin is totally a guy I would only use in a long game and probably not as a one shot villain. I actually wanna give this one some more thought, because I think he needs a stunt or two that would have a larger effect on the game, above and beyond when he's directly involved in the action.

Anyway, that's kinda what I'm tinkering with right now. If it takes off, I'll expand the Marvel Universe dramatically (already mulling Hulk, Wolverine and Captain America...as well as some more obscure characters).

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?