Welcome to the forty-eighth Briefing and the sixth scheduled Briefing for 2015.
It is the marking time of year, so I am writing this between onslaughts of reports and exam scripts requiring my attention. Enough said.
HARP and HARP SF
AutoHARP
David Klecker has been working on additional improvements to his AutoHARP suite, and we will be releasing his AutoHARP Architect soon. This new application will enable AutoHARP users to readily customise their AutoHARP data sets to match their particular settings.
Shadow World
Tales from the Green Gryphon Inn, the latest adventure module from Terry Amthor, is now available as a printed softcover. It is too short to make a good hardcover, so this will be a softcover-only print edition.
The additional RMSS stats have arrived for Eidolon as have two sets of external proofreading comments. Once Terry has completed all of these amendments, we will release this very enhanced sourcebook as a pdf. It now weighs in at over 250 pages, so this will definitely be made available in both printed softcover and hardcover.
RMU
Good news, bad news, and great news.
The good news is that Terry has been able to force InDesign to behave itself much better with regard to the RMU Beta 2 files. The other good news is that I have completed an editing sweep on the first three full chapters of RMU Treasure Law.
The bad news is that there would be a lot of effort to ensure that an InDesign created pdf was a clean conversion of the beta files. Terry and I are agreed that this is not a sensible use of time and effort for beta 2. (It made sense for Beta 1 to test the layouts but it does not for Beta 2 when we want your focus on the rules alone.)
The great news is that we can essentially top and tail the beta 2 files for RMU Arms & Character Law, RMU Spell Law, and RMU Creature Law and then export them as pdfs.
We will release all three (RMU Arms & Character Law, RMU Spell Law, and RMU Creature Law) this month.
Until next time
Marking must be completed. Then expect an unscheduled Briefing to announce the release of Beta 2.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
Director, Guild Companion Publications Ltd.
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Gamemaster Law now a copper pick at RPGNow!
Gamemaster Law for Rolemaster Fantasy Role Playing (RMFRP) is now a ‘copper pick’ on RPGNow!
A huge thanks to everyone who has purchased Gamemaster Law, Rolemaster Fantasy Role Playing and all other ICE products old and new.
For those of you that haven’t purchased or read it, you can pick it up in pdf format for $18 from RPGNow.
Gamemaster Law for RMFRP is the essential tome for GMs!
It answers questions such as: How many players should I try to handle at one time? Will my game be more successful if I focus on political intrigue or on simple adventuring? How can I pull the characters from the jaws of death without it seeming contrived? How can I keep the “power” in my game from getting out of hand? and does it all in a format which is simple to follow and easy to use.
Learn how to use Rolemaster to its fullest potential! Gamemaster Law provides a wealth of guidelines, tips and details that a Gamemaster needs to run a Rolemaster game, or any other Fantasy RPG. The discussed topics will prove invaluable to GMs of all systems – group dynamics, player motivations, story presentation, world design, race generation, campaign evolution, game metabolism, story backdrops, and much more. Delve into the mysteries of running a truly great campaign!
Thanks again to everyone who bought Gamemaster Law, we hope you enjoy it!
What I thought of… The Dog Stars
The dog stars by Peter Heller is a post-apocalyptic novel about hope and what keeps a man going when everything that he has ever known or loved is dead or dying.
The Dog Stars
Hig is a normal guy, or at least he was. Now he lives with his dog Jasper and a misanthropic gun nut called Bagley. They live on a small airfield and their lives consist mostly of checking the perimeter, maintaining their camp and killing anyone and anything that tries to encroach on their land. While they have everything they need to see out the rest of their lives in relative comfort, it is hope more than anything that sustains Hig in this bleak future. It is this hope that causes Hig to take his life into his hands and go out in search of a mysterious voice that calls out to him one day over his plane’s radio.
My thoughts
It may sound clichéd when summed up in a few sentences and maybe it is, I haven’t read enough post-apocalyptic novels to know. It is however very good. It’s not the sort of book I’d normally go for but it was given to me as a gift to read while I was on holiday and I have to say, it is one of the best gifts I have received in a while (well, one of the best gifts that I hadn’t specifically asked for).
I really like the way the book is written. It switches between moments of short, staccato sentences and flowery, poetic musings on the wonder of the world. I can imagine that the changes between the two could be a bit too much for some people. For me however it just made it better. It reads like I think.
The story itself is very entertaining. The world and the setting are really engaging (if slightly clichéd in places). The story is a great mix of exciting edge of your seat drama and beautiful, touching interactions between the inhabitants of this dark future.
My only complaint is that the love story is a bit too thin and slightly out of place. It feels more like something out of a romantic comedy than a gritty post-apocalyptic novel. Luckily it doesn’t take up too much time in the book. Undoubtedly the best part of the book is Hig’s relationship with his dog Jasper. It is brilliantly written and truly touching.
As a role playing adventure
This book would make a great roleplaying adventure (well parts anyway). A group of people thrown together through necessity working together to survive in their own small world. With limited resources they are forced to fight off constant attacks from those that would steal those resources from them or kill them outright. You’d need to introduce mechanics around making sure that the players ate, drank and slept as much as they needed whilst also fighting off would be attackers, but I think it would make for a really interesting game.
Final thoughts
I really love this book. It will almost certainly be adapted into a film in the not too distant future and I hope they do it justice. It is one of the best books that I have read in a very long time. I encourage everyone to read it. Whatever style of novel you’re into, give this book a try I implore you.
Rating
9/10 – One of the best books I have read in a long time. Highly recommended.
If you have read the book and would like to give your thoughts on it, take part in our forum discussion. The next book in our ICE book club will be ‘Nod’ by Adrian Barnes and will be reviewed in August. If you would like to give your thoughts on Nod before the next review, you can do so in the forum.
The Order of the Iron Crown – April round-up
The Order of the Iron Crown is a select group of fans that have made it their mission to promote Iron Crown Enterprises’ products at game conventions and in game stores around the world. The Order was set up to allow us to better help those who want to promote our games and to reward them for doing so.
Each month we will be reporting on what members of the Order of the Iron Crown have been up to and publicly thanking them for all the great work that they carry out on a daily basis in the name of Iron Crown Enterprises.
April has been a relatively quiet month for the OIC with a couple of members showing their dedication to the cause and racking up yet more points. Here’s a run down of what the Order members got up to last month:
The Rolemaster Blog
Peter R continues to add yet more brilliant content to his amazing Rolemaster blog including articles that explore what’s great about Rolemaster fighters and how to create a Rolemaster gollum.
FGCon Demo
At this year’s FGCon, Chris Seal ran a game of Rolemaster which I was lucky enough to get a preview of. You can read Chris’ review of the event here. The event was such a success that the players have already signed up to the Iron Crown Enterprises forum and mailing list.
A huge thanks to all of our Order members and to everyone who has helped support them and us. If you would like to learn more about the Order of the Iron Crown, you can visit the Order of the Iron Crown webpage or click the banner below.
If you believe you are due some OIC points, please get in touch and let me know. I do my best to keep up with everyone’s efforts but an e-mail outlining what you intend to do/have done to earn points is always well received.
Cyber Europe – Out Now!
Cyber Europe – OUT NOW!
Iron Crown Enterprises are thrilled to announce the re-release of ‘Cyber Europe’, a campaign sourcebook for Cyberspace. After years lost in the IP ether, this brilliant sourcebook by Anders Blixt is now available again as a scanned pdf.
Cyber Europe
The year is 2090 and the place is the Federal State of Europe. Thirty-six countries from Iceland to Georgia have been blended into a caustic, volatile melting pot. Governed by aristocrats, who are in turn ruled by executive slime, the European Community exists at the edge of depravity and despotism. Dare you cross its war-torn borders?
In Cyber Europe, you can unlock the secrets of the Vatican’s anti-terrorist force, get thrown into a Kriminalbezirk, join Sondergruppe 9, fight the deadly Kampfmaschine, and run into blood-thirsty members of the Neuhitlerjugend.
Cyber Europe culminates with an intriguing adventure which sets players on a quest to recover the holy Christian artifact, the Spear of Destiny.
This sourcebook provides you with the following:
- A wealth of source material on the European Community and its strong-willed neighbors
- Numerous NPCs and organizations deeply rooted in the mystique and history of this great continent.
- Information on warfare, law enforcement and crime
- A complete adventure which sends players from the cultural heart of Cyber Europe to the frozen waters off Norway in an epic quest
For more information on Cyber Europe or to buy your copy, visit RPGNow or follow the link below.
Buy Cyber Europe Now
What I thought of… Seventh Son
What follows is a review of the film “The Seventh Son” starring Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges. It will contain spoilers. You have been warned.
I really enjoyed the fantasy movie “The Seventh Son” and it provides a lot of ideas for gaming throughout. This is based on the book “The Spook’s Apprentice” by Joseph Delaney written in 1987 – see wiki here.
Now, at first I was a bit put off by Jeff Bridge’s “Master” character having an odd accent. He was really “hamming” it up. But after a while, his quirky, quick witted sarcastic character really came through. The opening battle with an apprentice was quite well done – shocking even in that it was not one of these computer game, superhero battles where the characters take massive hits to only bounce back up unimpeded in their fighting ability by recent killing blows. And his first apprentice dies in the opening scene! So characters can ACTUALLY DIE in this movie! Comparing this to the recent Hobbit films this action is a “cut above” (pun intended) and suspends disbelief far better than the fighting slop dished out in other fantasy movies.
I was annoyed by them being called “spooks” (and yes, I know that is in the book). Too much a word we use in spycraft. It was disconcerting. But this is a minor complaint.
What I did notice throughout was the excellent set work. The armor looked very real on the Knights and guards. The backdrop looked very medieval, a good mix of new and colourful fabrics set against the backdrop of filth, straw, stone castles and wooden hovels.
The evil queen and her transformation from dragon was really well done. In the first battle how the silver net captures her, her ability to entrance and possess, the use of magical components etc. lent weight to the setting, making easier to immerse oneself if the uniqueness and believability. The evil headquarters, looking like an ancient byzantine palace was superbly done. The walled city, the views from afar, or right down on the streets was all very believable and great setting work. It really made the movie “feel” like you were in an other-worldly (not just our world’s) medieval setting. Even looking carefully at the nights armour and weapons showed great attention to detail. The battles were exciting and generally believable – the battle with the great bear in close quarters, that was great! And there were many examples of interesting battles and awesome CGI, from the lizard beast attacking the city to the four-armed swordsman.
There is a lot going on here that can give GMs some good ideas. I read the first book of this series 15 years ago and liked it, though not enough to carry on with the series. All-in-all worth seeing.
– John
Director’s Briefing – May 2015
As I have almost certainly mentioned before, while I love physical books, I find ebooks incredibly useful whether it is novels on my Kindle for entertainment or textbooks on the tablet for work purposes. Carrying 1000+ page textbooks in my backpack from Cambridge to Ipswich and vice versa is not good for the book, my backpack or my back. Sadly not all author/publisher combinations provide ebook versions (a hint to Ian Sommerville) and some have ludicrous pricing that is not helpful (5% less than the hardcover which is already £130+, stern look at Roger Pressman and publisher here) to my budget or indeed my ability to persuade my students that certain (e)books should be on their (digital) shelves. However, some ebooks suddenly get better. Over a year ago, I purchased the ebook version of Cormen et al 3rd edition, which when I purchased it was a very barebones Kindle edition. A few months ago, my tablet complained about needing to resynch files in its Kindle app. Concerned that a file might have become corrupted, I let it resynch and the problem went away. A little time later, I discovered that my copy of Cormen et al had acquired a fully functioning set of bookmarks making it so much easier to navigate. Which leads me to …
Shadow World
We released Tales from the Green Gryphon Inn, the newest adventure module for Shadow World by Terry Amthor. (Actually with fairly minimal effort, you could hide the Shadow World elements and use it in other established fantasy settings). Our loyal fans did a post-release proofreading run and caught various typos and other errata. (I don’t think I catch as many typos on the tablet edit runs as I do on laptop.) These were reviewed and fixed – so if you redownload Tales from the Green Gryphon Inn, you will get a better ebook too.
Terry has completed the print masters for Tales from the Green Gryphon Inn and I have uploaded them into the OneBookShelf / Lightning Source process. I hope that the printed softcover will be available sometime in May, subject to satisfactory proofs.
Terry completed his full draft of the enhanced Eidolon sourcebook and I have already completed an editing pass on this. External proofreaders are already triple-checking it while some additional RMSS stats are written. We hope to release in pdf sometime this month.
Cyber Space
One of the other benefits of ebooks is that you can acquire copies of books that are extremely difficult and/or expensive to obtain in print, especially in the domain of RPGs where print runs were once finite. I am delighted to welcome back “CyberEurope”, a Cyberspace sourcebook written by Anders Blixt, to our collection of vintage pdf products. CyberEurope is available as a scanned but searchable pdf, and completes the Cyberspace set. It is available now at RPGNow.
Rolemaster
Many of you have already found Maximiliano Tabacman’s ERA software very helpful in supporting your RM Classic gaming. We are delighted to announce that Max has been able to build the datasets for RMSS/FRP and we are releasing these as three dataset products – RMSS/FRP Character Law (combining the character generation of RMFRP core rulebook, on 4th May), RMSS/FRP Spell Law (all three spell law volumes, on 5th May), and RMSS/FRP Arms Law (1999 version, on 6th May).
RMU Treasure Law is as yet incomplete – Dan is still completing the magical portions. Once it arrives as a full draft, I will raise its editing pass to the top of the queue.
Terry and Craig are continuing to explore why InDesign is so cantankerous with the RMU files.
HARP and HARP SF
In addition to ebooks being updated and improved versions made available, we also have updated all of the AutoHARP products. The major enhancement here is that it should now be significantly easier to install the base HARP Fantasy and HARP SF databases simultaneously with the AutoHARP engine.
In HARP Bestiary, John Duffield and I had an extended discussion on Dragons and how to represent dragonfire. We concluded with a set of extended Blood Magic talents to handle creatures who need to use magical abilities more frequently than a certain number of times per day, so such monsters might be able to use their capabilities a certain number of times per hour. However, those rules didn’t really work well for dragonfire – in that, yes, dragons had a finite amount of dragonfire per day but it was more than three bursts and they needed the flexibility to be able to burn through them rapidly. So we created a set of talents that captured the special needs of dragonfire.
I have completed my editing pass on the third draft of HARP Folkways. Jon had provided a strong selection of ten new professional concepts, and these have now been tweaked by me to expand the selection of professional abilities (and indeed in nearly all cases a choice of abilities) and to ensure that all of these professions are within the standard power range. All of the new professions are non-spellusing professions; on the one hand, these provide a means of representing the normal folk of a fantasy world with higher level members representing experts of some kind, on the other hand, they have the full complement of starting skill ranks, favored categories, etc., so they would work very well as starting professions for some character backgrounds (your character could spend 1st-level as an Artisan, a Farmer or a Valet), and on the gripping hand, some players might find some of these new professions suit them for many levels to come (Sailors, Hunters, Scoundrels, among others spring to mind).
The remaining work that Jon and I have to sort through is the racial abilities for the new races that have been included in HARP Folkways, and make sure we have a best and varied fit of abilities. Jon’s final set of races are highly unusual and will add a touch of the exotic to any fantasy setting.
Until next time
I have races to tweak and Undead to write (and assignments/exams to mark as well unfortunately.) The next scheduled Briefing will be in June 2015.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
Director, Guild Companion Publications Ltd.
If you would like to receive the Director’s Briefing straight to your inbox each month, you can sign up to our mailing list HERE.
FG Con round up by Chris Seal
This month saw Fantasy Grounds’ annual online convention – FG Con and this year a member of the Order of the Iron Crown (Chris Seal) was there and running a game of Rolemaster. Here’s what Chris had to say about the convention and the game he ran:
Murder most foul has a long history as a means of political advancement within the Tyrisian Empire. Today is no exception as you walk in on the scene of your friend and mentor’s horrific death. Galvinus Septimus Alto was a great man and you owe him a suitable revenge, but it would not do to attack the wrong faction and thus, the game is afoot…
The game began with the pre-generated characters gathering at the villa of G. Septimus Alto, having been invited to a luncheon. As they arrived in the villa they noted a hue and cry coming from the market that operates just outside the villa, but as such events are commonplace, didn’t pay it much attention.
On entering the villa the characters discover the still cooling body of their friend and mentor, Septimus. On inspecting the body and the room, the characters noted that Septimus had tried to leave a final message, writing a portion of his attackers name in blood, but most of the name had been obscured as he continued to bleed out.
The party also noted a foul smell in one of the far corners of the room that reminded them on the stench of sewers. Simultaneously they noted that there were several windows open, but failed to find any sign of ingress or egress.
Using magic, the characters were able to view a significant event in the history of the sewer’s cover and the scene showed them 4 armed men sneaking out from the sewers and entering the villa.
Heading to the sewers, the party discovered evidence of the assault in the form of burnt torches, broken pottery, a discarded wax tablet and a half burned note. The wax tablet showed evidence of a ledger of sorts, under the planning that was its most recent addition. Careful inspection of the partially burned letter provided the characters with the name of a local business, a coffee house owned and operated by one Lucilia Cupa.
In the meantime, more information was gathered by the party when they visited the market and talked to a couple of the merchants doing business there. From these merchants they discovered that the hue and cry they had heard was caused by several armed men, covered in blood, who left the Galvinus villa via one of the windows, and who ran through the market before dropping into the sewers. A pile of bloodstained clothing and a bloody dagger were recovered as a result of this information. While talking with the merchants, one of them mentioned that they recognised one of the men as being a patron of Lucilia Cupa’s coffee house.
Armed with this information, the party converged on Lucilia’s business.
On arriving at the coffee house, the characters were seated and their order taken. As Lucilia left to prepare their order, the characters stood and went to follow her. On their doing so, several armed men scattered throughout the coffee house stood and, after a short back and forward, engaged the characters in armed conflict.
A short and bloody conflict ensured, in which two of the thugs were quickly, and messily dispatched and several of the others, seeing the way things were going attempted to flee (only one managed to escape).
The party then were able to interrogate both the armed thugs and the proprietress of the coffee house, both of whom were able to confirm that their suspicions as to the mastermind behind the assassination was none other than Calventius Publii Clostra, one of Septimus’ chief rivals.
Using potent mind affecting magic, the party arranged for the captain of the guard in the Calventius villa to be brought to them at the coffee house. On his arrival, his will was crushed using similar magic and he arranged for the heavy guard at the Calventius villa to depart, opening the way for a potent ambush of Publii.
The master of the villa was caught completely off guard and the party were able to extract their ‘honourable revenge’, restoring the good name of their faction and sending a strong message to their rivals.
All in all the game was very fun to run and the party caught me off guard on several occasions. The clever use of mentalism in the closing phases of the game was inspired and neatly circumvented what would have been a difficult and dangerous combat.
The combat in the coffee house was particularly bloody, which one thug being shot through both lungs in the opening moment and another suffering a deadly blow to the back of his neck (inflicted by the lay healer who proclaimed, see I can do more than just heal).
The musket failed to fire due to poor priming and, unfortunately combat ended before we saw how effective musket fire could be.
Fantasy Grounds was particularly useful as there were a couple of players who had not played Rolemaster before. Being able to ‘offload’ the heavy lifting to the system helped me to focus on ensuring that they were able to ‘grok’ what they needed to do and I would like to heartily recommend it to anyone.
The software has its own learning curve and some of the controls are not intuitive. There are, however, excellent video tutorials available for the base software package and the Rolemaster forum at Fantasy Grounds (www.fantasygrounds.com) is particularly helpful (hat tip to Dakadin who is the main Rolemaster dev).
In summary, bring on FG Con 7.
Thanks to all of my players, I had a blast and I hope you enjoyed the game as much as I did.
Chris
A huge thanks to Chris for running the game and to everyone who took part and made it such a great game. If you’re interested in running an Iron Crown Enterprises game at a convention or want to become a member of the Order of the Iron Crown, visit The OIC page on our website or contact us.
Tales from the Green Gryphon Inn now a Silver pick on RPGNow!
The brand new Shadow World adventure module ‘Tales from the Green Gryphon Inn‘ has now reached silver pick status on RPGNow!
Under 6% of RPGNow products have ever reached this accolade and Tales from The Green Gryphon Inn has done within a month of release.
A huge thanks to everyone involved in the creation of this amazing product and to everyone who has bought it. We really hope you enjoy it.
If you haven’t bought it, you only have a few days left (until the 30th April) to get it for the introductory price of just $7.99 (follow the links in this month’s Director’s Briefing).
In addition to all this, we’re working furiously to get the print version available on RPGNow and we’re expecting to have it live and available for purchase in May.
What I thought of… Daredevil
First some background: I am not a daredevil fan. I know very little about the character and his storyline. In addition, due to my TV situation I have not watched any TV shows of this genre (The Flash, Arrow, Gotham or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D). I have done my best to keep up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) but have missed a couple of bits and watched things in the wrong order in some cases (which bugs me a lot).
My intention was to watch the first episode of the series and then write a review of it. However, having created a first draft of the review I then sat down and watched the second, third and fourth episodes (each time rewriting the review ever so slightly). It has helped give my review a bit more depth and also serves as a testament to how watchable the show is.
Daredevil
The show is set after the events of the first Avengers movie. As Hell’s Kitchen looks to rebuild after the devastation, crime and corruption are rife and Matt Murdock (AKA Daredevil) has had enough and sets about cleaning up the city. Episodes are sixty minutes long and are currently only available on Netflix.
My thoughts
One of my favourite things about the show is that it avoids being too much of a superhero programme. It portrays Matt as much more of a human than other film based Marvel characters. This is shown when a bad guy comments “if he had an iron suit or a magic hammer I would understand why he’s causing us so much of a problem”. We see Matt get beaten up, fail, doubt himself and even the bad guys appear more well-rounded and fleshed out than most other comic book villains.
Despite my lack of knowledge on the character and his storyline, I don’t feel that my enjoyment of the show was affected by my inexperience. I imagine it would be very easy for programmes such as these to become so self-referential that newcomers are at a bit of a disadvantage. No doubt there were lots of cool Easter eggs and in jokes for people that know Daredevil better than me, but for the most part I never felt like I was missing something.
I do think that people will struggle to understand a lot of what is going on unless you watch each and every episode. However, Daredevil is only available on Netflix, the perfect medium for ensuring that viewers don’t miss a thing and can watch the show at their leisure.
The action is good, if slightly gory at times (I’d think twice about allowing anyone under 12 to watch it) and the show manages to avoid being too focussed on the martial arts that Daredevil (and apparently every one of his enemies) is an expert in. There are a few fight scenes that go on a little too long but on the whole it is a nice mix of cerebral crime fighting, mystery unravelling and martial arts awesomeness.
One thing that did bug me a little was that I don’t feel they gave enough background to Matt and his abilities. I’d like to know more about why he can fight like he can, how he honed his skills at reading the truth in people’s voices and being aware of his surroundings just by listening. Each episode they reveal a little more, but four episodes in and I still don’t feel that I know enough.
Final thoughts
Daredevil is good. Not Earth shattering, not the best thing I’ve ever seen, but good. Marvel have done really well in differentiating it from their film franchises and making it offer something completely different. It is exciting, well-acted, well written and above all, entertaining. Even if you’re not into superhero films/shows or comic books, I’d recommend giving it a go. For the most part it feels more like a crime drama/gritty vigilante justice piece than a Marvel superhero show.
Rating
7/10 – Worth a watch even if you’re not into superhero films