Steve

Will there be a Q1 2023 update? It would be nice to see them more often than annually.

Will there be a Q1 2023 update? It would be nice to see them more often than annually.

For those who want to create "realistic" alien worlds, there is an excellent computer program called "World Builder," originally written by Stephen Kimmel and published in Creative Computing back in June 1983.  It was updated and translated from BASIC into Perl in 2008 by a gentleman named David Myers.

 

That's the title. World-Building: A Writer's Guide to Constructing Star Systems and Life-Supporting Planets, by Stephen L. Gillett. Published 1996, so it'sw B. E. (Before Exoplanets) -- but Gillett still has some nifty ideas for worlds and a lot of useful basic info on astronomy, geology and their intersection. It's part of a series of handbooks for SF writers edited by Ben Bova.
 
My personal favorite is the co-orbital pair, in which two bodies regularly switch their orbits back and forth. Gillett says that two of Saturn's moons (Janus and Epimetheus) actually do this! (These linked orbits are also called "horseshoe orbits" from the way each orbit looks from the frame of reference of the other orbiting body. IIRC, that's the name of the Wikipedia article that also explains this setup.)
 
Gillett is a geologist. He's also written SF under a pseudonym, so he can come at the world-building task from both angles of science and story.
 
Dean Shomshak

Will there be a Q1 2023 update? It would be nice to see them more often than annually.

I was away for a while working on non-Hero projects.
 
Now I'm working on Atomic Sky and the Hero System for Foundry VTT so I'm back to more active lurking/occasional posting.

Not much in need of rules discussions of late, so not posting/reviewing stuff like that. I plan to share more Atomic Sky stuff once the rough edges get filed down. Playtesting for that is going well. Keeping the content/approach more core Hero than some of the experimental stuff I did for Narosia.

One of the few things I remember from 3rd Edition was the declining value of Disadvantages as you took more of the same type: the 1st two were full value, the next two were 1/2 value, the next two were 1/4 value and any more after that were worth zero.
 
I thought this was an interesting limiter on preventing you from loading up on Psychological Disadvantages or Hunteds. In 6E, it's simpler now, you can only take so many points from a single type.
 
Did anyone ever take four Psychological Disadvantages or six different Hunteds?

And I suppose it might be nice to include the large-scale city map? (Though shrunk to low-res JPG to conserve attachment space.)
 

Dean Shomshak

Last bit! TGhalassene's most distinctive foreign connection:
 
Dean Shomshak

Religious faith cannot be ignored, rspecially when representatives of the divine wield magical power. Faith is vital to many Thalasseners -- and source of a major threat to the city, and to the Plenary Empire.
 
(One bit is conceptually a little racy, but don't worry: Nothing is described that couldn't be shown on network TV.)
 
Dean Shomshak

From the commanding heights of the great Arts to the lesser Crafts, down to the small trades of the poor.
 
Dean Shomshak

Because as a GM, you fell back on simple differentiation in your haste to make this throw-away character "a real boy" for just a moment, and instaed of a personality or making him a forgettable jerk, you dropped a quirk in in him as the only "personality" he would need for ten seconds of screen time.
 
And the players went "ooh!  This guy's quirky!  He could be fun to pal around with for a while!"
 
While your actual contact / patron / harbinger of doom tends to be presented as one of two to four "standard models" of that sort of encounter.
 
Took me years to get to the bottom of this problem.  My "I have had enough" moment revolved around having to rewrite a year-long campaign on the fly to turn an irate Chinese tattoo artist into a critical part of the plot because the players would _NOT_ do anything or go anywhere without consulting or even dragging this guy along with them.
 
Ugh.
 
So I learned: do not _ever_ make a plot-relevant NPC a "type," or at least dont make him look like one.  Make all throw-away characters generic "types" or complete jerks.
 
 

I don’t know why the random, spur of the moment NPCs seem to attract more player attention than the painstakingly created ones do. It’s like an RPG trope.
 
 

I don’t know why the random, spur of the moment NPCs seem to attract more player attention than the painstakingly created ones do. It’s like an RPG trope.
 
 

thalassene is a commercial hub, so there's more about its businesses and artisans than about its government. Many Thalasseners care more about activities among the guilds than the Imperial government.
 
Dean Shomshak

A bit more on law and government. Also, why Thalasseners don't mind hurricanes.
 
Dean Shomshak

Moving on, a few words about city government. But not much, because I don't think players care much about political minutiae. Also, coffee.
 
Dean Shomshak

Last bit of "A Tour of the City": Gardens, Lochaeis, the Capulus. Hun, the City of the Sea is hard on pirates...
 
Dean Shomshak

"A Tour of the City" continues: Transfossa, Tasia, Almagest.
 
Dean Shomshak
 
Grr. dratted auto-merge...
 
"A Tour of the City": the Port Market, Extern, the Necropolis. (Don't fight in the Necropolis.)
 
Dean Shomshak

"A Tour of the City" continues: Lost Harbor, Quisquiline Island, the Candlestick, Quarters.
 
 
Dean Shomshak

Part 2, beginning "A Tour of the City" with the boroughs of Exordium and the Waterfront. Would you like to visit?
 
Dean Shomshak

As I said in Mr. R's "Help Me Flesh Out My City" thread, I wrote this for players of my latest D&D campaign. However, I tried to stay away from game terms, so I hope it's comprehensible even if you don't know D&D; and relevant to the forum because most of it is mechanics-independent.
 
The goal was to help players make characters who would fit well in the setting. Moreover, I hoped players would *want* to make characters for the setting. Most of the players came through (though I have very good players who deserve a lot of the credit).
 
I also tried to get away from the "encyclopedia article" style that sometimes afflicts setting descriptions, working character portraits and local anecdotes into the description. Less facts and figures, more people your characters might meet and bits of local history and culture that everybody knows. Please let me know if this works as intended, or if you think of other information that players should know.
 
Dunno how many GMs would want to put this much work into describing a setting, though!
 
To make it easier to read, I'll break it into chunks in separate posts and quote boxes. I hope you enjoy it.
 
Dean Shomshak

If you want a more Swords & Sorcery feel for magic weapons, there is always the Stormbringer RPG approach, binding spirits (demons) into them as the means of enchanting them.

If you want a more Swords & Sorcery feel for magic weapons, there is always the Stormbringer RPG approach, binding spirits (demons) into them as the means of enchanting them.

My on-hiatus campaoign set in the city of Thalassene is pretty setting-intensive: The PCs met because they live in a particular neighborhood, Pillatrs, and they continue to interact with the people of that artisan-heavy neighborhood. There were enough NPCs that eventually I made a list for my own reference. Since the campaign is unusual, I am not sure how useful this list would be as inspiration, but, well, it's an example of populating a Fantasy city. So here it is:
 
PILLARS PEOPLE LIST
 
Religious
Flamen Orsilla: Female human cleric of Holy Family.
—Donatus: Half-sahuagin son.
Flamen Skrog: Male orc cleric of Lamideck. Former city guard, watch member.
Ostiary Edricus: Male human notary (esp. wills); shrine of Maion.
Ostiary Laxus Taruntius: Male human caretaker, Goldsmith shrine.
 
Military
Centurion Garicus: Male human (Macrine) wall guard commander.
Llyrdis: Female elf (Rhovistae) wall guard.
Rovaldus Nolti: Male human wall guard; Dionna’s grandfather.
Scoffle: Male human semi-retired wall guard, gatekeeper.
 
Commerce
Agnellus Carthus: Male human cooper; brother of the late Agapetus.
Alalcomeneus: Male human pet’s-meat vendor.
Amphictyon: Elderly male tailor.
Barsophilus J. Quingle: Male gnome tinker/alchemist/cotton candy maker.
—Rheon: Male human apprentice alchemist.
—Abito: Male human crank-turner; son of local laborer; surly.
—Klo: Female minotaur crank-turner; Virj & Enid’s daughter.
Chanduri Mumtash: Female human (Furanian) apothecary.
Droysa: Female goblin button-maker; widow and mother.
—Loyid: Oldest son (10).
Eorin: Male elf (Rhovistae) runs Evening Star Public House.
Gallimachus: Male human chicken butcher; angry drunk.
—Gallinus: Son; bully, troublemaker.
Garsief: Male human ice-maker, semi-sorcerer.
Garth & Melba Wibbley: Halfling (Leptopoda) paper appliqué workers.
—Patience: Female halfling; granddaughter; slain watch member.
—Fortitude: Male halfling; grandson.
Govinus & Espina Magirus: Human (Furanian/Macrine) pastry cooks.
—Avina Magirus: Govinus’ widowed sister; stuffed dumplings at lunch counter.
Oenopion: Elderly male human wine seller.
Phoebus and Cornelia Lavandum: Human launderers.
Pholus: Male centaur water-carrier; former cavalry, lost leg.
—Nephele: Female centaur; Pholus’ wife.
—Nephelus: Male centaur; Pholus’ son.
—Phola: Female centaur; Pholus’ daughter.
Plautus Taruntius: Male human jeweler; nephew of Dives Taruntius.
Psammeticus & Nefrura: Human (Drohashi) restauranteurs, Pita Palace.
—Pentavus: Oldest son; pitas at lunch counter.
Rufus Rubellus: Male human stable master.
Rundigan: Male human innkeeper.
—Bettina: Granddaughter, works at the inn.
—Gordian: Son, works at the inn.
Silas Applebarrel: Male halfling (Leptopoda) tea house proprietor.
Tentamon: Male human (Drohashi) owner, paper fan factory.
Thana Mavo (Thanh Mao): Female halfling (Vohinese); curry at lunch counter.
Titus Faba: Male human; bean soup at lunch counter.
Ulfilas Sutor: Male human cobbler; religious bigot.
—Aelentha: Female human; daughter.
—Trasaric: Male human; son.
Vallus & Thyone Ovicon: Human egg-painters.
—Phoebe: Daughter; friend of Dionna.
Virj & Enid: Minotaur bakers.
—Jorg: Male minotaur, oldest son, content being a baker.
—Klo: Female minotaur, daughter, works at Quingle’s.
—Siris: Female minotaur, youngest daughter; loves Din’s stories.
Zimrus: Elderly male human ‘Old Believer,” sells lamps & fancy candles.
 
Other
Geptil: Male hobgoblin sifu, Blade Cross Dojo.
—Brodin: Male human monk, senior student.
—Lilybell: Female halfling monk, senior student.
—Ostorius: Young male human student.
—Tropus: Male human student; irritable.
—Zalinda: Female human student; extremely reluctant.
Mrs. Gundestrop: Female dwarf boarding house proprietor.
Hervon: Male human rat-catcher.
Hikua: Female child harpy; street urchin adopted by Danaë.
Latromis: Female human prostitute at Cheap Rooms.
Marcion Trescana: Male human leech.
Narsimus Exus: Male human attorney.
Skorfinn: Male dwarf (Fjellkin) tenement owner/manager.
Vivia: Elderly female human proprietor, Cheap Rooms.
—Mustellus: Vicious, rat-faced punk of a son.