SaltCon 2018 Panels You May Find Enjoyable

I'm looking forward to SaltCon this year (2018) because I've been invited to join in on panels about table top games—a topic I've been writing about for years. I'm sharing information about the panels because I know others are interested in the topics (because you’re reading an article about gaming), and, I am inviting you to join us. There are other panels you might find enjoyable at SaltCon's website, but I won't be on those (I may, however, be part of the audience because they look interesting to me).

This is going to be a fun four-day gaming weekend. But, I find games to be more than just fun; they are interesting, educational, social, and entertaining. Because I like games, I started Guild Master Publishing in the 1980s. It didn’t work out at the time. In 2012 Guild Master Gaming was started with a focus on writing. I still think it would be fun having my own gaming company, but I really enjoy writing and decided to pursue it instead of the other aspects of running a company.

My writing has allowed me to be more involved in the gaming and general geek community. Being on these panels I plan on sharing some of what I have learned from being around other writer/gamers (there are a lot of writers involved with regular gaming groups). I also hope to spark some creativity in anyone there to pursue their personal dreams of writing, publishing, and creating.

Panel 1: Greatest Board Games of All Time

A few of the games on my shelves

Dave Bailey (a SaltCon staple and gaming fanatic) asked me to sit on his panel discussing games. I am considering the history of gaming and how different games have evolved the gaming experience. Looking at some of the key games over time that have changed table top games.

So far there is no set agenda on the discussion and there will probably be some interesting insights from personal experiences we have had around a gaming table, or from what we do within the industry.

This discussion is scheduled at Saturday at 10 a.m.

Panel 2: Storytelling/World Construction in RPGs

I believe role playing games (RPGs) are about storytelling and creating a combined story. I know there are others who don't agree with me. For me a major part of the experience and the fun of an RPG is being in the story. And, an important part of a story is the setting, which gets us into world building.

World building can be creating something totally different or modifying the known.

I have written numerous articles and done some teaching about these topics. This topic for me is a little more personal because of the story aspect. Those who know me understand I like a good story and read a lot of them.

I will be with Derek Grey and David Morris (both of the Adventurers League). These guys are experienced RPG gamers with years of experience in creating and running games. If you have particular questions about running your own world, this should be a place to find some tricks and hints.

This discussion is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m.

Panel 3: Publishing RPGs, PDF or Printed

If you have wondered about how to get published, or how to publish your own work, come listen in to see if we can help you move in that direction you want to go. There are a lot of different directions a writer/creator can go in today's gaming world. And, there is more than one path to achieve your goals.

Robert J. Defendi and I are scheduled for this discussion. And if you haven't had the opportunity to read his work, or play one of his games, you have just been given a reading assignment.

This panel is scheduled for Saturday at noon.

Please come join us in the fun of these panels. Along with the fun the goal is to be interesting, educational, meet old friends, and make new friends.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).

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The Sarmatian Bestiary, RPG Supplement Review

Janek Sielicki has drawn on his own heritage for a The Sarmatian Bestiary supplement for 7^th Sea 2e. The Sarmatian Bestiary is a collection of creatures taken from Polish folklore. By combining his knowledge of the tales and his gaming, he has created a worthwhile book to use in the 7^thSea setting, or one you would rather use.

Sielicki points out the Sarmatian Commonwealth is based on information from historical Poland and Lithuania, making it a perfect place to introduce the creatures from this 55-page work. The first 37 pages cover information adapted from the tales of Sielicki’s home region to fit the 7^th Sea game setting. The remaining pages are devoted to the artwork of Filip Gutowski, which can be used to show the creatures without having to expose any information about them.

I had the opportunity of working with someone a few years ago on a project dealing with Eastern European folklore and reading through the material Sielicki has put together brought back wonderful memories and provided a new list of adventure ideas for my home games.

The Sarmatian Bestiaryadapts the tales into creatures usable in the game setting and mechanics. The tales have been adapted for playability purposes. However, the feel of the folktales is well maintained to give the creatures the edge the tales originally had. He maintains a level of interest in the focus of the tales to present interesting, and playable, encounters. Rather like stepping back to some of the original settings of the Grimm fairytales, these are a little darker in mood.

As with most folklore, the tales Sielicki draws upon were for teaching and frightening. This element is maintained. This allows encounters to be used not only for combat purpose, but for building story. Here are the tales that were passed down the generations to get children to behave and to teach how to care of your family and farm.

Sarmatian Warriors of Ukraine

People will recognize some of the creatures from other games. In many systems monsters have been created to draw upon the numerous tales told around the world. Many tales are similar (as readers of Joseph Campbell know well). Having a set dealing with a specific area and how they are represented is a wonderful guide for a location already based on the land they are drawn from. Another use for such a collection is to build a more historic fantasy setting of your own.

Sielicki’s adaptation uses the 7^th Sea 2^nd Edition to present the tales and lists them out for quick and easy use.

This is the fifth item I have reviewed written by Janek Sielicki covering three gaming systems. He does a great job of providing information for the system he is writing in and giving enough information to allow it to be easily adapted and presented into an ongoing game, both published and self-constructed campaigns. It is also easily adaptable to another system.

I highly recommend this The Sarmatian Bestiary for anyone who is interested in creating a setting using the folklore of Poland, or even a broader stance of Eastern Europe. The information is a wonderful presentation of the basic information with an adaptation towards a role-playing game (RPG) and if not readily available to drop right into the game you are playing, provides a sourcebook that can be easily used to move your game forward.

The Sarmatian Bestiaryis also a good resource for other locales where you want to develop more of the feeling of the fairytales and folklore told in Europe.

Sielicki delivers another winning resource for RPGing.

I was given a copy of The Sarmatian Bestiary by the author for review purposes.

About the Author

Janek Sielicki is a 39-year-old Polish freelance writer. He has been playing roleplaying games since the early 1990s—as most people in Poland he started with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, but then moved on to other systems and settings, most often exploring them as a game master. Recently he started publishing his own modules for different games, such as Numenera, Dungeons and Dragons, or 7th Sea 2ed and also accepts commissions for video and mobile game writing, RPG character background stories, etc. Janek is a professional English-Polish/Polish-English translator—that's his day job, actually! In his free time, aside from RPGs, he practices the martial art of iaijutsu and spends time with his two children and wife. He lives in Poland. 

Twitter: @Janek_Sielicki

Showcase: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JanekSielicki/palette

fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/janeksielicki

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng)

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The Dark City of Hork, Hooks to Get the Party to the City

From Slavador Trakal

In fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) cities are usually places parties have to go, and not always a place they want to. The party needs a place to restock supplies so they can head back out to find more monsters and treasure. Some campaigns use the city as a place where the party must go to find out where the next adventure is. From my experience, less often the city is a place of adventure. I understand the hardship of running a city campaign, there are a lot of moving parts needing to be considered.

Hork is a city like any other. It can fill the role of any other city you might want to run in your world. The difference being orcs are the primary inhabitants. The laws and culture are different, just like cities in different kingdoms, or those inhabited by other races. Starting with the similarities allows you as the game master (GM) to use familiar hooks. Then because of the differences between Hork and most other cities, hooks that are slightly twisted can work. And, finally, every city has particulars allowing you to use hooks specific to the setting.

Starting with the familiar, here are examples that can be altered to fit your campaign and gaming style.

Familiar Hooks

“We are running out of...”

The party is in need of supplies and the closest place to gain the essentials is Hork. Supplies in the city are available to anyone willing to pay for them. In fact, in the city of Hork there are items openly sold whereas in many places those commodities are difficult to locate without knowing the proper contacts.

The Market is where the resident (Horkians, Horkites?) get almost everything they use, and those items not sold there can be found in some other tunnel.

Outsiders to the city are recognizable in many ways, which can lead to a shopping spree players are not used to. The laws of the city are based on strength rules. Cons are everywhere and prices are set based on what can be earned from the buyer. Theft is acceptable (if you have the strength to take and hold it), as long as you don’t get caught by someone stronger, and most merchants have some means of catching would be thieves. There is also the other side where thieves are watching for unsuspecting targets. The party is in a place where they can do just about anything. Just remember the laws of retribution and cleaning up after yourself.

Places listed can be used, or new locations created. The Market, The Market Bar, and The Squeeze can all be used for encounter areas when the party is in the Hork. In fact, I wrote The Squeeze on a request to provide a place of interest.

“We need to talk to...”

Orc Cleric by Ogurec-Ubica on Deviant Art

Every city has people who know information others want or need—Hork is no different. The party has been directed to talk to a person who now resides in Hork. This could be a long lived orc who survived some ancient battle and knows where the Knight of Pervus fell. Or, a retired thief who once was in the cave of Fangarell the dragon.

Finding the right person to talk with can be a simple or complex series of events. The usual way an orc makes it to their later years is if they are connected to a tribe that can protect them. Others don’t want to be found. And, many times there is someone else who also wants the information, or, those who don’t want the information to be known. The cost of the information is always a consideration, and can easily lead into an adventure all in itself.

Hork is also a place to find a guide. In other cities a party may need the help of an expert in the local forest or mountains. Hork has a number of residents who know the surrounding terrain above ground, and the underground. Hork could very well be the stopover the party needs to find the person who can lead them to their final destination which is deeper in the labyrinth of tunnels and caves those who are not familiar with never return from.

Like locations, this is an opportunity to use residents already in the city or other personalities you already have in your campaign or would like to add. Detailed characters include Simpand Astherfen. There are also named characters that have basic information without a lot of detail in the locations.

“The caravan is stopping where?”

Many adventurers start their careers as caravan guards. Taking a job that gets them out into the country where they have the opportunity of sharpening their skills fighting off the bandits and monsters set on taking the merchant’s good. It also gets them from one location to the next in a larger crowd that provides some level of protection for themselves.

Most of these games of “caravan guard adventure” I have been involved in fall into two general categories: Encounters on the road and getting from point A to point B. Adding Hork as the destination, or part of the circuit, of the caravan adds a different aspect to being a caravan guard. Here is a place that having guards at the trading point is just as crucial as having them along during the journey. Again, the law of might makes right means a merchant needs more than just the right connections on where they are selling their goods; they need the muscle to show they have the right to own and sell their goods like the rest of the merchants in the city. This is especially important for the merchants not part of one of the guilds in the city.

“I’m tired of trail rations!”

Drow wizard by Wolf Eyes on Deviant Art

Adventures are known for being rowdy folks who don’t always do well when they are in a “normal” city. When defending themselves or just enjoying an evening at the tavern they end up running afoul of the law. Then as the cleric and wizard finally get the information they came for, they bail out the barbarian and rogue from jail and they are on their way, quickly, out from under the watchful eyes of the constable.

Being an orc run city, it is known there are going to be fights, mayhem, and death, just clean up after yourself and pay your rightful dues to the business owner for the broken wall you threw the belligerent drunken half-ogre into. The law of Hork isn’t there to stop fights and death, but to control the aftermath.

Conclusion

These are some quick ideas and familiar hooks used when trying to get a party to go to a particular place. You can change the ideas up for they are not set in the stonework originally laid down by the dwarfs that lived in the city. I’m sure you have already remembered ideas you have used in the past and how they could work for Hork.

These have minor twists, as I believe are needed when dealing with any location. Next up is looking at some old themes and developing them more specifically to a dark city that is not ruled by law and order, or a social contract of considering the best good for the most people.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).

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Blood Creek Witch by Jay Barnson, Book Review

Jay Barnson delivers a wonderful urban fantasy coming of age story in his debut novel, Blood Creek Witch.

Jenny Rose discovers she’s a witch soon after her parents die in a car accident. She is just weeks away from graduating from high school in Chicago and Aunt Hattie comes to help her take care of the arrangements. Then, they return to Hattie’s home in the small town of Maple Bend (also known as Blood Creek) in the deep woods of West Virginia where Jenny finds out her family has a history of witches.

Barriers between the world we know and the land of mythical creatures are keeping the worlds apart. But, the man in the white suit worked for years to create an unguarded crossroads he can use near Maple Bend. It has been a long struggle because some members of the Rose family have taken it upon themselves to hide and protect the gate. The man in a white suit has his own coven which is now on the verge of locating the gate and getting through.

Barnson has done a wonderful job of weaving an intriguing tale from beginning to end. He creates a coming of age/origin story for Jenny Rose. Thrust into a small town where she has never lived with abilities she never knew she had, she struggles with her own identity and where she fits in.

Jenny meets her cousin Jessabelle, who is a shape changer, and a local boy Jack, who is struggling with his public image with the rest of the town. Another visitor to the town of Maple Bend is Sean, who can see ghosts and has been manipulated to arrive in Blood Creek to help Evelyn, a witch in the coven controlled by the man in the white suit.

The four young adults are racing against the powerful witch, Evelyn, to find the gate and how to get through it. The battle continues into the otherworld where Jenny meets her grandmother who protects the gate from the other side.

The book ends with a new beginning. Blood Creek Witch is the first book of a continuing story. Jenny’s journey has begun, but it’s not over. There is more for the young witch and her friends as they are all now caught up in the struggle to make our world a safe place.

Style

For readers of young adult and adult urban fantasy Blood Creek Witch is a fun read. There is murder and bloodshed, personal battles dealing with loss and hardships. The characters are outcasts in their own ways and are learning who they are and where they fit into the world.

Jay Barnson

The style is light, even in covering darker subjects and provides a point of distance to the events which allows the story to be told without being overly detailed. Barnson uses his knowledge of the area to great effect to create a setting that is believable, with enough fantastical element to bring the story off the page and into the imagination. As a reader I was brought along with the characters and not just reading/watching what they were going through.

Overall

Blood Creek Witchis an enjoyable, fun read for young adults and fans of urban fantasy. It is on the edge of transition into more mature themed work.

I’m looking forward to the continuation of the story of Jenny Rose and her friends.

Blood Creek Witch is scheduled for release on March 13, 2018 from Immortal Works Press.

I give Blood Creek Witch 4 out of 5.

Blood Creek Witch is available on Amazon (link).

The Author

Jay Barnson is an award winning writer, software engineer, and an award-winning video game developer. He has written for The Escapist and Cirsova magazines, and has been published in numerous anthologies, most recently Altered States II: A Cyberpunk Anthology. He is the first place winner in the 2016 DragonComet award. A transplant to Utah, Jay was born in the hills of West Virginia, and uses the word “y'all” by choice, not by habit.

Jay Barnson’s blog is Rampant Games (http://rampantgames.com/blog/).

I received a review copy of Blood Creek Witch from the author.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).

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The Dark City of Hork: Introducing the City to the Party

Orc King by Mananedo on Deviant Art

In building the city of Hork, I’ve been asked questions of how to include characters, orcs and other races, who are not from the city, into the setting. The game masters (GMs) asking the questions are wanting to bring in characters of different levels and backgrounds, from above and below the surface. Most of them haven’t been running an ongoing game, but like to introduce characters greater than first level.

I have taken from those conversations to provide some ideas here to help give Hork a place in a variety of campaigns people may be running, or would like to try. It can work as a place where a specific encounter occurs at a particular setting, a location for an entire adventure, a home base for the party, or as a location for an entire campaign. The concepts here are generalities that can be applied for all of these possibilities.

Instead of condensing my notes from the conversations, I’m using them as a starting point to expand upon. This is leading into a series of articles. I know I won’t be presenting world-shattering new material, but my goal is to present information to spark your imagination, and, provide some fun.

The concepts aren’t unique. I am taking some of the information most GMs know and understand and apply it with the twist of playing in a city with a different set of morals and cultural applications. Or, giving some ideas on how you could be playing a party of anti-heroes.

Who is in Your Party?

Most cities designed for roleplaying games (RPGs) are created with the intent of having the players as heroes. The goal of the player-characters (PCs) is to confront and destroy the evil in the world they know. When they come to an evil city or country it is to gain a certain piece of information or an item and to get out intact. This goes back to the world of Greyhawk and Iuz. Hork can be used in that manner, and in such wouldn’t require much adaptation to the campaign setting as a whole.

Now we are looking at the concept of using a place like Hork as a setting that party members are going to be staying in, or coming back to often.

In setting up adventures and campaigns a GM usually needs to know who their characters are. There isn’t as much time when you are running a game in a sandbox setting and players have a number of characters in their stables to play. But, if you know you’re creating an adventure that you want to up the enjoyment on, ask who the players who they are going to bring into the adventure far enough in advance to make adjustments for those specific PCs.

Drow Wizard by johnnyhr on deviant art

Having a setting that is meant to be different, like Hork, makes understanding the characters more important for the GM. This is because the level of interaction between the PCs and the setting (this includes the mores, laws, non-player characters, etc.) is meant to challenge the players to think outside their established means of play.

The discussions I’ve had have led me to believe the GMs asking the questions haven’t been involved with an adventure where the party isn’t made up of heroes. There is nothing wrong with this, gaming is principally designed to promote the heroes of the world. Hork, and similar settings are the counterpoints. Here is a place where the villains come from. And, in turn, give the players a chance to create and play them.

I have taken a tangent, so, if you are using the dark city as a place where your players will be the evil creatures lurking in the shadows, then it is more important to know who they are. If possible find out what their goals are. Get at least an inkling of what drives this character forward to do the things they do. Why? Most GMs will be in a situation when running a party of this type. These are characters just as likely to deliver the killing blow as they are to save a party member.

There will always be monsters to run because evil doesn’t just consume the good, they consume anything and everything that is in the way of their goals. The difference comes as the GM is now also taking on the role of playing the heroes who are trying to keep evil in check.

An example of this in my campaign is I am now developing a community of dwarves my orcs want to hunt down and eliminate out of the underdark area they want to control. Usually as a GM, creating this situation means having the dwarf community under attack and the dwarfs bring in the heroes to defeat the orcs. This is done knowing the capabilities of the dwarfs and the orcs and the party is the wildcard in the scenario. Now, instead, I am creating the dwarf community who doesn’t yet know they are being plotted against by the orcs. They have their defenses based on the understanding they have of the current situation and the wildcards are a party of orcs who will be working to overcome their defenses.

Drawf by babagannoosh99 of deviant art

In talking with some authors, creating the setting for an anti-hero can be more time consuming. This is mostly because it is not how we have been brought up. A GM needs to create a situation for the PCs that is compelling and sympathetic enough for them to be involved and enjoyed, but promotes the evil side.

A GM can bring in any level of characters, of any class and any race to Hork. Characters raised in the city would have more knowledge of the history and a better understanding of how the city and its laws work. Bringing characters in from outside the city (which I did) means you can give them hints, expectations, and misinformation. Each race and class fits in differently in the city, like any city. Outsiders will have a different social status than natives. The longer they become residents, status changes.

But, it all starts with knowing where the PCs start, and what are their goals.

Feel free to change to city to fit your needs. Have fun with the parts that work, and if it doesn’t fit your game, leave it out. RPGs are about having fun creating other-worldly adventures and playing characters who are not yourself, or greater than yourself.

The next article on Hork will be a collection of hooks: bringing a party to the city, keeping them there, and bringing them back.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).

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SaltCon: Tabletop Gaming Convention, 10 Years and Growing

SaltCon is coming back to northern Utah the first weekend in March. 2018 marks the tenth year of the tabletop gaming convention and I've had the opportunity of attending more than I have missed.

I started attending SaltCon just to play the games and have continued going as an attendee and as a game master running role-playing games (RPGs). This year I will be doing something new with the convention as it continues growing and getting better. The mainstay has been and continues to be the all types of tabletop games that makes SaltCon popular.

Tabletop Gaming

Here is a four-day convention for people wanting to play tabletop games of all types. Thursday through Sunday non-stop gaming is available for the die-hard gamers reaching back into our youth when we would get together and play games through the night and into the next day. SaltCon boasts a game library with more games than a single person could play during the convention, and that includes if you don't sleep.

The game library allows you to check out a game without cost. This is a great way to learn new games and introduce others to the games you like. There is also a great method for attracting others to the game you want to play.

Table stands announce if you are looking for a teacher or for players. You don't have to put up these stands on your table, but they're good to have if you want them. A silent call goes out across the crowd of over a thousand people, inviting them to check out what you have available.

Part of the gaming floor

In past years, my small group of friends have used these table stands to play new games and to make new friends. We have seen games we like that others are wanting to learn and made the offer to show them how. I have also been introduced to games I have continued to enjoy since that initial learning of sitting at a table looking for additional players.

RPGs are also present for new and experienced players. There are several local gaming organizations hosting a variety of game systems. Last year, along with running Savage Worlds, I played in six other systems. This year there are even going to be more. I saw there are sign-up sheets already posted on the SaltCon website for those who are interested.

Companies Present

Not only game companies are there. There are people who craft complimentary items for the games we enjoy. The perfect Catan board, the storage box that is crafted to hold all of the pieces of Arkham Horror, specialized dice, painted miniatures, specialized "geekery," art, and much more. But, games are what SaltCon is about.

SaltCon is a gathering place for gaming companies to come and show what they have. This includes being able to find older games and newer releases. Envoy will be there hosting a game room of the companies they represent. The game companies are there showing their games and teaching inexperienced players. There are always games to be found around their tables.

Game Trades

One corner of the library

If you are looking for a different game, they have trading places. Along with providing a forum where gamers have been negotiating trades to finalize at the convention there is always the area where the games people aren’t playing in their own group are being sold. There have always been some great deals on the long lost loves of yesterday.

Contests and Giveaways

Very year SaltCon, and the participating companies, have given away a lot of schwag. Last year there were gift bags for people who arrived earlier (until the gifts ran out), There were drawing throughout the convention for prizes, these were from SaltCon and from independent companies. There was also a big drawing at where they gave away hundreds of items.

Contests are run by SaltCon and by the companies attending. There are gaming competitions, and I know there is also some national qualifying tournaments being held. Last year there was a miniature painting contest, and I am pretty sure they will be dong that again.

Ion Awards

SaltCon will be announcing the Ion Awards at the convention. This competition is for game developers and the winners have all had the opportunity of being published and getting to market. I have found it fun to see past winners sitting on the shelves of the game shops.

Lots of RPGs

Panels

This year the selection of panels is being expanded. (Here is a little inside scoop.) There are going to be experts who are going to be cover topic on how to create and develop games, how to market what you are creating, how to increase your enjoyment of what other have created. These are going to run the gambit of gaming—board games through RPGS.

I'll be participating on panels this year and I am looking forward to the topics I have heard about. I can't fully disclose what is going to be covered and who is going to be there, but I know those who come and join in the are going to enjoy what they see.

10 Years of Gaming

SaltCon started in a small location up by the University of Utah. They quickly outgrew the room they had and moved to a hotel in Salt Lake City, then another hotel, until now they are in the Davis County Convention Center. The past couple of years this has been a wonderful location. The Convention Center allows people to stay and play in the halls "after hours." Last year it was announced that SaltCon has been able to secure the location as long as desired, which is allowing the expansion of gaming space along with the other activities.

Last year there were around 1,200 people in attendance. It was a good-sized crowd that allows mingling without getting smothered. With the expanded space there shouldn't be any problems.

I, and friends, will be there from early Thursday until Sunday playing as many games as I can get in. I would enjoy meeting people and learning more about what you like about gaming and what you would like to see more of from Guild Master Gaming. I also enjoy playing the prototypes that people bring and are playtesting, so if you have a game in the works, this is a place to find players.

See you in a couple of weeks in Layton, Utah at SaltCon (here’s a link to their website).

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).

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Coruscation, RPG Supplement Review

Coruscation is a possible follow-up, or addition, of Janek Sielicki’s campaign setting, The Bridges We Burn. Besides being used in conjunction with what he developed, this is a wonderful short piece that can be used to fit into a number of different campaigns.

Coruscation is a ship for the Cypher System and can be used in follow-up to Sielicki’s Numenera adventure. It can also be used as a standalone adventure and a springboard into a number of other possibilities. Sielicki’s level of creativity in presenting an adventure that can be used in multiple ways is one reason I enjoy his work.

Sielicki gives several scenarios of how Coruscation can be launched into a campaign, his setting or another. This gives the game master (GM) the opportunity to dangle a flying ship out there as a carrot for the party to go after, or an immediate reward they can start using and manipulating for their own means.

There are also adventure ideas for the GM once the party has the craft. This treasure item isn’t just thrown out in the mix of all the other rewards a party can acquire. Here we have a unique item with additional information of what could happen to a group who owns such an item.

A full ready-to-use statistics sheet for the vessel is presented. Of course, Coruscation is presented with the basics of what it has on it when discovered. The party has opportunity of altering the vessel as the campaign continues.

I like Sielicki’s thoughts of giving a treasure item that provides more levels of adventure. I know in other games where players/characters have worked to upgrade their magic to get it to be what they desire. Here is a flying ship that not only has that level of playability; however, there is just enough description to also allow the GM to make exploring the ship a whole other adventure, or set of adventures, for the party.

Artwork

Filip Gutowski

As with Sielicki’s other works this book contains artwork by Filip Gutowski to capture the feeling of what is being presented. There are a couple of variations of the picture of “the gleam of light” (in case you were wondering, that’s what the name means) that can be shown to the party so you can give a visual presentation to spark the imagination of everyone around the gaming table.

Gutowski shows that he has the ability to illustrate science fantasy settings—an imagination that allows him to present the written words in great pictures.

Adaptability

If you don’t use the Cypher System, Coruscation could easily be adapted to another game system. It could be powered by magic, demons, or other elements deep within its workings. It is also not limited into which genre you are gaming in, unless you are doing a very realistic setting. Since Coruscationwas built for a science-fantasy setting most of the work is done, the adaptation is how the game mechanics of the system you want to use it in work.

Overall

Once again Janek Sielicki succeeds with his work. If you have already used some of his creations, here’s another worth having. If you haven’t had the pleasure of using his material, Coruscation can be used as a good starting point.

I was given an electronic copy of Coruscation by the author for review purposes. This is the fourth gaming item of his I’ve had the opportunity of reviewing. Sielicki is an independent game writer I hope keeps creating in the vein of what he’s presented so far.

The other reviews of his work so far include

The Bridges We Burn

A Breath of Fresh Air

Finders Keepers

About the Author

Janek Sielicki

Janek Sielicki is a 39-year-old Polish freelance writer. He has been playing roleplaying games since the early 1990s—as most people in Poland he started with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, but then moved on to other systems and settings, most often exploring them as a game master. Recently he started publishing his own modules for different games, such as Numenera, Dungeons and Dragons, or 7th Sea 2ed and also accepts commissions for video and mobile game writing, RPG character background stories, etc. Janek is a professional English-Polish/Polish-English translator—that's his day job, actually! In his free time, aside from RPGs, he practices the martial art of iaijutsu and spends time with his two children and wife. He lives in Poland. 

Twitter: @Janek_Sielicki

Showcase: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JanekSielicki/palette

fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/janeksielicki

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Shindig Machine, Game Review

Storytelling is a major part of almost all tabletop games. And, it is a part of every game. Some games are because they have a backstory to set up the game. Others are based on creating a story within the parameters of the game as it is being played. This is because storytelling has been around as long as man. And there is evidence that games have been around almost as long as there have been stories. I’m sure that many were playing games with their stories. One important way we have brought our playing of games and storytelling together is with pictures.

Shindig Machine (from Travesty Games) is a card game for storytellers. What sets this game apart from many tabletop games is the story is not already in the process of being told, or limited to the boundaries set into the game board.

Shindig Machine is a deck of 108 picture cards. The cards are original black and white art work covering a wide range of topics. There isn't an age listed and some cards have elements of horror. I don't think there is anything offensive, but I do know some who play games with younger players who would probably want to go through and cull the deck before playing with their children. Removing a few cards won't affect game play.

There are rules for 14 different games included with the cards. The games range from easy to complex. This wide variety of games gives a lot of replay-ability and makes learning different ones easier. In our short experience we were also coming up with our own variations of the games the developers give along with some ideas for new games we wanted to play. The developer told me that it was designed to spark creativity and it does.

The basic concept for using Shindig Machine is to turn over a card and tell the story you see. The next person plays a card and adds to what has already developed. This keeps going until you’ve finished your story. Winning is decided who gave the best part, or in our case we didn’t worry about who won the round, or game, or story.

Other ideas use the cards to respond to a certain type of question. Each person is dealt a hand and are limited to responding by what they can tell from the cards they hold.

The games are designed for 3–8 players, of different time lengths. The first time I brought out the cards there were 3 of us at the table and we tried out 3 different games. The second time I brought out Shindig Machine there were more people and we kept it to the easier games. Both times everyone had fun and there was a lot of laughter.

Shindig Machine isn't about keeping score, but you can. The real fun we had was working through the stories being told, or creating the most outlandish name we could come up with (one game we played was Band Name). Of course, we also developed outlandish stories.

During the second playing we had a player who was getting serious about the story they were creating, which didn't work well. There is such a mix-up of pictures that it would be hard to keep it serious. In our first outing the complex game we played had a drug cartel battling demons to stop the apocalypse.

Shindig Machine is a great filler or cabin game. Because of the storytelling style of the game, you can easily interrupt, and end and restart, when more people arrive. It also doesn't need setup and the cards come in an easy to carry box that fit in a suitcase, backpack, or cargo pants pocket.

This is the second game I’ve had the chance to review by Travesty Games, and a very different from Eschaton (review here). I had the opportunity of picking up the cards at last year’s Salt Lake Gaming Convention and then again at Salt Lake Comic Convention. I look forward to seeing what this creative company will come out with in the future.

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