Malandros Kickstarter completed - but you can still be a backer

The Kickstarter for Malandros raised £1861, reaching all its stretch goals but one.

If you weren't able to back the project during the Kickstarter, you can now do so via Payhip.

Click here to go to the Payhip page, where you can buy the ebook for US$16.

You'll immediately get the basic version of Malandros. When the final version is ready, you'll receive it as a PDF, plus an at-cost coupon to order the book in print.

Malandros: stretch goals + progress update

With some relief I see that the Malandros Kickstarter has reached the first two stretch goals featuring writers who aren't me. It wouldn't be the end of the world if we didn't get to them, of course, but when you approach people and they are kind enough to agree to write something for your project - not for free, granted, but still - it would seem a shame not to be able to follow through on it.


Funded stretch goals
Mark Galeotti will write Aluminium Wars, an alternate setting for the game based in 1990s Russia. It's all about the gangster-capitalists, crooked cops and politicians of the post-Soviet era in Krasnoyarsk, then the biggest centre of the aluminium industry in the world.

I have to confess to being rather nervous when I contacted Mark to ask if he'd like to write something for Malandros. If you read anything at all about Russian geopolitics, security and/or organised crime, you'll know he's kind of a big deal in those circles. So I felt like emailing him was kind of a long shot. You can imagine the warm approval-derived feelings I had when he replied with a 'this looks fun' message.

Paula Dempsey, whose to-be-named Victorian East End setting funded yesterday, is no less a big deal, of course. The Gold ENnie award-winning Paula Dempsey, I should say. But I have known Paula for quite a long time, so I knew I probably wouldn't get shot down for my temerity in asking.

This is the first time Paula and I will have worked together on a game product. I'm looking forward to it.


Upcoming stretch goals

£1400: Other Borders by Tod Foley

£1600: Gangs of Titan by Stras Acimovic

£TBA: Kingsport Shore by Steve Dempsey


Haven't backed yet? Now is a great time to do so!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1690011586/malandros-tales-from-the-streets-of-old-rio


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In artwork news, Claytonian has been enthusiastically researching and sketching all kinds of Brazilian legends for the Supernatural Creatures supplement. For Josephe's Rio map, I am going through my files to collate various references and prepare an art brief. After the Kickstarter concludes I will be able to put in confirmed orders for the colour artwork and licensed photos. 

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In terms of text and existing content, backers will get the PDF of the "basic" edition shortly after the Kickstarter closes. So I'm busy putting in the material that I wrote as a result of playtesting, as well as tidying up the layout so there are no more big "put artwork here" boxes on various pages.

Malandros update: Sydney unlocked & questions of photography

We've reached the £750 mark, which means all backers will now get a bonus PDF supplement: The Sydney Razor Gang Wars.

The razor gangs of 1927-31 were led by two different but equally powerful and fearsome women. Tilly Devine was known as the Queen of Woolloomooloo. She ran a string of brothels centred around Darlinghurst and the Cross. Kate Leigh, 'the Queen of Surry Hills’, was a sly-grogger (unlicensed booze-seller) and fence for stolen property.

The rivalry between these two women reached a peak in 1929, when their gangs fought pitched battles in the streets. Over a period of years, their ongoing turf war left many dead, disfigured or imprisoned.

So what's next?
At £1000, every backer will receive a free bonus PDF supplement written by Mark Galeotti called Aluminium Wars. You can read more about it on the main page of this Kickstarter (keep scrolling down!).

About photographs

A friend (who is also a backer - thanks, mate) has suggested I tell you a little about what's going on with photo licensing for Malandros.

In short: the Pierre Verger Foundation has given me a tough time over using several images, and I love them for it.

For most images in the archive, the Foundation functions much like a normal photo agency. You send them an order form and some money, then they let you use the image. But an important part of Pierre Verger's work was documenting and helping the wider world to better understand the cultures of Africa and the African diaspora.

Because of this, if you want to use a Pierre Verger photo showing Afro-Brazilian religion (which I do), the Foundation is very strict. You have to show your layout and explain the context in which the image will appear. A number of other restrictions apply. You're not allowed to crop out certain religious objects, for example, or cover parts with text or other layout elements.

Throughout our discussions, the staff at the Foundation have been really supportive and helpful. They are even helping me to find better ways to explain Afro-Brazilian religions in that section of the book's text. When I sent them my first mock-up layout, they asked if I could use a different image to one I had selected, to better show the importance of community - they were right. The book will now literally give a better picture of this aspect of Brazilian culture.

I will put in a final order for the photo licences after the Kickstarter concludes, subject to approval. I look forward to being able to share the finished product with everyone, and I know that the Foundation's diligence has already made Malandros a better book.

What is Malandros?

Rio de Janeiro at the end of the 19th century: a city of slums and palaces, street gangs and tycoons, magic charms and outlawed martial arts. Cunning, bohemian and streetwise, the malandro walks its streets without fear - because there's always a way out.

Malandros is a tabletop roleplaying game based on the award-winning DramaSystem rules engine. It's a game of personal struggles and interpersonal dramas.

You play characters in a tight-knit community caught up in tumultuous times: gang leaders, captains of industry, fishermen, martial artists, swindlers and more. You all know each other - you're family, friends, rivals or enemies, all living in the same part of town. You all want something from each other. Maybe it's respect, maybe it's love. Maybe it's fear, or something else.

Will you get what you want? That's what we're here to find out.

 

 

 

The Game
Malandros uses the DramaSystem rules, created by Robin D. Laws and first published in his game Hillfolk, which won both the Diana Jones Award for Gaming Excellence and the Indie Game Awards' "Indie Game of the Year" in 2014.

Here's how Robin described the system's design goals in his introduction to DramaSystem:
"DramaSystem sets out to create a substantially unguided experience, creating a very simple framework for extended dramatic storytelling. It doesn’t take you in a specific direction. Rather, it fosters a group dynamic allowing the participants to explore a surprising emotional narrative. The resulting story acquires a definite shape, but that comes from its use of dramatic storytelling techniques rather than a push in any particular direction, either by the rules system or the GM."

 

Malandros retains the elegant drama token system for resolving dramatic scenes that you'll already know if you've read Hillfolk or the free DramaSystem basic rules. It then takes a new approach to resolving "procedural" scenes - that is, scenes where characters use their abilities to achieve practical goals.

Where Hillfolk is designed to emulate the pacing and outcomes of ensemble TV dramas, Malandros uses character abilities and the scene economy to create dramas that resemble the twists and turns of 19th century novels and modern telenovelas. 

 

 

In procedural scenes, characters undertake practical tasks with a tangible, external goal. Resolving these challenges uses the roll of a single D6, to which you may add your rating in a relevant ability - but once you've done so, you need to refresh that ability before you can use it again.

You refresh abilities by calling an appropriate dramatic scene. The interlocking ability and scene economies mean that the story ebbs and flows between the dramatic and the procedural. The system emulates a more novelistic form than the "HBO drama" style of Hillfolk by reducing the need for teamwork in procedural scenes without losing the incentives for emotional interaction in their aftermath.

 

Character creation is done as a group. Individual players define their characters' desires, personality and characteristics, but the relationships between them are a two-way street. For each PC yours has a relationship with, you say "what I want from him/her" -- and they explain why you can't have it, at least not yet.

Malandros also builds on DramaSystem by providing frameworks for character creation and procedural resolution that guide the game into a bohemian Carioca milieu.The result is a game in which laid-back scenes, where characters sip caipirinhas and watch the world go, by are punctuated with moments of high drama or intense action.

 

MALANDROS UPDATE

The test copy of Malandros is on its way from the printer!

The main purpose is to see how the current interior layouts look in real life, and how the colours come out in the pictures.

I'm hoping the current font size can come down a little, as this beta version is already at 144 pages and there's still more stuff to put in the book. I can add more pages, of course, but I'm trying to keep the game relatively slim and accessible.




Other things that are happening with Malandros:

- I've been in touch with a cartographer and illustrator who, funds permitting, is interested in working on the project
- I've contacted the Pierre Verger Foundation for quotes on using their photos. The late Pierre Verger was a Franco-Brazilian photographer and ethnographer who documented Yoruba and Afro-Brazilian culture, as well as becoming a priest of the orixa Orunmila.
- We've been running the in-house playtest for the last two months, and things are going well - I've discovered things that needed fixing and fixed them, and the things that happen in the game match what's supposed to happen. I say "we" since we rotate the GM position every episode, though that's not mandatory to play the game.

So all in all, progress is good and I am closing in on having a game that's ready for release.


I am tentatively pencilling in a Kickstarter for the last week of September to raise money for the aforementioned artwork and photos.

Review: UED and the Lost Dice system

UED and the Lost Dice system

Review by Jairo Borges Filho, IndieGamePT

 Translated from the Portuguese original

Versão português: https://indiegamept.wordpress.com/2015/08/10/ued-e-sistema-lost-dice-por-jairo-borges-filho/

With another RPGénesis starting today - a great Luso-Brazilian contest for creating and narrative games – I’d like to speak about one legacy of that contest from previous years: a unique survival game, which won over Brazil and will now take over the world!

I’m talking about UED: You are the Resistance, by Julio Matos and Fabiano "Chikago" Saccol.

Riders on the Storm

The game is set many years from now, after a long-expected alien invasion. The human race could hardly defend itself because each and every advanced technological device was rendered useless before the Invaders attacked. Only a minority who managed to shelter in bunkers and underground refuges survived. Even so, the arrival of a new Ice Age and the lack of technology seemed to spell the end for the human race…

Of cours,e that was before the arrival of the Runners –well-equipped messengers in the service of the United Earth Defense, a nucleus of resistance against the Invaders, fighting for the unification of humanity. Survivors by nature and pilgrims by obligation, they are trained to ensure the survival of any Haven, seeking supplies and energy cells to keep it going. Whatever the cost.

Sole Survivor
The focus of UED, first of all, is survival and all that it guarantees (so do not be surprised by the constant risk in each story). Each player will portray a Runner, one of the new humanity’s warriors, equipped and trained to face any kind of threat (or not).

"What do you mean, 'or not'?" you wonder. The fact is that the character may not have the resources to deal with the threat at hand. The game system elegantly simulates resource management. Energy, weapons, supplies, vehicles ... each of these features is represented in the game by an Attribute (from the following: d4, d6, d8, d10 or d12) and its Supplies (extra dice in reserve). As fighting and other dangers are faced (e.g., extreme cold), these dice are lost - depleting supplies and requiring replenishment in the icy, perilous surface world.

It is precisely this that creates the game’s heroism and grand stakes. The deeds of each Runner are reflected in the Havens they visit and save, raising their Courage and Glory. This recognition is also reflected among their peers, through Rank – providing enhanced abilities in the character’s chosen Profession.

Taken as a whole, it is a game that borders on epic, with touches of survival horror and the hopelessness of a post-apocalyptic scenario. Simply beautiful. : D

The Battle Rages On ...
Not only is there a compelling scenario and well designed rules, but the book is very well done too. Good layout, easy to understand text and beautiful illustrations enhance the work of friends Julio Matos and Fabiano "Chikago" Saccol. The great thing for me is the music: each chapter has a song to which it is “dedicated”, because music was the only legacy of the past is left to the survivors. Each of the Runners is also described by a song that defines your perspective and personality. Add to that a plethora of Easter eggs involving names, special abilities and storylines inspired by the great classics of rock'n'roll, and reading becomes even more fun.

Another ingenious idea of the authors: the game system, called Lost Dice, will be open to future development and hacks (the game is CC licensed). Some have been published already in Portuguese – including adaptations for Resident Evil, FallingSkies, Front Mission and Metal Gear.

And now, friends? Interested in this great game? Well, you can purchase it in English here. If you are not convinced by my words, perhaps this Beta (in Portuguese) can convince you to buy this great Brazilian game.

For would-be authors who decide to participate in the RPGenesis contest, and wish to use the Lost Dice System to create your own hack, access the guide system construction at this link.

Please also be part of the Resistance. Join the UED, and fight for the future!

 Follow UED on Google+

On Finding Clues

WARNING: extreme ramblosity ahead. 

The burning question of our time: what is the point of a Spot Hidden roll? 

When it succeeds, the player learns something. When it fails, they learn that they… didn’t learn something. 

If the Hidden thing being Spotted is trivial, fine, I suppose. Although if it’s trivial why not just tell the player about it? Or why bring it up at all? 

And if it’s something the player “ought” to discover, whether because the GM wants it known or because the character is carefully spending time exhaustively searching a room to the extent that they certainly will find whatever is hidden there… why introduce the chance of failure? You might say it takes a long time, or it’s tiring work, but if it ought to be found then it ought to be found.

GUMSHOE Rules

To begin with, the rule for finding clues in GUMSHOE is not "you get all the clues" (even though some writers have taken something approximating this approach) but "you need to have the right skill and say that you are using it in the right place". It's not even enough to have the skill and be at the scene. You have to actively and correctly apply it.

And just because their skills never fail, it doesn’t mean the characters will never fail. 

For example, let's say there's a hidden room in a house. The player whose PC has Architecture says "I'm going to check out the house - anything odd?" Which is the kind of thing an architect would do, in my experience. And then tell you about it. 

In this case, I'd tell them that there's some space unaccounted for in the interior rooms compared to the outside. But if no one had that skill, I wouldn't have them learn this unless they specifically said "I think there might be a hidden room - I'm going to look for it". Without the skill that might take hours or days, but spend enough time with a tape measure and anyone could do it. 

The advantage for the PC with Architecture is that they learn about the room early on. Others might have to wait for someone to tell them there's a secret room somewhere in the house before they know to look for it. 

Similarly, to give a real-world example, I can read Latin. It's a little rusty these days, but give me a Roman inscription and a Latin dictionary and I will eventually tell you what it says. The significance might be unclear, and in many genres an important word might turn out to be missing, but sooner or later I'll get there. In GUMSHOE that would be a 0-point Languages: Latin use, or you could spend 1 point just to translate it off the cuff. Compare that to rolling 90 on your Other Language: Latin 80% in CoC. Now you don't know what it says, and that's that. Vaguely ridiculous and it doesn't add anything to the game -- a Roman inscription that's so obscure you can't read it even with your best efforts? Interesting, and with GUMSHOE you can be certain it's a difficult text - a clue in itself. But with a failed roll you can’t be sure about that. You don’t know why you don’t know.

Call of Cthulhu does sometimes allow a take-your-time approach, with scenarios where you get a Library Use roll for every 2 hours you spend searching the archives, and it's up to you how long you'll spend on it. But that's not a standard rule, or at least it wasn't in the editions I have.

So the rule is not "as a default players will gain every clue necessary to solve a case". It's that if they look in the right place and their character has the right skill, they won't miss the clue. This is an important distinction.

Into the Clue Dungeon

Core clues are the door to the next dungeon room. You can't miss them. They're the dead body in the hallway, the green sedan peeling away at speed. Everything else can be hit or missed. If you don't follow the leads, you'll never get anywhere. 

However, some people infer that this means "the players will always solve the mystery". That's not necessarily boring, but it does create a lack of (for want of a better word) jeopardy.  

There's a school of thought in GUMSHOE scenario design that says there's a beginning and end of the mystery and the players should get from one to the other no matter what happens -- only *how* they get there will be changed by their actions. That can be enjoyable enough, but if you invite me to participate as a player in a mystery game, that's not what I want to do. 

It's odd that Call/Trail of Cthulhu has spawned so much of this kind of scenario design, given that its source material is one in which not finding out what is going on is very much par for the course. The ToC Purist adventures are an example of this approach working well, because they’re more of an exploration than an investigation, if that’s not splitting hairs too much: there’s a thing that has happened, and you go and look at the different parts of it, and then at the end you realise the universe is terrible. There’s no question of succeeding or failing as such. 

In scenarios where “solving the mystery” is a goal, the key is that both success and failure need to be “interesting”. The core mechanic of GUMSHOE is based on the observation that failing a Spot Hidden roll doesn't produce an interesting result. But some GUMSHOE materials go too far and presume that the answer is to always succeed. Some even go so far as to say it doesn't matter what skills PCs use, just give them the clues. For me this takes away player agency too much, including at character creation. If I choose not to take Physics, don't give me Physics clues via another means. Just let me miss that clue, at least for now. If it’s important I can get someone to help me. 

For example: There’s a message inscribed on the wall of an Egyptian tomb but none of us can read hieroglyphics. If the clue isn’t important, then it doesn’t matter that we don’t learn it. If it is important, we’ll find that out soon enough and we can get someone to translate it for us. 

Effectively, Interpersonal Abilities can be used as proxies for Technical or Academic ones, as you persuade people to help you out. Similarly, I would accept a point-spend for using not quite the right skill. E.g. a 0-spend Archaeology clue about an Egyptian tomb might become a 1-point Architecture spend. But the players have to suggest them.

A side-note on ability spends

In general, I prefer players to initiate spends. They’re the ones who know what is valuable to them, and the GM or scenario writer will be hard-press to predict it. Having pre-written 1- or (!) 2-point clues that give “bonus information” don’t sit well with me. “Would you like to spend a point of Art History?” is a meaningless question. I don’t know, would I? How helpful is it going to be? Even if you tell me it’s to know who painted the picture I’m looking at, if I don’t know it matters yet it’s a shot in the dark, essentially no decision at all. Let me decide later as a player that I need to know who painted the picture and say “hey, can I spend an Art History point on that?”

Stakes

A key issue is setting stakes. Let’s take a detour into the Highlander TV series of the 1990s. This was a programme that had a few very good episodes. They were never the episodes where the climactic scene hinged on the question “Will MacLeod beat this other guy in a sword fight?” The show is called Highlander – of course he’s going to win. Despite the fact that immortals duelling with swords was the key draw of the series, the best episodes were not the ones that asked “Who is the best sword-immortal?” but the ones where the question was something else. Will MacLeod kill this person even though he doesn’t want to? Will he be able to rescue the innocent NPC the baddie has taken prisoner? That kind of thing. Strangely the producers never seemed to work this out, and most of the episodes were about the who-is-the-best-at-swords thing, but there you go. 

If your only options in a scenario are “the players do/don’t solve the mystery”, and the mystery is the only thing happening, you have a problem. 

If the solution is “you’ll solve the mystery no matter what” and the players know it, there’s little sense of accomplishment in getting to the end. Character drama – the journey above the destination – can compensate for the lack of jeopardy, but there are other options. 

1)   Time running out

Good for a Sherlock Holmes-style game where failure could undermine the central conceit of your PCs. You’ll work it out – but will the villain have escaped by the time you do? Conan Doyle used this a few times. 

A variation is what you might call the Usual Suspects template. The secret agent is on the train, and you’ll get a photograph of him or her when you arrive in Istanbul. But if it takes you that long to work out who it is, chances are they’ll escape or pass on the secret plans to their associates before you can catch them. 

2)      The villain out of reach

The Columbo method. You know who did it, because you watched the pre-credits sequence, or because you’re a great detective, or because the bad guy said something like “So, I killed my wife, did I? Well, I’d like to see you prove it! Good day, detectives. I said good day!”
So in one sense the mystery is solved. But how did they do it, and how can you prove it?

You don’t have to make the culprit known from the start – solving the whodunit part about 2/3^rds of the way through works, and then the ending either sees the culprit proven guilty or left as an ongoing nemesis. 

Slightly different, and common in film noir and hardboiled fiction, is the scenario where it’s relatively simple to get the person who pulled the trigger, but the detective may or may not get to the bottom of who ordered the hit.

3)      Something else going on

Perhaps the easiest way to make both success and failure in solving the mystery “acceptable” is to make sure the PCs have more than just that going on. For example, police detectives will usually have more than one case active, and some of them might never be solved. Or, in a scenario for OSS agents behind enemy lines in World War II, the mystery may be “who killed Agent Donovan?” At the same time, the agents will have missions to undertake that involve spying, sabotage or training resistance fighters. If things go wrong on absolutely all fronts, their new objective will be to get home safely: whatever happens, you’ve got an adventure.