So yes, my head has still been in the clouds so to speak. I’ve needed the distraction shall we say. I’ve also been meaning to dig out the Crimson Skies Clix planes I have (I think I had all the squadrons bar the Hollywood Knights and some of the Ace packs). I have fond memories of the game, though I remember it had a knack for planes to fly to the center of the board and then desperately try not to crash into each other. I always meant to build a zeppelin for it, or add more terrain. I also never lost the joy of picking up the planes and making “Neeeeeeoooooow, DAKKA DAKKA* noises with them. I grow old, but i refuse to grow up.

Right, so in the last installment I said I’d be talking about NPC’s and adventure seeds. Thoughts on that follow.

NPC’s. We’re talking quite a few here. The unit’s benefactor, local politicians and business moguls for starters. A squadron needs a base, so that means repair techs (Yes, I’d give one the nickname Ratchet), ground crew and the like. I’d say they wouldn’t need a medic but accidents do happen. They’re in Hollywood, so there’s bar owners, celebrities and journalists, both reputable and muck raking. Any success brings enemies, and the PC’s need a pirate or two who’s surname they can yell at the sky as they escape. We can’t go without mentioning fellow pilots, both on their side and against them, both pirate and civilian. And for flavour, there’s hangers on, family, possible romantic partners and the kid who sells newspapers on the corner of the base. Most of them deserve to be cast, and have quirks and accents. Also, a whole lot of them will be happy to see the PC’s, something I’d had… issues with in past campaigns. I could also do with remembering to keep a list of names close by for random NPC’s. Names are a bit of an Achilles heel of mine.

As for adventures, just because the campaign is set around a squadron of pilots doesn’t every adventure should include flight. True, if you’ve put a bunch of XP into Pilot skills, you want to use them, but surely that’s not all you can do, right? I had an idea of a group loosely inspired by Wraith Squadron (In short, half commando unit, half fighter squadron), but they might work better as antagonists.

So, adventure seeds:
The press launch, and the first flight of the new squadron. Their benefactor has laid out a solid amount of dough to finance this op and wants results. Said shindig will almost certainly be interrupted by something.
Hollywood isn’t all about flying – it’s also about being seen. Time for a night on the town!
The PC’s are hired to act as consultants on Errol Flynn’s latest picture. Not everyone wants the picture to succeed though, as the notorious pirate that Flynn is portraying is alive and angry about it.
Their exploits have attracted a lot of press attention and a studio is planning a (hilariously inaccurate) movie about them
A society heiress has been kidnapped by pirates! (Actually, she’s fallen in love with one of them and it’s a secret elopement)
Local hot shots have challenged one (or all) of the PC’s to an air race to determine who’s the better pilot. The fact that the race is highly illegal and stupidly dangerous has nothing to do with it.
Pirates! How do the PC’s deal with them – do they try to blast them out of the air, follow them back to their base or pretend to go rogue and infiltrate them?
Local cargo zeppelins have been getting hit hard – how have the pirates been getting a hold of the shipping times?
The bigwigs at Hughes Aviation need some new planes tested.
The neighbours are getting cranky – tensions between nearby states are flaring again. Are the PC’s on bodyguard duty for the peace talks, or are they the diplomats?
The Hollywood Knights see themselves as the protectors of Hollywood and aren’t happy about the new upstarts on the block – how do we mend the fence, so to speak?
A local pirate outfit is suspiciously well supplied – just where are the new planes and munitions coming from?

I’m enjoying this, it’s helping keep the brain ticking over and occupied. As for how long this goes on for, who knows what the future will bring?

Time for sleep. Be seeing you.

So, 2020’s knack for cancelling everything has continued, with Pheno announcing they’ve had to cancel. It’s a good decision, and I can’t blame them at all, but it’s another blow. I’m just hoping Victoria will be OK by November, as my sister’s getting married then. Plus, I’d really like to see Herbert, AKA Nephew again. Sure, he’s a Schnauzer and not a cat (Ordinarily a deal breaker), but he’s growing on me.

A successful RPG campaign, it’s my white whale. The Kirk to my Khan, the Borg to my Picard, the competent film making to my Ed Wood. I’m aware that my skill lies in one-shots, and yet I continue to try. I’m not sure what that makes me, eternally optimistic? I’ve long been somewhat jealous of the GM’s who can keep a campaign going and I’d like to hope that I’m learning from past mistakes. Mostly, it’s an itch I just need to scratch. I love entertaining people around the gaming table, it’s an addiction, and GM’ing provides that.

So, Crimson Skies. Let’s do some more work on this, as a hypothetical exercise. A creative outlet if you will. I’ve had pulp on the brain of late, sitting down Saturday night and watching Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Which is under rated IMO) and The Rocketeer (Which is damn near perfect as pulp films go).

What’s the hook for the setting? In short, it’s a pulp setting. The year is 1937 and the once United States has splintered into numerous smaller nations. Disputes over prohibition and a deadly strain of influenza and new nations have risen in it’s place – California is now the nation of Hollywood, while New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have merged to form the Empire State. Cross border travel has slowed, and in place of road or rail air travel is now the preeminent mode of transport. With that, has come a new spin on an old menace – sky piracy!

The new nations have formed militia squadrons of their own to combat the pirates, with several said to be funded by rich patrons. The nations squabble with each other, while the pirates move between them seeking fortune and glory. The tech level is very much ‘Rule of Cool’, and not just cause there’s zeppelins (Though that helps). It’s very much the golden age of piracy, but with planes. The villains twirl their moustaches dramatically, the good guys are incorruptible stalwarts (or charming rogues)  and smart alec quips are exchanged as often as bullets.

So, here’s a campaign idea: a patron has announced they’re forming a new militia squadron and the PC’s are it. Who their patron is, that’s to be decided. Maybe they’re a rival of Howard Hughes (Who’s said to bankroll the Hollywood Knights, a squadron comprised of the children of the wealthy elite), a politician who’s seeking to help his run for office, or a wealthy dilettante who fancies their own air force. Don’t know yet.

Being Hollywood, there’s all manner of drama among the wealthy. Add a new pirate threat, searching for hidden treasures, testing new planes (I hear Nikola Tesla has been cooking something up) and daredevil hi-jinks. There’s also the temptation to have cameos from other pulp heroes of the era.
“So, who’s the guy we’re flying escort for today??
“Some big shot archeologist, something Jones I think his name was.”

Savage Worlds is the obvious fit rules wise, though I’ll certainly need to brush up on the vehicle and chase rules. I’ve a PDF of the latest edition, though it might be worth it picking up the dead tree version. There may also be some rules I can port over from the Savage Worlds Flash Gordon RPG, especially the Cliffhanger rules. I’ll have to do do some more reading on this.

Next time, thoughts on adventure seeds and NPC’s.

Be seeing you, in the skies…

As a continuation of my previous post, here goes. So, I said there’s no point running something without an idea. Correct? Well, I’m writing this so I say I am. (My wife would be pleased with that.) I’ll try to elaborate a little on that. I might even stay on topic…

In the past I’ve been guilty of getting too caught up in loving a setting. The swashbucklers I’ve run, Conan and when I’ve run Star Wars especially. I’ve somehow managed to dodge that with Doctor Who, mostly cause that universe is massive and laughs at continuity. Also, there’s that many different eras of the show to play around in, but I’m starting to get sidetracked. I’ve played in a few games over the years where the GM’s love of the setting comes over louder than a Motorhead show. Hell, I’ve been that GM more than once. It’s not a bad thing. but what I’m trying to get at here is I think that more is needed. What sort of story are you telling, what will your PC’s be doing? Do you have a reason for using this setting more than just ‘Well, I think it’s cool’?

Looking back at a lot of my events over the years, I haven’t. That doesn’t mean the games were bad (Though I cringe at a few of them), but the fact a lot of them were convention one-shots rather than campaigns my have helped as well. There’s less worry about world building when you’ve got three hours, though in games past I’ve spent a lot of that side tracked telling stories. I try not to, but sometimes I just can’t help myself. It’s something I’m working on with my GM’ing, trying to avoid distractions and keep everyone entertained. For a campaign though, I think more is needed. Normally for a con game I have an idea or an end scenario – badass Ewoks, Orc rockers etc. And in the past when I’ve tried to run campaigns, that’s also been about what I’ve had. I’ve gotten too excited about an idea or a setting, and dove in feet first without stopping to think about what I’m actually going to do.  A framework for things, a plan, authority figure NPC’s who are happy to see the PC’s.

There’s also been plenty of times when people seem to be having fun and I’ve let them go on far too long, when I should have let them have a couple of minutes and then gently bring them back to the plot. I enjoy seeing people having fun in my events, it’s basically the primary reason I do this, but I’m the first to admit I get a bit too caught up in it from time to time. I love seeing happy people at my table, what can I say?

So, the two settings that have had me keen of late have been Crimson Skies and Torchwood. I’d been discussing the Torchwood game a while back as a short campaign and as previously noted, I’m currently awash in a dose of Crimson Skies nostalgia. So, what ideas do I have for them?

Crimson Skies
Air piracy, whether for or against is still not decided
Being recruited as consultants on Errol Flynn’s latest picture.
Sky Haven, a modern day Tortuga.
High stakes gambling.
A death defying air duel in and around Chicago skyscrapers.
Zeppelins. Some large and heavily armed, some small and speedy, some worthy of Bond villains.

So, that’s some interesting ideas, but nothing quite enough to base a campaign around. I’ve also had a lot of temptation to hunt down a pilots jacket to wear while I GM. I’ve costumed to GM at cons before, and while I generally cringe seeing GM’s who wear cloaks and what not (Generally cause it’s only used for joke value), I can understand the appeal. It’s like a uniform. Heck, I remember seeing a guy in Dragon magazine years back who GM’d while wearing a referee’s jersey and used a whistle when his players got out of line. That’s a bit too intense for me, but I can understand a want to keep players in line. Getting back to the point…

Torchwood: Sydney
The arc was going to be someone from Torchwood’s past who still bore a grudge. Possibly an alien stuck on Earth who wanted to get away and didn’t care if the planet burned in the process.
A Silurian hive underneath Sydney Harbour.
Time travel to visit an earlier version of Torchwood, possibly located in Razorhurst.
A surprise visit from the Corsair.
Alien hallucinogens being sold as party drugs.
Tensions with the local UNIT branch.
How many local celebrities are actually aliens?
SIDE NOTE: I was also planning to blow up the Ivy Bar at some point, but that’s cause I had to go there once after a team building work event and immediately wanted to set fire to the place. I have never felt so uncomfortable and out of place in a venue and hope never to again.

Where am I going with this? Not sure. Putting things down helps sort them in my head for one thing. To work out why I want to run something, to have a plan I guess. I’m a better GM for my mistakes, but I still have plenty to learn. That’s not a bad thing, as uncomfortable as it can be to admit.

To any GM’s out there reading this, what approach do you take?

Be seeing you…