Total Party Kill – The Branch of the Jeweled Tree – Episode 5

TPK: The Branch of the Jeweled Tree – Episode 5

Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt S. and Matt C. as they adventure in a “Shinto-Punk” setting using the Savage Worlds system! Casual Encounter- Z4Z (Zeppelin for Zeppelin).

NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.

Campaign Diary: Ark, The Eternal Refuge – Bad Guy Goals

By NPC Aaron

Today will be a quick one due to time constraints but I really wanted to talk about something simple that will help any sort of action-heavy game.  In our last session Del’s character Jon convinced the party to head into Blackgate, the domain of his former vampire master, to save his parents.  After sneaking over the wall, the session was devoted almost entirely to that single encounter, but it didn’t seem to drag horribly so I thought I’d go over how to make that work.

Episode 30: Mendrances and Beneflaws.

NPC Cast Episode 30: Mendrances and Beneflaws.

In this episode the NPCs chat about benefits, merits, flaws, and hindrances…and feats…and skills…and powers too. Oh, and aspects…and obligations. (65min)

Some things we discuss on this episode:

Titanium Wars: An “interstellar empire-building card game” by Iello.

Magic the Gathering: Theros Artwork: What it says on the tin.

Giant Bomb.com: An awesome multimedia site about video games!

NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.

Total Party Kill – The Branch of the Jeweled Tree – Episode 4

TPK: The Branch of the Jeweled Tree – Episode 4

Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt S. and Matt C. as they adventure in a “Shinto-Punk” setting using the Savage Worlds system! That’s no moon.

NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.

Campaign Diary: Ark, the Eternal Refuge – Upside

by NPC Aaron

I apologize for my absence the last couple of weeks.  I was sick and then had a lot to deal with. Regardless, we are pressing on and I am going to do my best to have something written up every Monday.

Last time we left the campaign with our heroes having endured some pretty heavy losses.  One character’s home was burned to the ground, and another’s ex-wife was murdered.  The characters had decided to hole up in a church basement along with the two elven children they had rescued.  At the end of the last session they had decided to stop letting things happen to them and planned to take on boss Qarl and the Qarl Syndicate.

Episode 29: Tinseltown Tails.

NPC Cast Episode 29: Tinseltown Tails.

In this episode the NPC’s do another Campaign Crucible, with surprising results! (57min)

Some things we discuss on this episode:

The Gumshoe System:  A role-playing system for investigative games.

FATE Accelerated: A lighter version of the FATE RPG system. Pay what you want!

FIASCO: An AMAZING storytelling/rpg game from Bully Pulpit!

The Ennie Nominees:  Nominees for the coveted ENNIE awards.

Kings of Air and Steam: A pickup and deliver game with zeppelins!

The Angry DM: Friend of the show, the Angry DM.

NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.

Total Party Kill – The Branch of the Jeweled Tree – Episode 3

TPK: The Branch of the Jeweled Tree – Episode 3

Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt S. and Matt C. as they adventure in a “Shinto-Punk” setting using the Savage Worlds system! That’s no moon.

NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.

Episode 28: Winning Friends.

NPC Cast Episode 28: Winning Friends.

In this episode NPC Chris and NPC Del delve a bit deeper into finding new players for your gaming group! Also: Chris gushes about the press and Del reveals his dirtiest secret. (49min)

Some things we discuss on this episode:

Star Wars – Edge of the Empire: The new Star Wars RPG by Fantasy Flight Games!

Warmachine Tactics: A video game Kickstarted by Privateer Press.

NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.

Total Party Kill – The Branch of the Jeweled Tree – Episode 2

TPK: The Branch of the Jeweled Tree – Episode 2

Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt S. and Matt C. as they adventure in a “Shinto-Punk” setting using the Savage Worlds system! Voice acting optimal!

NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.

Episode 27: Save Point.

NPC Cast Episode 27: Save Point.

In this episode the guys chat about a couple of mini-topics, including what the second half of the year holds for the NPC Cast! (37min)

Some things we discuss on this episode:

Mage Knight: A game by esteemed game designer Vlaada Chvatil.

Marvel Legendary:  A deck-building game featuring Marvel Heroes and Villains.

NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.

Total Party Kill- The Branch of the Jeweled Tree – Episode 1

TPK: The Branch of the Jeweled Tree – Episode 1

Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt S. and Matt C. as they adventure in a “Shinto-Punk” setting using the Savage Worlds system! Surf’s up!

NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.

Campaign Diary: Ark, the Eternal Refuge – Causality

By NPC Aaron

Last time we talked about my failure at GMing by email, and also about how to handle hidden information in a campaign.  This week I will go over what happened in our latest session, and the planning I did for it.

The Goal

One thing I wanted for this game, was to create the feeling of the players that they are at the center of the action in the city.  I wanted them to be able to see the gears of the campaign world churning around them, while knowing that no one specific machine was entirely on their side, or entirely against them.  My idea of how to accomplish this goal was to introduce factions.  Previously I had introduced the Qarl gang, as well as hinted at The Harvesters who work for Shindrogon, the master of Del’s character Jon Farrier.  This game I wanted to add one more organization to the mix, as well as hint at others.  I also wanted to start weaving in the prophecies we came up with from the character creation session.