Roleplaying games from historical research
In the section which follows, note that everyone is embarrassed to have captured a murderer. They live in an honour culture, rather than a legal culture, and so it seems to them that they are acting unjustly, at least according to the biased narrator. LI I WENT on applying myself with the utmost diligence upon…
Read More
I started to write an article on trick gadgets for Magonomia, but I need to step back a little and give some basic information. Much as I’d need to explain what a cummerbund was if writing up James Bond’s gear, I need to define some terms as we go through, so the potential of clothing…
Read More
In this brief section, Cellini suffers what may be a miracle for his murders, or it may be a spell effect. Note his travelling companion tries the Miserere, which we’ve discussed in an earlier episode. Thanks to Joyce Martin and her team for the recording. We were one day distant from Lyons, and it was…
Read More
You’d be be amazed how bad tradecraft is in Elizabethan England., Seriously, some of the techniques they used are now games for children. Let’s think about what they were doing, and what your character can do about it. The basic technique of sigint that Walsingham uses is interception of mail. There’s no postal system as…
Read More
Cellini was a Florentine goldsmith who lived during Elizabeth’s reign. He wrote a lengthy biography in which he confesses to serial murder and necromancy, but its the little boasts which make him particularly charming. If you’re an Ars Magica player his petty pride is perfect for a Verditus magus, and if you play Magonomia, his…
Read More
Thinking about stories of spycraft in Elizabethan England, there’s a question that needs to be discussed at each gaming table. Are your agents more like George Smiley or like James Bond? Either’s a fine choice, ands so long as you flag it properly, players can mix these types, but it needs to be discussed. Let…
Read More
Time for the longest poem in GFF history. This creature has turned up at least twice in Ars Magica. In the first version of The Mysteries we are told about Apollonius. In Realms of Power: Faerie, I give this story as an example of a ghula that is not from (modern) Arabic countries. Keats, though,…
Read MoreTime to tidy these up. Worlds on Fire Burn shift: Postapocalyptic setting. Burn shifts (mutations) 181-185. Community designs and actions (187-198] might suit us for groups like crews and conspiracies. Equipment 200-205 useful if reskinned. Beasts and obstacles [209-219} many of these are useful if reskinned – some can be directly lifted to our game.…
Read MoreSo, I’ve gone through fifty FATE Worlds supplements and looked for infomation we can use directly in Magonomia. This does not include the two most recent collections “Worlds in Shadow” and “Worlds on Fire”. The Aether Sea – This is a tall ships in space setting. It has magicians of three power levels. The lowest…
Read MoreSome familiar names from Ars Magica, and a sprinkle of new authors, have come together to write a roleplaying game about Renaissance wizardry. Andrew Gronosky, who is our fearless leader in this, has been pondering these sorts of things since he was working on hedge traditions a decade ago, so you can be sure he’s…
Read More
Games From Folktales 