Swords of The Serpentine - Hardcover Role Playing Game Book, Pelgrane Press

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Social combat that targets your enemy’s morale, letting you defeat some foes through wit, guile, and threats Short form, I have a Blades in the Dark game that is going quite well, but the players REALLY like planning and more normal “walking around” play than the normal Job model. I took a look at SotS out of curiosity that it might be a better match. Didn’t really pan out, at least as written, but it was worth the read. Your characters will discover leads that, if followed, propel them headlong into danger and forbidden knowledge. A lead might point the way to sunken treasure, jungle ruins, the missing key to a sorcerous trap, or the true identity of a notorious murderer. The GUMSHOE game mechanics ensure that you’ll always notice leads if you look for them. It’s up to you to choose which one you’ll follow into whatever perils lie ahead, in hopes of fortune, glory, justice, or just staying alive another day. Eversink is, literally, a port city that keeps sinking into the ground, with new buildings being built upwards to outpace the sinking. The primary religion of the city is the worship of the goddess Denari, whose religion is based on commerce. Also, the city is technically her body, which means that her worshippers don’t look kindly on anyone spreading corruption (the magical kind) in the city, as she is metaphysically pushed out of those areas tainted with it. There is reasonable space for discussion regarding whether this is a push system (GM finds ways to get info to the players) or a pull system (Players get info only if they ask the right question) but from my read, SotS comes down on the push side of the equation – players have plenty of opportunities to be clever without needing to outsmart the GM at cooperation. ↩

Outside of co-creating Dungeons & Dragons, the next biggest contribution Gygax may have made to fantasy gaming is Appendix N. I’m not going to defend Gygax’s taste in fantasy as being definitive by any means, but Appendix N introduced the concept of mapping your inspirational media. In my case, Appendix N introduced me to Fritz Leiber and the city of Lankhmar. More than about anything on the list, the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories fired my imagination. As in other GUMSHOE games, you can also spend Social Investigative abilities to manipulate the supporting characters around you. Want people to trust you so you run a scam? Spend a point of Trustworthy. Want people to ignore you while you slip into their mansion? Spend a point of Servility. You get the idea. Scurrilous Rumors represents your fungal hivemind’s link to sources of gossip from multiple locations throughout the city

Investigative ability: Ancestry (Drowned)

It really is thematic to Sword and Sorcery fiction that the people that are driven by greed and selfishness often end up being worse than the person that initially was the villain, and that sorcery often unleashes a dangerous monstrosity way beyond what any of the antagonists really wanted. This is a solid introduction both to the rules and to the tropes of the genre. When it’s summer, you smell her before you see her. As you come around the curve of the Serpentine river the scent of the open sea is replaced by the stench of low tide, of boat tar, of rare spices spilled from a smuggler’s ship; of cooking smoke and human waste. Bells ring out across the water and echo like the song of ghosts, loud enough to almost drown out the chanted prayers of your ship’s rowers. Ancestry (Drowned) reflects the extent of your link to the fungal hivemind, and the strength of the fungus growing inside your body Gonna be honest — this is more art than science. The idea — spend these points for cool effects — is clear, but the devil is in the many, many details. This is an area where the table needs to really be in sync — I can see a read of the game where the “free” clue is always very minimal, and there’s an expectation of spend. But I can also see a read where the free clue is cool and rewarding, and spends are bonuses rather than buy ins.

That means anytime I see a fantasy city with conspiracies, factions, ancient magical secrets, quirky rulers, and messed up laws, it’s going to catch my attention. I love Waterdeep, Camorr, Karnaca, Sigil, Doskvol, Avalon, and countless others because of the weirdness, wonders, and treachery that I encountered in Lankhmar. The way that the city's structure and story is woven into the setting and gameplay is illustrated by the Adversaries section. Each major faction in the city is detailed with an army list of commanders and minions, fully statted, so that any run-in with the City Watch or the Church of Denari can be immediately fleshed out with a complete cast of opponents. The corollary is that this is not a wilderness setting: the whole world where Eversink resides is detailed, with plenty of hints as to where you can take your characters for wilderness hex-crawling, but the action is clearly geared to Eversink itself. The spirit of the setting is closer to Early Renaissance with fireballs replacing firearms than medieval knights and castles, although there is some guidance for recreating Eversink as a steampunk setting if you want to shift the technological development needle. Out-of-the-box Eversink is such a rich and stimulating setting, though, that I doubt too many people will bother. In fact, I expect that, as with many Pelgrane products, gamers who aren't enamoured of Gumshoe will buy the book anyway for the superlative setting detail.

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Characters can have five or more pieces of minor, iconic gear that define your character. While these might be temporarily lost, you always end up with these items (or ones just like it) in your possession without needing to spend wealth or favors to get more. The boundaries of kingdoms are fluid and are seldom set in stone. They vary based on the actions of the strong.

This is the sixth in our series on non-human heroes which has so far covered the spider-like Arakene, the Considerata (humans whose souls are contractually linked to gods), Constructs, Intelligent Animals, and Unsleeping Advisors (secret undead). This month’s Ancestry is inspired by the cordyceps fungus, The Last of Us, and terrifying hiveminds. Be sure to read the previously published rules on Non-Human Heroes if you haven’t already.. The Drowned The sly and clever villain is not necessarily puissant in combat. That, of course, is why they hire protection. There are also magic items. They are, by and large, colorful and fun. Well, something like fun, but a bit darker.You round the bend past the lower fort and there she is: the great city of Eversink, sprawled out on scores of islands across the sheltered water. Her jeweled and crystal turrets are reflected in a shimmering bay full of hundreds of brightly colored boats. Architecture from a dozen eras towers above a tangle of grand plazas and narrow canals. Temples to her goddess rise above the mansions and tenements, calling her people to prayer. She may be ancient and corrupt, slowly and inexorably swallowed by an endless bog; but she’s alive in a way most cities aren’t. She’s a melding of faith and stone and wood and water – and mud – that’s unique in all the world. At fledgling power, we have is a Conan who is more thief than warrior. He’s adept at breaking and entering, good in a fight (especially if he fights unconventionally) but without tactical mastery. He’s young, and only knows how to relate to others through posturing and insults. Description: Anyone will tell you that “the Drowned” is a ridiculous conspiracy and that the rumors aren’t true. Often, the person telling you this is already a member of the Drowned. Because all of these spends must be justified within the context of the pool from which the points are spent, Sorcery becomes very flexible in the game. While Sorcerers have a limited number of Spheres that they can use to help limit their power, it’s still wide open to do things like proposing spends that teleport or destroy walls that are in the way, for example. Magic!

Having the Drowned as Enemies means that Colony considers you an enemy and a threat. It will tirelessly work to infect you, exile you, or kill you – whatever it needs to do to eliminate you as a threat. Expect danger from anyone, because other than an examination with Leechcraft there’s no easy way to tell who is infected. Gear: worn chain armor, great sword, smoldering blue gaze, panther-like demeanor, full skin of wine, urge for adventure, and still a full and endless supply of disdain for the soft and the civilized. Appendices and Index: Don’t forget they’re here; we grabbed the most important tables and charts for your use.

Sample Adversary – The Drowned

You know what you don’t see too often? Robust and fun social combat systems that lets you defeat a foe without laying a finger on them. You know what we really wanted for this game? You contracted the disease wetlung after almost drowning in a canal. This has turned you into a secret member of Eversink’s fungal hivemind the Drowned, absorbed into the collective known as “Colony”; you are happily content with this fact and probably don’t mind the occasional wet cough. You probably look normal, but wetlung has left you as more than human. As far as you can tell you maintain your free will, but you also have near-instant mental access to information from other members of Colony across the city. As the fungus grows within you, you continue to become more powerful and knowledgeable.