Because I'm a grown up, I will swear on occasion. We grant this privilege to grown ups because, ostensibly, we believe that they will only use swearing at appropriate times. One of those time is whenever I mention the game Bulldogs!, because it's really hard for me not to yell, "Fuck Yeah" after saying Bulldogs! or even typing Bulldogs!.
With that in mind, I'm currently running a game of Bulldogs! Fuck Yeah! with a bunch of great people. My wonderful editor and partner Amber, Joe from over at Monkey Den Productions
and Underwear on the Outside, Geoff Bottone who I wrote Critical!: Go Westerly with and who was a big part of Slugfest Games, and Mary who currently is one of the Con Organizers for Slugfest Games.
It's going to be an awesome game. As it stands we did char gen last night and we ended up with a prototype ship that accidentally ended up as a class D ship. What makes the ship great is that it has a rather brilliant AI, but the worst part is that no one really knows how to work it since it's a prototype ship. I'm thinking that they're going to have to use a lot of the rules for guessing what they aspects of the ship are before I give them to them.
Their captain is a failed artist who is on Plan D. Not only did they fail at being an artist, but they failed at two other back up plans before ending up as the captain of a class D ship. He plays favourites, but that chances with his ephemeral and moody nature. It's so hard to be an artist after all, the ship would look much better in a chartreuse.
Our Muscle (played by Geoff) is a Dolomé that used to work for a local crime lord and had kind of signed up to get away from all that. Despite his fearsome nature, he's kind of easily intimidated which also makes him rather loyal to the captain because he's used to following orders.
The ships mechanic is a Ryjyllian named Krrl (played by Joe), though everyone calls him Karl and he hates it. He's quite adept at fighting, but finds solace in his engineering. He's on the ship because he was expelled from his clan as part of the peace negotiations between his clan and a rival clan. Now he finds himself adrift on a class D ship hoping that this motley crew can become his new clan.
The pilot is an Urseminite name Moll (played by Amber) who does the things that Urseminites do well. She drinks, she smokes and she hasn't met a vice she wasn't willing to try. She doesn't understand why people don't like her, they should because she's a people person. My favourite part of Moll is that all the weapons she got all have an aspect with the words Scary in them.
The Robot on the ship, the one who knows all the nooks and crannies, is a newly awakened bot named Syris (played by Mary). Syris comes from a Pleasure Station owned by some Ken Reeg and signed on as soon as she woke up. Basically, she woke up and got the hell out and now those deed holding Ken Reeg are looking for what they consider to be their lost property. Syris is very much the most personable one of this crew, and the only one with any medical skill.
Anyway, we'll see how this goes. I'm looking forward to running this game for these people. Now I just need to come up with some cool stuff for them to do.
Showing posts with label Bulldogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bulldogs. Show all posts
Monday, January 23, 2012
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
RPG Review Recess -- Bulldogs! Fuck yeah!
Another book that I picked up at Gen Con this year was Bulldogs! Sci-Fi that Kicks Ass! by Brennan Taylor and Brian Engard. Now, I got to see bits of the alpha, which made me really want to get the book, so when Brennan said that there would be copies available at Gen Con I knew I had to make my way to the IPR booth at some point in time during the convention.
Well, I made it there on Thursday during when all the VIG's got into the con and I said hello to Darren and asked if there were any Bulldogs! available. He pointed me to the stack and I took the top one and say that it was 200/200 that was signed. Now, I'm not a huge person that needs to get their books signed but it was one of the serendipitous moments that just worked. I picked up the book then and there and have enjoyed every single minute of it.
First of all, this needs to be move out of the way, Bulldogs! and Galileo Games wins at FATE. I bet you didn't know there was a competition, well there is. Every other FATE book I have read, skimmed through, or looked at is working to be the largest book that they can possibly be. Spirit of the Century, Kerberos Club FATE Edition, Dresden Files are all FATE books that are huge. It's like they're trying to see how big the book can be. Now, that's not a knock on FATE games, I'm just saying that most of them ... pretty big books. Malcolm made the joke at Fan Expo that they're great for pickup games, you pick up three and curl them and see how many times you can do that.
Bulldogs! wins because it's not nearly as big as the rest of those books. It still uses FATE, and does some really wonderful things with it, but everything is just more compact. It also wins because it's a great game, but the fact that it's got one of the most concise versions of FATE can't be overlooked at all.
What I like about it
The game itself is brilliant. I love the concept, that you all play people who signed up to be the ones who run the D class ships for a Corporation who will make money on you if you fulfill the requests or die and allow them to claim the insurance.
I love how the captain is defined by the players, and the ship are defined by the players.
I love how the ship is always a wreck no matter what you try to do with it.
I love the focus on adventure and space opera rather than the nitty gritty SF.
I love how FATE is used in this game. It should really be the benchmark for using FATE.
If you want to play a Space Opera game with a lot of action and excitement, this is the game to get. Get it now. No, seriously.
What I don't like about it
Um, it's really picking at nits but this would have to be the book where I feel that the art isn't up to the same standards as the other books. Mortal Coil is amazing, and done by Jennifer Rodgers, to How We Came to Live Here, I don't have the artist's name on hand but they are amazing, to Kingdom of Nothing by Jeff Himmelman. I know it's supposed to be campy, and fun, and it is. It's just not as campy and fun as I think it could have been.
TL;DR
This is the best FATE game you're going to pick up. If you want high action in Space, you should pick it up right now. RIGHT NOW. That way you too can read through the book and make your own alien species.
Well, I made it there on Thursday during when all the VIG's got into the con and I said hello to Darren and asked if there were any Bulldogs! available. He pointed me to the stack and I took the top one and say that it was 200/200 that was signed. Now, I'm not a huge person that needs to get their books signed but it was one of the serendipitous moments that just worked. I picked up the book then and there and have enjoyed every single minute of it.
First of all, this needs to be move out of the way, Bulldogs! and Galileo Games wins at FATE. I bet you didn't know there was a competition, well there is. Every other FATE book I have read, skimmed through, or looked at is working to be the largest book that they can possibly be. Spirit of the Century, Kerberos Club FATE Edition, Dresden Files are all FATE books that are huge. It's like they're trying to see how big the book can be. Now, that's not a knock on FATE games, I'm just saying that most of them ... pretty big books. Malcolm made the joke at Fan Expo that they're great for pickup games, you pick up three and curl them and see how many times you can do that.
Bulldogs! wins because it's not nearly as big as the rest of those books. It still uses FATE, and does some really wonderful things with it, but everything is just more compact. It also wins because it's a great game, but the fact that it's got one of the most concise versions of FATE can't be overlooked at all.
What I like about it
The game itself is brilliant. I love the concept, that you all play people who signed up to be the ones who run the D class ships for a Corporation who will make money on you if you fulfill the requests or die and allow them to claim the insurance.
I love how the captain is defined by the players, and the ship are defined by the players.
I love how the ship is always a wreck no matter what you try to do with it.
I love the focus on adventure and space opera rather than the nitty gritty SF.
I love how FATE is used in this game. It should really be the benchmark for using FATE.
If you want to play a Space Opera game with a lot of action and excitement, this is the game to get. Get it now. No, seriously.
What I don't like about it
Um, it's really picking at nits but this would have to be the book where I feel that the art isn't up to the same standards as the other books. Mortal Coil is amazing, and done by Jennifer Rodgers, to How We Came to Live Here, I don't have the artist's name on hand but they are amazing, to Kingdom of Nothing by Jeff Himmelman. I know it's supposed to be campy, and fun, and it is. It's just not as campy and fun as I think it could have been.
TL;DR
This is the best FATE game you're going to pick up. If you want high action in Space, you should pick it up right now. RIGHT NOW. That way you too can read through the book and make your own alien species.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Previously Generated - Bulldogs! - The Erlamigel
It's not surprising that many people haven't heard of the Erlmaigel. They are a pretty common star-faring race, but years of evolution have taught the Erlmaigel to hide everything from everyone, including people they know and trust. It's what happens when you evolve on a planet where you are considered a most delicious prey. You learn how to hide really well, but the Erlmaigel took that one step further and integrated themselves into predator societies by taking the form of the creatures that would hunt them. They learned how they moved, and their habits and eventually grew smart enough not just to hide within the ranks of their enemies but to use the information they had gathered against them.
This led to the rise of the Erlamigel on their own world, Erlami which is located on the periphery of the Frontier Zone though they never seemed to be able to get off world. Then, a couple of Pan Galactic Ships landed on the planet, looking for some wild game to take with them for someone within the Nova Corps of the Templari's hunting grounds, when an Erlami snuck on board and managed to integrate themselves as part of the crew. This allowed them to steal the technology needed in order to create their own space ships.
That's when they took to the stars, though again in limited numbers, to learn what they possibly could from everywhere else. The Erlamigel don't really create or innovate, they steal and adapt from others for their own use. That means if you find someone on the Erlmaigel ship that looks strangely like something you've created on your own, you had best make sure that you don't have a spy among you.
The Erlamigel as a society is very odd, they tend to be loners and work individually but they seem to be more than happy to come across others of their kind. In turn they will share whatever information they have with each other, in a strange telepathic kind of way that only works with members of their own kind, whom they call 'my cousin.' It is believed, once the Erlmaigel were discovered, that this allowed them to transmit information from one to another while they were infiltrating various enemy groups. As individuals, they feel most at home impersonating others. Once they are seen in their regular form, which consists of humanoid looking creature with white skin they seem to panic and do anything they can to escape.
Once the Erlamigel were discovered, they quickly gained use as spies and infiltrators for various organizations. However, there is a high price to pay for these creatures, none of the information that they get for you is for your use only. The Erlmagiel will gladly share any information with any other Erlamigel, it is how they survive for centuries amidst tougher being on their planet, so there is a chance that information you don't want will fall into the hands of others. There are many that feel that this risk can be mitigated enough that hiring these beings as spies is worth the risk.
Erlmagiel Names
Erlmagiel names aren't really spoken. They know each other by various means, so instead they tend to take on the names of the races that they emulate the most. Gender is irrelevant for most of them since they're able to shift, a lot like Saldrallans, which leads people to believe that they have amphibian or reptilian ancestry.
Typical Erlmagielian Aspects
I absolutely need to know that!
Invoke: You're genuinely curious about things, and you can pick up pertinent information where others don't.
"No really, I'd love to hear, in detail, about how you managed to modify the viscosity of the oil to create faster speeds!"
Compel:You don't know when it's not a good idea to ask.
"Can you tell me the story about how you fell from disgrace and totally ruined your family name, again?"
Trapminded Deviousness
Invoke: If there's a trap that needs to be created, you know how to set it up.
"My people have fought with the Qu'Linar for centuries. We know their weaknesses, and we know how to set them up for a fall."
Compel: You tend to be a bit petty and can't really stand up the fight even if it's the best course of action.
"We can't fight them head on. We'll get ourselves killed. We need to find a way to trick them."
The Stillness of the Undergrowth
Invoke:You can avoid moving to avoid being seen by predators, or overzealous guards.
"Don't move, and they won't see you. Blend into your surrounding and the Qu'Linar will ignore you. They think they have more important things to kill."
Compel:You tend to want to hide rather than run.
"Stop running! They'll see us!"
I love talking to friends and family!
Invoke:You tend to have friends in places other people wouldn't expect.
"My cousin is in that ship, I'm sure we can find a way to help both sides escape."
Compel:You let slip information that the crew might not want to get out.
"I just told my cousin that we had the shipment of high grade Zinorcium that they were looking for.
No one can see me naked!
Invoke:You have such an aversion for people seeing you as you are, that you will go to any length to prove that you are who you say you are.
"See, I told you that I'm Nova Captain Akryl. Torture me all you like!"
Compel:If you are seen without a persona on, you just want to escape.
"Look at that white creature! It's trying to cut through the hull to escape! That's madness!"
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!
Invoke:You're amazing at copying things that you've seen only once.
"I can remake that engine part. I studied it not too long ago, and this should be easy."
Compel:You're not good at improvising when things break.
"Um, what do you mean we have to build a different one? I've never seen a 'different one'."
Erlmagielian Special Abilities [-3]
No Natural Attack [+1]
As a herbivore, the Erlmagielian don't have any natural defenses other than their ability to integrate into other groups. If you come across one in their regular form, they have no natural ability to attack which is one of the reasons why their instinct is to hide or get away.
Shapeshifting: True Shapeshifting [-4]
Erlmagielian can change their shape to fit the needs of the group that they're infiltrating. Literally they will seamlessly go from group to group gathering information, though they can be discovered as the personality doesn't change at all.
This led to the rise of the Erlamigel on their own world, Erlami which is located on the periphery of the Frontier Zone though they never seemed to be able to get off world. Then, a couple of Pan Galactic Ships landed on the planet, looking for some wild game to take with them for someone within the Nova Corps of the Templari's hunting grounds, when an Erlami snuck on board and managed to integrate themselves as part of the crew. This allowed them to steal the technology needed in order to create their own space ships.
That's when they took to the stars, though again in limited numbers, to learn what they possibly could from everywhere else. The Erlamigel don't really create or innovate, they steal and adapt from others for their own use. That means if you find someone on the Erlmaigel ship that looks strangely like something you've created on your own, you had best make sure that you don't have a spy among you.
The Erlamigel as a society is very odd, they tend to be loners and work individually but they seem to be more than happy to come across others of their kind. In turn they will share whatever information they have with each other, in a strange telepathic kind of way that only works with members of their own kind, whom they call 'my cousin.' It is believed, once the Erlmaigel were discovered, that this allowed them to transmit information from one to another while they were infiltrating various enemy groups. As individuals, they feel most at home impersonating others. Once they are seen in their regular form, which consists of humanoid looking creature with white skin they seem to panic and do anything they can to escape.
Once the Erlamigel were discovered, they quickly gained use as spies and infiltrators for various organizations. However, there is a high price to pay for these creatures, none of the information that they get for you is for your use only. The Erlmagiel will gladly share any information with any other Erlamigel, it is how they survive for centuries amidst tougher being on their planet, so there is a chance that information you don't want will fall into the hands of others. There are many that feel that this risk can be mitigated enough that hiring these beings as spies is worth the risk.
Erlmagiel Names
Erlmagiel names aren't really spoken. They know each other by various means, so instead they tend to take on the names of the races that they emulate the most. Gender is irrelevant for most of them since they're able to shift, a lot like Saldrallans, which leads people to believe that they have amphibian or reptilian ancestry.
Typical Erlmagielian Aspects
I absolutely need to know that!
Invoke: You're genuinely curious about things, and you can pick up pertinent information where others don't.
"No really, I'd love to hear, in detail, about how you managed to modify the viscosity of the oil to create faster speeds!"
Compel:You don't know when it's not a good idea to ask.
"Can you tell me the story about how you fell from disgrace and totally ruined your family name, again?"
Trapminded Deviousness
Invoke: If there's a trap that needs to be created, you know how to set it up.
"My people have fought with the Qu'Linar for centuries. We know their weaknesses, and we know how to set them up for a fall."
Compel: You tend to be a bit petty and can't really stand up the fight even if it's the best course of action.
"We can't fight them head on. We'll get ourselves killed. We need to find a way to trick them."
The Stillness of the Undergrowth
Invoke:You can avoid moving to avoid being seen by predators, or overzealous guards.
"Don't move, and they won't see you. Blend into your surrounding and the Qu'Linar will ignore you. They think they have more important things to kill."
Compel:You tend to want to hide rather than run.
"Stop running! They'll see us!"
I love talking to friends and family!
Invoke:You tend to have friends in places other people wouldn't expect.
"My cousin is in that ship, I'm sure we can find a way to help both sides escape."
Compel:You let slip information that the crew might not want to get out.
"I just told my cousin that we had the shipment of high grade Zinorcium that they were looking for.
No one can see me naked!
Invoke:You have such an aversion for people seeing you as you are, that you will go to any length to prove that you are who you say you are.
"See, I told you that I'm Nova Captain Akryl. Torture me all you like!"
Compel:If you are seen without a persona on, you just want to escape.
"Look at that white creature! It's trying to cut through the hull to escape! That's madness!"
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!
Invoke:You're amazing at copying things that you've seen only once.
"I can remake that engine part. I studied it not too long ago, and this should be easy."
Compel:You're not good at improvising when things break.
"Um, what do you mean we have to build a different one? I've never seen a 'different one'."
Erlmagielian Special Abilities [-3]
No Natural Attack [+1]
As a herbivore, the Erlmagielian don't have any natural defenses other than their ability to integrate into other groups. If you come across one in their regular form, they have no natural ability to attack which is one of the reasons why their instinct is to hide or get away.
Shapeshifting: True Shapeshifting [-4]
Erlmagielian can change their shape to fit the needs of the group that they're infiltrating. Literally they will seamlessly go from group to group gathering information, though they can be discovered as the personality doesn't change at all.
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