Geo-Verse

Tonight was the annual ball in the City of Brass.

After showing their invitations, they were announced and shown into the ballroom. The granduer of the ball was a bit overwhelming for some of the group, but they quickly recovered and got down to business. At least some of them got busy, Razeth and Isonnea got into the dancing. Jennia found the attentions of Balzar, a human planeshopper.

Teka, Mellin, and Ruwyn went around the ball speaking with those to whom they needed to speak. They had difficulty finding Baron K’Zan at first, largely because he had not yet arrived at the ball, being fashionably late and all that.

The captain also arrived after the group. Mellin spoke with the captain and negotiated a price for him to take them to their destination. He told her to have the group at Tanith Tower by noon on the day after next.

Then Teka spent some time talking with baron K’Zan and gathered some information from him, after he got the Efreet to warm up.

After accomplishing their tasks, the group enjoyed the ball. Towards the end of the evening, a succubus cornered Razeth and blackmailed him into dancing with her. After tempting him with her charms, she told him to leave the diamond where it is and she would fill his wildest desires.

Finally, at the end of the night, the group worked their way back to the Twisted Horn. If Jennia has some time the next day, she plans to go see Balzar Thorton’s ship, the Lady Alexis.

Behind the Screen (Spoiler Alert)

This was a pretty good session. I had a god time describing the ball, its decor, and patrons.

Trying once again to introduce a love interest for Jennia, I introduced Balzar Thorton, a planesjumper from Shadizar.

Working towards Razeth’s Epic Destiny, I had a succubus approach him and offer some temptation. He probably should have recognized that the succubus was fairly out of place in the City of Brass. A religion check would have shown that devils belong on the astral plane.

Next session, we should be fast forwarding to thier departure from the City of Brass on their way to Talapu. In the meantime, I need to make some cloud giants and storm giants.

Captain Maladorn arrived with the Eladrin Princess Cassila. She has a secret and her story is a seed for a future quest. They will see her again when the get to Maladorn’s ship.

Geo

In this segment I will continue to look at the films of Hayao Miyazaki and what might be gleaned from them for use in fantasy games.

Porco Rosso – a story about a mercenary pilot who fights against air pirates in the skies over the Adriatic Sea. The story takes place between the World Wars and many of the planes are still biplanes. During the story, the hero has to cope with the rise of fascism in his home country and changes in the world. This movie is different from most of Miyazaki’s movies in that, although it does have a feisty young woman, she is not the protagonist.

Some elements that might be useful in a fantasy game:

Flying (again)
Air pirates
Political upheaval
Changing world
A curse (that turned Marco into an anthropomorphic pig)
A curious afterlife for killed pilots

There is an indefinable something about this movie that appeals to me. Of Miyazaki’s movies, it is among the ones I most frequently watch.

Laputa (Castle in the Sky) – a movie set in a world that is not quite as post apocalyptic as Nausicaa, but certainly one in which technology has regressed. The heroine has a secret that connects her to the last flying castle, which many believe is just a myth. Like Howl’s Moving Castle, the present technology has a very steampunk feel to it.

Some elements that might be useful in a fantasy game:
- Flying cities
- Crashed flying cities
- Levitation stone
- Lost power source
- Robots maintaining cities long after people have left
- An evocative setting for the mining town
- Airships
- Air pirates
- Artifact of incredible power
- Rituals that control technology

This is another of my favorites. Like Nausicaa, the first time I watched this movie; it was without subtitles or dubbing.

Spirited Away – in this movie, the heroine must come to terms with a spirit world and prevail in order to save her parents.

Some elements that might be useful in a fantasy game:
- A spirit world that exits near our own and that can be easily entered
- A variety of spirits

While this is a very visually beautiful movie, it is not high of my list of Miyazaki movies to rewatch.

Princess Mononoke – this movie has a wealth of detail about a medieval culture. The story seems to be set in a medieval Japan but not one that strictly follows its history. The hero goes looking for a treatment for a supernatural affliction that he contracted. During his efforts, he befriends the titular character and helps resolve some differences between humans and the nature spirits.

Some elements that might be useful in a fantasy game:

- The entire backdrop can be mined for details on medieval culture
- Early firearms are portrayed
- More spirits, including some bobble headed tree spirits
- Large natural animals
- Unusual mounts

I have only watched this movie once or twice, but it probably deserves another watch or more just to absorb more of the background details.

That will wrap things up for today. I have at least two more Miyazaki movies that I have watched, but am pretty sure there are some I have not.

Until next time.

Geo

Tonight, I am continuing my examination of the films of Hayao Miyazaki and what bits they might offer to fantasy gaming. The first film tonight does not have much to offer.

Whispers of the Heart – this movie is largely a character study of a young girl who matures emotionally during the course of the story. The catalyst of this change is a carved figurine of a male cat dressed in tux, tails, and a top hat. This figurine and the story its owner tells inspires the girl to write a story about the Baron, which is the name of the figurine.

It is an enjoyable movie, but there is very little that can be gleaned from it that might fit into a fantasy setting. It does however introduce the Baron, who is a central figure of the next movie.

The Cat Returns – a girl saves a cat from getting killed by a truck and it leads to and adventure in the cat kingdom, with the Baron playing the dashing hero. Where the Baron’s adventures were imaginary in Whispers of the Heart, he is far more active in this story.

Some elements that might be useful in a fantasy game:

Catfolk!
A parallel dimension which can easily be entered
Creatures that live among people that have a secret kingdom
Portals
A side effect of the parallel dimension that transforms those who enter it

Totoro – the story of a young family that moves into a “haunted” house in the country to be nearer to their mother who is very ill and in the hospital. While there, the two young girls discover some spirits. Miyazaki must have a special love for flying as most of his movies feature it in one way or another. In this movie, Totoro uses a top to fly.

Some bits that might be useful:

Spirits that move freely among people but can only be seen by certain people
Nature spirits
Flying

Nausicaa (sometimes called Warriors of the Wind) – one of the first Miyazaki movies I ever saw, back in the day when we were happy to have a 10th generation copy of animation from Japan. The art was so gorgeous and story so compelling, we didn’t mind watching it even though we didn’t know what they were saying. In this movie, a princess (Miyazaki also has a fondness for female protagonists) and her kingdom get caught up in a war. She struggles to save her kingdom.

The setting makes use of technology, but the setting is very rich.

Some bits that might be useful:

A post-apocalyptic setting
A prophesy that gets fulfilled in an unexpected way
Gigantic constructs that were weapons in the apocalypse, but are mostly gone
Fantastic flying devices
A forest that is toxic to humans, but is really purifying land air and water
Giant insects that populate and protect the forest

Of all of Miyazaki’s settings, this is one that I feel could most easily be translated to a fantasy world.

That’s it for this entry. We have at least 6 more to go.

Geo

Update: Lest I get lynched by Miyazaki purists, I should point out that while Whispers of the Heart and The Cat Returns were both produced by Studio Ghibli, neither were directed by Hayao Miyazaki. He did, however, have a hand in both movies. Geo

Somewhat related to my work on the New Geonian World, I have been thinking a lot about the works of Hayao Miyazaki. To say that I am a fan of Miyazaki’s works would be a tremendous understatement. I have often thought about using aspects of his works in my games. So, for however many installments it will take, I will go through his works and examine what aspects of his films might apply to a fantasy game. I don’t know if I will use any of these concepts, but the process of cataloging them might inspire some ideas.

I will go through these in no particular order.

Howl’s Moving Castle – an adventure that mixes magic and technology in a steam age. I would not classify this as steampunk, but people who are interested in that genre can get some inspiration from this movie. While initially, this might not seem like much can be derived from this movie for a fantasy setting. However, there is a strong element of magic in the setting.

Some aspects of the magic that is seen:

Binding demons to provide power but which require a sacrifice from the binder
Wards that prevent creatures from entering an area
Walking on air
Portals that can change destination with the turn of a dial
Time travel
Wizards transforming into creatures
Rituals that can transform material objects
Curses can physically affect people
Illusions

Other bits that might be useful in a fantasy world:

A castle that moves
Arcane education requires fealty to a ruler
Wizards as tools of war

That’s about all for this installment.

Geo

[This was session 33 of the Eberron Age of Worms campaign. However, I have not blogged all of the previous sessions.]

The session started at Blackwall Keep on the 23rd of Ayrth. The group headed north towards Wroat.

On the road to Riverview Keep, they came across a patrol of the King’s Scouts who examined their papers and let them continue.

At Riverview Keep, they reported to Captain Milford and learned that she was not having any lizardfolk problems. At the keep, they were hired on by a caravan of halflings heading north and who needed an escort. It seems they ran into the same bandits that the group did, but a day earlier and ended up paying the toll.

From Riverview Keep, they continued north to Hobson’s Ford. Along the way, they spotted a mixed group of humanoids in the distance, but they wisely chose not to attack the caravan. Captain Stormwater, a half-elf did not have any tales of lizardfolk for the group.

From Hobson’s Ford, the group continued on north to Denys’ Freehold, the last outpost before the city of Wroat. When they were talking to Captain Henrick Ostfens, who they believe is a lesser son of Baron Ostfens, one of the locals burst in with a tale of a missing daughter. The captain dismissed it, but the famer seemed genuinely concerned. The group is very likely going to investigate at the very least. She may well be in a hayloft with Jyrn, but was her passion that high that she would just drop the pail of milk she was carrying?

Behind the Screen (Spoilers)

In this session, I wanted to move the group towards Denys’ Freehold. As noted in the last blog, we are outside the published adventure.

I have a side adventure for the group here at the Freehold and will have another at Wroat, most likely.

As the group moved along, I tried to make each of the keeps and captains unique, even though they did not have much to report. Since I was done with the lizardfolk, there was not going to be any more reports of them.

At the first keep, which overlooked the Dagger River, the captain was a female human with a Cannith dragonmark. The dragonmark was visible on her face, but none of the group took particular interest in it.

Hobson’s Ford was, as the name suggests at a ford. Hobson was a dishonored scion of one of the dragonmarked houses who set up a tavern at the ford. The captain there was a half-elf.

Denys’ Freehold is at the upper end of the King’s Woods. A fair sized farming community has grown up around it. I mentioned that no stone or brick structures are within 100 feet of the keep. Although the group did not inquire, this would allows the buildings to be burned to form a clear fire zone around the keep, if necessary. The captain there, Henrick Ostfens is the second son of Baron Ostfens. He has an air of superiority about him, possibly even an arrogance, and he seems to be interested in unusual items that may be found. This is tied to a secret about Henrick that I will not now reveal.

Unfortunately, I found myself needing to extend the progress towards the Freehold some. With the roleplaying that was going on, it actually took longer than I expected, with them arriving at the Freehold near the end of the session.

The halfling caravan was something I added in as we were going along. When the group first entered Captain Milford’s office, she dismissed them saying she couldn’t provide an escort. This prompted the group to look to see if someone needed an escort. It seemed reasonable that there should be.

As we played along, I wondered why the halflings would be taking this forest road to the vicinity of Wroat instead of the caravan road. I decided that they wanted to avoid the more well travelled road and had something worth the risk of going the more dangerous way. I decided to tie them into Captain Hendrick’s secret, although it may not come to light during play.

I suppose I probably should have tossed a few more clues about what they were carrying, like the fact that one wagon was far heavier than the others. It is not critical to the arc, though, and the group may discover this by other means if needed.

If they had arrived at the Freehold earlier, I would have run the first encounter without Maptools. As it is, they will likely spend the first part of next session in investigation before we get to the first combat.

I gave an ad hoc experience award of 100 XP’s for each of the three keeps they arrived at during the session.

Geo