Vampirella: Crown of Worms - A "Vampire: the Masquerade" super story?

I have long been a big reader of comics, and I imagine my love of the medium started like most fans: superheroes. I started by reading the issues my older brother no longer cared about (Avengers West Coast mostly), until one day my dad took me to my very first comic book store. They had a dollar bin, and I quickly purchased whatever I could find – usually the ones with the coolest covers and anything with the Green Lantern or the Fantastic Four. Moving to a location that was prohibitively far away from the shop, I turned to my neighborhood Kum & Go for my comic fix before finally mail ordering my issues of Mutant X ; I’m a sucker for anything with Havok in it. I have been reading comics one way or another for more than twenty years now, which does not seem like a long time until you realize that I am not yet thirty, but until recently I have always stayed away from what I classified as “T&A” comics.

I am sure you know the ones I mean. In my arrogance and self-importance, I assumed that many of these titles (Witchblade, Vampirella, Red Sonja, etc.) were little more than visual fodder for the more perverted of my nerd community. This belief started to fade when I got into Red Sonja comics (thank you, Gail Simone). I bought Swords of Sorrow as it was coming out on the basis of Red Sonja’s appearance in the comics, but I quickly found out that I really enjoyed another “T&A” superheroine. Enter Vampirella. In my defense when it comes to comics, the age old adage which teaches us not to judge a book by its cover is often wrong in this medium, and I just had little interest in a character whose, it seemed, main assets could be seen from said cover. I love being wrong.

Due to her inclusion in Swords of Sorrow, I decided to check out this character from what seemed a good starting point: Crown of Worms. I was shocked (and delighted) to find that the character was normally attired through most of the story; whatever, the whole “I fight in a bikini” thing just seems so ridiculous to me. As I read through the pages of the story, I found myself completely surprised. This was not at all what I expected, and yet it seemed so familiar. Then it dawned on me: Crown of Worms is one of the best Vampire: The Masquerade (V:tM) storylines that anyone has ever written. It just is not set in the World of Darkness game setting. Warning, this post assumes at least some familiarity with Vampire: The Masquerade; arguably one of the greatest table-top roleplaying games ever made.

The Story:

After the death of her lover, one Adam van Helsing, Vampirella is rounding up and slaughtering the forces of Dracula (yes, the Dracula). She comes to a club which the local vampires use as a cover for their activities and as an easy source of food. Upon entering, Vampirella has a throw down with the vamps, convinced that Dracula is behind the source of the vampiric incursion into Seattle. To her surprise, she finds one of Dracula’s lackeys, Le Fanu, is not only the ring leader, but had been inexplicably altered. She is no longer a normal vampire, but rather has been infested by what Vampirella learns to be an ancient worm-creature. The creature wants to find the correct host (read: key) so that it can break into out dimension and sate its ravenous hunger.

In a fight that takes the building down, Vampirella befriends a human being by the name of Sophia Murray. Sophia aids Vampirella in her recovery from her encounter Le Fanu, and tags along to confront the undead/extra-dimensional menace. This sends the human character on a path of self-discovery in which, after dispatching the Big Bad, she decides to stick around and help Vampirella as her sidekick (for lack of a better term). Overall, a pretty solid story.

Best V:tM story ever written?

Emphatically, I say “yes”. If you have ever run V:tM, you know that the storylines involve intrigue, vampire politics, and the occult in equal or greater measure to combat. Vampire is not a traditional role-playing game in the way Dungeons and Dragons is, because it endeavored to be different; it was more about narrative and the attempts to maintain (or lose) one’s humanity after decades, centuries, or even millennia of undeath. The stories focus on the vampiric community, and the centuries-old plots laid by its more venerable members, usually using the society’s younger members (traditionally PCs) as pawns. This is very similar to the intrigue between Dracula and Le Fanu in Crown of Worms.

Both Le Fanu and Dracula (as well as the worm beast) have their own purposes, and both would love to rope Vampirella into it. The club where Vampirella initially encounters Le Fanu in the story is basically the best depiction of an Elysium I have ever read. We can assume that Vampirella (actually an alien) is mechanically a Caitiff (clanless) vampire, and due to her disapproval of Vampire society either an independent or Anarch. Sophia becomes a vampire hunter in training over the course of this story, and the human/vampire team-up would also make for a riveting game of Vampire. Really, this story-arch has everything you could want from a Vampire: The Masquerade game without any of the proper nouns or copyrighted information; this thing is capaign setting equivalent of V:tM SRD! Not only is the story enjoyable and the artwork pleasant, the opportunities for a storyteller to mine ideas for his/her game are myriad. If you are still playing Vampire (you lucky so-and-so), and are getting tired of the same old story lines and plots, then do yourself a favor and pick up some Vampirella. Oh yes, and never judge a comic by the scantily-clad outfit of its protagonist.

Strong on his mountain (er…at his desk),

PJ

She held aloft Excalibur: concerning magic weapons in sword and sorcery games.

A few posts back I discussed how to make an anthropocentric,low-fantasy campaign. I touched in a very minor way about magic items, but at the time I felt like this is a subject that could be dealt with in greater detail. It is in this spirit that I turn towards the idea of magic items in a low magic, sword and sorcery style setting. While this discussion is not likely to exhaust the matter, it should give the prospective DM a good jumping off point and a way to appease his/her players when they inevitably complain about the lack of magic items.

I am not going to re-plumb information I have already written about, so instead I will attempt to offer up something new for the consideration of the reader. The first thing to remember about magic in this sort of setting is that it should be rare, powerful, and mysterious. When players find a magic item, they will not have a way of really knowing whether or not the item is or is not imbued with eldritch properties, because they will be unlikely to have a spell that can identify the item. This makes it so description by the Dungeon Master and experimentation by the player characters. I will go a little more in depth about the identification process in just a bit. Let’s jump in to some quick guidelines for magic items, shall we?

Make It Wondrous

The first guideline I follow is to make sure that magic items given out (aside from minor, alchemical items) are always wondrous in nature. Too often players find boring, quasi-mundane items (“ooh a +1 sword, how original…”). In a high magic campaign this is legitimate because of the sure multitude of magic items that are floating around in the world; heck you may even be able to straight up buy magic items. In a low magic campaign, by contrast, these items are not readily available and it can be very discouraging to the player characters to go through a taxing ordeal and only walk away with an item that grants a strictly numerical advantage over what they were previously wielding. It is for these reasons that I propose that the Dungeon Master give out Wondrous Items. While most of them will not be weapons or armor (we’ll talk about that later), they are always items of legendary power and great utility. Would the thief like a +2 rapier? Totally. Would a gem which prevents the thief from being detected by magical means be more epic and amazing from a story stand-point? Unequivocally yes! Besides, giving players something which makes their character truly unique in the world and which allows them to role-play creatively is, in my opinion, intrinsically valuable in a game like D&D (or OSRIC, DCC, LL, BoL, etc., etc.).

Eschew Magic Weapons and Armor

This is the guideline I anticipate getting the most blow-back from. People love magic weapons, and, ultimately, what is not to love? They are sleek, cool, and help you kill monsters better; every warrior's dream. But do they really fit in a sword and sorcery setting? While I am sure we can all think of S&S characters with epic magic weapons (Elric much?), I remain unconvinced that they strictly fit into the setting. Generally, the S&S setting is all about a human character overcoming magical or supernatural obstacles with little more than grit, strength, and good, old-fashioned tenacity. Having said that, it is nice to give players a numerical bonus to hit and damage, especially when a majority of their foes will have resistances to non-magic damage starting at around fifth level (in 5e). So allow me to propose giving weapons qualia which give them a +1 - +3 without making them magic. I will break theses into four levels in ascending order: masterwork, heirloom, legendary, and mythical. I will often use the word “weapon” in place of “weapon or armor”, because having armor of these qualities will be so cost prohibitive that it is unlikely a character will be able to afford the commission of one. Finally, weapons of superior quality should be given names. This adds to their flavor and prestige.

Masterwork: A masterwork weapon is non-magical in nature and is the product of a particularly skilled craftsman. The weapon confers a +1 to hit and damage because of the way it has been forged and the superiority of its balance and edge. A weapons of this quality should cost no less than ten times the amount of the normal weapon type. Hrunting, the sword given Beowulf by Unferth, is good example of such a weapon.

Beowulf fighting the dragon.

Heirloom: An heirloom weapon confers a +2 bonus to hit and to damage, but remains non-magical. This is a weapon made by the sort of smith that only comes around once in a generation, and as such should be incredibly hard to come by. Those who possess such a weapon likely hand it down to their heirs, or lose it in battle with a superior force. Should a player seek to commission such a weapon, it should cost no less than one-hundred times the standard cost of the item, and require some searching to find the artisan capable of crafting such an piece. Beowulf’s sword Nӕgling given him by Hrothgar is an example of such a weapon.

Sigurd and Fafnir

Legendary: A weapon of legendary quality is one that is, in fact, quasi-magical in nature. Conferring a +3 bonus to hit and damage, a legendary item is one that comes into being perhaps once in a lifetime. It is likely made out of esoteric or rare material, made by the greatest craftsman of the age, or both. Acquiring such a weapon should always involve a quest of some sort; whether one seeks an extant item, the material to have it forged, or the artisan who can properly forge the item. On the off chance one wants to commission such an item, it should cost no less than one-thousand times the price of the normal item. Sigurd’s sword Gram with which he slew Fafnir in the Völsungsaga is an example of such an item.

Elric by Michael Whelan

Mythical: A mythical weapon is one that is literally magical in nature. The item does not just confer a “plus” to hit and damage, but contains other properties as well. This sort of an item is one that cannot be forged by human hands (without the aid of powerful magics) and must always be received as part of a quest or adventure. A mythical sword should ignore magic resistance (at least to a certain level) and have other abilities. It is likely that such an item will have an intelligence of its own because it was formed by unearthly means. These items can never be bought with normal currency, but boons, souls, and other more esoteric means may be used to acquire them. Again, I stress that these weapons should have qualities beyond a simple “plus”. Elric’s sword Stormbringer is an example of such a weapon.

Strong on his mountain (er... at his desk),

PJ

Bloodrage: Get ready to have your face Ragnaröked off!

My name is PJ, and I am a board game addict. I am sure that many of you can sympathize with my delightful addiction, since board games are getting more fun, stylish, and high quality every year. With the advent of crowdfunding, the amount of awesome new hobby board games seems to be growing out of control every single year. As my wife (with great chagrin) can attest, I have a tendency to go completely off the deep end when it comes to backing board games on Kickstarter. And now we come to another confession: I threw over five hundred dollars at the Conan game by Monolith. I know what you’re thinking internet, but “nerd need” is a real thing. Not long after Conan had its Kickstarter, a little game called Bloodrage made by the same folks that produced Zombicide (you don’t even want to know the kind of money I threw at Black Plague, honestly) had a campaign of its own.

I did the normal song and dance that I do with anything sufficiently Norse themed: I told myself I was not going to back it, I then clicked the watch button, I then waited a whopping two days at which time I backed the project. At the time I told myself that I had to because Monolith announced crossover content between this game and the Nordheim expansion for Conan. “Surely,” I thought, “I have come too far to not go all in, right?” So, of course, I backed the game. Not long ago, it came in the mail, and it is an absolute gem. My D&D group and I wasted little time trying it out, and I could not endorse this game passionately enough.

What is Bloodrage?

Ragnarök is here. The nine worlds are being devastated by Norse Armageddon, and the few remaining Viking tribes have one last chance to die in glorious combat before it’s all over. Using their considerable might (as well as the aid of mythological creatures) the clans in Bloodrage vie with one another to pillage the most territories over the course of three ages hoping to win glory or spend eternity(ish) in Valhalla. Sometimes, the cataclysmic destruction of a province will wipe out players’ forces thereby giving them even more glory; for what is more glorious than dying in Ragnarök?

How it goes down.

Play takes place over the course of three ages, with multiple phases in each phase. Players begin with symmetric forces, but this quickly changes due to the process of drafting that begins each age. The ages each have their own deck of cards, of which eight are dealt to every player. These cards themselves can be broken down into three types: combat bonuses, clan upgrades (including monsters), and quests. After the cards have been dealt to each player, everyone selects two from his/her hand passing the rest to the player on the keft. In this way, players are able to customize their clans. There are enough cards to ensure that each game will present different option for a given player, so the replay value of Bloodrage is exceptional.

Wolf Clan sheet at the end of the first age.

Bloodrage focuses far more on strategy than luck, so no dice are used in the game. Rather, players have a clan sheet which depicts certain attributes (amount of rage, amount of glory gained for winning battles, and the number of figures the clan may have on the board at one time). When engaged in battle, it comes down to comparing clan strength in the province and combat cards played, with the highest value dictating the winner. By completing quests and pillaging provinces, players are able to increase their clans’ different attributes, making it so clans become more powerful between ages.

The beautiful Bloodrage board.

Players take turns taking actions which all have an associated rage cost. Once every player has run out of rage (or all provinces have been pillaged) the action phase ends, and players determine whether or not they have completed any of their quests. After this, dead heroes return to the players’ supplies from Valhalla, and a province is laid waste by Ragnarök making it unavailable for the rest of the game. By the time the third age rolls around, significant territory is no longer available to be pillaged which forces players to become increasingly hostile towards one another as time goes on. In the end, the most clan that has attained the most glory is victorious. Sound simple? It is. This is a game that is easy to learn and a blast to play.

Why I like this so much.

Mechanical simplicity: Simple battle mechanics may be the main reason I enjoy this game so well. I have a lot of board games, and often the sheer mechanical density of the strategy/warfare board games can be a huge barrier to entry. I have a lot of games that have sat on the shelf for months before I get around to playing them (War of the Ring, for instance) simply because it is hard to convince others to invest time into a convoluted game that they may not even end up enjoying. The simpler the rules, the easier it is to jump in the uninitiated, and that is always a good thing.

Replay value: Straight out of the box, Bloodrage has enough different options to keep the game fresh every time you play it. The drafting mechanic makes it so it is unlikely you will start with the same cards in any given age. On top of this, Bloodrage has completely different mythological beasts, as well as combat cards, and quest rewards and conditions in each of the three age decks. That’s right, guys, every age is different. Throw in the fact that expansion material that adds new mosters, clan mystics, an extra player, and even the Norse gods themselves give players so many options, that it would take a concerted effort to ever reproduce the same game.

Miniatures: The easiest way to get a D&D nerd such as myself to back a game like this is to include well crafted, properly scaled miniatures. Bloodrage does just that. Not only are the regular clan pieces the perfect size for medium sized creatures on a battle mat, the larger ones (like giants and trolls) are accurate for large sized creatures. Even if you do not find the game to be enjoyable (an unthinkable proposition in my book) the sheer amount of miniatures you receive makes the retail price totally worth your while.

So do yourself a favor, internet, and check out this most glorious of products.

Strong on his mountain (er…at his desk),

PJ