Digestif: Incoming! Two: The Sequel (CofD)

Hey there, folks. Another Chronicles write-up coming your way.

Not really much to add to this other than a reminder that the weekend of the 4th I'll be in Pittsburgh for Anthrocon. This week we should have a Starfinder session and I should be able to get a write-up of that up before we leave, but I can't make any promises. (Update: Scheduling became an issue, we did not have another session before AC.)

Also, this past session we didn't have Sean, so Otis is just unavailable. And on with it!

Digestif: Location, Location, Location (CofD)

So we had this session a little while back (because of some last-minute scheduling issues we switched a Starfinder session to a Chronicles one), and I would have had this up sooner but I had some other work I wanted to finish up first, and we had a week where we didn't play so that gave me some breathing room in that regard.

Before I get into the post, just a quick note that the group gets up to some unsavory stuff towards the end of this session, so consider this a content warning for violence.

Digestif: The Other Shoe (CofD)

Forgive me if this part of the post is brief -- I can't think of anything big to announce, nothing huge coming up, anything like that. I will point out that we have John back this session, so that's something. Other than that, let's just get to it!

Digestif: Gods and Angels (CofD)

Hello again. I'm afraid I don't have any clever commentary to add to this one -- no particular reason, just nothing special going on one way or another. So let's get to the most recent session of my Chronicles of Darkness game.

Digestif: Circling the Wagons (CofD)

Hello again, folks, for more of my Chronicles of Darkness story, 'Digestif.' Just as a quick note before begin, Zac's character Derrick has basically been made an NPC (and he's got a new character coming in). There are moves he's making behind the scenes that I've documented in my notes, but will not be presented here until and unless they directly intersect with on-screen action. Just clearing that up before we get into it.

Digestif: Well, That Happened (CofD)

First off, unless something has gone horribly wrong between me writing this up and posting it, there's a few days left on the Trinity Continuum Kickstarter! Pledging will give you access to enough book previews that you'll be able to see the nearly-finished manuscript for the Trinity core, and most of the Aeon book (as of Friday, they've just posted the Psi powers mechanics, and the feedback has been very positive). So if you've been holding off but still wanting to support the rebirth of one of my favorite game lines (and one I'm working on, no less), now's the time to drop a few bucks and see what there is!

(Also, if money's tight, there's nothing stopping you from pledging just a little bit now to get the previews and actually buying books through BackerKit later. It won't contribute to the stretch goals as much, but it's an option.)

And now, on to a game writeup that will hopefully put that post subject in context.

Digestif: The Man from the City (CofD)

Greetings again to my Chronicles of Darkness crossover write-ups! You'll have to wait a little longer for a Starfinder post, as the last session was one of those where there's a lot of moving from room to room and fighting some monsters, and written-up it's a not particularly compelling entry on its own. Also, it left off in the middle of exploring a spaceship, and I think finishing that exploration would make for a more interesting blog entry. Now, that said, as the next session may go beyond finishing up that ship, I'm torn as to whether to do the next write-up just focused on the ship, or to do the whole session even if it leaves off in the middle of some exploration. If you've got an opinion, let me know either by the comment feature here or by other means.

One more bit of business before I move on to the Chronicles of Darkness content: A reminder that the Trinity Continuum Kickstarter is still running. It's funded, bonus material is being unlocked, and there's a preview manuscript up for the Trinity Core book. And this week they'll start doing previews for the Aeon book, which includes stuff I've written! Huzzah!

And now, to a different 'fistfuls of d10s' system...

Digestif: Reading is FUNdamental (CofD)

So before we get started, I want to remind anyone who's reading this that the Kickstarter for the first pair of Trinity Continuum books is up and running! I actually worked on the Trinity Continuum: Aeon book and also even ran a few playtest sessions some months back so I know what I'm talking about when I say this game's going to be amazing. (That said, the odds are good that if you're reading this, you've already heard me go on at length about the game and the KS, or even attended one of my playtest sessions, but I'm covering my bases here.)

And as I don't think I have anything more to add, here we go!

Digestif: Regression (CofD)

This is a little behind because I went out of town to visit friends shortly after the last session and (obviously) didn't get this post up before leaving. (Still out of town, but managed to get this written up and posted nonetheless) Not much else to add, so...

Digestif: Four is a Significant Number (CofD)

First off, I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday season (which may still be ongoing for some folks, depending on when this goes up). In this session, John finally brings his character into the group and hopefully now we can charge forward into plot, unfettered by concerns of when/how to work him in and whether he'll be too far behind.

Before I get into it here, I also want to point out that it might be a little longer before the next Starfinder write-up. Player schedules being what they are around the holidays, it'll be some time next month before we'll be able to play again (and I can't guarantee there'll be a write-up after that session, since I'm doing those based on how far the plot moves more than time played).

Anyhow, here we go.

Fiction followup: 'Prodigals' character sheets

Here's the character sheets for Prodigals of the Machine, in their own spot on my DA page. I'd have had them up sooner but I wanted to get Goodbyes taken care of first.

Fiction: Prodigals of the Machine

I meant to have this up earlier this week, but with everything going on I just haven't been able to put the mental focus into getting it posted. Until now.

First, some commentary: This is a considerably-shorter sequel to Child of the Machine, a story that was pretty well-received by the half-dozen or so people who read it. The original story was inspired by the God-Machine Chronicle (later reworked into the Chronicles of Darkness Second Edition Rulebook) and its associated Anthology, drawing upon a history and not-quite-mythology I'd constructed in my past NWoD/CofD games. But one thing that never quite sat right with me is that there's something I'd have done with the ending if Demon: The Descent were out sooner, because that delves even deeper into the God-Machine 'mythos.'

Namely, if I'd had it to do over again, I'd have made Evie a stigmatic, one of the humans who's been 'touched' by the Machine and made a little different. But GMC didn't really get into stigmatics. So there's a part of me that wanted to follow up on that, and have her meet an actual Unchained Demon, and well... there's other stuff going on too. I don't want to spoil the whole thing here. Regardless, I found a way to kind of fix that oversight.

Sometime in the next few days I should have a separate PDF up with character sheets for the main characters, if anyone is curious to see those.

Also, I've talked to a few people privately (or otherwise mentioned obliquely) about another story in my 'Woodburn Chronicles' setting that's a much more personal story with a much more solemn tone. This is not that story. That story is still in the works and I plan to bust my ass to get it finished and polished by the end of the month. You'll hear more when that gets closer to completion.

But now, with no further adieu: Prodigals of the Machine

Assorted Chronicles of Darkness fiction by yours truly

Over the years, I've run several Chronicles of Darkness games, LARPs and otherwise. In the case of games I ran as LARPs, I've had message boards where I would occasionally post fictions meant to highlight particular characters and depict events that might otherwise have gone entirely off-screen. For the sake of providing a little extra content between gaming posts, I'm including here a list of those fics I've done so far, as I've archived them somewhere for the heck of it. They're meant to be fast and loose so they're not heavily edited or polished. And most of them will refer to events in the games that I don't necessarily want to get into or recall strongly enough to do justice in doing so. That said, I tried to put whatever details seemed pertinent in the description for each fiction on the DA page where I keep them archived. (Yes, that's right, a lot of my fiction is stored on DeviantArt. Don't judge.) A lot of them are meant to lead-in to plot run in sessions, or representing fallout from previous sessions.

Also, all of the events in these fictions are canon to my current Vampire: The Requiem Second Edition game, as well as the story "Legacy" in The Idigam Chronicle Fiction Anthology (I can't remember if I've mentioned explicitly yet that the 'Wrong Alley' bar and the werewolves who run it are a part of my game's landscape). If it needs to be said, however, none of them should be considered canon to the CofD at large, and none of this is official fiction in any capacity (aside from "Legacy," of course).

Collectively, I've named this continuity of games and fiction and other things the "Woodburn Chronicles" setting for the sake of having something to call it.

For the most part, these'll be in order, but sometimes I'll group them if there are multiple stories in part of a larger arc.

The Ouroboros Journals
A fiction series I threw together back when Vampire: The Requiem was brand new. Recently given a fresh editing pass and updated to match with the new edition. Some of the seams and signs of my inexperience still show, but it's still a part of this setting and will occasionally influence newer stuff.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

The Woodburn Compact

A Hunter: The Vigil game set in Morgantown, West Virginia. At first it was about a general alliance between a variety of different hunter organizations in the wake of the deaths of the hunter compact that served as the city's primary protectors (who also organized things with other hunters), the 'Mountain Line Preservation Society.' Ran from late 2008 to early 2011.

These first three involve a series of Changeling-related plots, focusing around the local Courts of the Sun and Moon (I thought they'd be more interesting with a limited Changeling population, and it let me riff on ideas and concepts from the Night Watch novels).
Longest Night of the Year
Out in the Cold
Trade Between Equals

And then the next two involve a Slasher created in a Cheiron Group-run sleep study gone horribly wrong. The Slasher, known as "The Night Terror Killer," protected himself from horrible nightmares by finding people who were asleep or otherwise unconscious and killing them to 'take their sleep' so he'd never have to sleep again.
Sleep of the Dead
Playing It By the Rules

These next three stories involve an NPC who'd caught a supernatural disease of sorts called "The False Awakening," from Night Horrors: The Unbidden (a book to which I contributed, though the False Awakening wasn't one of mine).
Flickering Light, Casting Shadows
Broken Arrow
Ominous Meetings

These next few fics are one-offs, each one tying into different story arcs. Further details are in individual stories' descriptions.
Oh Lord, Why Me? -- This one actually takes place in the middle of the earlier arc, as it was just meant to be foreshadowing.
Blood for Blood -- I'm actually pretty proud of this one, it centers around a group of Oberloch vampires who unleashed a bunch of larvae into Morgantown to get back at the Morgantown hunters for messing around in their territory. Probably the longest one of these that I did, and it features almost every NPC hunter I'd had featured up to that point.
1 Corinthians 13:11
Getting a Look at the Place

And this last story takes place after the LARP ended, showing the final stages of an off-camera conflict, to sort of emphasize that 'life' goes on even if the players aren't there to see it.
The Last Skirmishes



Child of the Machine -- A story inspired by the God-Machine Chronicle Anthology. It follows up on some stuff I established in a Promethean game I ran a long time ago.

The Morgantown Project

A Vampire: The Requiem Second Edition game I started a couple of years ago. It was originally intended as a LARP, but due to lack of interest I converted it into a tabletop with the players I could get. Still ongoing, described in other posts on this blog. Fiction details described on the info for each.

Checking In
Blackout Drinking
Aftershocks


And then, following up on events from the Vampire game but not directly tied to it -- really, more setting up possible plots and stories I'll explore later -- we've got this:

The Problem with Barbara


And since then I've introduced a Beast: The Primordial character to my Woodburn Chronicles setting, wherein I also foreshadow some stuff for an upcoming CofD game I plan to run:

Gargoyle


Prodigals of the Machine -- A sequel to Child of the Machine, wherein I correct an oversight of sorts from the original and advance the story of Evie and Richard.

I'll try to keep this post updated as I add new stuff or even write more side-stories of my own.