Wakshaani

So, it was an actual Turducken of Phylacetry?

IN reverse order, here's a short punch on nutrition, noting that they don't investigate unless there are sever injuries/death... if your miracle supplement just doesn't *do* anything, they don't go after you. At the 10 minute mark, they also note that one in three products don't have the stuff in them that they claim. This is, of cours,e lightened up for comedy (it's Jon Oliver after all) but is a starter package. There's a LOT more reading to be done on the subject, and this isn't really the place for a big talk about it. As for e-cigarettes, there's a bit from two years ago here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/business/international/chinas-e-cigarette-boom-lacks-oversight-for-safety-.html?_r=0 At that time, they were focused more on the physical devices, which have heavy metal issues and virtually no oversight, but thre's a bit at the end about the liquid used. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/business/selling-a-poison-by-the-barrel-liquid-nicotine-for-e-cigarettes.html This one mentions that the FDA hadn't been regulating the e-cigarette industry at all (and some dangers of the liquid in general, again with a mention of Chinese methodology and the lack of regulation there). The exact reference for the e-cigarette liquid's hiding from me at this early hour of the morning, but if you start researching the 'dead rivers' of China, you'll run into it eventually. With over 40% of the surface water and more than 60% of the groundwater being unfit for human consumption there, they've been getting ... inventive. Regardless, as noted, we're WAY off topic at this point, so, hopefully these leads will send you looking for more information on your own. Time to hop back into Malifaux-related stuff for me. I still need to stat up the Rosebloods and Malifaux Flytraps for a different thread.

They're way pretty, mind you, but with complicated rules, high production cost, and low return, they're not high on the ol' listeroo.

When dealing with a Fated character, the modifier reverses, since the Fated does all the flipping. So, a Minion that attacks a Fated character with a negative flip means that the defender gets a positive one instead. If the minion was attacking with a positive flip, then the Fated defends with a negative. Once you've done it a couple of times, it gets intuitive, honest.

But you didn't copy our groovy responses! Alas, alas.

Baseball'd be the natural fit. Heck, Masikari's already almost in a pitching pose. Call the team the "Ten Lumbers" for the bats they carry (winkwink) and you're halfway there. Malifaux Guild Stockings for the other team and, next thing you know, you can create a spinoff game. Also, I'm kind of on board with a "Gremfederate Army", commanded by General Twee. Yee Hawgs and all that!

I'd *much* rather see people puffing cigarettes as opposed to vaping; the water used in those comes from the dead rivers in China, where the water's unfit for anything. (Heavy metal toxins, general pollution, *nothing* lives in that water anymore and it's useless for industrial use now as there's so much metal residue that it destroys machinery) ... but, the industry's completely unregulated, so you can put anything in the things that you want and have to make no disclosures. (It's akin to the nutritional supplement industry, which is neither food nor drug, so has *zero* regulation. You can fill up a whole jug with salt, label it "MUSCLE POWER 9001!" and there's not a law in the land that can touch you. But I digress.) Vape stuff will kill you worse than tobacco will, and considering my grandmother died due to horrific cancer cause by a lifetime of dipping and snuff, well, that's saying something. Pivoting back to gamefoo now. Depends on how left field you want to get. I mean, we still need some Native Americans out in the mix, probably via the Nerverborn, but that's not terribly wacky. You can throw in flying saucers and Grays for truly oddball stuff. We know that there have been mini-breaches in the past, and that continue to open, so, you can draw from all kinds of cultural stuff for touchstones. Mongols, for instance, or Roman Legionairres (And, honestly, a bunch of Gremlins lead by "Sieze'r", forming up proper shieldwalls and grousing about how chaotic the other Gremlins are while trying to assemble some proper roads around their central colleseum base (With stone wayerways, natch!) has an appeal all its own.) ... for contemporary-ish eras, you still have the tail end of Napoleon (wave the banner of the Powder Wars, mon ami!) so some French soldiers, complete with cannons, would be fun. A bit too late for Spanish Conquistadors, unless the Ressers get a Master who discovered the Fountain of Immortality and can conjure up the spirits and bones of the fallen to march. Going back to the box sets, switching Hoffman's "Of Metal and Flesh" to "The Fabrege Empire" lets you bring in a Russian Noble, with clockwork tigers (hunters0, clockwork bear (Guardian), and clockwork goose (watcher), with a Frabrege Egg-styled mechanical attendant. (They're here for Rasputina, of course.) Back to the era... the Boxer Rebellion is around this time frame, so works, and of course Prussia ... why don't we have any Prussians? Cool helmets, chest full of medals, AWESOME facial hair ... everybody loves Prussian military forces! The Wizard of Oz drops here, so there's a whole pile of awesome stuff to draw from (who doesn't love Steampunk Dorothy?) and the Pair World Exposition (old name for the World's Fair) also gives us the modern Olympics. We still don't have any airships, and at the worst, we need a flying Gremlin, Baron Grem von Zepplin, flying about and causing trouble. Heck, you could even start a Prohibition movement, with a bunch of Gremlins out to break up moonshiners and smash down any Wiskey Golemns that they can find, one ax at a time. (Also, we need Whiskey Gamin. Just whiskey barrels with tiny feet, stubby arms, and googly eyes. It'd be fantastic!) Come on, tell me that you wouldn't want to see this: ... done up Gremlin style.

Guild Guard as Keystone Cops. Jack Daw hung from a festive Christmas Tree, complete with snowy branches and festive lights, while wearing a red floppy cap? Canine Remains as Leporidae Remains, the undead bunnies of Easter. Malifaux Rats as Malifaux Rabbits, well-known for being large, red-eyed, and hate-filled. Orian as red and black-wearing Heavy Metal Idoru holding up the sign of the Fox God. Pandora's Crew as Alice in Wonderland, with Pandora a sthe Mad Hatter (And Pandora's Box replaced by a hat), Candy as Alice, Baby Kade as the Cheshire Cat, Teddy as the White Rabbit, and two Dopplegangers as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

Also, it's a crying shame that we can't break the models out of the Crossroads crew a bit better because Lust with a couple of showgirls lets you remake a Lindsey Stirling video. And that's always faboo.

On a more legit note, without copyright... how about the Double Cross Pirate Crew, featuring brothers Victor Cross and Viktor Cross, three Salty Dogs, a cabin boy, and Taylor, the big bulky dude wielding a ship's anchor to clong you over the head with. They're the reason that Malifaux has those anti-ship blockades at the southern riverbreach of the city, and the Double Cross Crew generally goes about the more watery parts of the Bayou, plunderin' moonshine and bacon from the Gremlins.

Nicodem in tight pants and a leather jacket, with nine back-up zombie dancers? Because we all need more Mindless Zombies, and the mix of poses and genders behind him can just be fun.

First thought: Von Schill's Hired Guns recast as the A-Team, with Hannibal (obvious), BA (Trapper), Howlin' Mad Murdoch (Specialist), Face (ibrarian), with Amy and Frankie (he wa sin the last season, nobody liked him) to fill up the ranks. The Steam trunk, of course, would be a tiny version of The Van. ... Okay, might have some licensing issues. More brainthinks!

Aw. That was a good thread, too! Mind you, I'm still waiting for "Miss Trial", our female Guild lawyer. As for Twisted alternates? Lemme think.

Are we *sure* that he's a "he"? Because that look could go either way. Mind you, I'd assume that there'll be a henchman of "Bonnie Clyde" as his #2 that seals the deal, but I'd be happy to be wrong. That said, I very much look forward to the Barrows Gang being rolled out and I can only hope that we get some good, old fashioned bandit bastardos out of this.

I was about to lament the formatting that would be lost, but I just realized that I can attach files to threads. Which means I can make this downloadable. Joy! This is about an hour's work, hammered out while watching TV, so you may well find a few errors in the mix. It's also not finished (obviously), but it should show a bit of where I'm going. Over time, I'll add more stuff to this thread, to lay out more details, to toss in some new gear, some new tomes, and who knows? I might have assembled a whole dang book by the time it's done. I'm not sure how often this'll be updated, but, I'll keep chipping away here and there for a while. Never give a bored writer a week off with no projects. He starts to create. (Edit: And there's a problem with the file. Which means I have to cut n paste after all. Which means you lose out on all teh pretty formatting. Aw.) The Guild You’ve seen the Guild Guards on patrol, keeping the city safe. You’ve heard the Governor-General giving speeches across the Aethervox. You’ve witnessed the majestic machines, from the skycars to the automotons to the very train what brought you to Malifaux. You know everything there is to know about the Guild. You know nothing. If you read this, however, if you commit it to memory for when the inevitably find and destroy this tome, then it falls to you to pas sit along, to write it down, to make certain that what is known never becomes what is forgotten. This is true of many things, but none so great as the Guild as it’s built on a field of lies. Read on… and know the Truth. The Founding of the Council Oh, you know some of the history, how the Breach was first torn open, how the death toll was staggering, and how the survivors eventually turned on one another, slaying their bretheren one by one over arcane secrets and magical artefacts of a different world. Of how a truce was eventually called, and with it peace filled the magical world. It’s a lovely story for children. The Council’s founders were, to a man, the most ruthless, cold-hearted bastards to ever clutch the strings of aether in their hands. They were more afraid of losing their power than of dying, and the Founders knew that, should they turn to attack one another, they would be vulnerable to the others. The names of these Founders are lost to us (save one, as I will detail) for one simple reason; they knew the Olde Magics, and with the Olde Magic, names hold power. Words are meanings, and simply placing one on something gives you power on it. Do you doubt me? Take your best friend and call him a welcher who pays not his debts. Tell everyone you know this, hang that word around his neck, and in a fortnight, it will be as if it were always true, with others sharing stories of how he owed them but never repaid. Holding a True Name is even more powerful, so the Founders hid theirs away, claiming new names, new words, with which to define themselves. These Founders formed the Innermost Circle, which survives at the heart of the Guild even today. They are known, now, as the Necromancer, the Enchantress, the Sorceress, the Illusionist, and John Smith, He Who Holds the Center, and, it is whispered, the Fatemaster. The five Founders clawed their way to the top of their respective styles, forming the rest into neat little rows. Remember when I said that words have power? By classifying magic, be distilling it into an Essence that they could master, whose applications they could define, they showed the ‘proper’ way to do magic, clipping the wings of the birds that would follow. Why can’t a Sorcerer raise the dead? Why can’t an Illusionist animate a construct? Because these magics were chained, bound, and defined by words, and now they are limited where once they were potential. Do I have your attention now? Good. The Four Schools Parcelling out the controlling forms of magic, regardless of tradition, the four primary schools of magic were defined (not created, never that), and the Founders were seated as the Grandmasters of each, enshrining themselves in power as they formed a feudal structure for the others to fall in to. The schools were given elements of the compass, and the elements, and in some cases numbers and symbols, to further define what was ‘right’ from what was ‘wrong’ and to fool those who would come after into thinking that magic only worked a certain way. Sorcery was the East, given primacy of position as a nod to its power. As the Sun rises in the East, so does power rise to the command of the Sorcerer, and Fire is their element of choice; wild, powerful, but one that can be tamed by the right hands. Necromancy was the South, given the ‘low’ position as befits its dark art, while cold stone as its element. Nevermind that some spells were the destruction of undead abominations, while others preserved things, such as books, from rot. It was seen as an ‘unclean’ school, to balance the fact that it served one very valuable service: the Necromancers have ever been the ones to charge the Soulstones that enabled the Guild to still use magic all these years. Illusion was the school of the West, home to the mysterious Moon, and given dominion over the Air. The Illusionists were often called upon to sell others on the usefulness of the Guild, using whispers from the wind to learn what should not be known, to use those secrets not in the halls of power, but behind the curtains. Illusion is not only presenting what you want someone to see, but also in preventing them from seeing what you need to keep hidden. They are the least known of all the schools, with good reason. Enchanting sat at the North, and drew from the element of Water. Water, always moving in balance; the giver of life, measuring both ebb and surge with equality. It is the supporting force, the one that nurtures others, rather than being strong on its own. That it has a natural opposition to Undeath, rather than being two sides of the same coin, is the work of the Guild’s wordsmithing. The Center is never mentioned, but exists as a neutral arbitrator, reflecting the balance, and the element it governs is Aether itself, the fifth, unknown, magical element that runs through the others and is the very definition of magic. If the Center cannot hold, then everything else crumbles. Some say that those who master the Center master Fate itself, able to both see, and manipulate, the strings, twisting them in ways that favor the outcome that you wish with no one being the wiser. The Traditions Less easy to wrangle than the creation of the schools were the methods of magic, the individual tricks, tomes, and tongues that called forth power and gave it direction. There were scores of magical traditions, each claiming to be no less effective than any other… did the simple fact that their spells worked not show that their method was a correct one? The Founders knew that magic was not formed by these gestures and objects, but that magic was, and that these crutches were there to allow the human mind to grasp on to something, to limit the magic by placing a harness upon it, so that it could be guided in the direction the caster wanted. They paid lip service to the authenticity of assorted methods, as one would imagine, in order to salve bruised egos and soothe rifts, but all the while, they worked to create a unified method, a controllable method, which they could name the True Form of magic. They found it in the Oxford Method. The Oxford Method “But Oxford didn’t exist at the time!” I hear you complain. And you are right … it did not. Originally, it was the Bohemian Method, named for the region of Europe which gave rise to it. I cannot tell you who of the Founders followed this tradition if, in truth, any did, but the method of it appealed to the hunger of magical minds. Numerous sigils, unusual patterns, a solid mathematical base, wrapped in words, numbers, and symbols, it was both something that could be taught and something which you had to struggle to comprehend, a perfect blend of complexity and simplicity that would allow many novices but few masters. The name ‘Bohemian Method’ soon fell from use as it was simply the method, the one from which all other magic drew. The Founders knew that they had a good thing, and set out to eradicate other, competing methods. First, they did so subtly, challenging those of other methods to face them in competitions or duels, besting them with their power and setting forth that their Method was thus superior. They won many young mages to their banner in this way, and in time, these converts became an army, converted to the belief and far more zealous in its defense than the creators ever were. Others found themselves pushed to one side, watching the Council’s method rise to primacy. When the Breach closed and Soulstones were the only method to draw forth magic, the Council was able to set forth a simple fact: Adopt our ways to gain access to our cache, or keep your ways and fade away. Needless to say, most joined. This ideal system lasted for nearly forty years, but as the Founders died off, the next generation lost that knowledge of what magical war truly was. The generation that followed knew even less, but had raw power in their hands and a hunger for more. Thanks to the Council having spread worldwide, and thanks to having the ear of the ruler of most nations, it was only a matter of time before the wrong words fell to the wrong ears, and the wars started again. The Powder Wars and the New Method I won’t go into the Powder Wars here, but suffice it to say that the damage was staggering. Hundreds of thousands of mundane people died, thousands of the magically active were cut down, and, worst of all, a number of Soulstones were lost forever, crushed for short-term power, burned by one mage assaulting a second, or simply stolen and hidden away by those afraid of losing it forever or never knowing what they had truly stolen from a mage’s lair. Less damaging were the loss of tomes; the Grandmasters knew that magic was bigger than any one method, but it was still a blow. The Innermost Council gathered in their secret chambers, to craft an answer, for fear of magical war erupting again. This lead to the formation of the Thalarian Doctrine and, just as notably, the Guild. The Thalarian Doctrine In order to restrict the power of magic, the Council chose one man, Abel Thalaric, to stride forth and serve as the voice for the new way of magic. “Magic,” he would say, “Belongs not to a secret Council, but to all of us!” He was an Enchanter, and would demonstrate how his magic, his inventions, could be handed about to anyone and still operate. You didn’t have to lurk in some stodgy old library and study under dim candlelight for twenty years, you could simply pick up a gun made of glass and brass and from it discharge lightning itself. Oh, it wasn’t as powerful as ‘true’ magic, but it was easy to reach, and the majority will always choose quick and easy over difficult and slow. The Illusionists helped, of course, always out of sight, always out of mind, but never out of touch, influencing here, redirecting there, and ensuring that the Thalarian Method ws the –right- method. Abel eventually won the right to sit in the Council itself, defeating the Grandmaster of Enchantment, and set about resculpting the Council into a new form. That it was actually the plan all along, with the Grandmaster of Enchantment having thrown the fight, the Guild’s restructuring the Council’s long-term goal, and that Abel was a figurehead puppet for an aged John Smith was never so much as whispered. Today, the Thalarian Doctrine has become the method of magic in the eyes of most. For eighty years, it has stood supreme, managing to neutralize the power of those who follow its methods while stretching out the duration of Soulstones due to the weak force it draws, and in many eyes it’s the only form of magic that exists. Abel still sits atop the ranks as Grandmaster of Enchanting, kept alive by an astounding array of magical machinery, now in his twelfth century of life, even if he’s as much a prisoner of those machines as a patient. His second attends meetings of the Innermost Circle in his stead, and it is presumed that she will take the position when, or if, he finally dies. That the Bohemian Method was reassembled from old pieces and began to grow to strength once again, away from their control, is a truth which continues to vex the Innermost Circle despite most of them using it themselves. They do not like the idea of their power being challenged, but have not yet been able to seal it away for good. They choose to let the name ‘Oxford Method’ exist, as it draws the curious away from ancient riddles to ‘know’ where it came from, but in time, they feel that they will have to find a way to bury it once more … and, this time, to ensure it stays dead. The Guild Today The Guild, the true Guild, resides on Earth. The Great Masters were unwilling, or in the case of old Abel unable, to risk the Breach, to gamble away the power that they had in hopes of gaining more. The Great Masters instead sent proxies forth to lead in their name, to form the Guild of Malifaux. To them it seemed a safe enough gamble; let those who travel through gain a title, some riches, and some power. In exchange, the Geat Masters remain safely ensconced in their homes, growing fat off of Soulstones as they are shipped through and the riches that are spent to purchase them. The Guild of Malifaux is lead by Grandmasters, the title traditionally given to the highest circle of a nation, despite being little more than a city and some wild lands. The five of them are the true power behind the Governor-General, the hidden hands pulling the strings of their puppets.

I've got an (old!) thread about it on here. Lemme see if I can find it right quick... I never did get to sit down and hammer out either the "Find Soulstones" ability (Which would be a manifested power, I'm thinking) or a final version of the rough layout, but, the concept is still sound, I think. It would allow someone to start play with a relatively weak soulstone as their gimmick, or introduce a "Soulstone Prospector", or both. The price gouge when the stones go back Earthside helps explain the price differential and sets up the eventual Malifaux Guild vs Earth Guild conflict. Been focused on paid work for Shadowrun, so I haven't had the time to revisit TTB for fun as much as I'd like. With the Legend of the Five Rings RPG out of service, I don't have a second company to write for, so I should really get back in the saddle and do this stuff up right. I have a critter or two to toss the the player created forums, just need to type them up.

Maybe, but there's hardly a price set in stone for that. Mind you, tweaking the Soulstone prices (for my home game, not anything official!) was a big help in the economic regard.

Now I wish that there was a path/talent tree for Overseer types where they slowly gained some underlings. Nothing says "I love you" like the Overseer showing up with his four-man gunslinger posse to group-fire on the Neverborn baddie.

True, but I was talking more character than environment, here. A gunfighting settler-sort sticks out badly in Malifaux, for instance, while a struggling accountant with a head for Latin doesn't do well out in the scrublands. But still a valid point! The diverse terrain is darned handy.

It might sound odd, but, there's a world of difference between a game set inside the city of Malifaux, which tends to be more like Victorian England-ish, and one set outside the walls, which tends to move into a "Weird Western" vibe. Obviously most games flip between the two, but, is there one that you personally prefer?

Then clearly I'm on crac... no, wait. Need something appropriate for the era. Hrm. Hrm hrm. Clearly, I'm on Clark's Snake Oil. There! Much better. (Professor Stanley Clark's Snake Oil, accept no substitutes! Also the maker of fine tonics, elixers, and assorted medical provisions nonpareil!)

I could swar that someone had dropped a batch of 'Rank 0 bonuses" for the core pursuits, to put them on equal footing with those in Into the Steam and under Quarantine, but for the life of me I can't seem to find that anymore. Was it a fan-creation and not in the FAQ? Egads.

... You know, I'd managed to forget that the whole thing started as a Kickstarter. Huh! And, yeah, a Guild book before Guild Wars would probably make things much more smooth, but... With that in mind, I think I might put more of my thinkin' meats towards some Guild stuff. I've already done a bit of that in the player creation forum, but if the path is fairly clear, I could go in deeper. Which could be fun!

The Bayou being "The Gremlin book" means that the woods will likely be "The Neverborn Book", which is fine and dandy as that's a handy way to combine information into one location. Totally down for that. :) The Guild needs one, IMHO, just to detail how the thing works, both on Earthside and on Breachside. For example: How does one become a licensed mage? Clearly there are those who aren't, your "Witches" and the like, while the Guild officially wants everyone to learn mechanical-themed spellcasting, but the Oxford Method is called out as one that's legit as well. So, clearly there's some kind of "Guild membership" that you can get which allows you to casts spells, if in a restricted capacity. Who're the big names in there? What kinds of internal politics do we not se? Who *is* the Governor-General? (U.S. Grant, in my home game but your mileage may vary) ... there's a ton of goodies in there thatI'd love to read about. Or write about, but I figure they're doing that inhouse instead of hiring freelancers. A shame, since with L5R in hibernation, I've got room in my calendar for contract work, but hey.

So, the core books were first, naturally. Next was Into the Steam, the Arcanist book that was full of other goodies as well. Third was Under Quarantine. Fourth I *think* is gonna be Gremlins, since we got that nice Bayou "voodoo" caster preview. That's just a guess on my part mind. After that would still be, in no particular order, Guild, Ten Thunders, Neverborn, and Mercenaries. Don't suppose you'd be willing to say what order those'll be in? I was in the mood to get my fandom on and whip up a few things, but I'd hate to step on your toes by dropping something into the forums that clashed with your release schedule. I know that it'll *be* a while, since they're only dropping, what, every 4-6 months just now, but, even then, I'd feel like a jerk if I messed up. (I ask because I'd just been fiddling with some swamp voodoo myself, only to see that preview, and went, "D'oh!") Be much obliged for any data that you can drop, good people of Upstairs!