Wakshaani

(Wow, late for this one!) My pleasure! Wait. You *are* registering your magical ability with the Guild, right? *loom* RIGHT?!

Into the Steam! Northern Aggression! So close and yet ... *places hand on screen* ... so ... far ...

Condor Rails! I MUST NEEDS KNOW MORE! (Do we have a release date yet? Dying ... so much ... dying...)

Still have a few days to go, but, product is a tricky one. Will Into the Steam be out soon enough to qualify? Because I *need* that dang book...

Sears! I didn't even think of that. Brilliant!

Aaron, would it be possible to get that lovely cover art without the ad copy/title/etc? Because I need a new background for my PC and that one's positively lovely.

Oh, and for the record, a Milner is a hatmaker. Since, you know ... I don't think anyone ever mentioned that.

Yeah, Malifaux's rail is a tricky thing. They want cheap labor to cross over, but they also want to make money, so, paid passengers are usually 'special' while convicts are chosen for free labor (And, you know, they don't need a ticket) ... trains TO Malifaux aren't really searched very much, but trains heading OUT have HUGE searches, including "Hounds", Witchlings chosen for their ability to sniff out Soulstones, to make sure none are smuggled out. So, I'd lay good odds that all tickets are one-way by design, but I'm not sure if it costs more to arrive or to leave. Either way, it costs a LOT. Now, the lesser lines that run around *inside* Malifaux? Those are cheap.

So, I wanted to spin something a tad different than what I've been working on, and while several PCs are in the mix, I thought it might be nice to add some NPC-ish people as well, someone that a PC group might seek out and hire, that might ask the PCs for help, or that could very well be a PC themselves. Looking ove rthe handful of Fated here, I noticed a hole that needed filling. As such... meet Michael. STATION: Academic PURSUIT: Academic MIGHT: 0 GRACE: 1 SPEED: 1 RESILIENCE: -2 INTELLECT: 3 CHARM: -2 CUNNING: 1 TENACITY: 0 CORE SKILLS History: 3 (6) Alchemistry: 2 (5) Mathematics: 2 (5) Engineering: 1 (4) Art: 1 (2) Teach: 1 (4) ENDEAVOR SKILLS Literacy: 3 (4) Bureacracy: 2 (3) Athletics: 1 (1) Doctor: 1 (4) Pistol: 1 (2) WIlderness: 1(2) TALENTS Shrug off Defense: 3 Willpower: 2 Walk: 5 Charge: 5 Wounds: 4 Height: 2 If the Autumn bridge shakes in your bellows, You will be the uninvited As the gathering mocks your gift. Poison will be the cure, And the motion stutters and shudders. BACKGROUND Michael Robert Brown was born in upstate New York to a simple family... his father was a mill worker, his mother a schoolteacher, who buried his nose in his books from a very young age. Often bullied, he came home many a day with mud on his face and tears in his clothes, but it never really phased him. He was far too interested in reading the classics, living a life of adventure that he'd never experience in person. He earned himself a scholarship to university, an edge his family could never have afforded on its own, and graduated with ablumb. His father's employer decided to send him on for further studies, footing the bill in exchange for a work agreement, and made sure thats ome practical accounting was included with all that "Bookish nonsense". Much to his surprise, Michael soon found himself not being sent to the mill, as expected, but through the Breach, on to do some book keeping and accounting for a friend of his dad's boss, who needed someone honest who could be trusted with some figures. Here, Michael found himself fascinated. This world isn't that far removed from hsi books ... oh, terribly dangerous, to be certain, but *fascinating* at the same time. There's any number of new tomes in The Library, and hundreds of secrets left unread around every curve. When his book keeping turn was completed, he decided to stay, opening a tiny shop in the slums west of Downtown. Brownbooks doesn't sell books, nor does it print them, but he does have a small linguistics library and rents his services as a translator and historian, as well as an accountant. Work is slow and his income poor, but he's managing to stay ahead of the rent... for the most part. PERSONALITY Michael is the classic bookish introvert, speaking only when spoken to, and often missing even that due to being focused on whatever he's reading. He's utterly flumoxxed by women, having no idea how to talk to them, and generally comes off as meek, despite having a fairly strong backbone when time calls for it. There's an adventuring streak in him and, at heart, he's a true romantic, lost in the stories of his youth and replacing the leads with himself... too bad real life isn't quite so glamorous. Unlike the older historians of Malifaux, Michael is quite willing to shoulder a pack, strap on hiking boots, and go out into the field for research, ever-curious about this new land and what it entails. APPEARANCE Of average height and slender build, Michael's clothes are quite common and off-the-rack, his hair often mussed, and he only keeps his glasses clean because, without them, reading would be too much of a chore. It isn't that he wants to look disheveled, it's just that he usually dresses, eats, and walks about town with a book open, not really paying attention to anything else. He's stronger than he looks, and has quick feet, but the poor lad's always had a glass jaw and has yet to convert from bookish intellectual to adventurer... long marches leave his feet blistered, his back sore, and his voice whiney, but as soon as he catches a glimpse of something new, it all washes away before his fascination. CAMPAIGN USE Michael's easiest use is as an academic-for-hire. In particular, he's handy to have around when a group explores old ruins, where he can try to translate the ancient runes, explain the history of the area, and generally serve as walking exposition. He's got a good head for numbers and acocunting, is familiar with the law (especially tax code), and can even do a bit of flora research and chemistry, should it be needed. In short, he's filled with a wide array of little skills that a team often needs but no one rememberes to pick up until it's too late, and he's able to teach some of what he knows as well. As a rookie adventurer, he's begun to learn the more hands-on aspects of the trade, from finding potable water to climbing to tending to other's scrapes and cuts, but he's no first-class hero. Not yet, at any rate. On the plus side, he knows which end of a gun to point at someone! Not that he's ever shot anyone, but hey. Michael can also srve as an adorkable romance sideplot for a PC that's more aggressive than he is. Someone with a goood gun hand, can through a mean hook, and will wince when the poor kid's obviously dealing with saddle-sores but doesn't want to bother anyone by mentioning it. He's not -helpless-, just a bit behind in the physical development side, and he certainly has a good heart. He's just, you know. Shy. http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/300px-Atlantis030_717.jpg

One thing I've been doing for skills that really sells the character aspect more is this: The first set of skills is your Core Skills. Use those to tell everyone who your character is as they grew up and before they chose their current path. Teh second set of skills is the Endeavor Skills. Use those to tell everyone what your character has learned while training for "the job" and more recent parts in life. This tells a *much* better story than just grouping them all together into a "Skill lump" and spending them. So, someone with 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1 Core Skills, then 3, 3, 2 Endeavor Skills was clearly someone that was a tad unfocused and wibbly when younger, trying out a lot of different things but once they found the thing that they were good at, they learned how to focus and stay in the mix. You might also have someone with 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 twice. Kinda the average skill load, and THAT person gets a story based on which skills are from which part of their life. So, someone whose core skills included Homsteading, farming, and surival was likely a pioneer, or the kid of a first-generation settler family, which colors their background one way, then their path (Let's say they became a Graverobber, just 'cause, and the Endeavor Skills are all about Necromancy, soulstones, and so on) tells a different story, or, rather, a different chapter in the SAME story. I've found it to be far more interesting, personally. Give it a try.

*clicks on store* *clicks on store* *clicks on store* *weeps*

Heck, make an old prospector who celebrates by doing a little jig. Gold! Gold! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w4B7QxL_n4 There's GOLD in them thar hills! (MAN we need a crazy old coot prospector!)

+5/6/8/10/etc in stats, not acting value. Total up Might, Resilience, Charm, and so on for a final total. PCs are at +2, period. Random harlot on the street having more points to play with isn't great, but when a generic gunslinger's the same as a PC on their 6th+ step on the path, it's a little galling. Acting values are a whole other thing.

Yeah, if you want suggestions, just ask. I'm sure that th eborad will be *filled* with 'em! Heck, I can probably give you two sprues alone.

Oh, without a doubt. Just a note that if they had experience in The War (And it's usually just "The War" when speaking, or "The War of Northern Aggression" when written about), they'll likely be old. Now, people with fathers or grandfathers who were vets and who were taught to carry that fire with them? That's a whole other thing.

While this is true, and I can appreciate it, the NPCs are often *not* at Guild Guard level. Where a PC is at +2 on stats, for instance, it's common to find ordinary blokes at +5, +6, +8... not for Enforcers or Masters, but plain ol' minions. Add to this a lack of peons (Which Terror Tots and Gremlins should have been, but aren't to keep the tabletop and RPG stats aligned) and it's not quite the balance I want in my personal game. A few examples: Guild Pathfinder (A scout, a role a starting PC might want) is at +8, a Gunfighter's also at +8, while a harlot is at +3. Desperate Mercenary's at +8, Ronin are at +10 (!), Freikorpsmen are at at +8 for teh basic grunt, while Terror Tots are +10 as well. Yikes!

That's fine fro *A* hanging tree, but *the* Hanging Tree needs to be special. Honestly, if it's a foot high on the table, nobody'll complain.

I'm still struggling with how much *STRONGER* every NPC is than the PCs. That's counteracted somewhat by cardflips, but not terribly much. I have to go in and whack about 4-10 points off the stats of everything.

As much love as I had for the preview, this made it even *better*. I cannot begin to tell you how much I need this whole thread in my life now. Gah. GAH!

Confederate'll be a touch tricky since Malifaux's set in 1901, so you're looking at guys 36 years after the War. They'll all be 50+, with most being 60-ish and any veteran officers in their 70's. Well. Barring magic keeping them young of course. (Soulstone, whee!) There's the Castalan Corps, as noted, and the Malifaux Explorer's Society, which is a bunch of rich old white guys who want to shoot native fauna, so hire guides to make sure that they bag a good one. This might not be a terrible thread for people to post new ideas for them, in all honesty. That could get fun.

Yuppers! Totally not the official history of course, but I'm focusing on my Through the Breach campaign, so "Where is the Breach?" is a question I needed to answer, and then wanting to diversify the background a bit in terms of political interplay by making more factionalization was a bonus. But that's just my game, and I should wave a big flag around the post to make that clear.

Incidently, for my home game of Through the Breach, I went ahead and modifie dthe history somwhat. The current breach opened in 1876, with a location as mentioned above. The previous Breach closed in 1776, having opened in 1726 (And the "Black Powder Wars" were , in essence, teh Seven Years War, see below) ... this one was near Oxford, in England. The Breach before *that* opened in France (Near Paris) in 1648 and remained open until 1698. The first Breach was opened in 1355, in Prague, with "New Town" being built afterwards, using mathematic magics to try and stabilize the Breach. Riots after the death of Charles IV in 1378 damaged the system, while the Easter Riots of 1389 followed the Breach's final collapse and ethnic rioting as groups blamed one another for the failure. (The Breach opened sporadicly from 1401-1648, stuttering through Europe, Africa, and Asia, but never for more than one year in any one location. Later research shows that the areas 'visited' were ones from which mages who performed the initial ritual had come from.) The Soulstones brought ovr from the Breach each time give that nation a period of great power and wealth, but also makes them soemthing of a target for the rest of the world and the empires tend to falter, badly, when the Breach closes and access is lost. In France, which had the Breach the longest of anyone until that time, created "L'Institute d'Arcane" to train magicians, and accepted students from all over Europe (Who, of course, had to buy expensive Soulstones to use that magic!), spreading magical lore widely. When teh Breach was lost, they did their best to stay on top of the magical world, noting that magic was for wealth aristocrats and 'special people', a noble's path that was generally supported in the monarch-heavy Europe of the day. When the Breach opened in England, they were visited by the French, who tried to take control of the operation, but quickly turned it into a more egletarian movement, not only refusing to sell Soulstones to other nations, but to train their own mages in more technical methodology, eventually forming The Guild. England and France went to war over this, matching France's superior training and vast storehouses of Soulstones (Which, when depleted, couldn't be replaced) against England's less-trained, but more technologically-advanced, forces who had fewer stones but could gather more due to having teh Breach. Peace was eventually had, but both nations wree pretty well drained financially afterwards and, when teh Breach closed, they were both kinda helpless. (This, of course, is when the US broke free from the King.) With the new Breach in the US, the Guild moved in, taking arole similar to the French a century past, where they assure the locals that only *they* have the knowhow to keep an eye on things, properly mine, and so on, while teh Arcanists are right behind, talking to their old friends, the Americans, and charming them as best they can. The Breach and Malifaux, are technically under the control of the US Government, and after several Governors died in office, former US president General US Grant himself stepped in to rule as Governor-General, with both the Guild and the Arcanists as rival advisors. The Guild tries to get the Arcanists outlawed, but thusfar can't quite manage it, while the Arcanists lak the money or manpower of teh Guild but has superior magicians and magical lore. This creates a nice political tug of war, spinning up a level of intrigue more fun, to me, than an all-powerful Guild that runs everything. Spies, counter-spies, operations against one another, operations in support of an ally, government vs business, The People vs Aristocracy, Old Ways vs New Ways ... there are tons of ways to spin the conflict, and the longer history and multiple locations of past Breaches gives a better excuse for the varied construction seen in Malifaux itself. And that doesn't even get to the pre-Breach methods of accessing Malifaux, which gives us some Egyptian things, LONG abandoned, tucked away in the Badlands or along the river...

It's clearly in North America. The place *I* have it at, which, mind you, isn't presented in fiction, is a bit odd. First, some real history. "The American West" is a sliding scale, depending on the era. The Ozarks of Arkansas are different from Texas, which is different than California or Utah. Interestingly enough, one of the *big* areas that was known as "The West" around 1880 was the Dakotas... this is where Sitting Bull and teh Sioux fought hard against the US, and where people from "Back East" would travel to in search of freedom and a new life. North Dakota is where a young Teddy Roosevelt went to be a cowboy and was where the rail really started pushing into teh wild lands of America. Heck, Deadwood, South Dakota, is where all teh famous wild west people were, so it should be close. SO, I went with Medora North Dakota, a then-boom town (heh) which was being used as a rail hub by a Frenchman who wanted to sell frozen beef to Chicago. It's right on the Transcontinental Railroad and not terribly far from Deadwood, and is sparse enough that a big KERBOOM won't change the nation like erasing New Amsterdam or CHicago would have done, but placed well enough that people would quickly find out and try to do Something about it. That our nobleman, the Marquis de Mores, named the place after his dead wife only ties in fantasticly with the Ressers whose magic is so strong in Malifaux. Maybe he needed an isolated area to try some spell, using a massive artifact powered by the frozen hearts of ten thousand (It never said it had to be humans!), but ithe ritual went sideways. Regardless, it's a big crossroads area that can draw from all manner of folks ... fresh settlers from Irieland and Scottland, a large CHinese population from Deadwood (and teh rail workers), the Old West aura, scads of Native Americans, the ability to draw from "Back East" or from Canada, and so on. Heck, Malifaux's badlands are filled with people trying to make a living with cattle ranching, and Medora was an area where cattle were driven to. If they got there after the boom, well, they couldn't exactly go back home, so, sell them cheap, drive them through the breach, and hope for the best. There are probably better locations, but this one's mine.

Teh first Penny Dreadful's ree, but the rest are for purchase, IIRC from the Kickstarter. Having picked up #1 now, I'm -very- interested in seeing more. Heck, I'm interested in -writing- one, but that's down the line.

A little from A, a little from B, and topped off with some modern clubbers (See also: Mohawks, pink hair, and piercings) It's a hodgepodge in a blender.