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Kimberly

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Everything posted by Kimberly

  1. Whether you're looking to add to your collection or to just head first Through the Breach you can take advantage of this great deal! https://giveusyourmoneypleasethankyou-wyrd.com/collections/through-the-breach
  2. 'Fauxtastic Friday Breachers! GenCon is nearly upon us. With that, it makes for an extremely busy time and I'll be taking a break from Fatemaster Friday to focus on some other projects that need my attention! Fatemaster Friday has been a great way to see glimpses of the wonderful and creative stories you're telling with your players! It's inspired me greatly in my own games, and I hope it's inspired some of you as well. I promise this isn't the end of Fatemaster Friday, and you're not rid of me just yet. TTB is one of my favorite games, so I'll still be around here sharing my thoughts and own game stories. If you haven't considered considered checking out the TTB Live play Saturday August 1st, please check out the Waldo's Weekly about this and other Wyrd events for GenCon. Thanks so much Breachers for a year of wonderful exploration of the 'Fauxverse. One last question until I return: What is a TTB moment for your players that exemplifies what TTB means to you as a Fatemaster?
  3. Fantastic Friday Breachers! Last week we talked about real world inspiration in TTB. Here’s what @Vorzakk 2.0 shared with us! So, I’ve had a craving for a good old fashioned heist game for a while, which means I think I’m going to run Honor Among Thieves with my household this weekend. I count this Penny Dreadful as one of the best adventures I know! This ‘Fauxvese take on an upscale heist adventure is loads of fun and comes with pre-made Fated, so it’s a perfect game to introduce TTB to some friends! Honor Among Thieves has the fated working for a Ten Thunders member, and the contract is a tricky one. Retrieve a statue stolen and replace it with a sign from the Ten Thunders. Oh, and the object is possibly cursed so your Fated better be careful. Let’s take a deeper look in the ways Honor Among Thieves empowers the Fatemaster and Fated to make this story their own through choices made in the course of the game. One of the first things that struck me about this adventure is how many choices it accounts for in the writing of the narrative. All roads lead to the Fated being in Miss Appleton’s vault during the party, but how the Fated arrive there is wonderfully varied. Fatemasters can use any combination of the 6 separate scenes that give insight into the situation, which is an interesting and fun way to gather resources and information before the culmination of these efforts in the final scene. The “All Hours” party that makes up the conclusion of this adventure is a great way for Fatemasters to introduce NPCs that may appear later in the game, or even give the more socially inclined Fated a chance to shine. The party writeup has some guidance as to the general timeline of the evening, but allows enough room for the Fatemaster to make it as exciting as they want. Having curious guests or those interested in what the Fated do could be used to increase tension in the game, especially if your Fated are doing any drinking at the party. The pre-generated Fated are each uniquely indebted to the Ten Thunders and therefore a reason to take this job. Each one is a different and unique personality with ambitions that your players could easily take over. Players are encouraged to make changes to make the characters their own, which is always helpful in getting a new player into a game for the first time. Honor Among Thieves is a nice introduction adventure for new players that also has enough action to keep veteran players invested as well! It is currently available on drivethrurpg.com for $5 USD.. This week, I want to hear about heists your own games have done. How did the Fated fair, and what were your personal moments of fun?
  4. I love this! Pull from what's impactful and meaningful to you and your players! A+
  5. Heya Breachers! The discussion topic for last week’s article was surprising moments in play for your players. Here’s what @stump_chunkman shared with us! Sometimes, inspiration for a session or campaign just hits you, but what to do when you’re struggling for inspiration? Say you’ve got the itch to start on your game’s next session, but you’ve just finished an storyarc and you don’t know where they should go next. Perhaps you want to add some Fatemaster Characters that are inspired by history, or want to add some new threats or locations to your games. Well, let’s talk about some of my favorite ways to generate inspiration for TTB. One of the most fascinating parts of the ‘Fauxverse is the references to real world historical facts, literature, music, and more. For example, many in our community have made the correlation between Malifaux’s Phiona Gage and the very real Phineas Gage. Why not take this same approach to your games, and interject some of the stranger parts of history or other real world inspiration into your TTB games! Looking to history, music, movies/television and other media for inspiration can give you that little extra push you need when facing Fatemaster’s Block. Did you know that the US Army had a Camel Calvary for a short time? Could you imagine what a trip through the breach might do to those animals? And what would happen if some unwary Fated encountered some creatures that used to be camels in The Badlands of Malifaux? Or maybe you want to make Fatemaster Character based on Charles Edward Boles (aka Black Bart), who leaves poetic messages at the scene of each heist for the Fated to find. Or maybe you borrow elements from your favorite spaghetti western, or Victorian drama for descriptions of places. The ‘Fauxverse is a strange place that can have some interesting parallels to the real world history. When I’m searching for inspiration, I tend to search out strange and interesting facts about history and use that as a jumping point for my own ideas. If I wanted to bring the “First Emperor of America” Norton I into my TTB game, I’d likely make him an Outcast or an Arcanist. Perhaps instead of Emperor of America, he’s declared himself Emperor of Malifaux. The ramifications of such a statement could lead to a really fun adventure for your players. Perhaps he hires the Fated for a job, and they have to deal with this eccentric man as they try to complete the assignment! History and media are filled with unique and fun elements to throw into your TTB games, and with a bit of research and planning you can interject some excellent weirdness into your homebrew games. This week, I want to know what real world inspiration you’ve drawn from for your games? Are there any weird history facts you’re itching to add to your games?
  6. Heya Breachers! Last week I asked about Chronicles One Shots, here’s what @Vorzakk 2.0 had to say: This week we’ve seen a fun new Augment courtesy of @MattM and Waldo’s Weekly. Klaus Norwood- mimic and investigator extraordinaire- is a great way to interject some surprise and mystery into your game! I think there’s no greater joy a Fatemaster can have when the players react to something that’s unexpected and catches them completely by surprise. As Matt’s post suggests, Klaus can be used in several different ways. Personally, I’d have him be behind a series of seemingly unrelated jobs, posing as a different contact each time before. As the Fated begin to piece things together about their “series of mysterious benefactors” they’d learn some dark secret that Klaus is willing to go to extreme measures to keep. Speaking of dark secrets, Days Without Accident offers a whole mess of surprises with twists and turns as the players progress further into the plot. In Defense of Innocence has its own hefty amount of surprises and mystery to unravel as the town and its people are full of secrets. Obsidian Gate takes the players to a most unexpected place and sets up one of the most titanic battles Through the Breach has ever offered. Through the Breach Penny Dreadfuls work to balance player choice with an outlined plan to follow, but any Fatemaster knows that players surprise you, so Wyrd Augments are a great way for you to surprise your players! One of my most surprising moments was when I was running Fire in the Sky. The Fated were face to face with the Burning Man. In the middle of the chaos caused by his appearance one, of the group decides to try to intimidate him. Nothing else they tried succeeded, and unbeknownst to the players, this was the last action the Fated got before the legendary figure shot up into the sky. The Fated in question flipped a 13, but it wasn’t quite high enough to work. Regardless, the Burning Man took off and everyone looked at that Fated like he was a rockstar. The shock from them not knowing that they only had 3 rounds of Dramatic Time before the Burning Man left led to this great scene for the Fated that my players talked about for a while afterwards. TTB Penny Dreadfuls are often designed with those surprise moments of twists in mind, but I want to hear about your own surprising moments! What were the moments where you completely caught your players off guard. What do you interject into your games to keep the players on their toes? Or perhaps you plan on surprising your players this weekend with Klaus and his toothy grin? We'd love to hear what happens!
  7. Heya Breachers! Last week I asked about Bayou adventures and this is what @Pikciwok had to say: Okay, so maybe it’s time for your weekly game but work’s been hell. You take a look at your notes and realize you haven’t prepared for the session at all! Well instead of throwing something together last minute, why not look to the many One Shots that are found in the Wyrd Chronicles . Wyrd Chronicles ran for years, providing tidbits and information about all things Wyrd. One of the great things about Chronicles is the TTB One Shots that began appearing in Wyrd Chronicles #15 with “Train of Thoughts,” an interesting adventure about a rather unique train heist. You can find that one here. I’m going to go over some of our Chronicles Adventures and the unique opportunities these One Shots can provide for Fatemasters and their players. There is an undead theme tying the three adventures together, so Ressers fans, this one's for you! “The Whispering Affair” appears in Chronicles #19, and offers the Fated a kidnapping to solve. The plot is paced perfectly for one game session, with enough action and drama to keep the players talking and exploring the mystery. For Fatemasters, there are some great parts of this One Shot that can be used in future games. The Dismembered is a great minion for adventures with Resurrectionist themes, or to offer to a Resser Fated who is looking to expand their necromancy skills. This One Shot also explores more about what The Whisper does to its victims, allowing Fatemasters to add those same elements to any future Fatemaster Character (or Fated) who starts to hear The Whisper. Finally, maybe you want the Green Sleeves gang to appear in future sessions as minor antagonists “Owner of a Lonely Heart” from Wyrd Chronicles #22 is centered around a very unorthodox courtship, between delusional Resser and the object of his affection, Bête Noire. Again the pacing is set for one session of play and the plot involves rivals, murder, street gangs and, of course, blood. Fatemasters may find inspiration from the Grimoire listed in the adventure, or perhaps you want Radu to escape and come back as a recurring villain! The Fated will undoubtedly have their own theories on how someone could come to love something so murderous, but that’s part of the fun. Finally, “Worked to Death” from Chronicles #33 takes place in a contract town way up in the Northern Hills. The Fated encounter the brand new ghost town of Colmstock, where the remaining residents are living in fear. You see, the miners rescued from the recent mine collapse can back wrong. It’s up to the Fated to find out what happened and to fix the problem before the remaining residents are killed. Fatemasters can play with the information found for the Exo-Miner and The Foreman as higher level undead encounters or altered to becoming Subordinate Characters for suited Fated. Perhaps the Fated discover an old book or Grimoire that leads to the next adventure of campaign arc! The One Shots from Wyrd Chronicles are fun, short adventures that you can easily loop together, or pick pieces from as you build your own ‘Fauxverse for a homebrew game. Have you run or played in any of the Chronicles One Shots? If so, which one did you experience? Have you utilized anything from other One Shots in your own campaigns?
  8. Heya Breachers! Last week I asked about Bayou adventures and this is what @Vorzakk 2.0 had to say: Now I’ve covered a fair number of Penny Dreadfuls, both One Shots and Campaigns, and have written thousands of words about what they offer and high points for both players and Fatemasters. But I haven’t devoted as much time to homebrew games. So this week I rectify that with a more indepth look at setting up your own homebrew adventures and campaigns! Let’s take a look at what resources Wyrd has to offer a Fatemaster wanting to work up a homebrew game. Creating a homebrew campaign can be hard but rewarding, and it all starts with some good inspiration. You need to determine the goal and theme of your campaign. Do you want your players to experience a chase that leads them to explore the dangerous sewers of Malifaux? Do you want to have a group of resurrectionists trying to outsmart the Death Marshals? Once you have your inspiration, you can build towards the story by checking out our fiction. The Breachside Broadcast is a great resource to draw inspiration from. Listening to the stories of Malifaux can be a great thing to do while planning your campaign in general. The Wyrd Chronicles can also lend a hand in mining for inspiration with their short adventures. Don’t be afraid to take bits you like from them for your own games. The whole of Through the Breach and Malifaux lore is at your disposal! There is so much that you can mine from the fiction, Chronicles, or even the Malifaux Schemes and Strategies to build your game around. Once you have the inspiration you want, why not comb through some of our lore and expansions to look at extra touches you can add to make the world more full. You can decide what Magia is rarer to encounter, what grimoires or equipment you want the Fated to have access to, and what Tarot Spreads you want to allow. With Into the Bayou, Into the Steam, Under Quarantine, Above the Law available, and From Nightmares on the way, you can cherry pick the elements you want to craft a campaign or session that your players will love. At this point, have the players flip their tarot and record their Destiny Steps so that as Fatemaster you can be sure to use those Destiny Steps as a method of further crafting your story. While those steps are the Fated’s destiny, as Fatemaster you get to determine how they appear and you can easily make each one a memorable part of your campaign. Designing them to be spotlight points is easy given the vague nature of the Destiny Steps. For example, if a Fated has “...she is unknown to your memories” and you’re running a heist game, maybe they encounter a hidden puppeteer behind the job that leads into the next act of your campaign and completes that Destiny Step! Now that you have a strong idea of your game, it should be an easy task helping your players design Fated. Just make certain that they know about any changes to the setting if they’re familiar with it. Is your campaign set during the Piper’s Plague and the Martial Law of Malifaux? What changes should they be aware of due to the earlier setting? Are the Arcanists in power for your Campaign? That will definitely change some things for Fated who were eyeing Guild related Fated. Getting your players caught up and with Fated written up can be done as a fun social activity through a character creation session of some sort. How do you plan your Homebrew games? What is your favorite part of the process?
  9. Heya Breachers! Last week I asked your opinions of linear and non-linear adventures. Here’s what @Pikciwok had to say: The Bayou is a strange and terrifying place with the gremlin inhabitants trying their best to survive. Those little green folk face gators, skeeters, family rivalries, and far more explosions than you’d expect. From hands being eaten to puppet battles, the Bayou is a great setting for a TTB game. Let's take a look at the Penny Dreadful The Bayou Games, an adventure that takes the Fated through the Bayou where they encounter a color cast of characters. One of the wonderful aspects of this adventure is it can be run for Gremlin or non-Gremlin Fated. There is a specific Complication in Chapter Four that addresses using non-Gremlin Fated, and replaces the start of the adventure to accommodate different play groups. This is helpful for taking the onus off of the Fatemaster to devise a reason, though you’re certainly able and welcome to make one up for your group! The Fated are tasked with retrieving a stolen invention for Audrey Moores, and the job takes them through a long trip in the Bayou. The Bayou is filled with dangers, and as they track the invention from Gremlin to Gremlin, the Fated learn that they must compete in the Grand Prix of the “Bayou Bash” in order to get the strange metal box back to Audrey. The individual competitions that make up the Grand Prix are a great look into Bayou culture, add some unique challenges for the Fated, and can allow you to enable a memorable session all around. The action doesn’t end once the winner’s declared, and the Fated still have 2 Acts left. The following acts are well structured and cover a variety of playstyles, along with Complications and Tarot Tie-ins to personalize the experience to your group. The Bayou Games also features the appearance of several notable Gremlins of importance, such as Som’er Teeth Jones and Sparks LeBlanc, among the cast of Fatemaster Characters. Each Act flows well into the other, and overall weave a fun, uniquely bayou experience. If your group is looking for a Penny Dreadful that isn’t too serious, then The Bayou Games is available on DTRPG for $15 USD. I highly advise picking it up if your group wants to have a fun series of sessions that give a delightful insight into the Bayou faction. This week, I’d like to know: what’s your Fatemaster experience with the denizens of the Bayou? Any memorable Fated or Fatemaster Character come to mind?
  10. Heya Breachers! As many of you saw in Waldo’s Weekly, Days Without Accident is available on drivethrurpg! I’m super excited for this book, so this week I’m going to be talking about some of the things I love about Wyrd’s newest Penny Dreadful. Now, I’m going to do my best not to spoil anything, because I really hope all of you get to play Days Without Accident or read through it as a Fatemaster. This means I’m going to talk more about design elements of the Penny Dreadful instead of focusing on the plot. This Penny Dreadful has a lot of pathways and options for Fatemasters and players to explore, which is a departure from some of the previous Penny Dreadfuls. Choices the Fated make have consequences in the following acts, and it’s apparent how much work went into presenting these into the adventure in an easy to follow way. From Faction affiliation to who lives or dies, the choices in this adventure are numerous. The options aren’t endless and a group of intrepid Fated are still likely to throw something unexpected your way, but the included options allow for a more organic feel to the flow of the story. In each Act, The Fated are presented with another piece of the rich and complex plot at the core of the Days Without Accident. What starts as a simple job of witness protection soon unveils a plot full of danger, betrayal, and the future of The Corners. Each Act has a recap section for ease of picking up where you left off, so your group won’t have to take copious amounts of notes if they don’t want to. That said, a lot of information is uncovered as each Act moves along, so taking notes might add to the fun as the Fated compile more and more evidence of the central plot and its scope. The cast of Fatemaster Characters are varied and interesting, and exploring how they influence the story was a lot of fun. As the conspiracy of Days Without Accident unfolds, the web of characters grows in a subtle manner while still maintaining connections to the previous characters. This is a nice way to experience the world in an immersive and exploratory way. These characters make The Corners a living, breathing part of Malifaux and are designed in a way that could easily continue into your own plotlines and adventures. The openness of Days Without Accident Means that there are aspects of the adventure that your players may never experience. But these aspects can show up in other adventures you create, or even woven into other Penny Dreadfuls or One Shots. Perhaps a Fatemaster Character from this book makes an appearance asking the Fated to do a short job. It would be easy to alter a fight or scenario unexplored and have the Fated return to The Corners once again! This adventure is presented as almost a toolbox for Fatemasters to customize their players’ experience while digging deep into the story. There is so much to Days Without Accident and it reminds me of my favorite Penny Dreadful, In Defense of Innocence. The sheer amount of world building and setting the stage for players to explore reminds me of Wyrd’s first Penny Dreadful, and the variety makes it a non-linear experience where choices feel like they matter. Overall, I loved Days Without Accident and can’t wait to run it with some friends! It is available digitally on DriveThruRPG for $15 USD with a physical release planned for later. This week I want to know, what do your players prefer, linear adventures of ones with off-shooting choices and options?
  11. Fantastic Friday Breachers! For my birthday this week my best friend offered to run any game I’d like for a special birthday one shot! So of course, I set my TTB books down in front of him and told him to get to reading. Of course, I want to include some friends who don’t live with me, so I’m helping him plan an online game session. This week, I’m going to be talking about what goes into running a session online! If you’re considering running an online game, there are several things to prepare for and decisions to be made. What platform are you using? Play by post or live? Do your players need help with character creation? What additional media are you using to supplement the sessions such as images, Fatemaster Characters, and maps? A lot of preparation is needed in order to run any game, and if you’re unfamiliar with running virtually that makes it seem like even more preparation is needed. I’m here to let you know that while it takes a little more preparation getting a game stood up, it’s not that much extra work. With new players, it’s crucial to help them navigate the process without micromanaging them. Let your players influence the kind of game you will run. It will make planning your backend details easier, and helps them feel more comfortable with the transition to a digital space. Providing multiple character sheet options, allowing everyone to vote for the One Shot or Penny Dreadful you’re going to run, and helping them with any questions or concerns they have will make for a cohesive and happy group of players! Be on hand to answer any questions, like what pursuits would be handy or thoughts on certain magia and their utility for the session. But then it comes to planning, let the group’s decisions about play influence your upcoming session! You’ll need to determine your platform. Is your group full of conflicting schedules? Doing play-by-post in Tavern Keeper or a Discord text channel may be your best bet. Wanting to hear the terrified screams of your players as you throw unimaginable Neverborn horrors at them? Discord Voice with a Virtual TT such as Vassal to supplement would work well. Is your group extra and want to dress up for the session? Zoom works wonders for that. Once you have your platform selected, design a session that shines in that platform. Play-by-post works for mechanics light games, where polls or post deadlines can help shape story elements. Virtual TT and a voice chat program can handle games with a lot of Dramatic Time and Ongoing Challenges, while a group video chat allows for sessions where a mix of the two shines. Design your campaign to highlight the strength of your platform, and your players will have a great time! Does your session need maps, character images, or other illustrations? Maybe you make an online repository for those items that your players have easy access to. Pinterest or a Google Drive folder can be helpful for keep track of character images, locations, and other elements you want to enhance the game. Now you can help players make their Fated if they need it. These posts cover how to make a character in various ways. Beyond that, you can also accomplish this through any other means you have at your disposal! Whatever works for you and your players is key here so that character creation is as easy as possible. This also is the optimal time for you to do some crucial homework and read through the One Shot or Penny Dreadful, or your notes if you’re going homebrew. Not only will you be able to inform your players of some helpful skills or equipment their Fated will need, your knowledge will help make the actual session flow smoothly. Especially for when the Fated make first contact with the adventure… Which brings me to another important step. Look at areas where you may need to improvise. My personal philosophy for roleplaying is that no plot survives first contact with players. This mantra has held up well, and I suggest you take it and repeat it a few times to yourself in those moments where your players come out of left field with something unexpected. Being able to adapt and improvise will give your players a feeling of accomplishment as they take the world set by Wyrd and truly make it their own. Finally, start your session! Get lost for a while in a great game with your friends! Throw you best laid plans out for your intrepid group of Fated to walk all over. Have you run any online sessions? What tips and tactics did you use to ensure that it was a blast for all involved?
  12. Fortuitous Friday Breachers! While we look at ways to expand into a digital play space, you have the opportunity to introduce TTB to friends far and wide. The first thing that new players will need to navigate is making a character without the benefit of sitting at a table with their friends to help. As a Fatemaster, you can do a lot to help ease the transition. Wyrd has made resources to make playing TTB online an easy transition, and now is a perfect time to introduce new friends to this unique and amazing game. Our resources page has a lot of helpful information for TTB online! https://www.wyrd-games.net/resources Options for creating a TTB character digitally involve Roll20, Vassal, TavernKeeper, and through meeting spaces like Zoom or Discord. Getting a book is as simple as heading over to drivethruRPG and picking up a digital version of the 2E Corebook and whatever expansions you need! From there, picking the appropriate platform, so let’s look at what each can offer players and Fatemasters. As said in an earlier article, Roll20 already has a character sheet formatted for use. Vassal has a handy Instruction Sheet for creating a game in Vassal, and players can use the form fillable PDF on the Resources page to make their characters. TavernKeeper, on the other hand, is text based, and best works with either a typed out sheet or uploaded PDF sheets for use. Discord and Zoom can help for a character creation session, and I suggest having the player share their screen so you as Fatemaster can give them guidance with their character creation. Taking a look at the form fillable PDF sheet, we can see the main points that players will need to focus on. INSERT SHEET IMAGE The main points to focus on are, of course, filling in aspects from the Tarot Spread. The specific wording of actions and talents can be passed over in favor of book and page numbers, with players referencing their books when needed. The Destiny Steps and twist deck are found on the second page of the sheet, but I suggest that Fatemasters keep copies of everyone’s Destiny Spreads so they can plan sessions accordingly. Remember, if you want a longer campaign, you can always spread out when Destiny Steps are completed, or even arrange for something to alter the Fate of the Fated to extend sessions! After the base character is created, work with the player to determine what Pursuits they want to use, and make sure they consider different options to gain the most out of the Pursuit system’s dynamic nature. Emphasize that Pursuits aren’t character classes in a traditional sense, and that changing between sessions is encouraged. Once the base character and Pursuit options are made, discuss what the player is hoping to get from the game. This can take a lot of guesswork out of your session planning, allowing you to tailor your sessions to the desires of the players. What do you do when helping a player make a character for an online game, especially for the first time? Do you encourage some builds over others? Do you focus on social adventures or making pre-made adventures work in a digital space? Tell me how you’ve helped people discover this game through online sessions!
  13. Heya Breachers! I was going to do a post on another virtual table top platform, but I want to play around with them a little more to give you the best information possible. So this week I’m instead going to talk about an One Shot I want to run for my household while we’re all stuck in the house together. Most of them are TTB newbies, despite my ramblings, so I picked a truly wild One Shot to run that is sure to get them hooked. This week we’re going to take a look at Jurassic Faux and what I intend to do to make the most of it for a group of new players! Jurassic Faux the fated join the expedition of Malcom Flanagan, professor at the University of Malifaux. The area of the Badlands where Nythera opened has grown lush with life. This new Wildlands has to be home to creatures the likes no one has seen before. Even better, Flanagan believes a honest to goodness dinosaur, named Malisaurus Rex, is stalking the new forest, and he is determined to bring proof back! This isn’t as clear cut as it seems, as in true Malifaux fashion Bad Things Happen; the rail is sabotaged, and upon arriving at the mining town of Morgan’s Hope, find that the Wildlands have grown to overtake the hapless town. Stranded and low on supplies, the Fated must balance looking for unique specimens with foraging for supplies in the alien forest that has sprung up. They encounter all manner of dangerous and interesting flora and fauna, and the encounter climaxes with a harrowing battle with the Malisaurus Rex herself! This adventure isn’t for faint-hearted Fated! Now, Jurassic Faux is an One Shot that honestly is meant for more experienced Fated, but if you want to adapt it for a new group of Fated, here’s what I’d do. The simplest course of action is to lower some of those Fatemaster Character Ranks. Additionally, adding a few physically inclined subordinate characters can help if your party is light on the “shooty shooty” or “stabby stabby”. Also, talk to your players! Let them know that this is a physically and mentally rigorous adventure, and ask them to make Fated accordingly. For my group, I’m going to give them all an unique motivation to want to do this job, whether by being aspiring members of the Explorer’s Society, wanting to work for the Guild, trying to meet a contact in Morgan’s Hope, or even because they want to study at the University itself, giving them each a motivation will help them engage the adventure with an invested interest. I’m personally very excited to run a group through Jurassic Faux and I hope this post helped you get some ideas on adapting an adventure to fit a party of newer Fated. As always, Jurassic Faux is available on DriveThruRPG here for only $5 USD. Before I get back to online exploits, I want to know, what adventure did you use to get your players hooked on TTB? If it was a homebrew, what elements did you highlight to captivate your players’ imaginations?
  14. Freaky Friday Breachers! The Dreamer invaded my dreams last and gave me all sorts of adventures and horrors to contemplate, so while I recover the sanity and adjust to this new reality let’s talk about Online Exploits! Before venturing into another virtual tabletop simulator, I’m going to talk about combining platforms. Discord is currently one of the platforms most friends I know use to supplement their tabletop games. With screen sharing an option for player flips or map grids, and voice chat for roleplaying discussions, discord can be a great platform for connecting players from different areas. It may not cover all the needs, but there are options like TavernKeeper and Obsidian Portal to supplement the TTB experience. Tavern Keeper has a wiki feature, a place for character bios, and a play by post feature. This can help keep GM notes or announcements between sessions, and give the players a place to keep their own notes or communications. Tavernkeeper is a suitable resource for a more traditional play by post game, but combined with Discord it can help add a little something to online sessions. Obsidian Portal has many of the same features as Tavernkeeper, but also has a place to upload maps, which comes in handy if they players all need to access the maps for your campaign. A lot of the other features are locked behind a paywall, so it’s up to you to decide if want the upgraded features, but it’s adequate as a little extra something to bring a Discord or Roll20 game. Overall, making use of a couple different resources can make for a smoother game than trying to find one that will meet every need. Next week we’ll be looking at another Virtual Table Top platform. This week, I’d like to know what kinds of platforms have you used in the past for your in person games, and how you utilized them to make your games even better!
  15. Rey, lucky for you I'll be covering a variety of platforms. I've started with Roll20 because it's the one a lot of people are familiar with from other games, and Doug made a nice sheet for it! Foundry VTT is definitely on my list, along with less conventional means of playing like through Zoom, Discord, and other functions!
  16. Heya Breachers! NOTE: Sorry for the late post, I got a little overzealous with yard work and have been out of commission for a couple days. Battling Waldgeist is not for the faint of heart or weak of body! This week, I look at our newest Augment, and begin a short series called “Online Exploits” to look more into online playing platforms and how to use them for Through the Breach. First, let’s look at the newest Augment, the Spelleater! This Augment was posted for Waldo’s Weekly, and the redacted parts make it full of mystery. Take a look here! The Spelleater is a strong support to any group of Witch Hunters, or could act alone to hunt down magical miscreants. The players may find one willing to aid the Fated, or perhaps the Spelleater is chasing them for some reason. This Augment’s abilities wonderfully support its attack action, and the (0) action Siphon Power also allows Captured Sorcery to become even stronger. I’m excited about the redacted text, and what do you theorize the Augment is hiding under those black lines? Now onto our Online Exploits, which this week covers Roll20. Community member Doug Broman created a sheet for Through the Breach, and making a game is relatively simple. You’ll start a game, and make it with the TTB Sheet like so: Once in the game, you’ll add your fate decks, which can be as fancy or basic as you want, by heading to the “Collections” tab and adding the decks. The main deck will be 54 for cards, and you’ll make the twist decks based on each Fated’s Sheet. From there, operate like any other Roll20 game. See? Easy peasy! Have you tried Roll20 for your online games? What are some good stories from your virtual games?
  17. Heya Breachers! This week, I’m taking a look at the newest Penny Dreadful to release, Uncontainable! But before we do, let’s look at what @stump_chunkman had to say about converting characters from one game to another! You can read the rest here! Now, while holed up in your house, practicing good social distancing, why not pass the time playing an online TTB game about… *checks notes* destroying a new outbreak. Oh… well this is a little timely, as I’m sure if you’re like me you’re doing your part to kick this pandemic right where it hurts! Uncontainable written by our very own @MattM, is an adventure where the Fated are called in to help investigate and stop the spread of an outbreak called the “Sloughing Sickness.” This has sprung up in the Quarantine Zone after the previous pandemic has settled down some months before. The Guild is reluctant to provide their aid, so the Fated are beseeched by Angeline Wrent, a nurse working with the Disease Containment Unit (DCU). The DCU is working night and day to contain the threat, and the Fated prove instrumental in this endeavor. Matthew brings some great direction in this Penny Dreadful. The marker system draws similarities in themes from board games that allow for “area control” to determine the status of the Quarantine Zone through Doctor and Contagion Markers. The Virulent Events are a great add-on to Ongoing Challenges that show the results of the sickness spreading and gear up for the final confrontation with the source of the outbreak. This new direction in storytelling is one of the things I love most about Uncontainable, as it allows players to explore the adventure on their terms, and makes the whole journey feel more organic than a typical linear progression. Do your players want to start at Cold Street to try and gain Asura Roten’s aid? Or maybe one of the Fated have a hidden Resser lair in Strangerskeep that they want to raid for supplies to help the DCU. Both of these options, and more, are available to players through the course of this Penny Dreadful. Overall, I think Uncontainable is an amazing adventure that shows off TTB’s unique storytelling qualities. Adding neat little systems to enhance play and existing mechanics gives the game a face-lift of sorts, and I’m totally on board with Matthew’s style! Uncontainable is available now on DrivethuRPG here. I want to hear from you about what “minigames” or enhancements you have made in your homebrew games to shake up TTB for your players. What worked and what didn’t? Would you like to see more of these sorts of mechanics included in future titles?.
  18. Fantabulous Friday Breachers! Apologies for the lack of an article last week, the pollen this spring has really done a number on me. Armed with better allergy medication and far too many energy drinks, I have a heckin’ large chonk of an article for y’all this week. With the Wyrd Easter Sale making the TTB Kickstarter-exclusive Hannah included for orders of 300$USD or more, I thought now is an apt time to look at converting Malifaux Cards to TTB Fatermaster Characters! Strap in, because this is going to be a long post folks. So maybe you or your players have a specific Malifaux character that they’d love to see in your campaign, but there aren’t stats for them in any of the materials. So you decide to convert them, but don’t know where to start! Well I’m going to go through the process of converting a Malifaux character for TTB, and by the end perhaps you’ll try it yourself! The first thing I did was take a look at the Stats Card for Hannah, the Freikorps’ Head Librarian. I also looked at the Freikorps Librarian and Von Schill cards and their TTB Stats in the Through the Breach 2e Corebook. From there, I compared the Malifaux Stats with TTB stats to get an idea of adjustments. I based values like AV on the values from the card, along with talents and actions based on the card’s list of abilities and actions. Some things translated well, like Armor, but others were a little more custom. Finally I considered what skills the Head Librarian of the Freikorps would have to become Von Schill’s right hand, so I emphasized her intelligence with skills focused on that. With that completed, here’s what I came up with for my first pass. Adding a Freikorps Suit was a no-brainer, but I wanted to give some of the flavor of her card, so I made Siphon Power, and gave her Sense Magic, yanked from the TTB Corebook. Now, at this point suggest having a friend look things over. I cheated, and asked @MattM to take a look at these Stats. While you may not have the Narrative Designer to subject to the torture of your homebrew, another set of eyes can help spot things you missed in your initial conversion. In my case, I may have forgotten that in Malifaux, characters are always prepared for a fight, so my original Hannah Stats made her a little too aggro. Matthew helped me take her down a notch, and to be more approachable in non-dramatic time situations. Here’s what Matthew gave for feedback. Matthew's changes reflect some things I overlooked, such as the fact that she won’t be in her suit all the time (which was obvious in hindsight!) and evening out her Stats a bit as a result. He also changed Siphon Energy, turned it into a (0) Action, added a Talent called “Head Librarian,” and another Action called Dispel Magic. Now taking the feedback, I’m going to make some very slight changes to the Second Draft. I’m adding some magical skills to give her a small aptitude for the Magia changing the A New Chapter trigger to give the choice of a Immuto or Trigger. Now that I’ve got Hannah where I want her, I’m ready to use her! For an extra fancy touch, I’ve converted the Stats to look like one of the Bestiary entries found in TTB books. My wonderful fiancé, Taylor (on the forums at @stump_chunkman) helped with it to make the entry look it’s best. Here it is! Now, that was easy, right? What Malifaux (or other IP’s) characters have you converted for TTB? Hannah Conversion - Sheet1.pdf Hannah Conversion - Sheet1.pdf Hanna TTB Card
  19. Heya Breachers! Unfortunately, I'm sick. No, not *that* sickness, but it has me laid low and feeling down. So this week, I have a humble request. When I'm feeling like this, a common comfort I find is stories. Let me tell you about my favorite experience from a TTB game I ran. During a session of A Stitch In Time run by @Strype McClaine, we gained an unexpected addition- an 18 year old fella that we'll call JT. JT had never played any RPG before, but given one of the pre-gens and dived right in! Once the campaign was over, JT excitedly asked when the next game would be. I told him that I was starting another campaign, much to his youthful delight. The amount of work and enthusiasm from JT was amazing. I was given a fully fleshed out character sheet for a Fated named Blank Page. The Station Card JT pulled was for a Bookbinder background. This resulted in a great backstory of a young woman resentful of her boring life, burned down her parent's shop after their death, and started a new life in Malifaux as a mercenary wanna be. She took the name Blank Page, and JT had written a quick background on the back of his sheet. Y'all, that two paragraph background fit in at least 4 book puns. There's always some growing pains with brand new players, but JT learned eagerly and Blank Page was a wonderful complement to our strange group of Fated. So, humor this sick gal and tell me about about your games! Tell me the great moments, fantastic Fated, and thrilling story twists! As soon as I'm over this natiness, I'll be making a post regarding my favorite One Shots and how to integrate One Shots into existing campaigns!
  20. Surprise Saturday Post Breachers! After an unfortunate accident with my tech, I had to wait until my new computer arrived before posting. First off, I hope everyone is doing well, and making sure you stay as healthy as possible during this outbreak. If you haven’t checked out my previous post on methods of gaming online, check it out! In addition to the advice in that post, I want to give a shout out to the TTB Playing Online Facebook Group. The folks there are friendly, helpful, and love the game! Mosey over and join if you’re so inclined and maybe get a game going in this time of social distancing. Now, with some in the Wyrd Community looking wearily at Hamelin and his plagued compatriots, I felt that a quick look at the Through the Beach adventure found in the Brotherhood of the Rat set would be fun. This short adventure sets the Fated to take care of a vermin problem in the East Tower of the Eastern Slums. Tasked to deal with some rodents of unusual size, the Fated are given a handful of scrip and the instructions to make the scurrying nuisances disappear. Taking to the streets, they enlist the services of a Ratcatcher. In short order, things go awry and the Fated face some blighted furry foes before deciding on serious extermination measures. This is a short little adventure that can be easily inserted into an existing campaign, or run for new players as an introduction to Through the Breach. This adventure, along with multiple M2E scenarios, can be found on DriveThruRPG here. Now as devastating as the Piper’s Plague was to Malifaux, Malifaux has endured other disasters. Which world changing event in the ‘Fauxverse interests you the most as a Fatemaster? Stay safe, wash your hands, and for the love of the Burning Man don’t lick any doorknobs.
  21. Fortuitous Friday Breachers! This week is another topic picked from right here on the TTB forum. Back in January @Faux_St_Hooligan made a post about changing the flavor of the Medium Pursuit. Here’s what they said: @MattM popped into that thread to help, but this topic is one that shows something I love dearly about Through the Breach. This system allows, and even encourages cosmetic customization for many aspects of the game. I’m going to visit interesting ways to change up the cosmetics in a campaign to suit your needs! As Matt mentioned in that thread, changing the flavor of a Pursuit is something that can be done by changing the names of some parts and the underlying themes. Through the Breach expansions often include how pursuits would fit in other factions, such as how Boozers from Into the Bayou can be found stumbling the streets and slumped over in bars all across human settlements of Malifaux. Perhaps someone in your group wants to have a “drunken master” Fated– a few levels of the Boozer Pursuit would fit in nicely! For Advanced Pursuits, the same can be done, but a little more cosmetic tweaking may be needed. Say one of your Fated makes a deal with an unknown but powerful entity. As Fatemaster you could offer a modified version of Guild Lawyer, making the pact the Pursuit Requirement and renaming the Talents and description to be appropriate for their new benefactor! By far, items are the easiest things to change for players and Fatemasters. The character creation section of the 2e Corebook illustrated this by the example player changing a Rail Hammer into a Mining Pick. Changing the physical description and name allows for deeper story and influence in the ‘Fauxverse of TTB. If your players want something that doesn’t exist, work with them to find something close in stats and help them change the description to fit their story. Finally, while the bestiary includes many creatures, sometimes you may want something that sets itself apart from the “normal” of Malifaux. You can change the Characteristics, Rank, and rename Abilities to fit your vision. If you want something that is similar in behavior to a Guild Hunter but instead of a construct of metal it’s made from sharp ice and bitter cold, you can alter the names of the attacks and Talents to reflect the difference. Instead of Pneumatic Tracker, it becomes Heat Sense. Steel Claws may become Icy Slash, and Chain Harpoon could be renamed Chilling Blast. Now that I’ve discussed how easy customizing in TTB is, what are some customizations you or your players have done to tailor TTB to their liking?
  22. Heya Breachers! Last week I delved into ideal One Shots to get new players introduced to the ‘Fauxverse. Here’s what @Hellomurse said about their first Penny Dreadful: Take a look at the rest of his reply here! I’ve been diving into the lore of the ‘Fauxverse, and there is so much learn and piece together from the decade of world building and story that has come from the unique minds at Wyrd. Yet, there is still a healthy amount of mystery and unknowns in the world of Malifaux, and that makes the world more intriguing. The creative team isn’t about to reveal their whole hand just yet, but let’s look at some of the interesting glimpses we’ve gotten so far through the TTB publications! The TTB Global Campaign adventures are a huge source of information, representing paradigm-shifting changes to the ‘Fauxverse. The first of these, Nythera, introduced a lot of information about various movers and shakers in Malifaux, and chronicled the release of Titania from her prison in the Badlands. Nythera shows the struggles between multiple factions, but still leaves us with some questions. How was Titania imprisoned, especially since she had the power to defeat the Tyrants’ physical forms and lock them away. What exactly is the Hungering Darkness? And my personal burning question, what happened to Otto Pletcher, mercenary and friend? A Stitch in Time takes us back to 1794, smack dab in the middle of what the TTB 2e Corebook calls “The Age of Heroes.” In this adventure we encounter the larger-than-life personalities of Jean-Philip Archambault, the Gorgon, the Clockwork Queen, and Aionus. The campaign ends with the Fated back in their proper time, but returning leaves the fates of these notorious figures unknown! It would be wonderful to learn what happened to these characters, along with Lady Zorra, Jack ‘o the Axes, and Devilish McGuinne. These precursors to the current Masters in Malifaux are ones whose fates remain unknown to us. The Obsidian Gate introduces some Kaiju level changes Earthside, but we do get a bit of information regarding the last attack upon the Obsidian Gates guardians, and the possession of Asami Tanaka. We learn a bit about the oni from both Whitaker and from their time in Zhong Kui’s demon bag. The oni are a fascinating aspect of the ‘Fauxverse that I look forward to being explored in the future! There are still a number of aspects about Malifaux that are open to speculation or theorycrafting. What parts of the ‘Fauxverse do you have theories or speculation about?
  23. One Shots are about designed to be about 2-3 hours in length. Sorry for the delay in replying!
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