I have not done much in Rational Magic for the last month as I have focused on getting the kickstarter ready for The Sassoon Files (which will start September 1st). I did get two decent play-test sessions down, where I re-verified the combat works and then focused on refinements to…
https://youtu.be/plxdTOYk-GwThe Sassoon Files will be a set of scenarios and campaign resources for Lovecraft and Cthulhu Mythos role-playing games (RPGs) set in historical 1920s Shanghai; an international city of intrigue, espionage, style and violence. The Sassoon Files will be based on the GUMSHOE SRD (found at http://www.pelgranepress.com/?p=12466), a product of Pelgrane Press, developed, written,…
The Tcho Tcho Navigator Standing before you is an elderly member of the tribe that tends these crops; he is leaning on his walking stick and smiles at you with a mouth full of sharp teeth. It looks like he took files to his teeth, and then forgot to brush…
When I started working on Rational Magic, I was thinking about how common fantasy elements from D&D would translate into a rational setting. I knew I would be creating a fantasy analog of a post-singularity sci-fi setting. That was the point; I originally created the setting as a way of…
Jason (the Project Lead and my partner) and I are very happy with our art development process. As I previously reported, Mr. Breno Girafa is working with us to develop several full-page art pieces for the Sassoon Files, before our Kickstarter starts. Here is a run-down of the how this…
So I’m mostly an old style D&D player at heart. But my best friend, business partner, frequent GM, and evil brother thinks he likes “narrative gaming”. I don’t think it’s correct to call what he does “narrative GMing”. Or, maybe this term “narrative” means different things to different people.To me,…
I hope that this question has been answered somewhat by the various posts about the history of Sassoon Files. I felt it’s good to summarize it here. This is a TL/DR for the historical background information I have been posting.70 years before the Sassoon Files takes place, a massive and…
In Rational Magic, Conditions describe a problem or difficulty that could effect a character, an item (e.g. weapon), or a Zone, mechanically increasing the difficulty of a tasks unless the you can role-play a reason why the Condition does not apply. A successful attack in Conflict will often inflict Conditions.So,…
The Shambler in the Den The Demon Kun desires to be free and loathes those who would command it. The Demon Kun is an alien intelligence and has no qualms attacking and killing an investigator that gets in its way or has the hubris to try to control it. This piece…
So, last week I had a birthday. Even though I feel in my heart that I’m a 17 year old boy trapped in a a body which performs almost as well as a 25 year old, in actuality, I have traveled around Earth’s sun a lot more times than how…
The Sassoon Files takes place in the world of 1920s Shanghai. There are two parts of this setting: the historical and the Mythos. This blog post series is about the historical settings... the background which the player characters may know about as they begin their investigations. This entry is about…
This blog series is about the pre-made characters that will be included with The Sassoon Files. The Sassoon Files comes with 15 pre-mades of diverse backgrounds and nationalities, but all tied to events and people in the International Settlement and French Concession. Sophia Volkov Sophia’s last name, Volkov, means “wolf”…
In Rational Magic, meaningful PvP is not to be discouraged, although every table can set their own rules for this. Players may have secret identities and hidden agendas which cause PvP. Players can decide their characters are “turned” to the merits of aligning with a different faction or have been…
The Sassoon Files takes place in the world of 1920s Shanghai. There are two parts of this setting: the historical and the Mythos. This blog post series is about the historical settings... the background which the player characters may know about as they begin their investigations. See Part #1 about The…
There are several factors that prompted me to make a new system for my game. I wrote about this before. As I look back, I realize that some of the reasons why I started with a new system was because I was looking for a Goldilocks solution that was “not…
The Sassoon Files takes place in the world of 1920s Shanghai. There are two parts of this setting: the historical and the Mythos. This blog post series is about the historical settings... the background which the player characters may know about as they begin their investigations. China’s greatest engineering feat…
Rational Magic is a game of investigation, intrigue, and espionage set in a gritty “dystopian fantasy” world; a world that evolved from a traditional sword and sorcery setting. Rational Magic uses the Lore Role-Playing Game (RPG) System, purpose-built for this game. This blog post series shows-off settings and Lore Sheets (link to…
Rational Magic is a game of investigation, intrigue, and espionage set in a gritty “dystopian fantasy” world; a world that evolved from a traditional sword and sorcery setting. Rational Magic uses the Lore Role-Playing Game (RPG) System, purpose-built for this game.This blog post series shows-off Lore Sheets (link to SRD); a…
This blog series is about the pre-made characters that will be included with The Sassoon Files. The Sassoon Files comes with 15 pre-mades of diverse backgrounds and nationalities, but all tied to events and people in the International Settlement and French Concession. Francois du Luc As a young man, Francois…
This blog series is about the pre-made characters that will be included with The Sassoon Files. The Sassoon Files comes with 15 pre-mades of diverse backgrounds and nationalities, but all tied to events and people in the International Settlement and French Concession. My name is Zhang Jing, and I am…