Ask And Ye Shall Receive

[Keith Senkowski]

Hey,

So it was asked that I put some demon related stuff in the next EtS and I did.  Hopefully you like it.  Which every way you feel about it, post it here on the forum.  I love critisism of all kinds...

November Issue of Exposing the Shadows

Keith

[Matt-M-McElroy]

Very cool stuff, I just downloaded it and peeked at it...I'll give it a more complete read this weekend.

What were your inspirations for this one?

[Keith Senkowski]

Hey Matt,

A bunch of this stuff was born of the stuff I was writing up as a kind of guide for myself when I was putting the game together.  I wanted to give the entire setting a sense of authenticity so I wrote up pages and pages of crap like this for various things.  History, folklore, the dynamics of the relgions.  All sorts of crap.  I just grabbed those notes and wrote this stuff up.  I figured it could be used as a possible explaination for some of the crap going on in the world...

Next month's issue is along a similar vein.  The Varskamen are essentially a Cell that has expanded into a network of Cells.  I originally were going to make them the network character would be a part of, but changed my mind.  I thought, and I think I was correct in this thinking, that it would be better for Players and the game as a whole if folks got to make their own cells.  I think it works better as an issue of EtS cause it gives folks an idea of what they can do with the game, but doesn't dictate what they have to do.

Keith

[urbwar]

I just got done reading the November issue. It was all right, but I was hoping more for something not tied to the setting. It also comes across as very Lovecraftian (imho), and I thought the nature of demons was more varied than that for the setting.

I was hoping for more along the lines of something more generic, and maybe a bit more detail on various types of creatures (for example, the writeup of the Worm God and it's cult mentions a vampire and it's brood. What are these vampires like? Are they typical of what other games considers vampires, or something different?). The Worm God is very lovecraftian, but are all demons this way? If it's supposed to be more varied, a few more examples (such as something less lovecraftian) would have been nice.

For instance, I'd have loved to have seen some info on the cults and creatures mentioned in your actual play reports. Some of them seemed pretty interesting.

[Keith Senkowski]

Hey,

Well there is no "canon" demons or whatnot.  I wrote the issue with the idea of it being an example of what you could do with the setting, but don't use it if you don't want to.  I guess I wasn't clear on that.

Speaking of vampires, my idea of what they are for the setting will be made clear in the Christmas edition (meaning I am doing two issues for December).  However, this is just my idea of what I think vampires should be like and it is meant as a take it, take some of it or leave entirely type of supplemental information.

I'll try to work up something more formal for the nasties that showed up in the Actual Play.  I run that game (which is on vacation right now) very off the cuff and loose, so most things only have a few lines of description and they are filled out by me on the fly or by the players as the game goes on.

Oh, and if you can't I'm a big fan of Lovecraft and Howard so they slip into everything I do.  Can't help it.  They call to me!!!

Keith

[urbwar]

Hey,

Well there is no "canon" demons or whatnot.  I wrote the issue with the idea of it being an example of what you could do with the setting, but don't use it if you don't want to.  I guess I wasn't clear on that.

I think you misunderstand. The whole November issue is presented as a kind of "history" for the setting, which is why I said I wish it wasn't tied to the setting itself. I was hoping for something a bit more generic myself, and maybe with a bit more detail on what these beings are (like what were the serpent men like, or the ape creatures mentioned in the text?)

Speaking of vampires, my idea of what they are for the setting will be made clear in the Christmas edition (meaning I am doing two issues for December).  However, this is just my idea of what I think vampires should be like and it is meant as a take it, take some of it or leave entirely type of supplemental information.

I'm looking forward to that, as I suspect they will be different than what vampires are like in other games.

I'll try to work up something more formal for the nasties that showed up in the Actual Play.  I run that game (which is on vacation right now) very off the cuff and loose, so most things only have a few lines of description and they are filled out by me on the fly or by the players as the game goes on.

Cool. I thought some of the creatures, etc, were kind of interesting.

Oh, and if you can't I'm a big fan of Lovecraft and Howard so they slip into everything I do.  Can't help it.  They call to me!!!

Keith

Oh, I've been a fan of Lovecraft for quite some time. I just mentioned it because I figured the setting would be more diverse. Plus some people might mistake that CoS as another Cthulhu-like game in a fantasy setting.

[Keith Senkowski]

I think you misunderstand. The whole November issue is presented as a kind of "history" for the setting, which is why I said I wish it wasn't tied to the setting itself. I was hoping for something a bit more generic myself, and maybe with a bit more detail on what these beings are (like what were the serpent men like, or the ape creatures mentioned in the text?)

Ahhhh....

So you are just looking for kind of monster manual write ups, but without stat blocks and such?

Keith

[urbwar]

Ahhhh....

So you are just looking for kind of monster manual write ups, but without stat blocks and such?

Keith

Not exactly (this is what happens when I post while under the influence of medicine that makes you drowsy)

While the history is cool, I would have liked to have seen some inserts/sidebars that mention how these beings relate to the game.

For instance, you have the serpent men. If there had been a sidebar that stated whether they were worshipped today, and whether or not cults worshipping them have actual contact with any surviving serpent men, etc, would have been nice. No mechanics or anything, just some basics to allow a gm to run with. Same with the Ape men, etc.

I guess I was thinking more along the lines of hooks for a gm to work off of, flesh out and make their own when they are lacking in ideas of their own.

I just think a few more examples (not necessarily as detailed) as the cult of the Worm God, would help people who are looking for ideas. Not tacking on mechanical stuff makes it easier for them to take those suggestions, and take them in whatever direction they choose.

Does that make better sense than my earlier ramblings?

[Keith Senkowski]

Hey,

Okay.  I get it now.  Well if it is any consolation I just added a new part to the GM guide (which will not be the title, need something better than that), 101 ideas.  Basically what you are asking for, but a lot of them.  I figure about a short paragraph for each to help folks get started.

That said, I will more than likely throw some into future issues.  In fact this is an ideal idea to use with the Vampire Christmas Special, A Very Red Christmas Special...

Keith

[urbwar]

Hey,

Okay.  I get it now.  Well if it is any consolation I just added a new part to the GM guide (which will not be the title, need something better than that), 101 ideas.  Basically what you are asking for, but a lot of them.  I figure about a short paragraph for each to help folks get started.

Keith,

That sounds like what I was interested in seeing. Nothing detailed, just a basic framework to take inspiration from. 101 of them? That's pretty cool

That said, I will more than likely throw some into future issues.  In fact this is an ideal idea to use with the Vampire Christmas Special, A Very Red Christmas Special...

Keith

Cool. I finally finished reading the CoS core book. Now to print up and read the alternate material over the weekend, and take a crack at making a critter or two of my own