Cycles-RPG

Quite a busy week. You know, those things happen ...
So, I'll take the opportunity to show you some of the illustrations I've received from Jeff, who just finished completing his first contract for us.

For the little story, each illustrator receive his/her designated plot as a whole, and just has to choose which elements he/she wants to do first. Working on the intrigue of the secret expedition, Jeff has, among other things, the southern capital, Carcandas. It occurs that there is a lot of snapshots for this city. Honestly, snapshots are not my priority at the moment and Jeff took the initiative to do eight of them. Great decision !!! All those secondaries elements really add to the atmosphere of the city and you can feel it comes to life. Jeff has done an impressive job on this. I'll let you appreciate.

Below :
- Carcandas
- Its castle
- One of the many bridge of the city
- The cathedral of Theobald

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Une semaine relativement occupée. Ce sont des choses qui arrivent ...
J'en profite donc pour vous montrer quelques illustrations que j'ai reçues de la part de Jeff, qui vient de compléter son premier contrat pour nous.

Ci-dessous :
- La ville de Carcandasse
- Son château
- Un des nombreux ponts de la ville
- La cathédrale de Théobald

You've read Avalanche, the whole thing or at least some parts. You know how you want to start your campaign, or maybe you've already begun play for a while. You have prepared your next session. You're now ready to play.

I'm starting a series of article on how to use Avalanche at the most important moment, the one when you're playing. I do feel like will I have quite a lot of things to say about this (don't you ?), so I'll split the subject into different parts. Please note that I don't really have a "plan", which is always a bad idea ; the result might be somehow chaotic. That said, let's take a first general look at this.

You might already know it, Avalanche is not your typical scenario, so your role, as a DM, will be different. Let's take a look at those main differences.

We are not telling you how to play : This is very specific to Avalanche. First of all, you will be able to play it using different systems, even beside the ones we are proposing you, and this choice will grealty influence the way you play. But, on a most general scale, you do what you want with Avalanche !!! There are no good or wrong ways to play it. At at the most there are some preconisations, advices, on how to use it, how to get the most out of it, nothing more.

You're not the one in charge of the adventure : Unlike typical prewritten scenarios, it is not the DM who decides the course of the adventures. Many plots are occuring at the same time and it is for the players to decide in which one they want to take part, it is for them to find their place in the world. So, just sit down, relax and let the players guide you into their adventures.

You need to create all the details : Avalanche, as mentionned before, omits, on purpose all the details. It is your responsability to create them. Your players meet a secondary character ? You need to create him (or her). Are they looking for an inn ? It is your job to propose the various choices they have at hand. Avalanche is not a list of secondaries characters and locations. That said, you can share this "narration power" with your players.

You can add your own adventures: Avalanche is openly written, in a way that allows you to add adventures of your own. Do you want to create a small dungeon, add a little encounter, use techniques such as bangs and kickers ? It's up to you. There is room in Avalanche for your creativity.

You need to play day by day : You'll have to play following a strict calendar, playing every single day of the metatime (time elapsed in the game world). Each action of the players is written in time and has a specificied duration. This might looks like a detail, but it influences a lot the game. A feeling of every day life should emerge of this. And you'll also notice that some negociations will occur with your players concerning the duration of their actions. Because, in Avalanche, time does matter.

You manage the calendar : Unlike a typical prewritten scenario, that depicts a linear plot, you'll have to manage the events that occurs on a timeline and in many places. That means that you'll always have to keep in mind the events that occured in the past, those that are coming shortly and the ones that will occur in the long term. It will be your call to decide the exact moment when the upcoming events occur, based on dramatic issues they could bring to your game. You will also have to manage the impact of your players on the various plots.

Now that those generalities have been mentionned, we will go into the details in upcoming articles. And, by the way, this turns out to look like a plan !!!

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Vous avez lu Avalanche, en totalité ou à tout le moins en partie. Vous savez comment votre campagne va débuter, ou peut-être encore y jouez-vous depuis quelque temps. Vous avez préparé votre séssion à venir. Vous êtes prêts à jouer maintenant.

Maintenant que ces généralités ont été abordées, nous entrons dans le détail dans de prochains articles. Et d'ailleurs, j'y pense, ça ressemble à un plan tout ça !!!

Back to the history of the project. In my last article on the subject, I was talking to you about my discovery of indie rpg publisher site, The Forge. I mentionned that this forum had influenced my project and I'd like to point out a major aspect : the system problematic.

When I first came to The Forge, I was already well advanced in my conception of Cycles. One of the main axis of this project at the time was the idea to sell a campaign ; this meant no rules, only content. For a long time I had decided not to write for a specific system (to be honest, at the very beginning I was writing for d20), as to not restrict my creativity.

But, after numerous discussions on this forum, I came to the conclusion that this kind of product would need a system. In fact, people won't be buying Avalanche for the system, but they might not buy it because it lacks one. But which system to choose ?

I had also discovered on this forum, as I talked about some time ago, that system does matter ; a given system cannot do everything. So, I chose a multi systems approach for Avalanche, proposing d20, solar (TSOY) and fudge, three "avatars" of the GNS, all of which have licences I can use easily.

And this all makes sense. I will have invested thousands of hours in the development of Avalanche, on his numerous aspects, so what are some more to implement systems ? I believe I better do it once myself (well, in fact, not me exactly, but members of my team), than have one and every customers of mine do it themselves. Which is, by the way, quite a laborious and time consumming job to do.

And a last note on the system. D20 is a bit peculiar. Many, but many, customers only buy from this line of product, but for others, the only mention of d20 is reason enough not to buy one. So, I wish to bring "common market" players to Avalanche, as much as narrativist ones. And I must admit to have hope that a communauty of players would discover other kinds of systems thanks to Avalanche, in an easy way, since the change of a system is only an option of the membership.

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De retour sur l'historique du projet. Lors du dernier article, je vous parlais de ma découverte du site de jeux de rôle indépendant, The Forge. Je vous mentionnais que ce forum avait influencé mon projet et j'aimerais en profiter pour vous parler d'un point majeur : l'implémentation de systèmes.

Une dernière note sur les systèmes. D20 est un peu particulier. Beaucoup, mais beaucoup de consommateurs n'achètent que cette ligne de produits, alors que pour d'autres, la seule mention de d20 les font se détourner. Je souhaite donc attirer tout autant des joueurs "gand public" que des fans de systèmes de types narrativistes. Et je dois reconnaître avoir espoir de faire découvrir ce type de systèmes à une communauté qui ne l'aurait pas découverte autrement, le passage d'un système à l'autre, ne constituant qu'une option de l'abonnement à Cycles.

Ethernya, 1560. Gulmther, the black god orc of time and choas has finally completed his spell. The clouds, which for over fifty years have surrounded the globe, have now reached its final phase ; none in Ethernya can see the sun or the moons now. The Netherworld, one of two moons of the planet, but also the land of the devils and the damnned, a place of despair, where are exiled the great heroes of Ethernya, orcs and humans alike, is making its final course toward the center of the vortex created by the powerful orc mage. But, as soon as the moon enters it, the ancient gods of the black orcs are not the only ones being driven toward Ethernya ; it is the whole satellite that engulfs the vortex. At that exact moment, Gumlther realises the extend of the madness of his plan ; his own madness. Using all his powers, he succeeds in slowing down the course of the moon, but only by stopping time. The duration of a breath, this is all the time that is left for those two worlds, a breath suspended to the madness of the orc mage ; a never ending breath. But, as Gulmther tries to stop the inevitable, the heroes banished in the Netherworld begin their descent into the vortex, where time and space are collapsing. Will those heroes be able to stop Gulmther and save those worlds ? Will they be able to redo the past and prevent this terrible event ?
But time is coming short. They only have the duration of a breath. A never ending breath.

Last week I was talking to you about how to start the campaign. It turns out some of my readers mentionned to me that the "cycling" notion, as a property of a character, wasn't well defined. Fair enough. So, here's those informations.

The context
Avalanche should be seen as the first scenario of a campaign, although, by its ambition and length, Avalanche can be seen as a campaign in itself. This longer campaign, called Cycles, will bring you into the various regions of Ethernya and the Netherworld, in very different times, making you relive the important moments of its recent history. But those events will be altered, since they are somehow "revisited" in the context of the breach into space and time. In this campaign, the heroes of Ehernya, orcs, dwarves and humans alike, who were bannished into the Netherworld, will be the main protagonists, recuring characters that shall be present in the various scenarios, whatever the space and time.

Starting the campaign
Some "cycling" characters are already defined in the current text, but nothing prevents you to create new ones (the characters of your players). This means they are present in the vortex created by Gumlther, at the side of Theobald or Dramnard. So, they are great heroes, or even gods. But the breach into space and time has some weird effects. Those characters in Avalanche must be understand as some kind of "reincarnation". Because those characters don't have their full power. So, if you decide to create new cycling characters, those heroes can be any "level of strength" (I recommand discussing this with your players), be it very powerful or very weak at the beginning. And a last detail : at the beginning of each scenario, the "experience" of those characters are somehow "reset". So, their strength may also vary a lot from one scenario to the other (becoming stronger or weaker).

Now, the factual start of the campaign. Here's how I'm proposing you to start the scenario while playing with cycling characters : you mention to your players that their characters become "conscious" and you describe them their immediate environment. I like to see this as the passage from a NPC to a PC. Thus, the characters that cycle do not materialise out of the blue.

But, while playing like this, I suppose you'll get some classical reactions. In the context of characters embedded in a strong social context, they will surely ask questions. For one thing, more than one people will be worried about them, but the upcoming events should put their mind to more immediate problems. And maybe others will prefer to hide their sudden amnesia, prefering to just oberve those around them, while keeping their secret. As for the PCs that are not anchored in a social context, they can "awakened" on the road to a main city, or in a inn. Surely, the innkeeper can tell them for how long they have been staying there, but beside that, I doubt he could be of any use. But, aside from this first "astonishment", your players should be thrown into more immediate matters soon enough, keeping the "amnesia" problematic as a more long term stake.

Also, those heroes could be orcs or humans ; in fact they can be of any races. As of their exact role in the overall campaign (are they gods, and if so, of what ?), I would recommand to take some time to think over this. If they play "good" (damned, I hate this term) heroes, it might be adequate to consider them as companions of Theobald, or at least, an acquaintance of this character. Your PCs should conserve a kind of "souvenir", buried in them, of all other cycling protagonists.

To conclude, the death of cycling characters. It might occur, since the lands of exile are quite a dangerous place, that some of those heroes die in a Avalanche. In the case of cycling NPCs, it doesn't matter. You go along the plot and manage things as if they were non cycling protagonists. And they will be present in other scenarios, dead or not in Avalanche. In the case of the PCs of your players, you have two choices :
1. This marks the end of the current cycle, the scenario (in this case, Avalanche). You'll need, as a GM to extrapolate the exit points, taking into account that your players can't influence the plots after their death. You may now, if you wish (and if it is available) begin a new scenario of this campaign, with the same PCs, at the same or different level of experience. Keep in mind that what matters are the exit points (how does the events of the world leave it at the end ?) and not the survival of the PCs.
2. The scenarios of this campaign are, in fact, nothing more than a construct of the mind, a moment of Gulmther's madness, a deep look into the heart of his dementia. So, it is quite possible (and plausible) to "revive" dead characters, making them "awaken" again in the scenario, but maybe at a different time (a couple of weeks later, maybe), thus continuing along the various plots of Avalanche.

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Ethernya, 1560. Gulmther, le dieu orque noir du temps et du chaos a finalement complété son sortilège. L'immense nuage, qui depuis plus de cinquante ans recouvre lentement toute la planète, est maintenant complet. Les astres sont correctement alignés. L'Outre-Monde, un des deux satellites d'Ethernya, mais également le monde des démons et des damnés, où sont exilés les grands héros des mythologies orque et humaine, entame sa dernière course en direction du vortex constitué par le puissant mage. Mais au moment où cette lune pénètre dans le vortex, ce ne sont pas les anciens dieux orques qui s'y engoufrent, pour revenir triomphant sur Ethernya ; c'est le satellite tout entier qui se dirige vers la planète. En cet instant précis, Gulmther réalise la folie de son projet ; sa propre folie. Utilisant toute sa puissance, il retient la descente de la lune en arrêtant le temps. La durée d'un souffle, c'est tout ce qu'il reste à ces deux mondes, suspendu à la folie du mage orque ; un souffle interminable. Mais alors que Gulmther tente d'arrêter l'inévitable, les héros bannis sur l'Outre-Monde sont entraînés dans le vortex, où l'espace et le temps explosent ; la folie du dieu du chaos a créé une brèche dans l'espace temps. Ces héros parviendront-ils à arrêter Gulmther, à sauver ces deux mondes ?
Le temps d'un souffle. Un souffle interminable.

Pour conclure, la mort de personnages qui cyclent. Il se peut fort bien que ces héros que vos joueurs incarnent périssent au cours du scénario. Vous avez alors deux possibilités.
1. C'est la fin du cycle, du scénario, en cours (dans le cas présent Avalanche). Vous devrez en extrapoler les points de rupture sortants, en tenant compte du fait que vos joueurs ne pourront continuer à influencer l'intrigue au-delà de leur mort. Si vous le souhaitez (et s'ils sont disponibles), vous pouvez commencer un autre scénario de la campagne, avec les mêmes personnages. Pour rappel, ce sont les points de rupture qui importent et non la survie des personnages joueurs.
2. Les scénarios constituant cette campagne n'étant rien d'autres, finalement, qu'une construction de l'esprit, un moment dans la démence de Gulmther, un regard plongé au plus profond de sa folie, il est tout à fait possible de faire "revivre" ces personnages en les faisant "s'éveiller" à nouveau, peut-être un peu plus tard dans le temps, comme bon vous semble, et ainsi poursuivre Avalanche.

An important article : how to start the campaign. You've started reading Avalanche, you understand its structure, and now, you want to play it. But since this scenario is not written for a given plot, you're asking yourself how to start it. You will have three questions to answer.

What type of players characters ?
Are they some kind of adventurers or would you prefer them to be some predefined characters from the scenario ? It is possible to play Avalanche either way. Would you like your players to play some characters like Theoblad, Dramnard, Drizoney or even Athnar ? That is possible. But even more : they can play the black orcs or the brigands, among them their leader, Lascau. In fact, everything is possible and don't hesitate to try anything !!! Depending on the kind of game you wish to play (short, to have a look, or the overall campaign), your choice might be dictated by different motives. Note that it is also possible to have a "mixed" group : some players using the predefined characters and others more adventurers like ones.
If you go with the predefined ones, just provide your players with the appropriate characters sheets and the illustration.

This first choice will impact the next two questions.

"Cycling" characters ?
Are the PCs simple adventurers or great heroes of Ethernya, bannished into the Netherworld, prisonner of the madness of Gulmther, travelling thru space and time ? This question is central to the starting of the campaign. If your players are using pregenerated characters, the answer is on their respective description. "Cycling" characters will have an impact on how you play.
"Cycling" characters are in fact pure existence and don't have an essence per se at the beginning of the game. So, they don't know where they are coming from, neither who they really are (they don't know they are the personnification of great heroes) or what are their purposes. They might have a vague idea of it. For example, Theobald knows that a piece of armor is at the lake and he can remember some of his traditional allies ; the black orcs know they need to rebuild the tower at the lake. Surely, those characters will come across tales relating their great deeds, but it is for them to discover it. But, most importantly, those characters know nothing of the world.
In my opinion, the main advantage in playing like this is that characters need to be proactive, they will have to discover the world. So, it is not necessay to present the lands of exile. What will define those PCs is what they do, not their past. The other advantage is to be able to justify the coherence for the campaign as a whole, the motion of the PCs thru time and space. But, of course, this conception is subject to the same critics as the "mask of ignorance" of John Rawls, be it "how can the depersonnification of a character (ie the absence of essence) make him rational and understandable ? But, let's leave this debate to others.
If you're choosing to go with non "cycling" characters, up to you (and your players) to decide waht type of protagonists they want to play. From simple heroes to defenders of Raijuvak, dragons hunters, members of the thieves' guild or nobles at the court of Carcandas, almost evreything is possible. But, in that case, the PCs will have an essence (ie a past), a knowledge of the world, and probably friends and ennemies.

But then again, it is also possible to have a "mixed" group, but, personnaly, I would recommand playing "cycling" characters.

Where to start the PCs ?
If you play predefined characters, the answer is already provided in the text. If you play characters that do not "cycle" and are really "anchored" into a social context (for instance, nobles at the court), the answer should be obvious. But, if the PCs "cycle" or are typical adventurers, this question needs an answer and will greatly impact the start of the game. I'm proposing below a couple of choices. But, note that this list is not exhaustive (I'm quite sure that by reading Avalanche you might think of something else) and given the structure of Avalanche, the starting location might have no impact on the story your players will build with you. Nothing prevents them from going somewhere else and not care about their immediate surrounding. So, don't take my "plots suggestions" for granted and don't trust your players to do what you might expect.
- In the region of Raijuavk (or the city itself) : the PCs will surely confront the white orcs, meet the main protagonists of the city. After that, they could travel with the various groups leaving the city, go north toward the realm of silence, or stay and help the arriving refugees, and maybe take part in the story of the stone of madness.
- Near Carcandas : the PCs migth discover the city and get hired by Brahamorh or even the guild to do some dirty "missions". Maybe they'll meet some members of the rebellion or be introduced to the court (maybe as bodyguards for a noble). They could also help the refugees on their way north or move toward the tower of the magi and discover their secrets.
- In the forest of the moon : the PCs might confront the white orcs, meet the druids or the Luciomes, and, who knows, maybe take part entirely in the story of the stone of madness.
- Near the sixth division (maybe in a hamlet) : they can move toward Carcandas, coming across the tower of the magi on their way, or go in the direction of the hinderlands.
- In the hinderlands : the PCs can move toward Murdithem or take part in the story of the villagers.
- In Caennyas : the PCs will surely meet the main characters of that city, being at the jonction bewteen those going south or north as spring arrives. Maybe they'll fight the white orcs if they head north soon enough, be hired by Brahamorh if they stay in the city or thake part in the villagers' plot.
- At Murdighar : the PCs might start the game in the company of Dramard, somehow isolated from the rest of lands of exile and will surely head toward the realms of humans after a couple of weeks where their continuing adventures might be hard to guess, unless they stay close to the dwarf hero and his dragon.

As you can see, those choices are very structuring and they can generate completly different adventures. Avalanche, as it is written, leaves a lot of room for your players to decide what kind of plots they prefer, they want to build. Once the campaign is launched, you'll see, it is them who make the calls. But, those initial choices are still in the hands of the DM.

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Un article important : le démarrage d'une campagne. Vous avez commencé à lire Avalanche, vous en comprenez la structure, et maintenant, vous voulez y jouer. Mais puisque ce scénario n'est pas écrit pour une aventure donnée, vous vous demandez peut-être comment démarrer ? Vous aurez trois questions à vous poser.

Comme vous le voyez ces choix sont très structurants et peuvent générer des aventures radicalement différentes. Avalanche étant écrit de façon très ouverte, les choix sont très nombreux. Une fois l'aventure lancée, ce seront davantage vos joueurs, vous le verrez, qui guideront l'histoire. Par contre, ces choix initiaux demeurent entre les mains du maître de jeu.