Book Mashup: Vaporwave Rose, Part 1

I really enjoyed writing Lost Ilium the other week. I didn’t know if the mashups were going to be a series, but I left room for it. Past Me was pretty smart it seems because I quickly came up with another idea. This time, we’re going to combine Blue Rose, Modern AGE, and cartoons from the 90s. Unfortunately, I liked this one so much that I went overboard with the setup. It’s going to be a two-parter!

Let’s get started.

Ala Rose enters AldeaVaporwave Rose Campaign Setting

Ingredients: You need Blue Rose: The AGE Roleplaying Game of Romantic Fantasy and the Modern AGE Basic Rulebook. The Modern AGE Companion, Aldis, City of the Blue Rose, and Envoys to the Mount (preorder hardcover, but the PDF is already available) are also helpful.

(Links to print or PDF as available in our online store. Titles also available in PDF at DrivethruRPG.)

Genre: 90s animated romantic urban fantasy!

The Setup

The Blue Rose was a weird show, all right. Nobody agrees how many episodes there were, whether it was 2 or 3 seasons, or even who made it. The voice actors don’t appear on IMDB, and nobody’s heard of Magic Deer, its supposed animation studio. TBR ran on dozens of local stations in syndication. Each station has spotty, even contradictory records of what they broadcast, back when people clearly remember them showing episodes: reliably from 1991 to 1993, then in occasional bursts before finally vanishing by 2000. Everybody reports different times, though many swear it came on right after Cybersix, though not on the same station.

Some people got TBR shirts and tchotchkes in the mail after writing Magic Deer’s PO Box. Some swear they bought action figures in one of those big box stores. You can find some stuff cheap in antique stores—a bargain since it’s impossible to tell if the stuff is authentic, and most dealers don’t know the show anyway.

The 90s, with its triumphant conservatism, resurgent fascism, and an LGBTQ+ community reeling from the Right weaponizing a deadly disease against them, was demoralizing, even dangerous for some of us—and its problems sound familiar again. It was almost a lifeline. We needed it then, and it appeared for us. Funny thing about TBR Fandom: You didn’t have to be queer for the episodes to appear on your screen but given who shows up at Envoycons (“The only conventions featuring none of the cast and crew!” is our slogan), that seems to have worked better for reception than either cable or the ol’ rabbit ears.

Maybe that’s why it’s back.

Before I continue, let me talk about the show.

TBR is named after the secret identity of its main character, Ala Rose. Ala was one of us: a teen trying to live in this world. The origin is in the opening credits. Bullies chase Ala down an alley. They jump through an ornate blue door with Ferrus, their Ferret (I know, but it’s a cartoon, remember?). On the other side, Ferrus wakes Ala up by speaking into their mind! And they look around to see luminous woods on another world! Ferrus is an intelligent creature called a rhydan, from the new world, Aldea. He was an Envoy, agent of the good realm of Aldis. When he crossed over to Earth, he could barely remember his own name, and had to rely on instinct—and that’s how he found Ala, the prophesied Blue Rose.

In the first episode, they set it up fast. In the capital of Aldis, the Queen explains that the Blue Rose brings the Great Symmetry when it’s truly needed. The Queen gives Ala the sapphire-studded mask and sword of the Blue Rose persona, which allow Ala to take on a masculine or feminine secret identity. (The show never tells you what Ala’s gender or chromosomes are, and fans argue about it a lot, but I think the show did that on purpose and don’t care either way, myself.)

The secret of symmetry is that while the Exarchs, evil beings, say that love and hate are a balance, hate is the real imbalance. True symmetry balances the varied ways of love by allowing them to flower. Every just, passionate, and kind emotion is part of the Great Symmetry. The Blue Rose’s job is to uphold them all. Maybe that’s why the show wasn’t much of a hit. It had the adventure people think only boys go for, and the emotional focus only girls’ shows used to have.

Anyway, Ferrus uses his mind magic to fight beside the Blue Rose, and Ala meets a bunch of recurring Envoys, who become allies, rivals, romantic partners—or all three. The Blue Rose swings between a “town of the week,” dealing with classic community squabbles (that invariably have some evil sorcery exaggerating them, but I think this explanation was for the kids) and an ongoing battle against the evil nation of Kern, whose lich-king wants to…well, do the classic dark lord thing, serving the Exarchs. Sometimes, Kern agents are responsible for town-of-the-week troubles. It’s not the most nuanced setup but hey: kids’ cartoon. They do showcase other countries and peoples from time to time, either as a lesson in tolerance (see “The Roamers,” where the Blue Rose deals with people mistreating a group of nomads) or as a not-too subtle commentary on current affairs (all the episodes taking place in just-like-Fundamentalist Jarzon).

Between fragments, possible unreleased leaks, and definite episodes gathered by the fandom, we got at least 32 and possibly as many as 48 TBR episodes, including the annoying season finale—a two-parter ending in a cliffhanger! Ala leads a revolution against Kern and is about to do battle with Jarek, the Lich King, Herald of the Exarchs….

…and that was it, until now.

Now comes the hard part. Have you had the dreams too? Have you seen the fanvids? You have to.

You have to.

More about  later.

Dive Into the Aquarium for M&M

Danger Zones: AquariumThe release of Danger Zones: Aquarium is a bit of time travel on our side of things, because Aquarium was actually the first of the Danger Zones written, used as an example of how to set-up and write about the other locations planned for the series. It didn’t end up being the first one released, since M&M Developer Crystal Fraiser was able to take the time to further develop her initial sample map design for the setting, which is why our resident polymath has writing, design, cartography, and graphic design credits for the product!

Aquarium sets forth all of the essential elements that we have grown to know and love about Danger Zones: a summary and description of the setting itself, a practical look at the rules useful in using that setting, in this case things like water tanks, schools of flesh-eating fish, thermal shocks from plunges in icy water, underwater combat, and the inevitable exploding giant tanks of water (and the penguins, mustn’t forget about the penguins). It sets out the essential Cast section with archetypes (the Animal Trainer, Giant Octopus, and Great White Shark), along with a named supporting character (marine biologist Dr. Naname Anno), then it wraps up with a Capers section with three M&M adventure ideas featuring the setting.

Speaking of adventure ideas, it’s easy to borrow from popular media when it comes to making use of the Aquarium as a setting for your M&M adventures:

Trouble in the Tanks

Perhaps the aquarium has recently acquired an unusual starfish that is actually an alien creature or bio-engineered mutant with strange powers. The heroes are tipped-off by people disappearing in and around the aquarium. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a starfish. It could be an alien hexxim mistaken for an unusual Earthly sea-creature, or even a very angry goldish with tremendous mental powers. The relatively recent evacuation of Star Island off the coast of Freedom City (part of our “Summer of Starhaven,” over on the Mutants & Masterminds Patreon) sets up the possibility for certain alien beings or elements left behind in the ocean.

Finding AnnoFear my scaly wrath!

Are the characters fish (or penguins, or other sea creatures) dreaming that they are superheroes, or superheroes transformed into sea-creatures by a villain (such as the sorceress Medea) and left in the Aquarium to wallow in watery exile, only barely aware of their true nature, while the villains rampage unrestricted through their city? What if, in true comic book fashion, the transformed heroes are able to communicate with their fellow sea-creatures and get them to help stage a “prison break” so they can find a way to restore their true forms? Maybe someone like the sympathetic Dr. Anno may be able to help. They had best get on it before the moray eel (or shark) who is secretly loyal to the villain can cause trouble, or Aquarium personnel decide their behavior is too much trouble and have to release them back into the sea, or worse, feed them to the aforementioned shark…

The Atlantis Abduction

Alternately, perhaps the aquarium is being used as a cover for some sinister operation by a supervillain or criminal organization. They have captured an Atlantean and are holding them for study (or possibly even for ransom). The Atlantean might even be a member of the royal House of Atlan, exerting some of their powers over water or sea-life to stir up strange incidents at the aquarium or the nearby ocean in order to draw attention to their plight. When the heroes investigate the strange goings-on, the villains decide to move their captive further inland, tipping their hand and giving the heroes the opportunity to intervene. They had best do so quickly, before the forces of Atlantis marshal to storm the surface world!

When the Developer Plays: More Miscellany, Rules and Talents!

Last time I talked about playing Modern AGE using the Threefold setting—and I mean, playing a character, not running a game, which you don’t see developers write about much—I started getting into a grab bag of insights. This time around though, we’ll be talking about how we’ve worked with Modern AGE and its supplemental rules and talents in our Threefold game.

Wandersoul is one of many useful talents

Boosting

One house rule we use which will eventually be included in the finished but to be published Modern AGE Mastery Guide is the Boost stunt. Boost is a generic version of many other stunts which exists to help with leftover stunt points. Boosting costs 1-3 SP, which can be used for two functions:

  • If your next test would be logically helped by the test or circumstance that provided the stunt points you’re spending, you gain a bonus equal to the SP you spent (therefore, up to +3).
  • You can Boost someone else’s next test if, once again, it makes sense the action linked to the SP you’re spending would help. The bonus is equal to SP spent (+3 max) here as well.

Free Talent

Our GM, Steve (not Steve Kenson, but a local friend of mine) used an informal suggestion of mine that I’ve shared, here and there, and gave every character a free talent degree at Level 1, in addition to the talents Modern AGE characters normally get. This was so we could, if we were so inclined, lean further into our concepts, especially when it comes to Threefold-specific talents like Wandersoul or to gain posthuman augmentations by swapping out talent degrees. If you have campaign-specific talents, providing a bonus talent degree so they’re easier to take—even mandating the degree comes from one of these talents—is a decent idea.

Splitting Psychic Abilities

Threefold assumes that psychic disciplines, as opposed to magical arcana, use the Power Fatigue option on p. 92 of the Modern AGE Basic Rulebook. This means that instead of drawing on a supernatural energy source measured in Power Points, characters make a Willpower test to avoid getting progressively exhausted from using their gifts. GM Steve noted that psychic powers already use Willpower for activation tests and decided that our psychic PCs should make Constitution tests instead, to maintain balance between attributes. Now personally, I don’t mind the Willpower-alone approach, as Willpower’s uses are sometimes limited, and it streamlines testing—you could roll both tests at the same time without much trouble. But this might be a good idea for a game with a heavy emphasis on psychic power that also uses power fatigue tests.

Shabda Without Wandersoul

Multiple characters in our game took the Wandersoul talent. In Threefold, Wandersoul is intentionally highly effective at helping characters travel between planes, so it acts as an easy pick. It allows characters to sense gates between worlds and gives them knowledge of Shabda: Threefold’s universal language. Knowing Shabda is like having a conceptual “universal translator” in your brain so that you understand virtually any language so it’s extremely handy. But can you learn it without Wandersoul?

Tricky question. My original answer as Threefold’s creator was “no.” You needed to be a Wandersoul or Primal Being (a mystical creature bound to the Metacosm) to know it. But for playability’s sake I’ve backtracked on that. Currently characters in our game can learn it for one talent degree, but I think I’d like to eventually design an “official” answer that spreads out Shabda’s benefits as a dedicated talent and requires special (though attainable) circumstances to learn.

Catching Up

This series has caught up with the game to date, but I haven’t talked about everything I might say about it. Curious about playing Modern AGE with Threefold? Naturally, the best thing you can do is grab the books, but I’m also always willing to answer your questions. Cheers!

Book Mashup: Lost Ilium

Lost Citadel Fantasy AGE Conversion CodexSo, I was going to talk a little more about my Threefold setting Modern AGE campaign, but, uh, I didn’t feel like it. Instead, I got a sudden notion to take a few different things I worked on and combine them. I’m going to call this Book Mashup, because these are books, and you can mash them up. Will this be a series? Don’t know. This one is going to merge historical fantasy with our 5e setting, The Lost Citadel. I have to admit, this isn’t wholly original, as Steve Kenson was cool enough to explore using the world in the Mists of a certain well-known 5e setting.

Anyway, here we go:

Lost Ilium Campaign Setting

Ingredients: You need Fantasy AGE, Fantasy AGE Trojan War, The Lost Citadel Roleplaying, and The Lost Citadel Fantasy AGE Conversion Codex.

(Links to print or PDF as available in our online store. Titles also available in PDF at DrivethruRPG. You can also get The Lost Citadel Roleplaying 5e setting book and the Lost Citadel Fantasy AGE Conversion Codex in a discounted bundle in our store or at DriveThru.)

Genre: Greek mythology survival horror-fantasy!

The Setup

Offended by Helen and Paris’ flight to Troy, the greatest force of vessels in the world launch for that great walled city. Bronze-clad heroes—nascent demigods and mortals doomed to gloomy afterlives—come for blood and treasure, but fruitlessly smash against the walls, or must turn from Trojan arrows and blades, over and over, until…

…what Fate commanded did not come to pass.

Achilles was the key to Troy’s gates. His wrath at the death of his lover, Patroclus, was supposed to turn the greatest Greek’s sword and spear against Hector; his death was supposed to be a link in the chain of fate leading to the Trojan Horse, Greek victory, a legend.

But Achilles’ arrogance exceeds even his sorrow. He doesn’t come for Hector. Hector didn’t take Patroclus away. Death did.

Achilles hunts Death.Fantasy AGE Trojan War

He’s the son of a goddess, tutored by Chiron. He knows the blood ritual, the secret ways. He descends, god-forged panoply blazing, and assaults Hades, the realm and the god. Hades is immortal. He can’t be destroyed but he can be distracted, even frustrated. Hades is one of three brothers who rule the layers of the world. The ichor of a thousand mutilated Titan-born demons floods his palace hall, as Achilles cuts his way forward…and Hades lets go of his responsibilities. Thanatos sits idle, forgotten.

Death fails. Corpses reject stillness.

A thousand years later. Fate is a ragged, tangled string. Woe, the morose anger of Hades—the message I reject you as you rejected me—haunts all the world, except Troy, whose people Hades find blameless. Now the Greeks attack Troy for this special status. They do it for centuries—long enough for iron and steel to supplant bronze. Long enough for the half-immortals hidden in the world, such as the elven and dwarven descendants of petty deities, also shielded from Woe, to seek refuge. Even strange jackal-people from Egypt come. Troy expands in all directions, becoming a true sanctuary city for the living. Outside, on the plain of battle, the Dead eventually conquer the living. Greek corpses howl and assail the walls. Forays for resources grow ever more dangerous. Finally, the half-immortals agree to seek out the gods, and send an expedition of their kind to sacred places.

The elves return with broken spirits. The dwarves attempt to take over Troy but fail. They do not speak of what they found when they looked for the gods, but say They are angry. They wear different faces now. They are coming back.

The first manifestations of Woe blight Troy, and over decades, it adapts to this final threat. They dispose of corpses, build stronger, higher, and deeper, and await the terrible coming of the gods. They must. Troy is the last city.

The Campaign

The undead aren’t really part of Greek mythology, but what if they were? This setting takes the basic scenario of The Lost Citadel—an undead apocalypse against the last city in the world—and changes the final bastion of the living from dwarven Redoubt to a Troy that has stood long enough to adopt medieval technology. Elves and dwarves are descendants of demigods, nymphs, and other lesser or partial immortals, and have stumbled into the social positions they have in The Lost Citadel. The rising threat behind the Dead isn’t a mystery, and isn’t directly related, however. It’s the Greek gods, capable of manifestations as per Fantasy AGE Trojan War, unhinged by the breaking of Fate, and desperate to fix it.

Hades may be an exception. In this campaign, Woe is his anger, cursing mortals to restless (and as far as anyone can tell, mindless) death outside the proper land of shades. Is it possible to seek out and plead with the maker of Woe, and succeed where they other gods have failed?

The other point of Greek mythology to consider is strong immortality. Some heroes and monsters are not truly subject to death. Was Achilles reborn immortal? Does he walk the world he destroyed? What ageless monsters remain? Do they have mortal communities still? Without new inmates, does the kingdom of Hades still contain its shades and monsters, or have they wandered up?

Use Fantasy AGE Lost Citadel rules as a base, and add Trojan War elements, especially those related to the gods, to taste.

The Wrap-Up

I think this is a great Fantasy AGE option for running darker adventures using well-known mythology. Let me know if you want more of these, and maybe I’ll get to it?

Keeping the Creative Panic at Bay (A Ronin Roundtable Guest Post by ’Nathan Burgoine)

Get your creative juices flowing with your own characters!

One thing about being a writer with one foot in queer romance and the other in queer spec fic is having two genres worth of Impostor Syndrome. I joke, but the truth is despite having published four novels, six novellas, one collection, forty-one short stories, and five pieces of nonfiction I’m not considered prolific in either the romance or the SF genre by any stretch. I’m not a fast writer, and that was before a husky-related injury ruined the tendons in my left arm, back near the start of the pandemic.

I’m not a proponent of the one-size-fits-all writing advice, and most especially not a believer in the “writers write every day,” so I thought I’d be fine when I suddenly found myself unable to type. Instead, what hit—and hit hard—was something I called “creative panic.”

At the start of my injury, when I could barely close the fingers of my left hand into a fist, I’d find myself lying in bed, anxious and unable to sleep over having made nothing. I’d been told not to type but am luckily right-handed, so I could at least scribble in a notebook (something I already did, especially for noting the endless stream of other ideas that hit when working on a deadline), and somewhere around those early days of injury and creative panic, I bumped into Mutants & Masterminds via Joseph D Carriker’s fantastic Sacred Band.

In romance writing especially, for me everything comes from character. Similarly, whether or not I click with a new TTRPG is generally all about character creation.

Wow, did Mutants & Masterminds and I click.

In very short order, I’d begun a daily prompt-inspired run at M&M. Whether using the Story Engine Deck, or the incredible quick-build character tables, or randomly picking a Canadian city to explore, I’d flip open a journal, grab my pencil, and make a character (or two, or more), sketch out an origin and background, and share it with my nerdier and/or Superhero-loving friends. At the end of every day, those moments of creative panic abated. I’d flexed that part of my brain that needed to make things, and it was fulfilling.

Sacred Band by Joseph D. Carriker Jr.Before I knew it, I’d also gotten my all-author D&D group so intrigued by M&M I put together a short-and-sweet one-shot introduction, asked them for their character concepts—was wowed by their ideas and equally wowed by how a solution to every idea existed in the M&M system—and we were off and running over Zoom.

I couldn’t work on a novella every day, but I could scribble up M&M sessions. And it used so many of the same skills: like romance, a good M&M session seemed to mostly come down to character, but with the spec fic lens I love so much. Making antagonists someone my players wanted to stop upped the stakes, as did crafting sympathetic characters to protect. Last, of course, was a healthy dose of comic relief (not that I needed to worry about laughing with Marie Bilodeau, Brandon Crilly, Kevin Hearne and Evan May as players—four writers who are beyond creative, funny, and so incredibly talented at off-the-cuff remarks I cannot even begin to tell you).

These days, I’m almost back on track. After a year of squeezing tennis balls, TENS, and many other tedious exercises, slow progress has gotten me to the point where I can type about 800 words in a day before my left arm starts to seize, assuming I alternate writing days with scribbling days. I finished a YA novella—number seven!—and am working on a holiday romance novella—eight!—and after that I’m going to try delving back into novel-length works again.

But in the meanwhile? My scribble days remain devoted to M&M. The notebook is full of characters, adventure plots, and an entire campaign to come… because, as always, that “one-shot” with the author gaming group turned into a prologue.

I’m beyond grateful for Mutants & Masterminds. It’s not only an ongoing joy to gather and play with friends. It also keeps the creative panic at bay.