So, Silvervine’s home convention, Con On The Cob is coming up in Mid October. Are you going to be there? You should be, and not just for the awesome incredible Mechanomicon stuff that Silvervine Games will be debuting there. Seriously,  you should come for some of these things:

• Drink And Draw – Watch artists Drunkenly Scrawl!
• Seminars – Listen to semi-famous people talk!
• Parties – Hang with people you enjoy!
•  The Mother Of All Marketplaces – Buy things that will bring you happiness!*
• Musical Machinations – Listen to songs that deepen the soul and madden the mind!
• Entertain the Chilluns – Watch your little monsters delightful offspring play!
• Roleplay Away – Play some games that are (and I guess aren’t) Silvervine!

Seriously, you should get your shiny Wazoo to Con On The Cob in Hudson, Ohio Thursday on October 13th and you should stay until Sunday, the 1th. It’s gonna be a fantastic time, as always! Also, you should check back here in the upcoming weeks to get some sneak peaks and special downloads in preparation for the Mecanomicon stuff we’ll be testing at the convention.

 

*SVG does not guarantee happiness from the purchase of material things. That would go against our existential roots… or something.

Are you going to be at Origins Games Fair in Columbus this year? If so, check out the many Silvervine games offerings we’ve got going on there. If you know and love Silvervine, we’d love to see you help us spread the word. Drag your friends into SVG games, tell complete strangers in the halls about Silvervine, or just dress up as your favorite character. Here is our schedule of games in chronological order. Can’t wait to see you there!

 

Silvervine CC and Intro Game

Event # 6161

Thu 12:00 pm – 2 Hours

Armored Mage,Ninja Paladin,Talking Sandwitch? Try Silvervine’s unlimited character creation and an intro game. Silvervine offers unlimited character creation options with a straightforward point buy system. Thematic elements allow you to customize even further. Your armor looks however you want it to, your spells have whatever effects you describe. Dice rolls determine the success of an action, while Cinematic and Shared Narrative determines what actually happens. The game is shaped by the player’s descriptions of their incredible actions as much as it is by the Game Master. Use your character in our other games, or submit it to the Player Picture Project for possible inclusion in our publications.

 

Silvervine CC and Intro Game

Event # 6231

Thu 2:00 pm – 2 Hours

Armored Mage,Ninja Paladin,Talking Sandwitch? Try Silvervine’s unlimited character creation and an intro game. Silvervine offers unlimited character creation options with a straightforward point buy system. Thematic elements allow you to customize even further. Your armor looks however you want it to, your spells have whatever effects you describe. Dice rolls determine the success of an action, while Cinematic and Shared Narrative determines what actually happens. The game is shaped by the player’s descriptions of their incredible actions as much as it is by the Game Master. Use your character in our other games, or submit it to the Player Picture Project for possible inclusion in our publications.

 

SVG – Whose game is it anyways?

Event # 6233

Thu 2:00 pm – 4 Hours

Come watch Gnome Stew GM John Arcadian runs a game with no prep. You provide the building blocks, he crafts the story on the fly. He’ll run the game win the adaptable Silvervine Games system in an Anime/Fantasy/Steampunk world. Come check it out. Pregens provided, starting level characters welcome.

 

Silvervine CC and Intro Game

Event # 6397

Fri 10:00 pm – 2 Hours

Armored Mage,Ninja Paladin,Talking Sandwitch? Try Silvervine’s unlimited character creation and an intro game. Silvervine offers unlimited character creation options with a straightforward point buy system. Thematic elements allow you to customize even further. Your armor looks however you want it to, your spells have whatever effects you describe. Dice rolls determine the success of an action, while Cinematic and Shared Narrative determines what actually happens. The game is shaped by the player’s descriptions of their incredible actions as much as it is by the Game Master. Use your character in our other games, or submit it to the Player Picture Project for possible inclusion in our publications.

 

Silvervine CC and Intro Game

Event # 6413

Fri 12:00 pm – 2 Hours

Armored Mage,Ninja Paladin,Talking Sandwitch? Try Silvervine’s unlimited character creation and an intro game. Silvervine offers unlimited character creation options with a straightforward point buy system. Thematic elements allow you to customize even further. Your armor looks however you want it to, your spells have whatever effects you describe. Dice rolls determine the success of an action, while Cinematic and Shared Narrative determines what actually happens. The game is shaped by the player’s descriptions of their incredible actions as much as it is by the Game Master. Use your character in our other games, or submit it to the Player Picture Project for possible inclusion in our publications.

 

SVG – To Board or Not To Board

Event # 6415

Fri 12:00 pm – 4 Hours

Elijah Cornelius, adventurer, scholar, and heir to the Duke Albionach, has arrived in Windrah after some unforeseen delays.  He is in a hurry to leave for the city of Dwarvenhome, but there are those that mean him harm that are trying to prevent his departure.  His brother, Percival, has gotten wind of this, and has sent allies to his side.  Will he make his ship and his destination? Anime/Fantasy/Steampunk setting.

Pregens provided, starting level characters welcome.

 

SVG – A Killer In The City Of Courts

Event # 6479

Fri 2:00 pm – 4 Hours

March 5th, 1853 – Quill, the City of Courts. Duke Albionach Cornelius is found dead of a heart attack, but something isn’t right. Witnesses saw an abnormally lanky man running down an alley by his apartment. Approached by the Brothers’ Cornelius, heirs to duke Albionach, can you solve the mystery of the death and prevent further murders? Anime/Fantasy/Steampunk setting. Pregens provided, starting level characters welcome. Anime/Fantasy/Steampunk setting. Pregens provided, starting level characters welcome.

 

Silvervine CC and Intro Game

Event # 6497

Fri 4:00 pm – 2 Hours

Armored Mage,Ninja Paladin,Talking Sandwitch? Try Silvervine’s unlimited character creation and an intro game. Silvervine offers unlimited character creation options with a straightforward point buy system. Thematic elements allow you to customize even further. Your armor looks however you want it to, your spells have whatever effects you describe. Dice rolls determine the success of an action, while Cinematic and Shared Narrative determines what actually happens. The game is shaped by the player’s descriptions of their incredible actions as much as it is by the Game Master. Use your character in our other games, or submit it to the Player Picture Project for possible inclusion in our publications.

 

Silvervine CC and Intro Game

Event # 6517

Fri 6:00 pm – 2 Hours

Armored Mage,Ninja Paladin,Talking Sandwitch? Try Silvervine’s unlimited character creation and an intro game. Silvervine offers unlimited character creation options with a straightforward point buy system. Thematic elements allow you to customize even further. Your armor looks however you want it to, your spells have whatever effects you describe. Dice rolls determine the success of an action, while Cinematic and Shared Narrative determines what actually happens. The game is shaped by the player’s descriptions of their incredible actions as much as it is by the Game Master. Use your character in our other games, or submit it to the Player Picture Project for possible inclusion in our publications.

 

SVG – Big Trouble in Little Judarin

Event # 6518

Fri 6:00 pm – 4 Hours

In the dwarven port city of Judarin, inter-clan feuds and rivalries are as old as the stones themselves.* When Elijah Cornelius, an heir to the Cornelius shipping fortune, comes to Judarin researching a book, it is a golden opportunity for your house to gain prestige by demonstrating the famed dwarven hospitality. Unfortunately, he chose someone else as his guide. Now it is your job to make sure he leaves the city embarrassed, uncomfortable, humiliated and possibly wet while blaming it on the guides of your rival clan, the Grit-Honlecs. *Not geologically accurate. Anime/Fantasy/Steampunk setting. Pregens provided, starting level characters welcome.

 

SVG – Brothers In Peril

Event # 6572

Fri 8:00 pm – 4 Hours

The letters of the Cornelius brothers can be found throughout the Traveler’s Guide to Cyrus, detailing their adventures and the eventual loss of Percival to his misuse of forbidden magic. Pick up where the letters left off and play the first published adventure from Silvervine Games. Anime/Fantasy/Steampunk setting. This is an experience game, and players will need an approved character at Journeyman experience tier to play.

 

SVG – First In Class

Event # 6573

Fri 8:00 pm – 4 Hours

Professor Masteron’s classes at the CommonWealth college are always entertaining, especially when you get to relive them. Participate in the class as one of the Professor’s old comrades, come to tell the class about a previous adventure from when the professor was a research assistant digging up ruins in the Sunsleep jungle. Anime/Fantasy/Steampunk setting. Pregens provided, starting level characters welcome.

 

Silvervine CC and Intro Game

Event # 6640

Sat 10:00 am – 2 Hours

Armored Mage,Ninja Paladin,Talking Sandwitch? Try Silvervine’s unlimited character creation and an intro game. Silvervine offers unlimited character creation options with a straightforward point buy system. Thematic elements allow you to customize even further. Your armor looks however you want it to, your spells have whatever effects you describe. Dice rolls determine the success of an action, while Cinematic and Shared Narrative determines what actually happens. The game is shaped by the player’s descriptions of their incredible actions as much as it is by the Game Master. Use your character in our other games, or submit it to the Player Picture Project for possible inclusion in our publications.

 

SVG A Killer In The City Of Courts

Event # 6642

Sat 10:00 am – 4 Hours

March 5th, 1853 – Quill, the City of Courts. Duke Albionach Cornelius is found dead of a heart attack, but something isn’t right. Witnesses saw an abnormally lanky man running down an alley by his apartment. Approached by the Brothers’ Cornelius, heirs to duke Albionach, can you solve the mystery of the death and prevent further murders? Anime/Fantasy/Steampunk setting. Pregens provided, starting level characters welcome. Anime/Fantasy/Steampunk setting. Pregens provided, starting level characters welcome.

 

Silvervine CC and Intro Game

Event # 6657

Sat 12:00 pm – 2 Hours

Armored Mage,Ninja Paladin,Talking Sandwitch? Try Silvervine’s unlimited character creation and an intro game. Silvervine offers unlimited character creation options with a straightforward point buy system. Thematic elements allow you to customize even further. Your armor looks however you want it to, your spells have whatever effects you describe. Dice rolls determine the success of an action, while Cinematic and Shared Narrative determines what actually happens. The game is shaped by the player’s descriptions of their incredible actions as much as it is by the Game Master. Use your character in our other games, or submit it to the Player Picture Project for possible inclusion in our publications.

 

SVG – To Board or Not To Board

Event # 6713

Sat 2:00 pm – 4 Hours

Elijah Cornelius, adventurer, scholar, and heir to the Duke Albionach, has arrived in Windrah after some unforeseen delays.  He is in a hurry to leave for the city of Dwarvenhome, but there are those that mean him harm that are trying to prevent his departure.  His brother, Percival, has gotten wind of this, and has sent allies to his side.  Will he make his ship and his destination? Anime/Fantasy/Steampunk setting. Pregens provided, starting level characters welcome.

 

Silvervine CC and Intro Game

Event # 6729

Sat 4:00 pm – 2 Hours

Armored Mage,Ninja Paladin,Talking Sandwitch? Try Silvervine’s unlimited character creation and an intro game. Silvervine offers unlimited character creation options with a straightforward point buy system. Thematic elements allow you to customize even further. Your armor looks however you want it to, your spells have whatever effects you describe. Dice rolls determine the success of an action, while Cinematic and Shared Narrative determines what actually happens. The game is shaped by the player’s descriptions of their incredible actions as much as it is by the Game Master. Use your character in our other games, or submit it to the Player Picture Project for possible inclusion in our publications.

 

One of the most awesome things about the thematic and cinematic angles built into the Silvervine system is the fact that focuses and skills act to enable a player’s ideas instead of limiting them. Some game systems are so mechanically focused that not having the specific power means you can’t perform particular tasks. This is less of a mechanical aspect of those systems and more of a game philosophy. “In order to do X, you need ability Y.”  Sometimes this is stated, sometimes it is just assumed.

 

To me, the powers a character has should never work in this way. A task is a task – and if the player can come up with a logical, fun, or semi-valid way to complete it, then that should be allowed. If a character is trying to get past a door, there are many ways to make that happen. They could go the standard routes:

• pick the lock
• knock the door down
• remove the hinges
• find a weak point in the wall

But they could also dig into their character’s theme and abilities to do something really cool*:

• use a telekinetic power to turn the handle from the other side (Telekenesis)
• teleport to the other side or make a duplicate on the other side to open the door (Regardless of Distance, Shadow Walk, Divide)
• utilize their incredibly high finesse and skill to drive a blade through the lock, breaking the tumblers but allowing the door to be opened. (Good Roll, High Weapon Skill)
• use a matter manipulation power to modify the door or wall (Stonebread**, Elemental Force, Muddy Ground)
• use their misting ability (intended as a defensive mechanism) to move under the crack. (Mist Form)
• call upon their knowledge to find a hidden lever for the door (Architecture, History, Dungeon Knowledge, Politics)
• use their ability to break armor or cleave opponents in two to get an advantage to break down the door.(Armor Break)

While the many ideas listed above aren’t necessarily the way the challenge was written to be overcome, they each provide a solution. In many of the cases, they provide a solution that is more appropriate to a player’s concept of their character. A knowledge based character’s knowledge should enable him to do more than just read books and make rolls to remember things. A combat character with interesting options in other situations  is much more epic than a combat character who just kills things. A character whose theme is their deep connection to shadows shouldn’t need a million skills on their sheet to do cool things with the shadows. Enabling these things makes a character feel more vibrant and well liked.

 

This is why I think Game Masters should….

 

Think Of Focuses and Skills as Enablers

Special abilities in all systems enable characters to do awesome things beyond what you would find in mundane life. A soldier trained to fight in the army isn’t the same as the cyber-jacked soldier who is the hero of a movie. A martial artist can’t really fly through the air ala wire-fu, but that wouldn’t make for great movies that detail the concept of achieving the awesome through skill and training. A character in a roleplaying game is almost always more awesome than any real life counterpart or inspiration. The differences are those special abilities, sometimes just incredible skill, that are built into the character.

 

So when a character has a nifty focus, look at it in a multifaceted way. What could that enable the character to do beyond what is written in the description?

 

For the focus Shadowwalk, which allows a character to move between two shadows, a bit of stretching and some extra rolls or manna spent in the use might*:

• Allow a character to explode the shadow they come out of for intimidating effect or to blind their enemies. (+1 manna, Extra roll)
• Enable them to extend the shadow and darken a streetlight to help hide themselves. (+1 manna, extra roll)
• Roll through the shadow but leave an item they are trying to hide behind to prevent it from being taken by guards. (No extra roll or manna, but no guarantee they can easily retrieve it later. Make it only available when the shadow they left it in is in the same place or they have to go into the exact shadow to find it, a fun time if that shadow was a person or moving object’s shadow.)
• The Game Master might let the player stretch the ability far from its intended purpose and let them see through shadows instead of walking through them. (+2 manna, extra rolls, headache for the character and a die penalty for a little while afterwards. They could however spend some extra exp and make this an additional ability tied to the shadowwalk without any penalty.)

Using powers as enablers can make cool Thematic (fluff) elements possible too.*

• It might mean that they are constantly covered in thematic moving shadows, a sign of their dark pact or their time trapped in the shadow world.
• Be the reason that their gun fires bolts of black material, flying through the air crackling with dark lightning.
• Allow them to work shadow’s like marionettes while telling a story. (1 manna)

While some of these uses might be covered better by other powers or skills, they might also be the difference between awesome and mundane in a situation where the player is really into the action. Really, what is more fun for a player: Being told they can’t do something really cool because they don’t have the specific ability that is written in that way, or letting them stretch the established rules a bit to do something thematically or mechanically awesome in one situation?

 

So think of the focuses on the sheet as things that can open up whole new worlds. Look at the options they might present or the cool moments they could be the genesis of. If you like the idea, let the players know you might be amiable to more open interpretations of the powers.

*Things bolded in parentheses within the lists are my suggestions for powers that might work or extra things the Game Master might require to make it happen.

**The moment a playtesting group came up with the idea that the stonebread spell could be used to turn dungeon walls into bread that could easily be pushed through, it was a tasty and carb loaded downhill ride for dungeons everywhere in the world of Cyrus.

Still working on some behind the scenes stuff with the look and feel of the new blog, but here is some news for you. We’ve just submitted our events for ANCON – Another Game Convention.

Ancon is a game convention held in Hudson Ohio and caters to a lot of gamers local to Silvervine’s home base. We’ve got some special things planned, including a 16 player tournament on Sunday. If you are in Ohio or the surrounding environs, go check it out!

 

We’ll post more updates and our schedule as soon as it gets approved!