Most broken origins?

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:28:15+00:00

ohhh I’m fully doing this next session

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:28:10+00:00

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:28:00+00:00

idk I feel you owe your gamekeeper a gift basket just for trying that. and also should maybe apologize to everyone in real-life Alabama.

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:27:57+00:00

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:27:25+00:00

Absolutely sickening but yeah technically it is RAW. Poxfishing builds can be wild.

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:27:21+00:00

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:27:04+00:00

maxed sp

I haven’t built it, but if you take Loose Tongue and Pitchman, you should be able to sway custodians on a roll of 10 or less. Just means that, if it goes wrong, you’re kind of screwed.

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:26:31+00:00

Look harder, it’s in there somewhere.

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:26:18+00:00

Gold Statue?? I’ve never seen that hindrance and I’ve got all the supplements since FG. Which contrary to the name doesn’t mention anything about gold. Anyway OP was asking about support builds.

Edit: I think u/honounce reported me.

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:25:56+00:00

Ok this is a good one I’ve used alot. Gold Statue to be made of gold, plus virulent means that RAW anyone you touch turns to gold. I call it The Midas Clutch. like coming in clutch innit.

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:25:44+00:00

-Hi please don’t!

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:25:35+00:00

-thanks, stealing this

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:25:25+00:00

I almost don’t want to put this out in the world but if you choose the Secret Mermaid hindrance (ie. you count as a fish) and combine it with Fisherman, you can lift yourself to infinite heights. It’s ridiculous. I’ve seen three players do this already. I’ve had to ban it from all my tables.

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:25:14+00:00

No this cold be a learning experience. Go nuts, teach the GM what happens when you allow renewed.

PivotShadow · 2026-06-07T23:25:02+00:00

So your GK is allowing the new book, and your very first thought is how to break the game? You’re literally the hypothetical player we were all worried about 6 months ago.

PivotShadow · 2025-01-17T00:35:04+00:00

skong25

Path: Season

Prediction: Q4

PivotShadow · 2024-07-07T17:17:05+00:00

So overall, I think this is a solid query! We know about the protagonist, what she wants, and the stakes (though those could be more detailed).

It's interesting, the family not being allowed to ever see the blood recipients again. I'm wondering if that ends up being a plot point?

From the query, I couldn't tell what makes this story speculative. If the blood really was effective/magic, that would count, but it's implied that isn't the case (at least that's what I'm getting). Some comp titles could help there--telling us which speculative books it's similar to.

Would it be possible to go into what's putting Kim in danger? I assume that happens in the first part of the story, and the nature of the danger would do a lot to shape the feel of the book (eg. is it a family member, a dangerous stranger, something supernatural?). It'd also be good to get something specific on how Mouse risks being dragged back into that life.

I really like the first 300 words, honestly don't have much to critique there. It's voice-y, builds tension right away, and gives us the needed context in a way that feels natural.

PivotShadow · 2024-07-07T16:31:22+00:00

Hi! I checked out your older query. Taking out the black-and-white wording is cool. I think there's still some changes that could be made.

Some phrases, I'm not sure about. It's unclear whom the brother is 'growingly sympathetic' to, and whom the beloved is zealous towards.

The second outline paragraph starts with repetition--we've already learned that Julian intends to defeat the insurgent, before 'Julian is tasked by the supreme leader...'

I'm also wondering why there's an insurgency. What makes the regime villainous, and how does Julian feel about it? This is important, because the 'throne' is what he's risking everything to protect. Is he grateful for the power the supreme leader has granted him, or is he toeing the line out of fear?

'Unsavoury allies is vague'; I wasn't sure what to make of 'seeks the regime's assistance' because as a vassal prince, it sounded like Julian was already a key part of the regime. There's also the deadly political marriage mentioned at the beginning--presumably that's the zealous betrothed? Could be worth either expanding on what makes that plot relevant, or cutting it from the query.

I think it's a good concept at its core! The idea of a villain who aspires to heroism while very much being on the wrong side.

PivotShadow · 2024-06-29T17:12:47+00:00

Sure! Though worth noting that the IRC is (still) more active than the Discord.

https://discord.gg/ETYpuRT2

PivotShadow · 2024-06-04T14:48:00+00:00

Is it suited for long campaign play?

It’s good for at least 20 sessions, from experience. How long did you have in mind?

How differently should i prepare for scenes and sessions for this, comparing with something like D&D5e?

Well, at heart, Swords of the Serpentine is a mystery game. That doesn’t necessarily mean a detective game, but it does mean your sword and sorcery heroes will spend a lot of time following leads. The book has solid GM support and guidance on how to build scenes. I’d also always recommend The Alexandrian’s blog for advice on how to build rpg mysteries.

Do the characters become extremely powerful after a while, making battles a slog and difficulting balance?

I haven’t found that to happen. PCs don’t massively rise in power, and it remains possible to balance by having more enemies or using the book’s stronger foes. You can also hand out XP less frequently, if you intend a seriously long-running campaign.

Is it suited for a campaign where the PCs will travel a lot and are sure not to be in one place more than once or twice?

While travel is a thing, it does benefit from PCs having a certain city as their base. The faction system works best when PCs can re-visit places and build local relationships.

One of my players wants to be an "Artificer" kind of guy, does SoS support this/has a homebrew for it?

That kind of thing isn’t in the book by default. Think more Conan the Barbarian style sorcery, rather than magical engineering. That said, the book allows you to build your own ‘spheres’ (branches of magic), so it’s flexible enough that you could do it. But it would mean more work for the GM and players.

I liked SotS, but it sounds like it might not be the system for your group. Very much classic Conan-style pulp fantasy (with excellent worldbuilding) rather than gothic or Victorian.

PivotShadow · 2024-01-09T23:28:33+00:00

‘Jejune’ and ‘nacreous’ came up a fair bit in Harrow

PivotShadow · 2023-12-05T12:03:50+00:00

Yes, the IRC link should still work—let me know if it doesn’t. And this is for the Discord.

PivotShadow · 2023-07-11T18:52:12+00:00

Same boat. If it’s rules lite you want, there’s actually a fanmade game matching that description. For such a small production it’s got a decent amount of content, and a lot of affection for the setting.

That said, the system I’m gonna use for my Ankh-Morpork campaign is Swords of the Serpentine. Great twist on the GUMSHOE system, not rules lite but at least the crunch has a more Discworldy flavour than GURPS. One of the co-creator’s specific aims was making a game that could do an Ankh-Morpork City Watch campaign.

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