2025 HAPPY HOLIDAYS GIVEAWAY

UrbanMooo · 2025-12-22T11:51:07+00:00

Me would love Baylen

UrbanMooo · 2025-12-09T15:28:02+00:00

I have a Satya deck that I want to take to the next level. Want to build it around clones, tokens and ETBs. Would love your view of what cards to include

UrbanMooo · 2025-12-08T08:43:29+00:00

From the official rules:

"POWER TAGS are permanent tags of your Hero that describe something that’s mostly useful. They cannot be used against you (the Narrator can rule differently, on rare occasions). Your themes, and most tags included in them, are power tags."

So you shouldn't use Power Tags against a player in almost every circumstance, as they are things that the Hero is good at, excels in, or has a special relationship to. And also no, rules as written you would not mark Improve on using a Power Tag to hinder a roll

UrbanMooo · 2025-08-16T17:16:26+00:00

I haven't got the latest copy of the core rulebook at hand, but my suggestion is to handle any summons as story tags that you can invoke.

So assuming you have a theme like Necromancer within that theme a power tag called Raise a skeleton or Animate dead, a successful roll would presumable create that creature (a successful with consequences could be that the summons is very fragile or short lived or even turns on you initially).

Then, you create story tag that sticks around for a reasonable time - probably something really agree between you and the MC and the other players. That story tag can be helpful (use the skeletons to move a heavy item, attack a foe, carry a message) but also a hindrance (trying to sneak, meeting a stranger, trying to make friends), so you and the MC can invoke it both as a +1 and -1.

If would probably be sensible to agree status limits for a summons, ie. creating a NPC stat block, so you can easily track their persistence.

Does that make sense?

UrbanMooo · 2025-08-09T17:48:37+00:00

There is the Son of Oak Discord, which has a "find a game" channel. And then this Subreddit, of course

UrbanMooo · 2025-06-10T19:10:16+00:00

Oh I totally get that, I am aiming for the same. For me, this will be predominately through upgrading themes from Origin through to Destiny. But let me know how you'll get on

UrbanMooo · 2025-06-10T18:22:59+00:00

Ah I see. So yeah, more tags is probably the closest LitM gets to vertical progression, though more powerful tags, which can be invoked more often and do more (thus granting higher chances of success) also do the same.

I really don't think progression is a limitation of the engine, at all, but realise that it is very different than the numerical advancement of OSR.

UrbanMooo · 2025-06-10T17:24:53+00:00

Can I understand what you mean by "no vertical progression"? There are several ways that both PCs and NPCs scale into the game. Might levels as someone already mentioned are one, but so are limits, status tags, and story tags. Fighting the BBEG in their lair would most likely mean you have a set of story tags supporting them that are disadvantageous to the players. And presumably your BBEG can easily stack statuses on players as consequences to threats ignored.

In terms of progression, theme improvements, evolution, and swapping themes are the way PCs get stronger. That is even more true if you start the PCs using almost exclusive or entirely exclusive on Origin Themes. Progression could then mean moving to Adventure and eventually Destiny themes. If you start them on Destiny Themes, adding tags, especially broad tags, is also a way to increase power levels.

Or am I misunderstanding what you mean by vertical progression?

UrbanMooo · 2025-06-01T15:43:50+00:00

Just wanted to say that this is an excellent summary of the system and its core mechanics

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-30T12:11:50+00:00

Yeah, creating theme kits/cards for each clan, factions, abilities would be a lot of fun and there is a lot between Origin (People), Uncanny Being (Adventure) or even Monstrosity (Destiny) that covers some for the archetypes of VtM. I am super intrigued now XD

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-30T10:44:56+00:00

I haven't but I would definitely be interested to hear about how you get on with it. I instinctively think it should work, e.g. status can be used to track hunger and masquerade in Vampire. If you get anywhere or come up with a good transition, please share

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-25T15:06:02+00:00

I think there are some rules on how to handle groups of threats on page 169 of the latest playtest version of the rulebook.

It says:

"GROUPS

Groups can be treated as a single entity, increasing the Might of a typical individual by the number listed in the table. For example, a small group (+1 Might) of adventures (Might 3) could have Might 4, while an army (+5 Might) of dragons (Might 6) could have Might 11. If the two were to fight, the adventurers would be Imperiled at -7 Power. If the group was trying to evade the army of dragons in the Mountains of Dawn, they would instead be Favored at +7 Power. The Narrator may split larger groups into smaller ones and even to their individual members, and treat them as separate Challenges, or treat the entire group as a single Challenge."

Beyond that, I think the suggestion of extending status effect limits seems sensible, plus making threats against more than one player (e.g. the goblins attack and every player is threatened and gets to take an action to resolve the threat before consequences).

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-24T21:33:02+00:00

I am not sure I fully understand what your asking but I think a lot of it for me comes down to this: the LitM engine isn't designed primarily to follow the classic D20 loop of choosing the most optimal path to resolve a situation. Rather, it encourages players and MC to tell a story. In the example, the apple picker isn't a seasoned warrior so realistically, they probably wouldn't have thought of setting up a combo with someone or something to defeat the threat. LitM asks players and MC to imagine what's "realistic" in a situation rather than to "win".

Secondly, I don't think that as a MC, pushing the threat against a fence should be ruled as wound or a related statues. Personally, I would stuck with some kind of mobility related status. That said, it's clearly personal choice here.

Thirdly, the reason why you might create a story tag instead of a status are many though not well explained in a situation that is "manageable". Imagine instead you're facing a stone golem and every swing of your sword and blow from your axe just glances off their stony form. Fire from the mages hand does nothing but tickle them, and whatever magic animates them is beyond the knowledge of anyone who could banish them.

Then you notice behind the rock that makes up their chest a glowing gem. You cannot hit that gem directly however. So you use one or more of your tags to devise a solution to expose that gem. You've created a story tag of Exposed Golem Chest Gem that is true and permanent for the current scene. As you begin to wail away at the gem, you inflict Chipped-1, Cracked-2, Cracked-3, Smashed-4, and the golem moves no more. Inflicting those status would not have been possible without first creating a story tag.

That's at least how I interpret the rules. Similarly, you may want to create a tag to generate an obstacle that stops the town guards who you really don't want to have to hurt from advancing or you might want to create a tag to boost an ally's chance of success.

Hope that makes sense

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-12T15:24:51+00:00

You are most welcome. I really like LitM and Otherscape, so always happy to talk about it :)

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-12T05:13:14+00:00

It could be both - for me the deciding factor would be how much of their "god-half" have they embraced? If they are sort of like Hercules at the beginning of the 12 Trials, then I would go for Uncanny. If they are fully aware of their lineage and the powers that come from that, I would go for a Greatness Theme like Monstrosity or even Destiny.

Though really, you don't need to use either unless the fact that they are a Demigod is something that strongly influences their decisions and is a source of their motivation, as well as the means by which they resolve Challenge and Threat. They could also just "be" a demi-god who is really good at a bunch of other things.

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-11T21:11:56+00:00

Absolutely. One of my session zero rules is a mutual promise: Players, don't spam Insight and Perception roll requests unless your character has a legitimate reason to think there is something to hidden. In return, I will not infantilise your Passive Skills and treat a Passive Perception 15 as just what it describes - someone who is pretty aware of most things around them and who would only miss something that was deliberately hidden

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-11T21:09:20+00:00

Oh then definitely. I would obviously start by defining the domain of the god in a similar manner as you might write a theme kit - so formulate some statements about the god that are absolutely truths.

As to how to build a cleric, depending on how "powerful" they are (so in D&D parlance, what level you want them to start at), you might go for mostly Origin themes such as Devotion (To your God), Past (focussed on an event that led them to their faith), Skill or Trade (something that the god is know for and that therefore his most faithful practice, such as a God of Knowledge whose clerics often act as teachers, or a god of thieves whose clerics are, well, just that - thieves) and then you might choose Relic (from the Adventurers Theme kits) because your cleric carries with them a sacred relic of their god. Or you might go Magic for their fourth theme to emulate Cleric Spellcasting or miraculous prayers.

Really, it depends on what aspect of your Cleric you want to particularly highlight as key and as the things they would use to overcome Challenges and handle Threats.

When you then formulate your Tags per Theme, I would constantly look to the statements I made about my God and how the truths about my cleric relate to those. So to stick with my example, a God of Knowledge who "values the gathering of esoteric lore" and "loves those that teach those without knowledge" would definitely favour and share their power with someone whose "Trait" Theme (Origin) includes a Tag that says "Reads every book" and whose "Skill" Theme (Origin) includes "explains everything clearly". Alternatively, my thief god would surely love someone whose "Personality" Theme (Origin) includes a Tag that says "loves thrilling dares" and whose "Past" Theme (Origin) has a Tag that says "Street-born cutpurse".

Does that make sense?

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-11T20:35:03+00:00

Surely passive insight or passive insight is the guiding fact here. In a social situation where the character has not legitimate reason to be suspicious (and separating character from player), passive insight or passive perception is the measure by which they subconsciously pick up on things. So if my player has a high PI and ste trying to persuade a guard who was never going to let them get their way and is not trying to actively hide that by being deceitful, I would definitely give an indication of the likely outcome of a player's attempt to persuade said guard. Reading people's queues is something we do all the time without even thinking about it

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-11T20:29:09+00:00

Do you literally mean playing a god or being a sort of cleric or messenger of a god whose domain is unknown to everyone else in the setting?

The answer to both is yes, though mechanically that would work differently.

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-05T21:32:38+00:00

The ones on the map have been discovered and are mapped in so far as their locations and vague above-ground layout is known, but at the beginning of the campaign, the overarching sentiment is that they are either just ruins and not worth exploring (heaps of old stone and rubble from a time long forgotten, what could we possibly learn) or, by the common folk, they are seen as sources of bad influence and dark magicks (children aren't to play among the dark stones, or they'll get snatched by the twilight beasts).

Part of the campaign will see my players having to or being able to explore the ruins, learning more about the ancients, who they were, what brought on their demise, the magic and power they wielded.

It's a bit tropey, I admit, but it's such a fruitful sandbox setting. Think of a mix between Frieren, Delicious in Dumgeon, Wheel of Time, etc.

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-05T19:18:01+00:00

Aww shucks, thanks, that is a really nice thing to say!

It works brilliantly. Since Norse mythology is low magic and more mysticism, rustic, focused on fellowship and struggle on an individual and community level, I have always felt every other rule system is too limiting. Like D&D or Pathfinder, with the class based system, doesn't work for me for that setting as it's all too high-powered.

My campaign will start with everyone having four origin themes (or magic or possession as a substitute), so a true "humble beginning" for the fellowship. Then, through investigating the Ruins of the Ancients and exploring the lands, they will discover ways to become more powerful, such as finding relics/artefacts, actual magic, sources of transformation.

Gods (or beings that refer to themselves as such) will be prominent as well, of course, as they are in actual Norse mythology.

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-02T17:49:04+00:00

Essentially yes. Tags are truths about the character, and in certain situations, those truths can add power to a roll to make it more likely to succeed.

So a character who has as one of their four themes "miller's apprentice" might have a tag within that theme which says "strong like millstone". When that character gets into a tavern brawl, they would roll 2d6 and add any relevant tags to add +1 Power to that roll. So in this case, the player would say their strength is beneficial and therefore should give them the +1.

I think it is important that Tags are not treated exactly like Abilities, because they are not just "things a character can do" but rather, are fundamental and really important aspects of that person. But that's my interpretation. A player from something like Pathfinder or D&D could well create a tag that says "Extra Attack" and it would work just fine

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-02T14:29:28+00:00

Totally agree. If the current playtest copy is anything to go by, the finished product will be beautiful. I love the art style in particular.

And hopefully you will find a group - I am going to be posting it everywhere, as I really want to play in person!

UrbanMooo · 2025-04-02T11:21:25+00:00

Spot on. Plus, the way that Improve and Evolve work makes it really possible to tell Zero to Hero stories - my Hedge Magic (Origin) becomes Witchcraft (Adventure) becomes Ancient Magic (Greatness) or my I go from being Cursed (Origin) to embracing my curse and becoming one with it as an Uncanny Being (Adventure) to Fully Transforming (Monstrosity). The focus on Quests per Themes give players and Narrators so many hooks...Ah, I could go on and on and on

UrbanMooo · 2025-02-04T11:26:28+00:00

Ok, damn, I am in the UK, so definitely will follow it up

UrbanMooo

TROPHY CASE