Matrixhammer in Action! A Night in the Forest Play Report!

Here are the orders from each players, and the public/private turn updates for the 6 turns/hours of "A Night in the Forest".  Enjoy! 

BONUS: Here is a post from the Imperial forces player's perspective for your enjoyment: https://coppersandboars.com/2022/09/06/my-first-experience-with-matrix-games/

(I've high lighted the empire player submitted orders green, and the beastmen player submitted orders yellowish) 

Turn 1: 

Empire: 

It is midnight! Your units are in or around the lakeside hut! In the forest! You hear the approach of a beastmen host! They are perhaps 2 hours away! You need to survive 6 hours! Till re-enforcements arrive at sunrise

The Forces of The Empire make the are immediately near the hut fire-resistant, whilst making the area further outwards more prone to fire/the spreading of fire

- The Halberdiers deposit dry leaves and twigs in the flammable area to act as good fire starters

- The Riflemen deposit some powder in the flammable area for the same reason

- The Wizard surges the lake water onto the fire-resistant area to dampen it

Beastmen: 

You can smell the scent of delicious man flesh! They are by the lake! They are two hours march away! You must feast on them before more men come (you can smell a great horde of the imperium that will arrive at sunrise [6 hours time])

We march towards the lake! Collecting dead animals by killing them and mud for a sinister magic!

- We use our weapons and speed to rampage through the forest!

- Our devotion to the plague god nurgle to carry and use the corpses!

- And the hunting prowess of our beastlord and raiders to guide us!

Umpire update: For both players: "consider that first turn a success!", and for the beastmen specifically: "you are an hours march away from the hut!" 

Turn 2: 

Empire: 

The Forces of The Empire make defensive preparations

-The Riflemen make holes in the roof so they can shoot out from it

-The Halberdiers use wood from the trees to create sharp spikes at the edge of the lake, facing towards the water

-The Captain gives rousing speeches to each group of soldiers to steel their courage

Umpire update for The Empire: 

And so, your troops spend the hour doing so! They are invigorated by your captains speech - the tension and unease abated. This is doubly so as it seems the beastmen have not gotten any closer to your position over the hour - the gibbering screeches wafting from the trees not getting louder. 

BUT, a very faint itchiness wafts briefly over your units skin. Your wizard senses some foul magics have occurred in the surrounding forests.

Beastmen: 

We stop for this full hour to conduct a ritual using the bodies and mud we collected to summon demons to aid us!

We will continue advancing next turn...

- The corpses and mud we collected!

- A full hour of praying and rituais in the name of grandfather nurgle! (Which gives my enemy some time to prepare more, also we probably make a lot of noise)

- Our shamans and their sickening magic!

Umpire update for Beastmen: 

You hear sawing, snapping of branches, and heavy thuds wafting from the direction of the lack over the hour! And the rousing shouts of the men in their babbling tongue! 

Your invocative rituals warp the dead animals you collected into a scrabbling horde of disease spreading demonlings! A miasma wafts from them! Maggots drop from their dead skin! They look like this:

There are 20 of the little buggers...They are about the size of a small dog, or large rabbit, each.

Turn 3: 

Empire: 

The Forces of the Empire create an air elemental to act as a scout, and sends it to the edge of where they can see, within the flammable area

-The Wizard summons the air elemental using his magic

-The soldiers ensure its sanctity by singing hymns and prayers of the Empire

-The Captain takes the plumes from the Halberdiers and gives them to the air elemental, so it can drop them as a signal if it sees any beast men

Umpire update for The Empire: 

The air elemental is summoned, vivified by the chanting, and whooshes through the nearby vegetation. It scouts out the surrounding area and reports that a large host of beastmen is to the North East, and a smaller host of the beasts is to the West! Both groups are north of the lake shore that the hut is on! It seems the beasts have begun burning the forests between their two forces  - not yet in the area of the forest you have primed for flame as yet - but the fire is creeping closer to that area most ready for flame nearby the hut! 

Both hordes will be able to charge your location within the coming hour! 

Beastmen: 

We shall divide our forces and March towards our victims in the following way:

- Half the raiders will lead the shaman and all the nurglings towards near the lake, stealthily

- The other half of the raiders will lead the other shaman to the other side of the forest, the shaman will set parts of the forest on fire!

- The Beastlord will lead all beastmen through the forest straightforward towards the smell, but will stay in the forest

- The raiders sneaking and hiding ability should help guide the shamans and remain them unnoticed

- The first Shaman will lead and control the nurglings with his sickening magic and chaos knowledge

- The march of the beastmen and forest fire should confuse the empire and perhaps scare them!

Umpire update for Beastmen: 

You divide your forces and proceed through the forest! Your forces are divided in the following way:

The raiders and shaman groups have crept stealthily through the forest - while the beastmen and beastlord have stamped and marched and bleated, braying for blood! The beastmen and beastlord are closest to the men of the empire - their delicious stench causing some of the beastmen to salivate with bloodthirst!

The raiders and shaman who have travelled to the far side of the hut have begun fires between themselves and the main host of beastmen! Smoke fills the air!

Your shaman notes that there is an natural wind in the air! The fire spreads much faster through the forest than was expected!

You hear chanting from the men who are your the target of your ravenous maws! Some horrid droning associated with their false idols!

After your hour of marching - you are apon the men - you can make out, in the distance through the trees, the mud of stone and brick, dark on the shore of the lake - illuminated just by moon light.

Turn 4: 

Empire: 

The Forces of the Empire attempt to catch attacking the beast men forces in the flames. If they can split them by trapping some beastly forces with them on the inside of the fires (that is, in the flame-resistant area around the hut) whilst keeping most out then that is a bonus.

-The Wizard keeps the flames at back until the right moment, then surges them forward

-The ground is prepared for fire with powder and dry  material, so it should spread quickly to the attacking beast forces

-The air elemental will also keep back the flames before surging them on by adding air as fuel

Umpire update for The Empire: In the hour you have fended off an attack by the beastmen! (See the public update). 

Beastmen: 

The Beastmen will attack! We have flanked them from all sides and we are blocking their escapes! We will slaughter them all in the name of the plague god and gather their corpses!

- The Nurglings will come from the lake! Poisoning the water as they swim

- The Raiders will aid the Beastlord in scouting for traps, before they charge towards the Hut!

- The Shamans will use their magic to burn more of the forest and aid the Nurglings! 

Umpire update for Beastmen:

As the main attack took place to the north, a group of 6 beastmen raiders, undetected by the scouting wind elemental, creep up from the shore of the lake. The raiders notice the wooden spikes installed by the forces of the empire , and take some time to pull them apart quietly as the fighting  takes place. The beastmen to their north are slain by the time they surge through the dissembled fortifications, a shaman, and a small horde of tiny plague demons accompanying them.

A visual of the imperial units you have sighted!

 

Your have a force to the north east of the burning ring around the hut, and a currently undetected force within the ring of flame!

Umpire public update: 

At 3 am, with the moon beginning to dip behind the trees, the beastmen attack the empire’s position! 

•    The main host of beastmen, led by a beastlord charge directly at the lakeside hut. 

•    To their west a smaller force of beastmen move forward towards the lakeside hut in a more measured and careful manner – igniting and spreading more flames as they go! 

•    As the main host of beastmen near the edge of the trees they barely notice the abundance of kindling and heaped dry leaves. 

•    With a surge of elemental magic, supported by the wind elemental summoned early in the night and the already blazing forest inferno,  the imperial wizard causes the trees surrounding the hut to erupt totally into flame!

•    The main host of beastmen are caught in the inferno! Half of their number burnt alive, the survivors stumble out into the clearing around the hut (drenched with some summoned elemental water keeping the flames at bay). 

•    The forces of the empire are ready for the beastmen, riflemen open fire from holes in the roof of the hut and halbardiers and zweinhander men receive the shambling charge! 

•    By the end of the hour all of the main host of beastmen warriors and their beast lord leader are slain but they have taken two halberdiers and a zweinhander man with them! 

•    The beastmen  to the west are cut off from the attack by the mass of spreading flames – currently unable to reach the hut on the edge of the lake

It is now 4 am! The forces of the empire have fended off one attack, but surely the dark forest has more horrors instore for them before sunrise!

Turn 5: 

Empire: 

The Forces of the Empire will attempt to prevent injury from smoke inhalation, whilst making the smoke a problem for the remaining beastmen

-The Zweihanders will soak any available robes and tunics with lake-water to act as a mask/filter against smoke

-The wizard will use fire magic to push the fires towards the remaining beastmen

-The air elemental will push the smoke towards the beastmen. It will extinguish/kill itself with the effort if doing so will help

Beastmen: 

The humans are surrounded on the hut! We shall burn them all alive in the name of Nurgle!!

- Both Shamans get away safely from the fire and begin to cast MORE fire!

- The raiders help the shamans get away safely from the fire they've caused, using their hunting knowledge

- Everything is a sacrifice for the gods! Even their deceased beastmen allies, they will conduct the fire to consume the humans!

Umpire public update: 

•    From 4 to 5 am the magical forest fire continued to spread in a great blazing inferno – magical agents on both the side of the beastmen and the empire encouraging the blaze and coaxing it to move in certain directions!

•    The wizard of the empire senses the wind of magic pushing from both the east and west, the fire roaring towards the hut and leaping over the hastily conjured firebreak! The hut swiftly catches ablaze burning to death the riflemen within! 

•    The imperial forces outside of the burning hut (a wizard, capatain, 3 zweinhanders and 6 halberdiers) flee the blaze moving south towards the lake – discovering that the beastmen have, at some point in the night, tampered with and penetrated the earlier erected shoreside spikes. They do not encounter whatever beastmen conducted such tamperings! 

•    The remaining imperial forces wade into the cool lake to seek refuge from the flames – it writhes with some daemonic foulness and causes their skin to itch and crawl but they are not slain by such mere discomforts in this hour. 

•    The foulness of the lake causes some misgivings for the units of the empire as they soak cut and torn lengths of fabric into damp masks to ward against the heavy – choking smoke all around them, but whatever illness this may have transmitted from the lake into their mouths and noses can be dealt with later! 

•    Safe from the fire for the time being, the wizard of the empire, sends flame and smoke towards the direction of the earlier scouted beastmen. The wind elemental surges along side the flames and smoke  - pushing them towards the beasts – but the bleating beastmen are already on the move, retreating from the blaze. The wind elemental dissipates.

It is now 5 am! The final hour before sunrise and the arrival of Imperial re-enforcements! 

Turn 6: 

Empire: 

The Forces of the Empire leave the lake on the eastern bank and attempt to engage the beastman forces that the wizard sensed there

-The Captain will lead the way to inspire his troops

-The wizard will cleanse their soaked and probably cursed bodies and clothes by summoning fresh new water once they get on land

-The halberdiers will attempt to form a spear wall, with the zweihanders on the flanks

Beastmen: 

We will flank the humans from both sides and attack! Killing them with our nurglings and plague clouds!

- The Raiders will guide the shamans safely through all malices! Hoping to evade the human's possible movements towards them.

- The nurglings are sent towards the humans to defile and kill them in the name of Nurgle!

- The Shamans clouds of sickness from both sides towards the humans! Each death is a sacrifice!!

Umpire public update: 

As the sun slowly brings light to the dark forest, from 4 to 5 am the following events transpire: 

•    The imperial forces (a wizard, captain, 3 zweinhanders and 6 halberdiers) march east along the shore of the lake, abandoning their (presumably) diseased face coverings. When they arrive on the sandy shore, illuminated by the nearby blaze, the imperial wizard douses all in fresh, magically summoned water. 

•    The western force of beastmen ( a shaman and 6 raiders) are unable to reach the forces of the empire in this final hour – blocked off by smoke and flame! 

•    The eastern force of beastmen (a shaman, 6 raiders and 20 small plague demons) launch an attack on the remaining units of the empire as they trudge east along the sodden lake shore!

•    A miasmic cloud wafts over the humans, as the green rotting demons the size of dogs charge them! Arrows rain from the trees as the humans fend off the attack! 

•    Though large in number, the horde of small demons is no match for the martial strength of imperial troops (buoyed on by their brave and inspiring captain) – the demons are slain! The demons and the arrows of the beastmen raiders take with them 4 halberdiers and 2 of the zwienhanders.

•    The raiders and shaman harrying the imperial forces from the trees are driven back by the wizard of the empire igniting the trees around them! (edited)

And so, the sun rises at 6 am, A wizard, captain, a zweinhander and 2 halberdiers of the empire trudge east along a lake in a forest. They shortly meet with a greater host of imperial troops who they regale of their ordeal during the night. The beastmen retreat back to their forest dwellings, a conflict soon to break out as to who will be the new beastlord leader of the tribe after a night of much fire and death. Though they may never know, it may have brought them great joy to learn that those surviving men of the empire died of some rotting, delirious fever several days later after setting foot into that diseased lake….

The End! 

Thoughts: 

The "one thing" may be hard when you have a small/intimate force to command. I tried to phase out the micromanaging of specific troops with the one hour length turns to make things more sweeping and cinematic. 

Other than that the game was quick, fun, interesting and easy to run! 

Matrixhammer Scenario! A Night in the Forest!

 Matrix games meets Krieghammer! A self contained strategy/war/matrix scenario expressed in three images! 

I'll be running it on discord! 

The Deific Earth - A setting

Over in my discord channel ( https://discord.gg/NDrtRKs ), I floated the idea of running something using the methods outlined in this post. We didn't end up "matrix adventuring" per se but instead collaboratively putting together an adventure game setting. 

From this: 

"Maybe do even something completely different and use some version of the methods in the post the cooperatively make a setting then play in it" 

Myself and a few of the other discord members, put together an interesting little setting that we are currently "arguing" the history of in to being (not quite playing in it as individual sentient actors as yet). 

I shall now present: "The Deific Earth" for your perusal! Note, this is not all my work, but a collaborative effort of about 5 individuals on the discord channel! I have included some of the "suggested schedules" I provided as a general method for approaching the activity.

Fundament: Each player writes a sentence outlining an important aspect of this world, its defining matrix if you will, other players can disagree and remove aspects if they provide reasons... Even this can be questioned!

• The gods were forging a sword to do battle against a great evil with, when the blade was quenched in our world molten life dripped off of it and formed the first archipelago and our lands
• The sword is still there, the evil is still there, the Gods are gone!
• In this world, numbers are outlawed.
• The gods bodies remain, they form a land bridge between the planets when they line up
• They float in orbit around SOMETHING, they align rarely
• When they do align alien things move between the planets on the god bridge
• In the great battle; spurts of the primordial, radiant fluid of the dying gods, and the great evil, tore through the clouds, forming new lands.
• These lands are more bountiful and lush than the original ones... but also follow the aspects of the gods/evil they came from more closely than any others
• And so the most sentient beings formed here, and their civilisations. Spreading out from the fortress at the terminus.
• The living things of our world are inevitably influenced, suffused, by the essence of god-lands they live on, from the food and waters that grow and run upon them.
• A things essential being is defined by its god vapour. Some part demon, some part angel, combination there of. Demon and angel are relative, and poorly defined terms.
• Some people perverted and twisted by the great evil, they now live on the gods bodies
• Those planet dwellers fear their awe inspiring invasions, when the astral bodies align!
• Cults arise: Most various heresies who argue about the best method to prevent the invasions, with their own champions and hierarchies; others still secretly covet the god-eaters, and work to manifest The Alignment
• The planet with the sword of the gods is the last of the planets not overrun by those perverted God feasters! The great fortress where the the sword cuts the earth is the final defence for the uncorrupted against a God alignment crossing. The sword reaches to the foul heavens
• The humours of the gods can be consumed to do magic
• Blood, puss, piss, tumour, bile, and many more can be digested for expulsions of extra terrestrial magical vapour! Many, many more, all can corrupt ultimately with too much consumption. A correct amount of consumption, a wafer of fallen mana, allows magic.
• Those of the vapours, gods and the evils but not corrupted by over consumption
• The meekest are driven from the finest lands, far from the enriching embrace of the Fruits of Deific Earth; not bold enough to grow strong and strange from Correct Consumption
• My heart sinks to think these may be forced, through jealousy, to betray those of the fortress, to help let the corrupted into the uncorrupted lands beyond the fortress at terminus. Oh I weep.
• Yea! Woe to the Betrayers!
• It is there, we doubt not, that the Heresies of Alignment emerged!
• No True Follower of the Vapours would could think such evil thoughts!
• Like Great Hapsut, we are beckoned and, through integrity alone, compelled, to forge tools to maintain the welfare and safety of the Envapoured Ones, Truest Followers of the Ways of the Sword!
• Go forth, intrepid, valiant believers; lest the Heresies of Alignment take hold among the Vapourless and thus hasten the fateful Day of Bridges!
• The inquisition of Hasput protects against the jealous conspiracies of the weak as they seek succour in the heresies of alignment! Praise be the inquisition for keeping the weak in line!
• The bridge! Most corrupted of alignment! Ever seek correct equilibrium of your vapours, but avoid the bridge of alignment!
• The evil, the cause of the forging of the sword, was the alien, from demiurge. Evil/Alien = Numbers, Stars, Science, Plasma, Asteroids, Meteorites, Black Holes, Nebulae, Physics, etc.
• Scholars and philosophers known as Elementalists preach of the many elements that make the world.
• There are two schools of thought:
• The Alien elements, made not from gods, rather from what they sought to destroy, some examples are: Numbers, Stars, Science, Plasma, Lasers, etc…
• The divine elements, made from the dead gods, some examples are: Vapour, meat, bone, wax, gray matter, acid, etc…
• The study of the alien elements is forbidden in many places 

The Gods: Suggested schedule for Gods: "God Name: a sentence or dot points outlining its aspect"

• Great Hapsut! Thrice Praise his Glorious Name! The Forger; The Fighter; Bringer of the Deific Blood; Arbiter of Order through Sharpened Justice!
  
• The Whispering God
• Astral and Aurum
• The Gilded Guide: Its love was the journey and the joke; the joy and the jewels
• Gloug, the consumer: ever so so hungry
• Kepet: vengeance, revenge, pride, that's mine not yours give it here for ever, mine is life yours is death
• Passing, lord of ephemeral: Knows this is not the end. Nothing is ever the end…
• Genogox, bringer of mass and solidity.
• Swarmbog, the grower. Fertile beyond reason.
• Hylalei, The Florist: Makes everything beautiful at the expense of everything else. Abhors pragmatism and efficacy. The soft light of filtered suns wrapped warmly around a gentle arrangement of flowers and fine silver ornaments.
• Toypoyos, the confuser: The in-between dweller, the divider!
• Great Worm, the stitcher. Bringer together of flesh and tears and all rentings. The extruder of tissue.
• Posados, the Twice-Betrayer, the God of Iron, the Green Sin Betrayed the gods to aid the evil... Betrayed the evil to nurture mortals. Only half of him remained.

The Lands: Suggested schedule for Lands: "Land name: A sentence or some dot points regarding the environment, population and/or special features of the land".

• The Bleeding Land: which still leaks Deific Fluid
• The Haptic Jungles: where branch and vine voraciously grasp, seeking unspeakable sensations. Rumoured location of the Ichor Stream, an endless flow of forbidden Number.
• The Golem's Banquet: where stones blossom newly-made from the fertile earth! Blessed by Genogox, bringer of sturdiness!
• The Great Yawp: a vast fissure of unplumbable depths which splits the continent in twain! Generally understood to be the result of the final blow struck in the battle between the Aliens and the Gods: though sources differ on who struck the blow!
• The Sword: a great white plane, running perpendicular from the earth, endlessly into the dark of the corrupted heavens. It has a metallic sheen, and is covered in sharp geometric growths like living blades. Small and measly tribes of the corrupted are feebly scattered across, kept at bay by those of the fortress at terminus. Though forbidden by the inquisition, adventurous strong sometimes explore this place of demons and metal.
• The Land of The Strong: The realm of both the Convocation and the Inquisitions. Here all is extreme, the weather, the landscape, the pain, the disease, the glory, the grandeur. The vapour is overwhelming. Everything is technicolored brightly. It is a land of living myth and legend. Things meek and grey and faltering are slain on sight! It rings the Fortress at the Terminus.
• The Land of the Meek: A sparse and faltering land, dribbling out endlessly beyond the grand and majestic mountain ranges of the Land of The Strong. Grey, sand, dunes, craters, holes, caves, sludge. Those cast out by the Convocation and the Inquisitions dwell here: The Meek (and also the dreaded Moonlight ones). Many things fall from the heavens here!
• The Fortress at Terminus (Also called just Terminus): The metallic, military, temple city that rings where the sword pierces the earth. Endless gonging and marching and drills and paranoia about the alignment and invasion. The haunt of many adventuring Envapoured Ones, ruled by the The Theocracy of the Inquisitions of Hapsut and Hasput, controlled by The Convocation of the Forge. Many here are secret worshippers of Toypoyos, the confuser, stitching the ways between the opposing inquisitions for spiritual and material gain. The cult of Toypoyos is of course outlawed by both inquisitions. Magic and metal!
• The Yellow Caverns and their Gray Lakes: Cranial remnants of the gods, not a place but a biome, located in most godrealms. Covered in divine wax and other divine fluids.

The Peoples:  Suggested schedule for Peoples: "Peoples Name: a sentence or dot points outlining their aspect, abilities, culture, where they dwell, etc and such forth!

• The Convocation of the Forge: highly respected as the children of Hapsut. Such things they forge are presented to leaders in great ceremonies, who interpret these demi-divine creations as guidance for their decisions and governance.
• The Inquisitions of Hapsut and Hasput: The ruler theocracy of The Fortress at the Terminus. Protectors against the corrupted, the heresy of alignment and the constant conspiracies of the meek. Worshipers of blood and blood and truth!
• Envapoured Ones: Truest Followers of the Ways of the Sword! Go forth, intrepid, valiant believers; lest the Heresies of Alignment take hold among the Vapourless and thus hasten the fateful Day of Bridges!
• The Meek — or, the Betrayers: driven from the finest lands, far from the enriching embrace of the Fruits of Deific Earth; not bold enough to grow strong and strange from Correct Consumption. Also known as the weak. Their vapours are, more often than not, malformed, leading to godly mutations! Corruption manifest!
• The Counters: people who are allowed to count and use numbers, a feared role but required for flourishing trade and commerce. They are only ever paid for their work in humours of the gods. In qabalistic nooks the Counters pore over meta-mathemagical texts, questing for the Ichor Stream's source
• Zealots of Chalcedony and Lime: a solitary and hermetic sect who rappel beyond the Great Yawp's lip, carving mysterious caverns of Meditation and Mystic Vision in the cliffsides therein. Who — or what — they worship is barely understood by the staid theosophers of Terminus!
• Moonlight Ones: Vampire-like creatures infected by alien curses, they devour words through singing and command platoons of mute thralls. The infections come from meteorites fallen to the deific earth. Foul alien evil infection! The Moonlight Ones are known to SING NUMBERS and practice SCIENCE! Any of the inquisition will slay a Moonlight one or their thralls with impunity and glee. They live in metal temples beneath the ground, served by their rotting thralls.
• Newlings: Monsters made manifest from mathematical equations, take the form of small, bulbous geometrical shapes, eyes and teeth like teratoma. Shoot laser beams from magical field surrounding them, fly aroud with stored, stolen vapous
• Independent Scholars and philosophers known as Elementalists preach of the many elements that make the world
• Knights of Cton: A crusade of knights adorned with armor and weapons taken and forged from the dead gods, they seek to exterminate all things that did not came from the gods (which they call aliens or the alien elements), common pretty much in all godrealms (the corpses) and most lands.
• Eaters of the Gods/The Corrupted: dwell on the gods' bodies. They feast on their immortal flesh which, though void of the gods' influence, will never decay, gorging themselves and so corrupting and changing their mortal forms.
• Shardstrider Tribes: Small tribes of moss-skinned humans who harvest bones and sell them as indestructible pottery, each tribe worships the god they inhabit and often have completely different morals, but follow a similar, class structure to their society, the best artisan and miner always being the two leaders.
• Minotaurs: Large sized monsters with soft, almost jelly-like meat, but covered in strong exoskeletons, born inside the corpse of the dead gods, brutish in culture and territorial in nature, they hunt the human and animal but they HATE the alien and heretic
• Trolls: Half-evil Half-good, Trolls are the energetic manifestation of dreams in living shape, born from the dreams of the living, sworn protectors of the eternal desert, the imagine realm where ideas flow and turn into grains of sand, where mortals go when they sleep.

Map: 

Now, we are on to the "history" stage of world building. This is how we are currently playing at it: 

Suggested schedule for history creation: Each demiurge is in control of a people. They must argue into being the best version of history for their representative people. History contested by other demiurges and history in conflict will be resolved through dice rolls dependant on argument strengths and contextual factors. Generally a  third party demiurge will be the arbiter of such conflicts and contentions.

Additional suggested scheduling : we argue broad history into being until it gets so specific as to warrant control of specific sentient beings.

Suggested schedule for history creation, Part 2ish: State what happens and why/how - and be prepared for your version of reality to be argued against by the others!

The Deific Earth At the Start of Known History: The gods are not aligned! There is no current invasion, but the corrupted, and the corrupted planets, and the Dead Gods swirl above in the heavens. Beyond the Heavens...space and its evils and aliens. The sword links the heavens and the earth. The fortress at terminus is around that, controlled by the organisations of the strong. Then around the fortress is the lands of the strong, the key envapoured groups are here then - reaching out in all directions are the neutral lands, the weird lands and the lands of the meek. There is no alignment, but the alliance of the strong keeps the clawing meek and neutral and aliens at bay from the sword, ever trying to stave off heresy. 

Demiurges, I implore you to fight tooth and nail for the histories of your peoples!

It's been fun, and I am looking forward to doing some adventuring in The Deific Earth! 

Matrix Adventuring

 I've been a bit obsessed with matrix games of late ( http://www.mapsymbs.com/wdmatrix.html ), starting a subreddit ( https://www.reddit.com/r/matrixgames/ )  and a discord server ( https://discord.com/invite/5GWajXHD7d ). Here are a couple of thoughts/ideas on using the Matrix game approach to a adventure/dungeon/hex/crawling/osr typ-ish game (something that isn't a strategy / scenario type game). 

I really like how succinct this post is: https://www.reddit.com/r/matrixgames/ so I will be using it for some of the stuff outlined here. I don't think these ideas are all that different to running a FKR game ( https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/363342/Kontext-Spiel-d6 ) but I wanted to jot some things down so here we go! 

Matrix game? 

"in a Matrix Game you simply use words to describe why something should happen, the Umpire decides how likely it is, and you roll a dice." from http://www.mapsymbs.com/wdmatrix.html 

Player Characters! 

4 sentences. 3 sentences out lining strengths/things the character is good at, 1 sentence outlining a weakness/something the character is bad at. Alternative rules: Don't worry about weaknesses. The inspiration of this method is this: 

Doing Stuff! 

When a player wants to do something (through their character), they say what they think their character should achieve, and then provide 1 reason why or how (or more if they so desire). The inspiration of this method is this: 

The referee has to use the same method for the game world doing stuff (monsters, traps, the environment, npcs, etc,etc). What is the thing doing, and then one or more reasons why or how this will happen.

If the success of the argument is in question/not guaranteed, the referee rolls a dice (or gets the player to roll a dice) outlining what roll the player/game world stuff is targeting to be successful in their argument. 

Doing Other Stuff That Maybe Is Less Important! 

"In this system an argument simply consists of a narrative that advances the player's position in the game. The players states what happens next in the evolving story that is the current situation. The chances of success or failure and exactly what those results look like are judged by an Umpire or, more usually, by another player taking it in turns.". Inspiration: 

The World: 

The Referee just creates/describes the world as per normal adventure tabletop game. 

Automated Arcology Resident Generator!

After a couple of years of distractions, Shit Future (http://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/search/label/shit%20future)  is coming in the NEAR future (unless I get distracted again)! It will be a FKR/freeform/d6 based cyberpunk game with lots of tables -  just what the world needs! It is mostly focused on the tables not the rules, so you will be able to use it with any of the nice cyberunk games that have been released of late (or use the simple FKR rules-ish like framework it has)!     

To celebrate, here is a automated Arcology Resident Generator! (Arcology residents are the super rich weirdos who live in self contained mega cities). 

Automated Arcology Resident Generator: Press the buttons to get an arcology resident! 

Cyberpunk Industrial Region Generator

 After a couple of years of distractions, Shit Future (http://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/search/label/shit%20future)  is coming in the NEAR future (unless I get distracted again)! It will be a FKR/freeform/d6 based cyberpunk game with lots of tables -  just what the world needs! It is mostly focused on the tables not the rules, so you will be able to use it with any of the nice cyberunk games that have been released of late (or use the simple FKR rules-ish like framework it has)!     

To celebrate, here is a d6 Industrial Region generator...

Industrial Region Generator: Roll a d6 four times and combine!

(I would love to post the table as not a semi blurry image but I don't have the willpower to fight with blogger's formatting engine! Look forward to a better version of the table in the final release!)

The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, The final three days of "The Fusion War"!

 Here is the third and final set of turns from my "grant strategy cyberpunk" game I am ran with some IRL friends through facebook. The game's procedures (rather than rules) are here if interested: https://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/2022/07/pre-empyrean-cyberpunk-ish-freeform.html

This post includes the  the final three single day turns and the epilogue! Enjoy! I am going to attempt to put together a bit of cyberpunk setting guide using the events of this game in the near future. 

Here is part 1 and 2:

• http://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-pre-empyrean-chronicles-2700-3000-ce.html 
• https://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-pre-empyrean-chronicles-3000-to.html

Turn 9: The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 3021: Week 3. Day 1:

• The SAFE zaibatsu launched nearly all of the 10’000 mining drones they have stationed on Earth to hunt the dark skies for the Hyperion Order transports that escaped the destruction of the Halcyon arcology. Alongside heavy datagrid searches and sensors, they were unable to find the jets in the air. It is assumed that the 5 transports have landed somewhere on the earth’s surface but scans so far have not located the remaining members of Hyperion Council.
• The continued search will be harder over the next few days, as SAFE’s “Nu Datagrid” satellites were mysteriously shut down today! Rebooting their systems will take several weeks. While SAFE’s datagrid access is maintained as normal on the earth’s surface - the high fidelity connection to their automated mining drone fleet has been lost.
• A single SAFE mining drone was launched from beneath the water of one of earth’s dark oceans and set course towards the Halcyon Independent space fleet. The fleet, not willing to take any risks at this point in time, opened fire at the single drone. Another enormous chunk of the shrapnel sphere was blown apart as the drone exploded into a red ball of plasma that matched the size of the recent Halcyon arcology reactor explosion. As the explosion took place outside of the atmosphere the damage was minimized, but a 1000 drones from both the SAFE and Halcyon automated mining fleet was destroyed from the shrapnel blast.
• Alongside the events in the air and space, the mutant army of “Zombie” Jack Tackhard II clashed with the SAFE army led by Commander Borgsey in the empty mega city blocks east of the SAFE arcology. The SAFE army was prepared for the onslaught and most of the frontline lizards and mutants were ripped apart by bullets on the initial charge. Many of the bizarre flying and camouflaging units were able to get behind the SAFE lines though causing them some losses too. Fighting continues in the empty streets and skyscrapers east of the SAFE arcology, with about 100’000 SAFE soldiers dead and 200’000 mutants slain. The vast majority of the SAFE citizens who had recently taken up “camping” were eaten by the rampaging mutants.
• Having easily defended against the single SAFE drone attack, the Halcyon independent fleet was then besieged by the self-destructive strikes of 6000 of Halcyon’s own mining drones! A red glow was seen above earth’s black dust cloud skies as the Independent fleet fired near endless rounds of plasma slug fire at the mining drones swarming them from all directions! While the fleet survived the onslaught, two destroyers and four frigates were destroyed in the attack, reducing the independent fleet down to 1 carrier class, 3 destroyer class and 4 frigate class spacecrafts.
• While Commander Treb Redyier ordered a datagrid re-seizure of the automated mining drone fleet, the operation was not successful, meaning more mining drone strikes may be en route in the coming days!
• As conflict raged on Earth, President Truffle of the Dual Colonies extended an invitation to all Earth nations and organizations to send dignitaries to join a panel of earth representation on Jupiter’s moons. The call has not been answered by any Earth organisation as yet. Alongside this President Truffle continued the planning for long term habitation of Jupiter’s moons.

Turn 10: The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 3021: Week 3. Day 2:

• The earth was rocked by several heavy earthquakes and accompanying tsunamis today! A large number of the earth’s volcanoes also erupted without warning, filling the already dark skies with even thicker ash and dust. While impressive, these natural disasters did not have much of an impact on earth’s already hugely reduced population.
• As the Halcyon fleet began its orbital plasma bombardment of the SAFE arcology, it was joined by a thousand of its own automated mining drones in the assault - returning from the asteroid belt. The fleet spent the day melting away the exterior of arcology, as the 1000 mining drones surged through the plasma slugs, and adding to its destruction! By the end of the day only the bottom third of the SAFE arcology was barely left standing. While not totally destroyed, the top two thirds of the arcology’s sphere has still been slagged at this point, resulting in utter chaos within the spheroid mega city and the death of about 2.5 billion people.

· Although the fighting was fierce in the abandoned skyscrapers around the SAFE arcology, the SAFE cybernetically empowered army was beginning to overpower the shrinking mutant Calvert Vally army in the early hours of the morning. Fighting was disrupted, as the dim sun rose, by the harsh red glow of plasma slugs beginning to melt the top of the SAFE arcology. Several thousand units in both armies were melted, vaporoused or set alight by stray plasma in the AM. Several sky scrapers were toppled by the mutant army, crushing many thousands of defending SAFE soldiers. This was not enough for the mutants to win though, as SAFE had a massive advantage in firepower and numbers! By Midday another 100’000 mutants were slain, their foul blooding flooding the city streets, to SAFE’s 50’000 lost soldiers. The mutants were now only 200’000 strong, still led by “Zombie” Jack Tackhard II, against the SAFE army of 2.85 million. But then, the cybernetic soldiers began to get dragged, by some mysterious force, to the west! SAFE’s soldiers were literally pulled through the air, slowly, then with more force and swiftness, towards the coast. Millions of metal soldiers were wrenched westtward, along side any scraps of metal littering the destroyed city streets around the SAFE arcology. The metal armoured and armed mutants were also dragged westward.

· From midday onwards, in massive screeching waves, the entire SAFE army, alongside many mutants, and most of the metal around the SAFE arcology were dragged into the ocean, towards 6 VSM naval destroyers off the coast!

· As more of SAFE’s army was sent out from the arcology (which held strong even with its melted top) they were dragged out into the waves. Here the advancing mutants of Calvert Vally were somehow protected by an invisible bubble from the falling plasma. And so they stomped and howled to the entrance of the arcology!

· By the end of the day, a massive mound of metal and dead, drowned SAFE soldiers had filled in the ocean to the west of the SAFE arcology and the mutant horde was in the arcology, ripping apart the undefended citizens with glee! No armoured mutants remained though, all of them ripped out to sea alongside the SAFE cybernetic army. 150’000 foul, mutant horrors now rampaged through the megacity arcology as it was melted from above by the Halcyon Independent fleet! A further million SAFE citizens were killed by the Calvert Vally mutants today.

• As the SAFE arcology was ripped apart from above and within, its datagrid assets were also ravaged by outside forces. Already weakened by the loss of its Nu-Grid satellites,and in the absolute chaos of the day, its financial assets were nearly all funneled into anonymous accounts. With the very imminent collapse of the zaibatsu, this appears to just be insult to injury.
• The, now largely underground living, citizens of Calvert Vally, emerged from their bunkers today to attend a mass ceremonial planting of trees. About a million trees were planted before the citizens of Calvert Vally returned to their warren like underground industrial cities.
• In the Dual Colonies of Jupiter, VSM citizens reported feeling incredibly sleepy and lethargic today - several even feinting. Calvert Vally citizens reported that they felt completely fine.

Turn 11: The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 3021: Week 3. Day 3:

• The 9’998 SAFE mining drones that had been hunting across the earth’s dark for the Hyperion Order jets turned their focus to the 10 VSM destroyers stationed on both the East and West coast of Amazonic desert region. The drones hurled themselves at the ships at supersonic speeds, but exploded in red balls of plasma as they impacted against a hidden field surrounding the ships!
• The morning passed with thousands of drones exploding themselves against the impenetrable VSM barrier when suddenly, at around 10 am, the barriers failed! The crew aboard the ships, panicked, analyzed their electronic systems and discovered that their communication network, that had been growing over the last few days, had been traced and corrupted. They only had a few moments to curse the Hyperion Order before the remaining horde of SAFE mining drones ripped the remaining fleet apart. Each ship was pummeled by the super sonic force of the speeding mining drones - exploding in a massive sphere of red plasma and water!
• While both the VSM destroyer fleet, and 9’998 drones of the SAFE mining fleet had been destroyed, the VSM arcology remained standing and well defended!
• In Free Neosia, the two thirds melted SAFE arcology was ravaged by “Zombie” Jack Tackhard II and his mutant army! The warped and abominable beasts stomped through the hugely populated enclosed megacity, feasting and killing with abandon! Suddenly, the millions of personal assistant robots across the arcology were activated into a mode of murderous rampage! While the robots were poor fighters, their sheer numbers allowed a large component of the surviving SAFE citizens to retreat from the mutant horde, and take refuge in a secure quarter of the arcology! By the end of the day, “Zombie” Jack Tackhard II had seized most of the city apart from a small section of the arcology inhabited by 100 million civilian SAFE citizens, defended by an army of about 1 million personal assistant robots!
• Having decided it had melted enough of the Earth’s surface, the Halcyon Independent accelerated away from the earth, setting a course outside of the solar system. The fleet’s commander Treb Redyier received a mysterious transmission from President Truffle of the Dual Jupiter Fleets as the fleet left the Earth behind. It is unknown what was contained within the datagrid package, and whether the commander opened it or not…
• As the Halcyon Independent Fleet left the solar system, 1000 Halcyon Tiko Field automated mining drones pierced through the shrapnel sphere, returning from their long journey to the asteroid belt. The drones had no Halcyon arcology to return to, and instead travelled above the underground industrial cities of Calvert Vally in the Zeastra scrub zone. After their ceremonial planting of many trees yesterday, the ever hardy and adaptable peoples of Calvert Vally were preparing to live underground for the coming years, as the darkness from reactor explosions and plasma bombardments cleared above. Their hibernation had barely begun when the 1000 Halcyon mining drones drilled down into their underground cities like earth eating missiles! The underground cities were ripped apart, and torn asunder by nuclear reactor blasts. About 100 million calvert vally civilians died, leaving only 100 million left to attempt to rebuild their destroyed clan lands after the desructive Halcyon terrorist attack!
• A sad, lonely, and poorly converted for space travel ex VSM submarine slowly traveled towards Saturn. Leaking various bodily fluids from its warped, flesh and metal form. What nightmares and heavens it dreamt on its journey through the dark endless void, are not known.
• On the dual colonies of Jupiter’s moons, President Truffles reign continued, watched by the 165 VSM destroyers orbiting his fragile bases.

Epilogue: The Pre Empyrean Chronicles, 3031, Ten years after “The Fusion War”.

· The earth remains dark, shrouded in night-time induced by heavy dust clouds and enforced by the shrapnel sphere. Though there were spikes in temperatures after the several bouts of plasma bombardments in the last decade, in general global temperatures have dropped by an average of 15 degrees. Filthy black snow is common across the globe. The only land region that is an outlier to this is the area surrounding North East Free Siach – where the slagged flat plane left behind after the plasma bombardment still radiates heat. Several small free settlements have erupted on the borders of the plasma slagged region. The ocean where the Ropa Retired Industrial Region used to stand also exhibits higher levels of warmth, the seam more often than not steaming and emitting a faint red glow from beneath the waves.

· The constant eruptions of the earth’s volcanos ensure the dust cloud remains in place. The earth continues shaking with regular earthquakes, followed by tsunamis. Outside of the tsunamis the earth’s oceans are dead and flat – due to the SAFE metal moons taming of the tides.

· Farming is impossible, most vegetation has died apart from some rare albino plants. Fungal blooms are beginning to be recorded in abundance. The food supply for all surviving people on the earth is generated in industrial nutrient laboratories.

· The shrapnel sphere remains in place, though large chunks of it have been removed due to space conflict.

· While VSM nearly imploded after the devastation of the “Swift Collapse” datagrid virus, they were able to drag some of their key systems into an operational state during the events of “the Fusion War”. Their Magnetosphere Force Armouring Field (MFAF) equipped naval destroyers played a pivotal role in “Zombie” Jack Tackhard mutant horde’s conquest of the SAFE arcology. Though mass deaths due to starvation and electronics withdrawal were unavoidable, the population in the SAFE arcology has since stabilised at 1.4 billion, alongside an infantry army of 1 million.

· VSM has transitioned to a totally analogue society, with the use of the datagrid banned under threat of severe punishment. The decade has been spent removing all connections to the datagrid in current generation electronics and equipment, and all new manufactured equipment being totally offline in nature. VSM was able to capitalise on the relative collapse of SAFE, becoming the dominant power on the earth and rifling through the remains of their arcology for any industrial secrets left behind. The scavenging was proven unnecessary when a number of the VSM space fleet craft returned from Jupiter to Earth orbit and seized the single Halcyon craft holding a number of SAFE executives and industrial data.

· Since the seizure of the SAFE space craft, VSM has unlocked the secrets to fusion power, human hibernation, and robotic A.I system and fusion bombs – further cementing their position as the hegemonic power in the solar system. The SAFE executives were all executed for their attempt to destroy the earth through the bombing of the core.

· Both the Halcyon and SAFE automated mining drone operations were inherited by VSM, the events of the Fusion War and the process of off lining the drones from the datagrid resulted in a great reduction of both fleets size, but VSM is now operating a fleet of 100’000 automated mining drones – all disconnected from the datagrid, running on analogue technology command systems. This extra terrestrial mining operation has allowed VSM to rebuild its earth based naval fleet, to a total of 50 destroyers over the last ten years (alongside a vast number of support and transport craft).

· The Hegemony of VSM is overseen by Earth Consul Ian Brown and Space Consul Max Steel in a shared military dictatorship. While in a position of supreme power, the offline and analogue VSM society has living standards greatly below that of all earth zaibatsus and clans before the events of the catastrophic “Fusion War’

· The ruins of the SAFE arcology itself is now controlled by King “Zombie” Jack Tackhard II. His kingdom has inherited the infrastructure and industrial capacity of the bottom third of the otherwise melted SAFE arcology. This has allowed King Jack’s mutant society to flourish over the decade, with Jack himself growing in size and mutations, and his army/people also flowering with endless mutated variations. A population of about 200’000 mutants lives in the ruins of the SAFE arcology under King Jack’s rule.

· A small western pocket of the arcology has been sealed off to King Jack, where the SAFE citizen refugees fled the onslaught of his army. The defence barrier keeping the mutants out is manned by a million strong personal assistant robotic army that has slowly grown in conflict capacity over the decade (the robots being as effective in fighting as a particularly slow and weak human toddler when engaged into conflict mode during the fusion war). Heavy engineering works has resulted in massive physical barriers sealing the refugees away from the rest of the arcology. While essentially entombed within a relatively small portion of the arcology, the SAFE refugees in fact experience the highest standard of living in the world – not victim of the severe offline restrictions placed on VSM citizens. There is believed to be about 80 million SAFE refugees living in their pocket of the SAFE arcology.

· Wild and unsubstantiated rumours exist that some of the SAFE refugees are adherents to the bio sexual cult practiced by the disgraced Halcyon management executives. Alleged occult bio sexual ceremonies involved the use of giant, vat grown and nano-psych tech modified sentient organs.

· Outside of the SAFE arcology, the wild and feral mutant population has thrived since the fusion war, with a wide range of biological horrors inhabiting Zeastra scrub lands and abandoned mega cities of Freo Neosia.

· Many sentient mutants have settled alongside the 100 million strong population of Calvert Vally. The massive tunnels bored directly into the earth during the final Halcyon mining drone attack of the Fusion War have been a warm refuge from the freezing temperatures above for the clan. The drone holes and nuclear explosion craters have slowly been filled with salvaged and scavenged structures over the decade. Calvert Vally civilization remains a largely offline and analogue society, unable to get back online after the devastation of the “Swift Collapse” datagrid super virus. Non sentient mutant hunting/farming and mass fungi farming forms the basis of the Calvert Vally food supply, alongside some industrial nutrient production facilities.

· Calvert Vally scrappers have had great success dredging the oceans east of the SAFE arcology, bringing up the many millions of cybernetic limbs and torsos left behind by the drowned SAFE security army. These cybernetic parts have greatly improved the fighting capacity of Calvert Valley’s half million strong infantry army. It is believed most of these cybernetic limbs in operation have been offlined from the datagrid.

· The survivors of the destruction of the Hyperion Council remain at large but wanted by the VSM Hegemony. They have been found guilty by VSM military court of war crimes during the Fusion War and will be executed on arrest. Many citizens of VSM blame Hyperion Council for the offlining of their society and the reduced living standards accompanying that.

· There are reports of communications between Hyperion Council and the SAFE refugees, but the largely offline VSM society has no way of verifying these reports.

· Globally, most fear Hyperion Council as ghosts and demons who will seize control of your life, equipment and holdings if you ever dare to connect to the datagrid…Most also assume the Hyperion Council to live a life of debauched luxury aboard their nuclear jets – the small group being the richest in human history (unfortunately in reality the earth’s somewhat deformed economy does not give them much goods or services to actually purchase).

· Additionally reports exists of Hyperion Council members meeting in person with the surviving Free Mind giants. This independent clan of 90’000 nano-psych tech modified giants continues to inhabit the mega city ruins of Free Siach. The giants are fearsome warriors, as well as an online, datagrid connected society in contact with the Hyperion Council, the SAFE refugees, and the smattering of small independent settlements across the earth. It is rumoured that the Free Mind giants are in contact with some non-earth based groups, via their intrusion into the SAFE “Nu Datagrid” satellites that are still in operation. Even wilder rumours claim that the mysterious group known as “The Fixers” resides withing Free Mind giant territory. Sadly, the giants will die out over the next century due to their being sterile.

· After the events of the “Fusion War” President Truffle was forcible removed from the office of Dual Colony President by Space Consul Max Steel. Truffle was found guilty of both crimes against humanity (for constantly tampering with the colonies oxygen supplies for his own nefarious reasons) and bestiality. He was executed shortly after his removal from office. All Calvert Vally citizens on the Jupiter colonies were also removed and transported back to earth – leaving VSM in sole rulership of Jupiter moon bases.

· 40 VSM space fleet destroyers were kept in orbit around Jupiter, 80 were put into orbit around the earth and the remaining 45 were put into orbit around Saturn when it was discovered the Halcyon Independent fleet as in orbit around the Saturnian moon of Enceladus!

· While the Halcyon Independent fleet has so far refused to return any radio wave hails, it is believed to be in communication with the commandeered VSM submarine, poorly reconfigured for space travel, that left the earth a decade ago. The VSM submarine that is currently inhabiting the frozen waters of Enceladus has constantly been transmitting datagrid datacoils to the VSM space fleet, but the totally offline, analogue only communication systems of the destroyers are unable to receive its messages. The 45 VSM destroyers constantly monitor the Halcyon Independent fleet – ready to destroy it the moment it sets a flight path towards the earth. The Halcyon Independent fleet remains at 1 carrier class, 3 destroyer class and 4 frigate class spacecrafts. Each is equipped with fusion power generators and plasma canons.

· The future looks bright for the VSM Hegemony, even if the earth is shrouded in darkness. The underwater cities destroyed in the “Swift Collapse” datagrid super virus are being dredged from the ocean and plans exist for them to be converted into space cities in orbit around the earth. Long distance space flights, employing SAFE human hibernation tech, are also planned – with the human colonisation of other systems a realisable possibility in the not so distant future. Living space designs taken from SAFE industrial data means both colonists and space city dwellers well both feel mentally calm and stable in these exotic environs.

· The VSM Hegemony can feel secure in their military dominance of the system, with Fusions bombs shortly to be put into production, the Magnetosphere Force Armouring Field (MFAF) becoming even more powerful through the use of fusion reactors, and the Halcyon Tiko field technology being miniaturised for use in personnel and small scale infrastructure and building armouring.