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Sic Semper Tyrannis: an Adventure for F#ck ‘Em Up

The cover for the F#ck 'Em Up TTRPG adventure called Sic Semper Tyrannis, which shows some special warfare operators, heavily back lit, advancing through smoke.

My sound and fury signifying nothing has arrived.

A black ops team returns home to find that the tyranny they thought they were fighting abroad has taken root in their own home. These are patriots but to a concept of the nation that is inclusive, equitable, and lawful. That’s not what they see. What they see is encroaching fascism. They see a tyrant taking root.

When a trusted friend and ally disappears, the team investigates, only to learn that it was their own government. And their own handlers and government contacts? They don’t see a problem.

But there is a problem. And the team knows the answer.

Sic Semper Tyrannis.

Note: This is a work of dystopian fiction, but it ain’t that far from stuff we’ve been seeing in Western “democratic” countries. If you—the reader—feel affronted because you think it’s pointing to you and your beliefs as reprehensible . . . I don’t know what to tell you. The actions of the antagonists in this story are indeed reprehensible. Have you seen the skit from The Mitchell and Webb Look called ‘Are We the Baddies?’ If you feel personally attacked, maybe find that video, think about its message, and then have a good, hard look in the mirror.

Note the Second: This product is free because it hasn’t gone through all the components of publishing that cost real money—like editing and layout. If you think it can be improved, tell me how. Leave a comment where you found this and let me know what you suggest.

This is just me screaming into the void, but hopefully it has some intrinsic value.

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F#ck ‘Em Up

Just letting you know that SEP has released a free game called F#ck ‘Em Up. You can find it here.

Cover for F#ck 'Em Up TTRPG

Things are f– . . . messed up. Really messed up. Violence is everywhere. Order is nowhere. The only good people are the ones without weapons. You’re not a good person. You have a weapon . . . well, probably more than one. Or maybe you’re the weapon. It doesn’t matter: you’re not a good person but you are out there helping those that are. Why are you doing that?

Who the heck knows? Do you? Probably not.

So, there you are—you and your crew—all alone against the world.

In F#ck ‘Em Up, you play part of a crew opposing the status quo and protecting the innocents from the purveyors of brutality. Characters need to work together to gain the greatest advantage. The violence they apply can be physical, mental, or social as they seek to evoke change. There is no specific setting, but the struggle is against an oppressive status quo in support of those who are doing no harm.

As with all SEP games, this system requires cooperation at the table and a shared goal of telling a great story. It is the premise of SEP systems that the game experience should be fun for everyone and no player should be made uncomfortable unless that is a part of the experience of which they were informed and to which they agree. Shared respect and consideration among all participants are key to achieving a satisfying and enjoyable game for everyone at the table. If you disagree, this system and SEP games more widely are not going to meet your expectations or complement your play style.

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Gen Con Wrap-Up: Thursday, It Begins!

Gen Con Tip: There’s a food place under the escalators at the convention centre which I believe is “Crossroads” that has an area to sit and WiFi. A couple of times I grabbed a single slice of pizza and checked my email there. If your hotel doesn’t have WiFi, this place is a saviour. It was for me back in 2013.

Calling it early Wednesday night at Gen Con was a damn smart plan, because I had three games to run. I won’t do that again. By the evening, and my game with Becca, Evan, Stingray and Rich, I was kind of burnt out . . . and it was the first day!

I went to Gen Con as a rep for Sword’s Edge. That got me a press badge. I was also running four official games, which could have also got me a GM’s badge. I was also there with the Indy Game Developer Network representing Sword’s Edge Publishing. In the end, trying to do much meant I did none of it well.

Thankfully, the first game of the day went really well. That had more to do with the players. Since our game of Kiss My Axe in 2011, I’ve tried to run a game for the Lanza boys every time I meet them at Gen Con. Every single time, it’s been an absolute pleasure. This time was no different. We had a lot of fun and they got to be big damn heroes, with a bit of wire-fu action thrown into their Renaissance-style gangland revenge quest. More on the system later.

We hit the Ram for lunch, and I thought we had plenty of time. It would be a little tight, but watching the servers, I felt pretty confident that even though I only had 75 minutes before my game, we’d make it in and out in time. We did make it in on time, and the drinks and appetizer arrived fast, but then nothing. I swear our waitress forgot to enter our order. In the end, I got my burger late and undercooked. I wolfed it down and prayed I wasn’t going to regret it later. I didn’t.

I like the Ram. I like it a lot. But that was not a good experience. Happens everywhere to everyone. I guess I shouldn’t have been so flippant and cavalier about the time it would take. Will I learn this lesson? Probably not.

Not only did I leave in only barely enough time to make the game, I got lost on the way, arriving late. The players were forgiving and my first official Nefertiti Overdrive game at Gen Con went well. I’m going to let you in on a secret: all the Nefertiti Overdrive games I ran at Gen Con went well. They went great. The players were awesome and really got into it. I think next Gen Con, I’m just going to run games – not worry about the other stuff. Run a game a day and get a GM’s badge.

You heard it here. Mark your calendars. (I kid, I kid)

I had barely enough time to wolf down some food before the next game. This was another tradition, started when I ran “Crossing the Millers” at Gen Con 2011. That crew also were the first outside of my home group to try Nefertiti Overdrive, back in 201. Unfortunately, most of the crew weren’t there, but Becca and Evan joined me, and I got to game with Stringray – a Gen Con buddy from back in 2008 – and Rich – one of my G+ buddies.

So I don’t think “Train in Vain” went as well as “Gangwar” did. I blame it on me having had a full day of really intense GMing (if that’s a thing) and the system. To run a game of Nefertiti Overdrive well takes a fair amount of enthusiasm and focus. By the time 19:00 hrs rolled around, I had been “on” for about eight hours that day.

It didn’t help that Fancy Pants the RPG/F#ck You Up did not do what I wanted. It worked fine, but it didn’t work well. Fine doesn’t cut it for me. It really didn’t work as a Borderlands-style system. It was okay for “Gangwar,” for which I had no real system expectations, just story expectations. For a Borderlands-style game, I had expectations for speed of resolution and excitement. Nope.

It wasn’t the players. Everyone was on their game as usual – one reason why I love to play with these people! It was me and the system. I think if I had been running the game with Nefertiti Overdrive‘s mechanics, it would have worked a lot better.

F#ck You Up, Too will get its baptism in fire 14 Aug with my home crew going through “Train in Vain.” I’m hoping the fixes worked. We’ll see.

Becca and Evan have a young daughter, so once the game wrapped up there wasn’t much time for socializing. That was okay. I needed to get to bed. I had another busy day on Friday.

You can learn more about the Ram here.