Silverheart and the Axis of Evil
4 months ago – Thu, Aug 01, 2024 at 02:26:12 AM

Silverheart and the Axis of Evil

Donnie Rhodes — Silverheart — broke through the brick wall and crashed through three cubicles of Inner Metro City National Bank with the velocity of a rocket entering the atmosphere. Splintered wood and dust plumed around the crater in which he lay, and not for the first time that day Donnie regretted his life choices.

He wondered how long he could lay here and listen to his own labored breathing. He counted the seconds and reached a total of four before a searing burst of flame, clap of lightning, and scream of some unearthly thing broke the street outside. He pulled himself to his feet, hurrying to the street. Above, the citadel hung in the air, casting its bleak shadow across the city. Donnie winced, eyes narrowing; from so far below the edifice’s sleek metal fascia he could barely see the sun. The street was dark, not yet twilight, but illuminated by the rhythmic flashes of the ensuing battle.

Something moved, hurtling down from the raging conflict above, colliding with the road beside Rhodes. He covered his eyes, letting his gaze acclimate to the dust. Already Eric was standing, rising from the crash site, clutching one of the twitching green fiends in each hand. A twinge of jealousy grew in Rhodes’ chest as he watched his friend. “How do you get back up from a fall like that so quickly?” he shot.

Eric Donner hurled one of the creatures into the ground at his feet, lifted its twin, and brought the two creatures into a fierce impact with one another. Even in that moment, Donnie couldn’t help but admit he was impressed. The man was astonishing; every part the Captain Lightning his chosen Mantle implied. Despite the frantic nature of the battle, his costume was immaculate — even down to that silver cape. Rhodes had refused to wear such a thing; tasteless and excessive, he’d decided. On Doctor Tigrillo’s insistence, Rhodes had settled on a mask. Subtle, discrete, and far more in keeping with Rhodes’ aesthetic; but even that had been torn and scuffed in the day’s onslaught.

Donner wiped his brow. “Practice. Where’s Brigitte?”

Rhodes winced. “Codenames!” he replied. “We don’t know if these things can understand us.”

Donner glanced down at the creatures. One of them twitched. While he was certain these ones no longer posed a threat, he knew it’d take only a momentary glimpse upwards at the huge metallic construct which hung in the midday sky, disgorging swarm after swarm of the creatures into the city like a horde of enraged warps, to feel his confidence sink. “Fine, where’s Lady Grim?”

An explosion rippled through the sky; a miniature aurora of heat which wavered the air even down to street level and illuminated the shadows. The shock brought memory jarring its way back to Rhodes’ mind. Brigitte! He was standing next to her a moment before he was hurled across the intersection into the bank. He turned, glancing at the building. The National Bank itself was a wreck; pock-marked with impacts and ray blasts. He’d always had a fondness for it; his entire career as a masked vigilante had begun here, preventing bank robbers and hoodlums. The days seemed so much easier than before whatever monstrosity sat in the sky blocked out the sun and caused most of Inner Metro City’s inhabitants to flee.

Thankfully, though, it didn’t appear the building had suffered any other caped hero colliding with it. “She can’t have gone far” he stated, authoritatively.

Donner nodded; then, without a word, shot into the sky. A trail of crackling lightning tinged in his wake, arcing slightly across the site of his departure, then dissipating harmlessly. Rhodes looked upward, watching Captain Lightning’s take off. Sharply he turned in mid-air, correcting his trajectory into a horizontal plane and vanishing over the rooftops.

Rhodes watched his friend soar away, gave an annoyed sigh, and started to jog down the street. He wished that his superpowers allowed him to do similar. Yukiko’s mastery of speed and acceleration allowed her to charge across the city in the blink of an eye, while Tigrillo had mastered the mystic art of materializing from creeping fog, and even Farrow had adapted to soar through the sky, but Rhodes? He was stuck with foot travel. Somehow, he wondered if Aphrodite was smiling.

Settling into a steady jog, Rhodes hurried into the main street. He turned, leaping atop an overturned bus, and unleashing a volley of energy blasts at the creatures which beset the road. His fingers tingled with each shimmering shot scattering rays of silver. The street seemed quiet, aside from a handful of the creatures tipping waste bins and upturning motorcars. He wondered at the beings. In the three years since the masked vigilantes — he and Donner and the others — had come together to form their… what was it? A group? A society? He didn’t know what to call it, only that it had changed the world. Alone, each of them had made a difference, but together? They gave people hope; hope which, with the enormous metallic citadel blocking out the sun itself, was itself at risk!

A crack erupted above, quickly escalating into a roaring bellow. Above, a crimson trail tore atop the skyline, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Rhodes raised his fist; “Finally!” he thought to himself. “Yuk—Jetwire! Down here!”

The red line trailed, spiraling a skyscraper at the far end of the street, descending its towering structure like a helter-skelter, tore its way along the road towards Rhodes and came to rest beside him. Only as the figure stopped did her features fade into view. She sheathed her tsurugi, which Rhodes hadn’t even noticed had been drawn. “They left you behind, Silverheart?” asked Yukiko.

Rhodes adjusted his mask, ensuring it was firmly attached. “Could you give me a lift?” he asked. He knew what he was asking and knew how terribly uncomfortable the sensation of travelling at terminal velocity was for him, but time was growing short, and their group had grown too widely separated. Doctor Tigrillo, if he’d been here, would have ordered them to regroup long ago.

But Tigrillo wasn’t here; he was trapped somewhere on Planet Sigma-4, lost hurtling through the event horizon of a black hole following the group’s previous run-in with Apophis. Now, without his leadership, they only do so much. Still, bracing his eyes shut, Silverheart felt rippling velocity as air whipped across his face. He squeezed his grip on Yukiko’s hand — he didn’t open his eyes, didn’t want to see the ground grow small below. But he was Silverheart, he challenged his fears. Pulling his eyes open, he realized he could once again see the sun.

Leaping from the building top, Yukiko’s velocity brought her upwards to crest along the side of the citadel, with Rhodes clutched tightly in tow. The pair blazed their way along its side, up and over its outer rim to come to rest on the upper deck. From this perspective, Rhodes finally recognized the floating object for what it was — a glistening space battleship.

He sighed. “Get the team; it’s going to be a long day.”

The Third Shard - Draft Manuscript Preview #3 for Backers
4 months ago – Tue, Jul 30, 2024 at 03:14:36 AM

Hello Shardstriders,

We've had some fiction and a sneak peek, but now it's time to delve into the noir that is Farewell to Heroes.

In the wake of the Herakles Incident, Scions are hunted by those they used to protect. No longer are they regarded as heroes but are now villains to be treated with hatred and fear. Any overt display of divinity calls in agents from TITAN to capture and subdue the Scions. Scions are presented with the choice: imprisonment, naturalization, or hunting their fellow Scions. Scions live in a World hearing destiny’s call but struggling to resist it. The World needs heroes but revealing oneself is fraught with danger. Be branded an Outlaw without the protection of a citizen of the World on the fringes, live in denial of your identity, or live your truth — consequences be damned, because the World is worth fighting for. In Farewell to Heroes, Scions skulk in the fringes of society trying to get by without being revealed as an Unnatural, evading the attention of the TITAN organization whose agents mean to capture them. The World of Farewell to Heroes emulates the dark and gritty realistic feel of noir thrillers at the Origin and Hero Tiers of play as they utilize their divine abilities to protect a World that no longer protects them, working on the edges of society dodging Scion hunters, TITAN agents, bounty hunters, crooked officials, and monstrous Titanspawn.

International Shipping – Collected in the Pledge Manager

One quick reminder about Shipping before we get into the manuscript previews.

First up, it's amazingly expensive to ship, especially from Onyx Path's home base in the US. We get that, but there's not much we can do at this time. Onyx Path is in a difficult space where the company is big enough that they're not saving money by fulfilling out of Rich's garage, but small enough that they can't really set up international partners to handle portions of the fulfillment. So we are where we are - for now.

The best we can do at this point is to plan carefully, advise everyone up front that international shipping will likely be expensive (see our projections on the main page) and only charge what it costs us when the time comes. We’ll be charging for shipping in the Pledge Manager once the books are being printed and we can deal with the actual shipping charges rather than using our best-guesses this far out. If you live outside the US and aren't sure you want the hardcover or other physical items, you can pledge to the PDF tier now and upgrade your pledge in the Pledge Manager once we know the final shipping costs.

DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY

Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Read The Update" link on the bottom and I'll see you below the title treatment.

WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

I'm going to be sharing the manuscript in sections - or shards, even - over the next 3 weeks, Part of the reason for that is to keep focus on one section at a time so that the team can gather feedback to help guide the manuscript through the next steps of editing and development. To that end, they've created a special Feedback Form for you to submit your comments after reading each section!

Submit your feedback directly to the developers using this special Feedback Form <link>

Rolling another Stretch Goal into the mix...
4 months ago – Sun, Jul 28, 2024 at 07:18:26 AM

Hello Shardstriders,

First up, we've unlocked another Stretch Goal! The "DIY Storyguide screen" supplement called the Mythic Shards Reference Guide PDF ("just print the charts you need for your game!") has expanded to add the info for Cyber-Scion!

ACHIEVED! - At $32,000 in Funding - MYTHIC SHARDS REFERENCE GUIDE PDF - CYBER-SCION - A series of charts and information for a Storyguide to use while running a Cyber-Scion game will be added to the Reference Guide PDF. This PDF will automatically be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Scion: Mythic Shards PDF.

If you remember, our next Stretch Goal target was to create a new Add On option - a dice set themed in After the Fall colors which could be added on to your pledge for +$20.

And then I got a message from Hiromi - "Can we squeeze another dice set in this round of Stretch Goals?"

Adding dice as an option has been a challenge in the past. To do this, Onyx Path needs to step a bit outside of their core competencies and find a new manufacturing partner with their own set of requirements and timelines. As a crusty old person who interacts with some of these moving parts a bit at the fulfillment stage, I generally offer my opinion when asked as, "Can we keep it simple? Can we make it easier? Can we do less?"

Luckily for all of us, I'm not part of the Onyx Path brain team, who are creative and adventurous. And, in this instance, Hiromi offered to source the dice and select sets that, through color and appearance, matched the thematic vibe of each of the Mythic Shards.

Since Hiromi did all the work on setting up these dice Stretch Goals - not to mention co-developing the book with Kim Godwin and answering questions on Discord and in the comments and the million other things that Hiromi does - how could I not squeeze in another dice Stretch goal for this round? Plus Hiromi has a ton of dots in their Social Attributes, so a bit of a revision to our Stretch Goal plan.

At $33,000 in Funding - NEW ADD ON - AFTER THE END-THEMED DICE SET - A dice set selected to represent After The End will be offered as an option Add On to all backers pledging to a reward tier that includes a hardcover copy of Scion: Mythic Shards. A drawstring bag with ten 10-sided dice in After the End colors can be added to your pledge for +$20 each.

At $34,000 in Funding - NEW ADD ON - CYBER-SCION-THEMED DICE SET - A dice set selected to represent
Cyber-Scion will be offered as an option Add On to all backers pledging to a reward tier that includes a hardcover copy of Scion: Mythic Shards. A drawstring bag with ten 10-sided dice in Cyber-Scion colors can be added to your pledge for +$20 each.

So, two potential new Add On options as our next Stretch Goals. A bit of a preview of the possibilities...

This gets us all caught up on After the Fall- and Cyber-Scion-related Stretch Goals as we head into Farewell to Heroes, our next Mythic Shard section. Let's see if we can't unlock both of these Dice Set Add Ons by the time GenCon has wrapped up!

And, after that, we've got our already announced but super exciting Stretch Goal which will add a new shard to our Mystic Shards book!

At $35,000 in Funding - ADDITIONAL MYTHIC SHARD - A sixth Mythic Shard setting for Scion second edition will be added to the Scion: Mythic Shards PDF and hardcover book. The theme for this additional Shard will be decided by Backer vote!

That's right! If we manage to achieve $35,000 in Funding, the developers and writers will come up with a SIXTH SHARD to add to the Scion: Mythic Shards book. The theme of the new shard will be decided with a Backer Poll.
Your options for a new shard, should we achieve this Stretch Goal target:

Aquatic Adventures: An Atlantis meets Waterworld and pirate-themed shard. Dive into the depths to recover lost relics or awaken the slumbering Earth Gods to create new lands.
Lost Time: Rules for playing a battle for the stability of all realities as Scions slip through the different shards and semi shards trying to thwart a usurper's plan to invade another reality. Sliders and Doctor Who style adventures with a group of Scions who are selected to be reality police.
Journey to the Wild West: Journey to the West, but it's set in the Wild West. Wuxia cowboys!

The poll for backers to vote on their favorite will run until NOON Eastern Time the DAY AFTER we achieve this Stretch Goal. Again, we'll be voting now, but this shard will only be added to the development list and added to the eventual Scion: Mythic Shards book if we unlock this Stretch Goal at $35,000 in Funding!

So Vote! And then spread the word to all of your gaming friends and friendly gamers! Let's see if we can get some new Scions to join in, unlock a couple of shard-themed dice sets, and unlock more content for everyone!

And, seriously, a million thanks to Hiromi and Kim for the hard work they've done - not only in developing this awesome book (I love it more with every chapter) - but also all the work that's gone into building this crowdfunding campaign and interacting with backers and fans around the internets for this one!

Farewell to Heroes Sneak Peek
4 months ago – Fri, Jul 26, 2024 at 05:51:36 AM

Hello Shardstriders,

Too much fun! I'm still loving the ideas and possibilities presented in Cyber-Scion and it's mechs as Divine Machines. We're *so close* to adding Cyber-Scion to our "DIY" Storyguide Screen reference PDF supplement, and I just wanna live in that World for a bunch of adventures.

At $32,000 in Funding - MYTHIC SHARDS REFERENCE GUIDE PDF - CYBER-SCION - A series of charts and information for a Storyguide to use while running a Cyber-Scion game will be added to the Reference Guide PDF. This PDF will automatically be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Scion: Mythic Shards PDF.

Add that on to the fact that I'm STILL thinking about After the End, and my recent rewatch of Furiousa and Fury Road have got me really vibing with that setting as well. And we've got some After The End suitable dice as a potential add on in our sights.

At $34,000 in Funding - NEW ADD ON - AFTER THE END-THEMED DICE SET - A dice set selected to represent After The End will be offered as an option Add On to all backers pledging to a reward tier that includes a hardcover copy of Scion: Mythic Shards. A drawstring bag with ten 10-sided dice in After the End colors can be added to your pledge for +$20 each.

But Mystic Shards contains a ton of great ideas, and we're gearing up for the next big section download coming on Tuesday. So I start to fall in love all over again with today's sneak peek preview.

Farewell to Heroes

Farewell to Heroes takes place in a version of the World that turned against Scions in the aftermath of disaster that mortals call the Herakles Incident. Those Scions who have not already been hunted down must stay hidden from mortal forces while still feeling the pull of Fate to realize their heroic destinies. They have to decide whether it’s worth risking their own lives to draw on their divine heritage to help others, because when they do, they set in motion powerful forces that will chase them to the ends of the World.

The Scions of this World live in a murky realm. Most of them are constantly on the move, struggling to survive and keeping their nature hidden. Their desperation leads to compromise: vulnerable to blackmail from people who discover who they really are, they find themselves caught up in dangerous schemes. It’s hard to trust anyone when you know they could turn you into the authorities just for existing, but sometimes, there’s no choice. Other times, it’s best not to ask too many questions about what the smuggler who can cross the border deals in, or what the mastermind behind a robbery plans to do with the money.

Still, the call to heroism whispers in the back of Scions’ thoughts, urging them to do what’s right.

New Player Options

Schemes

Eventually, every Scion in this World finds themself in situations where the only way to get what they need is to take it from someone else. Once TITAN has identified a potential target, it’s not only supernatural threats they monitor, but financial transactions, travel, and the whole range of activities that a global intelligence network can in our own world. In order to survive, a Hero must adapt to a new economy of barter and favors, and the people they deal with will want more than a blessing.

The sort of schemes in Farewell to Heroes are different from the Operations undertaken by Draconic Heirs (Scion: Dragon, p.183) in tone, even if they cover many of the same areas of espionage. Like the rest of the setting, they’re usually smaller in scale and pettier in motivation. That’s not to say they can’t be heroic — breaking another Scion out of prison, infiltrating a network to erase records, or righting a wrong done against an ally can all be virtuous acts — but for the most part, it’s the more common factors of greed, revenge, or desperation that drive them.

Planning and executing a scheme is a specific form of Complex Action that requires the successful completion of a number of Milestones to accomplish. The number of Milestones depends, as usual, on the complexity of the plan. The maximum number of failed Intervals — the Countdown — before the plan falls apart represents the amount of outside attention the characters can afford to attract before triggering a response from local authorities or TITAN. Using supernatural abilities during the scheme (especially Boons and Marvels, but also clearly superhuman Knacks when used in front of witnesses) reduces the Countdown before the literal or metaphorical alarm sounds.

When deciding to carry out a scheme, the first thing for the players and Storyguide to determine is the number of Milestones they need to succeed. The minimum is two: one to plan, one to carry out. There’s no maximum, but situations involving more than five Milestones should be reserved for the most audacious attempts, like breaking into TITAN headquarters in São Paolo.

Milestones Examples
2 Break into a small bank or store, con a local figure, escape custody in a town
3 Break into a wealthy mansion, con a regional figure, rescue someone from moving vehicles
4 Break into a secured vault or museum, con a national figure, escape federal prison
5 Break into a TITAN office, con TITAN agents, escape TITAN prison

Because success depends on keeping reductions to the Countdown to a minimum, players will want to focus on the planning stage as much as possible and use it to build up a pool of Enhancements for the execution. Invoking an appropriate Path connection for aid gives 1 Enhancement without requiring any rolls, but because the World is less trusting of Scions than usual, it can come at a higher price: if the request puts the connection at serious risk or goes against their values, it still succeeds, but triggers the Path Suspended Condition (Scion: Origin, p.101) until the end of the scheme or until the character does something to set matters right with them. This applies even if the scheme takes multiple sessions to complete, unlike the usual consequences of the Condition.

It's up to the player invoking the Path to explain how the connection will help, and at what stage of the plan. It can take the form of information (guard schedules, types of locks, drink preferences), physical activity (briefly shutting down power, distracting a guard, holding a door open), or equipment (custodian’s uniform, company car, party invitation), and adds its Enhancement to rolls where it would reasonably apply.

If players want to play out part of the planning stage by having their characters gather information or other resources themselves, they run the risk of making a failed roll in the scene (and decreasing the Countdown) but gain the advantage of being able to turn any threshold successes into an Enhancement during the execution stage, up to 3 Enhancement. Invoking a Path to get an I.D. card is safer, but plying a security guard with drinks could mean getting not only a card, but an entire uniform and a solid excuse for why the guard is missing on the night of a heist.

Countdown

Countdown represents the number of failed Intervals that players can accumulate before triggering a large-scale response or otherwise failing an entire scheme. It begins at 7 — the number of Milestones needed, and is reduced by 1 for each failed Interval. That does not mean each failed roll, but only if the outcome of a scene as a whole could be considered a failure. For example: failing to gain vital information from a target after a lengthy persuasion attempt; allowing any of a group of guards to summon reinforcements, unless the reinforcements are also subdued; or being unable to hack the security of a TITAN office’s computer network. So long as an attempt succeeds by the end of the scene, it doesn’t reduce the Countdown.

In addition, Countdown can be decreased or increased by any of the following:
Display a character’s Omen (Scion: Hero, p.188), -1
Perform a Feat of Scale, -1
Perform a visibly supernatural action in public, -1
Use a Boon or Marvel near detection wards, -1
Gain 3 Momentum when Momentum pool is empty, -1
Spend 3 Momentum, +1
Start of a new session, +1

The Countdown increase at the start of a new session only applies if the characters aren’t already in the midst of a scheme (e.g., the previous session didn’t end with one of them dangling on a rope over a museum exhibit while security is approaching). So long as they can spend at least a scene engaged in more innocent activities, it rises during the cooling-off period, although it cannot exceed the base Countdown for the difficulty of the task. For this reason, it’s generally a good idea to spread the planning and execution of particularly risky schemes over a several sessions or even an entire arc and focus on other plans until it’s safe to proceed.

At Countdown 0, the Scions have failed in their scheme and must escape the scene immediately. This usually means triggering a further Complex Action using the chase rules (Scion: Origin, p. 73), with contested rolls between the Scions and their pursuers and requiring one lap fewer to succeed than the number of Milestones needed for the original plan. The nature of the pursuit is up to the Storyguide: the higher the number of Milestones, the more dangerous it is, ranging from a few local police cars or bodyguards at lower levels to teams of TITAN agents at the upper end.

New Fatebindings

Traditional film noir involves two character tropes that appear frequently enough to be representative of the genre, but are often outdated: specifically, the femme fatale and damsel in distress. In Farewell to Heroes, variations of these take the form of Fatebindings, but in a way as to apply to a much wider range of Storyguide characters.

Innocent

Typically young and naïve, the Innocent turns to a Scion because they recognize some inherent goodness in them and trust them to find a solution to their problems. On their own, they act as a beacon of hope despite the cynicism of the World, encouraging the Scion to display their own heroism.

Appropriate Callings: Creator, Guardian, Hunter, Judge, Leader, Lover, Trickster, Warrior

Invoke: In the face of adversity, the Innocent taps into the Scion’s hidden reserves of strength. The Scion’s player can choose one of the following results:

Immediately heal one of their own Bruised Injury Conditions.
Ignore an Injured Condition for the rest of the scene.
Add Momentum equal to half the Fatebinding’s strength to a separate pool that empties at the end of the scene and is only available to the Scion.

Compel: The Innocent’s trusting nature tends to land them in trouble. The Scion gains 1 Legend while the Innocent gains the Imperiled Condition. The nature of the peril is not necessarily life-threatening; kidnapping and blackmail are just as likely.

Resolve: Some Innocents maintain their hopefulness throughout their Fatebinding, while others learn from the experience to become more worldly. The Scion’s player chooses one of the following results:

The Innocent discovers their own power. For the duration of the scene, treat them as a Follower of a level equal to the Fatebinding’s strength, with an archetype of the player’s choosing. At the end of the scene, the Scion completes a Deed, and the Innocent becomes a Balm, Boon Companion, or Paramour of equal strength.
The Innocent sacrifices themselves to negate any source of damage that would result in the Scion being Crippled or Taken out. If the source of the damage would injure others in the area as well, they are also protected. The Scion accepts a failure Deed and the Innocent is removed from play permanently.

Lure

Sometimes an ally, sometimes an enemy, the Lure draws a character further into the plot by offering them what they need along the way. Some Lures are aware their motivations are selfish, even cruel, and still manipulate others for their own purposes. Others act as they do because they can’t see any other way out of a predicament, they find themselves in; they may hate themselves for it and have genuine feelings for the target of their deceit, but they still carry on.

Appropriate Callings: Guardian, Healer, Hunter, Liminal, Lover, Sage, Trickster

Invoke: The Lure intercedes to help the Scion along their current path, brushing aside obstacles and rallying them to victory. For the rest of the scene, ignore a single Complication with a level up to the Fatebinding’s strength, including those resulting from Injury Conditions.

Compel: The Lure subtly sabotages the Scion’s efforts without revealing their betrayal. Gain 1 Legend but add Tension to the pool equal to the Fatebinding’s strength.

Resolve: The outcome of a relationship with a Lure is never certain, but always dramatic. Either they have a change of heart and try to make up for their past actions by sacrificing themselves or they reveal their manipulative nature. The Scion’s player chooses one of the following results:

The Lure gives themself up so that the Scion can advance a scheme. Increasing the Countdown by 1 (2 if the Fatebinding strength is 4 or 5), accept a failure Deed for the appropriate Calling, and remove the Lure from play permanently. Resolving the Fatebinding outside of a scheme means that the Lure sacrifices themselves to prevent imminent, lethal danger — throwing themselves in the way of bullets or setting off a trap intended for the Scion — instead of increasing Countdown.
The Lure gloats over their betrayal before escaping, but in doing so, encourages the Scion to succeed even more. Decrease the Countdown by 1 (2 if the Fatebinding strength is 4 or 5), but gain Enhancement on all actions for the rest of the scene equal to the Fatebinding strength. Convert the Fatebinding into a Rival, Nemesis, or Traitor of equal strength and remove them from play for the rest of the episode. Resolving the Fatebinding outside of a scheme fills the Tension pool to its maximum instead of decreasing the Countdown.

OK, yeah, I'm gonna dig Farewell to Heroes too! Can there be too much awesomeness in one book?

And, of course, can turn the dial up to 11 and add even more?

Aquatic Adventures: An Atlantis meets Waterworld and pirate-themed shard. Dive into the depths to recover lost relics or awaken the slumbering Earth Gods to create new lands.
Lost Time: Rules for playing a battle for the stability of all realities as Scions slip through the different shards and semi shards trying to thwart a usurper's plan to invade another reality. Sliders and Doctor Who style adventures with a group of Scions who are selected to be reality police.
Journey to the Wild West: Journey to the West, but it's set in the Wild West. Wuxia cowboys!

Farewell to Heroes
4 months ago – Thu, Jul 25, 2024 at 02:45:17 AM

A Bottle of Jack

It had been years since I’d been to Herla’s, but for all it had stayed the same, it could have been only a night or two: the same football club pennants thumbtacked to the wall over the bar, the same stained blue carpet that had been a bad idea from the day they laid it down, the same jukebox. I was pretty sure the level of some of the bottles lined up in front of the mirror hadn’t changed either, because even the kind of people who drink at Herla’s have some minimal self-respect when it comes to what they put into their bodies. No one wants to be remembered as the guy who died after a shot of something that tasted like cough syrup and burning plastic.

It wasn’t exactly the same, though. When I stepped in from the street, the old warmth was gone, even if I couldn’t see or explain just how. Like going back to a movie theater you used to take your ex, once the feelings were stripped away and you saw it for what it was, it turned into something less, something cheap, something with no kindness for old friends or old memories. But I wasn’t there today to feel cozy. I was there because I had to be.

Koenig was working behind the bar like he always was, all five-foot-and-change of a scarecrow build and seven or eight decades of experience in the sharper, meaner parts of life. When he saw me coming, he cleared the stools in front of him of their patrons to give us room to talk, poured a draft, and set it out between us without a word. The stool wobbled when I sat down, because of course Koenig wouldn’t have fixed it in all the time I’d been away.

“Sorry it took so long to get here,” I said. “This country’s too big to have to cross it on a bus, but I couldn’t get to any of the shortcuts. And I wasn’t going to pay for a plane ticket. It’s not like he’s going anywhere, right?”

“Welcome to life as one of the little people,” Koenig answered. From under the bar, he produced a coffee can and put it down next to my beer. A strip of tape on the lid read JACK’S ASHES — DO NOT SNORT in black marker, with the last three words underlined. It wasn’t an unreasonable precaution to take in a place like Herla’s.

I took a moment to look at it. It was all so ordinary. Probably not the way Jack expected to end up. Not the way anyone expects to end up, but especially not people like us. I lifted my glass and tapped it against the side of the car in a toast. “I remember him being taller. You sure he’s in there? This has to be the fifth time he’s died since I’ve known him.”

Koenig nodded. “Went to the funeral myself. Wasn’t much of a turnout, what with the way he died and no one wanting to get on one of TITAN’s lists for being too friendly with an Outlaw. Can’t say I blame them, but you’d think more of his friends would show up for it. At least the man who called himself Jack’s blood brother would.”

I winced a little at the jab, then took a sip of my beer. “Doesn’t look like there’s any blood left in him to be a brother to,” I said. The whole blood brother deal had been a mistake anyhow. Jack and I both got too drunk one night after finishing off a man-eater in Los Angeles, swore our everlasting loyalty to each other, and woke up the next morning with matching cuts on our palms. I still have the scar, and I’m sure he would, too, if he had anywhere to put it. “Hard to believe they finally got him.”

Koenig nodded. “They don’t play fair, not like the old days. Last time I talked to him, he’d got himself wrapped up in some kid’s problems not far from here. The usual thing: sorcerer getting too big for the little town he was in had his hands on some magic that would’ve blown up in everybody’s faces if he kept at it. Normally, it was the kind of deal Jack would have sorted out without anyone wising up to what he was doing, but this time, the sorcerer’s connected.” He sighed and shook his head. “Jack had barely set foot in town before a sniper took his head clean off. Right out in broad daylight, too, can you imagine that? Not like the old days, not at all.”

I didn’t bother to ask if they found out who did it; there wasn’t any point, at least as far as the police went. Jack had been outside the law for a few years now, which made him fair game anywhere. The only way they’d charge someone was if a civic-minded citizen put in a noise complaint about the rifle, and most people value their own heads too much to risk it. Not like the old days, indeed.

Suddenly, I wasn’t in the mood to reminisce. I’d come back for the ashes like I was asked to, but this bar — this whole city, really — was weighing down on my back more than I thought it would. Or maybe that was just the two-day bus ride I was feeling. Koenig had filled me in on Jack’s last request over the phone before I’d started my trip: “He wants you to scatter his ashes over his boat, the Red & Black. It’s still down in the harbor where it’s always been, but someone’s eventually going to notice the payments have stopped, so you have to get over here. And it’s got to be you. He was clear on that.”

There wasn’t much more to say, so I didn’t say anything. Once I finished my drink, I picked up the coffee can and tucked it under my arm. It was lighter than I expected. Of course, it didn’t have Jack’s ego in it, which was always most of what he was. “See you next time, Koenig,” I said on my way out. I didn’t catch what he said back to me, but I don’t think it was a fond farewell.

The Red & Black could have been called a houseboat, but not if you wanted anyone to believe anything else you told them. Sure, it was a boat, and technically, you could live there, but having spent more than a few nights onboard, I wasn’t going to be the one to make a case for it. But I added the layer of ashes Jack wanted, muttering a few prayers as I did.

In the old days, this would have been the time when he walked up to me with a grin on his face and some story about how he’d slipped away from death again. We’d open a bottle of vodka and traded shots until we couldn’t feel the boat rocking any more. But these weren’t the old days, and he wasn’t coming back tonight.

Scion: Mythic Shards

Created by Onyx Path

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