A Free Agent at PretzCon

     PretzCon 2022 is nigh and it's hopefully going to be my first in-person convention in three years since the world went to hell and we bunkered down. As a demo agent for Free League Publishing, I'm going to be running demos of The One Ring 2e and Vaesen. I'll be running "The Old Dwarf-Mines" and "Star of the Mist" for TOR 2e using pregens converted from the TOR 1e pregens. Below you'll see there are two versions for some of the pregens. Those pregens with two versions have one which was a translation from first to second edition and another which is rebuilt under the rules as written (RAW). The "translated" pregens are closer to their first edition versions as I ignored the rule that cultural virtues require a Wisdom score of 2+. The only pregen which differs significantly is Saewara of Stockhorn. Under the rules as written, a wanderer in first edition becomes a messenger in second. I felt that wasn't quite fitting for Saewara given her background and also the calling of captain was not represented in the pregens. I've removed the listing of old MERP and LOTR RPG pregens and will post the conversions when I have time.

 

The One Ring 1st Edition Pregens

• Lifstan, Son of Leiknir (Barding Treasure-Hunter)*
• Beran of the Mountains (Beorning Warden)
• Beli (Dwarf Treasure-Hunter)*
• Caranthir (Elf Scholar)
• Trotter (Hobbit Treasure-Hunter) - Converted and RAW*
  
• The Bride (Woodsmen Warden) - Converted and RAW
• Frida, Daughter of Finnulf (Lake-folk Messenger) - Converted and RAW
• Mona, Daughter of Ginar (Dwarf Warden)
• Barin Greycloak (Dwarf Messenger)*
• Aelfilda (Rohirrim Scholar) - Converted and RAW
  
• Dunhere (Rohirrim Scholar)
• Herubrand (Rohirrim Warden) - Converted and RAW
  
• Saewara of Starkhorn (Rohirrim Captain)
• Thuna (Rohirrim Warden) - Converted and RAW
• Wulf (Rohirrim Champion) - Converted and RAW
• Ralsora (Dunlending Treasure-Hunter) - Converted and RAW
• Fareth (Ranger of the North Warden)*
• Cirmacar (Elf Scholar) - Converted and RAW*

* - Suitable for use as a Free Agent demo character.

 

     For Vaesen, I'm doing something new. Before the demo event ("Dance of Dreams"), I'm going to present a "Session Zero" slot to educate players on the game and setting. I'll be offering pregens as well as character folios for players to use in creating their own characters if they so choose. Below are links to the character folios as well as the pregen characters. Anybody who owns the Vaesen rulebook will notice there are several additional folios beyond the archetypes presented in the core book. These are pulled from Cornish Vaesen, a Free League Workshop publication by JVC Parry. Below is also a link to a bug-fixed version of the form-fillable character sheet created by DreamsAmongStars on the Vaesen Reddit. Finally, the pregens are from two different creators, one of whom was deep_impact on the same Vaesen Reddit as DreamsAmongStars. The material below is suitable for use by Free Agents for their demos as they are RAW, no house rulings or homebrew.

 

Vaesen Pregenerated Characters

• Christina Skytte, Writer
• Dorotea Lind, Doctor
• Lyyli Tamminen, Occultist
• Niklas Skogge, Vagabond
• Otto von Kaiserling, Officer
• Reverend Nystrom, Priest 
• Patricia Bergqvist, Writer
•  Aron Lundstrom, Vagabond
• Henry Anderburg, Servant
• Olof Skoglund, Hunter
  

 

Corebook Archetype Folios

• Academic (standard PDF and form-fillable)
• Doctor (standard PDF and form-fillable)
• Hunter (standard PDF and form-fillable)
• Occultist (standard PDF and form-fillable)
• Officer (standard PDF and form-fillable)
• Priest (standard PDF and form-fillable)
• Private Detective (standard PDF and form-fillable)
• Servant (standard PDF and form-fillable)
• Vagabond (standard PDF and form-fillable)
• Writer (standard PDF and form-fillable)
• Form-fillable character sheet

Cornish Vaesen Archetype Folios

• Fisher (standard PDF and form-fillable)
• Miner (standard PDF and form-fillable)
• Smuggler (standard PDF and form-fillable)

 

Further Update From The Free Agent Front

     It's been a tumultuous time as of late for me with a death in my family, but coming out of that shadow, there is a bright spot. I managed to nab copies of the starter set and core rulebook for The One Ring. I also bought a couple of dice packs with the hope of correcting the possibility of a misprinted d12 in the starter set (more on that a bit down the line). Well, no good idea or deed goes unpunished - or gazed upon by Sauron's Eye.

     You see, the first round of dice made for TOR 2e had misprinted d12s. The d12 in TOR is an extra die rolled by the player or GM with the potential to cause weal or woe to the character making the test. The original d12 had Sauron's Eye in place of the 11 and Gandalf's Rune in place of the 12. The new dice have Sauron's Eye mistakenly in place of the 1. While I don't have an eye for dice probabilities, I've been told this makes things swing a bit more in the Dark Lord's favor.

     It's a simple mistake, one I'm not going to get bent out of shape over. In most RPGs a roll of 1 isn't a good thing, especially on an effect die. It usualy signifies trouble of some degree based on the overall outcome of the dice roll. While Free League has offered to replace these dice when returned, I don't plan on taking them up on the offer. I don't have time (or money) to waste sending three d12s across the pond and then waiting for three replacements to come back across the water. That being said, I'm just going to interpret an 11 as a 1. It's all I can do. Worse case scenario is that I'll have to roll the d12 myself using my 1e d12 or use a regular d12 and interpret it as the rules state.

     My first demos are decidedly going to be online as local gaming shops do not have their gaming space open quiet yet. As for the convention scene, it's up in the air due to a number of things I don't feel at liberty to discuss. Whether or not I attend ANY convention will depend on their COVID rules, my comfort level, and whether or not there's a virtual option should I feel uncomfortable attending in person.

     That's all I have to report at this time. More to come as things develop...

A Free Agent's Life For Me!

     So, anybody who's even glanced at my blog will see that my 2300AD post is now gone. Well, it's not really gone, but it's not public anymore. After a long series of delays thanks to real life and work, I managed to carry the torch too long in hope of running Mongoose Publishing's version of 2300AD and just got burned out.

     As a result, I decided to take a break from running any campaigns of my own and be a player for a while. Once I'm ready to step back into the role of GM, I'm going to be taking on an additional role - that of a demo agent for Free League Publishing. In the past, I served as a Bounty Hunter for Alderac Entertainment Group, running demos of Spycraft and Stargate SG-1. Now I'm going to be running a whole other set of games for a new generation.

     Overall, I'm going with Vaesen, The One Ring, and Twilight 2000. Although Free League's program is just starting out, Twilight 2000 and Vaesen already have a wide ranging library of community content, one which I hope to contribute to in the near future to aid in supporting my fellow Free Agents. The One Ring will probably take some work as the line is pretty small at this time. While there's a considerable amount of material previously published for Cubicle 7's first edition of TOR, I'm still trying to sort out the issue of compatibility and what Free League will allow.

     Will I get my groove back? Yes. Eventually. Hopefully by fall I'll be back to running games at the local cons. For now, I'm going to work on expanding my RPG repetoire, sort out what direction I want to go in with Free League, and see where this leads me.