November 2016 Update

Been a couple of months since the last update and people have been asking how things are going.

So heres a round-up of things, thats also a day early!

Frozen Skies

Happy with the Setting Rules as they currently stand, hopefully playtesting won't throw up any problems. Don't see any more changes being made at this stage, but we'll see.

The rest of the work involved is sorting out Edges and Hindrances, as well as editing all the text to make it into a proper book format rather than a jumbled collection of notes and blog posts. I've made some progress here but there is still a fair amount of work to be done with the writing, but hopeful we'll see the final book some point in the New Year. A change of dayjobs and other factors means in theory that I have more time to devout to getting Frozen Skies finished.

Though I am pleased to announce that the artwork side of things have started moving again, the artist recently finished this piece of a Skyship.

Going Gyro

Conventional aircraft have been covered along with airships of various descriptions, yet there is a type that has only been mentioned but never given much detail. In Darmonica these aircraft are known collectively as 'gyros' but they are effectively helicopters. They aren't that common in Alyeska and the few examples that do exist are in military service, primarily for the use of the Wulfbane Commandos.

Going Gyro

Here are some examples of Gyros that can be encountered in Darmonica.

Gyro-Courier

The Gyro-Courier is a fast and nimble aircraft, usually in its element in mountainous or urban environments. Primarily a civilian aircraft used to move small cargoes or passengers, but armed versions do exist and are used by corporate security forces.

Acc/TS: 20/50; Toughness: 11 (2); Crew: 1+3; Climb: -1; Handling: +1

Gyro-Scout

An older type, originally used by the military during the early days of the Great Darmonican War for recce sorties but gradually replaced by faster aircraft. Does have a much longer range than the Courier model, a selling point for many a mining and logging company.

Acc/TS: 20/60; Toughness: 10 (1); Crew: 1; Climb: -1; Handling: +2

Gyro-Carrier

Exclusively used by the military, these aircraft are capable of carrying an entire squad of soldiers and are typically seen transporting squads of Wulfbane Commandos.

Acc/TS: 15/48; Toughness: 14 (2); Crew: 2+10; Climb: 0; Handling:-1

The Cloud Runner

Back in the mists of time I put together a book of short stories called Alyeskan Tales, a sort of fiction companion for Frozen Skies if you will. One of the stories was called 'The Alyeskan Job' and concerned the crew of a cargo plane called the Grey Bonxie and was intended to be the beginnings of a series that would be called 'Tales of the Grey Bonxie'. Well time moves on and ideas change, prompting a retcon of the original Grey Bonxie idea.

So this week we're meeting the crew of the...

Cloud Runner

First off, tis an airship.

Its an old Rover-class scout airship that saw service during the Great Darmonican War, sold off after the armistice as the Commonwealth's military started winding down after the conflict. Despite being old, its a solid military design that features individually wired gas cells of Lift Gas for built-in redundancy and damage control. It also sports hooks to mount a pair of fighter-reconnaissance aircraft to extend its patrol radius and for self-defence. Propulsion is provided by four engines mounted in nacelles on the sides of the airship, the nacelles also feature 50-cal machine guns to provide extra defence capabilities.

Some point after the War's end the airship was acquired by a certain Artemis Stormwell, who named it the Cloud Runner, was used in a semi-successful career flying cargo all over Alyeska. With small profit margins the Cloud Runner these days features a far smaller crew than she did when she was in military service, likewise she only has a single escort aircraft that doubles up as a small transport plane.

The Crew

Artemis Stormwell - Effectively the Cloud Runner's captain, joined the Commonwealth Air Force during the War and had only just completed flight training when the conflicted ended. He was reduced to a Short Service enlistment as post-war cutbacks began and assigned to the Commonwealth colony of Orduesh where he transport planes over the sands of the Southern Wastes for three years before being demobbed. In an attempt to keep flying he went to Alyeska and signed on with the Aerial Corps, acquiring the Cloud Runner a short time afterwards.

James Midnightte - Served with the Royal Aero-Marines for a fair number of years and saw action during the War, though he is a quiet and reserved man who doesn't speak much of his time with the Rams (though he has stated that he was a sergeant). He has best been described as "an honourable man who's found himself stuck in a hive of thieves and cut-throats", though he remains loyal to Stormwell after rescuing him from a bar brawl (though is unaware said bar brawl was started by the latter cheating at a game of cards). Onboard the Cloud Runner he serves as a de facto First Mate and as an air gunner.

Gervase - The Cloud Runner's other air gunner and another former military man, believed to have served in the army as either a quartermaster or driver but little else is known beyond that. Has proven to be a good getaway driver, but is less than trustworthy and has bit of a drinking problem.

Kaya - The sole female member of the crew and the airship's mechanic, a very highly skilled mechanic capable of fixing almost anything with a few choice words and a whack or two with a spanner. She hasn't revealed her surname, though its believed that she had bit of a sheltered upbringing and is a bit naive about the ways of the world. Both Stormwell and Midnightte keep a close eye on her whenever she comes out drinking with the crew, especially after Gervase has a few drinks inside of him.

Nate Rawlons - Nate Rawlons is the best fighter ace in all of Darmonica, least that what he tells everyone he meets. Stormwell considers him a 'deranged, hot shot kid' whom the Aerial Corps forced upon him and wants shot of the young pilot. One thing for certain is that he is full of energy, but his state of mind is questionable at best as he seems slightly of phase with everyone else. Nate is suppose to fly the Cloud Runner's escort, a Drake heavy fighter converted to be a small armed transport, though Stormwell usually flies this aircraft and makes Nate man the rear turret.

More Aircraft Thoughts

Work on Frozen Skies has admittedly slowed down a bit over the summer due to various factors, least with the blog I've still been able to produce content and ideas. The recent Fool's Errand adventure series is a prime example of this and I'm looking to do a few more adventures of varying lengths to give people more options to play with. Though this week's topic is prompted by a recent question over on the Savage Worlds Google+ group.

More Aircraft Thoughts

Been thinking about expanding on the aircraft rules a bit, namely with more modifications and manoeuvres.

Cargo Space

Looking to handle in a similar fashion to 50 Fathoms, as in the aircraft can carry as many 'units' of cargo that it has space for. What I have down at the moment for a Cargo Space modification is that it costs £25 and takes up one aircraft space, though technically there is no limit. Obviously it means that bigger aircraft can carry more cargo than smaller aircraft, so I foresee Heavy Fighters and Bombers generally being used as cargo planes. That said a Light Fighter could be modified as a fast and armed courier, flying small but valuable cargoes.

Manoeuvres

Another thing that I like to add to the aircraft combat rules is more manoeuvres to help flesh it out a bit more. I will probably go through the existing manoeuvres and see if any of them need modifiers to the Piloting rolls for them.

Immelmann - An Immelmann is effectively a 180 degree turn achieved by the aircraft climbing up and then looping over. In order to pull this off in game terms, make a Piloting roll with a -2 penalty. Success means you've pulled this manoeuvre off, failure means the aircraft goes Out of Control.

Alyeskan Tales: Fool's Errand Part 4

Here be the fourth and final instalment of the Fool's Errand series of adventures.

We have seen our heroes sent out to the Wulflands to retrieve an item only for the job to go south when a rival crew and some even less friendly critters showed up. Forced to return empty handed to their crime lord employer, our heroes were given the chance of redemption (in their boss' eyes at least) and tasked with recovering the item. Their chase has led them on a path of peril to the Bastion Peaks and to the hive of scum and villainy known as Broken Spires...

Act Four: Showdown At The Spires

Whether its Karla or the Rival Crew that the players are after, a raise on a Streetwise roll with a -2 penalty will led them to a tavern where their target is located. Regardless of whether its Karla or the Rival Boss leading them, there will be d4+2 thugs (use stats from Part 1). If the players try using diplomacy then use the Social Conflict rules in the SWD, though the players will suffer a -2 penatly on their rolls due to being outnumbered. Otherwise go straight to combat.

The thugs will try to swarm the players, though the fight will go out of them if they lose over two-thirds of their numbers. The Rival Boss will hang back until half his men are down at which point he'll enter the fray, though if the thugs' leader is Karla she'll hang back for a couple of rounds before trying to sneak out of the tavern. After 2d4 rounds of combat the door of the tavern will explode, treat this as a Medium sized blast that does 3d6 damage and its centered on the door. This heralds the rival of a squad of ten (10) black-clad, armoured and SMG armed soldiers led by a similarly attired officer who's orders are to liquidate everyone in the tavern and take the item. Obviously the players' goal is to get the item and get the heck outta dodge with as few bullet holes as possible.

Any surviving thugs will fight the soldiers, though this will be the only luck that the players will have as it'll give them a window of opportunity to grab the item. If Karla/Rival boss are still alive then they would've fled into one of the upstairs rooms, especially after the soldiers arrive. They hand over the item with only a small amount of encouragement (right now they'll be more interested in saving their own skin), explain that its an Ancient Terran artefact (hence why everyone is so interested) and if left alive they'll alert the soldiers to the fact that the players now have the item (because they're such a nice person).

Once they've recovered the item the players can attempt to leave, though any surviving soldiers will attempt to give chase (use the rules for a Standard Chase). Once outside the tavern the players will be greeted with a scene of chaos; a aerial brawl is being raged above the streets of Broken Spires and around a gray coloured zeppelin that sorts a large black anvil on either side. A Knowledge (Criminal Underworld) roll will reveal this as the mark of the Blackforge Consortium, a crime synidcate that is infamous throughout Alyeska and isn't a very good sign. A squadron of 14 Kestral fighters sporting similar markings are busy engaging whatever aircraft the locals of the Spires can get airborne at short notice, though it does mean that the airfield is largely untouched and a number of aircraft (including the players' own cargo plane) are still intact.

Once airborne in their aircraft of choice (their own or otherwise) a pair of Blackforge fighters will give chase as the players try to escape. Run this as a Dogfight chase that ends when the two Blackforge fighters are lost and/or destroyed, though there is a -4 penalty on Piloting rolls due to the terrain round Broken Spires. If the players somehow survive then their next job is to head back to Ferret and collect their reward, though if they mention the Blackforge Consortium then the crime boss will want shot of the item soon as and task the players with taking it to a fence who can sell it on. Otherwise Ferret will organize an auction for the item, though that will be an adventure for another day.

Appendix

Aircraft, see; Aircraft of the Commonwealth Air Force 

Blackforge Soldier

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Notice d8, Shooting d8, Stealth d6, Survival d6, Throwing d4
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 8 (2)
Edges: Bock, Combat Reflexes, Marksman, Quick
Hindrances: Vow
Gear: SMG (12/24/48, 2d6+1, RoF 3, 30 shots, AP 1, Auto), Bayonet (Str+d4), Flak Jacket (+2/+4, Covers Torso)

Blackforge Officer - Wild Card

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, Knowledge (Battle) dd10, Notice d8, Shooting d8
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 8 (2)
Edges: Command, Hold the Line!, Nerves of Steel
Hindrances: Vow
Gear: Machine pistol (12/24/48, 2d6-1, RoF 3, 30 shots, AP 1, Auto, Flak Jacket (+2/+4, Covers Torso)

Alyeskan Tales: Fool's Errand Part 3

Part Three of the Alyeskan Tales: Fool's Errand series.

Originally commissioned to retrieve an item from a ghost town in the Wulflands, the team have found itself betrayed after said item was stolen from them. Facing a crime lord's wrath unless they could get the item back the characters have been on the trial of the thief, though they have learnt that there are other interested parties also looking for the item.

Now the character's path leads them to the Bastion Peaks.

Act Three: At The Mountains of Trouble

The trial will lead the characters to the small mining town of Arran Crag, nestled amongst the foothills of the Bastion Peaks. Arran Crag is a rough and ready town, the salt mine being the main source of employment in the town. It is also a company town and law enforcement is handled by a company hired sheriff rather than the Royal Alyeskan Air Police, though the sheriff is more interested in making sure that the mine runs smoothly and tends to turn a blind eye to activities that don't disrupt the mining. Because of this the town gets frequented by sky pirates and criminals alike, making Arran Crag a sort of gateway to Broken Spires.

Both Karla and the Rival Crew passed through the town, a Streetwise roll at a -2 penatly (plus any Charisma modifiers) will confirm this as much. However finding anyone who knows the location of Broken Spires will take a Streetwise roll with a -4 penalty, even then the person will only give up the info if the players complete a job for them; retrieve some goods from a nearby cave.

The cave itself is a couple of miles outside of town and the characters can easily hire a truck to use, they'll need some form of vehicle to carry the goods back to town. The only problem is that the area surrounding the cave as recently been claimed by a pack of eight wolves led by a Pack Alpha (use the wolf stats from the SWD rulebook, Pack Alpha is a Dire Wolf and a Wild Card). Clearing out the wolves will make the job easier, but isn't required if the characters are smart and use a distraction to draw them away from the cave.

After returning to town with the goods they'll be given directions to Broken Spires, though the flight through the mountains will be difficult and hence a -4 penalty on any Piloting rolls. Enroute through the mountains the players will be attacked by a pack of Cloudhaunts, run this has an Extended Chase as the characters attempt to get clear of the creatures.

Appendix

Cargo planes are a common sight in the skies over Alyeska, presented below are the stats of a typical aircraft.

Acc/TS: 20/120; Toughness: 12 (2); Crew: 4; Climb: 0; Handling: -1; Notes: Light Transport

Alyeskan Tales: Fool's Errand Part 2

Part Two of the Alyeskan Tales: Fool's Errand series.

In the first instalment the players were commissioned by the crime boss Ferret to retrieve an item from a ghost town out in the Wulflands. Though despite finding the item in question the players will return empty handed, leaving their employer less than impressed.

Act Two: Cold Betrayal

The second act opens presuming that the players have lost the item, though how isn't important just yet, and return to Ferret to explain what happens. As expected the crime boss is less than happy with the turn of events, though he'll be even more displeased if the players wait for more than a day and will track the players to let his displeasure made clear. Though angry he will hear the players out if they come see him sooner rather than later, the end result will be the players being sent out to get the item back from whoever took it with a deadline to do so...though if the players handed the item over the rival crew Ferret will reduce the payment he'd offered for the job.

If The Rival Crew Took The Item:- The players will have to do some legwork visiting taverns or tracking down connections in Alyeska's criminal underworld. This will entail three successful Connection (Criminal) or Streetwise based rolls at a -2 penalty to both, though it can be a mixture if the GM so wishes. Though a failure will draw unwanted attention from d4 thugs (use Rival Thug stats from Act One) per player. Once the players manage three successful rolls they will discover that the Rival Crew flew out to the Bastion Peaks, if Karla is still with the party she will take this opportunity to leave and make her own way to Broken Spires to tip off her employer.

If Karla Took The Item:- Ferret suggests that the players check out Karla's lodgings, these are a bit easier to find but by the time the players get there they have been recently cleared out of what meagre processions that Karla owned. There isn't much of interest aside from a discard note found if one of the players does a Notice roll at a -4. The note finalizes an agreement that Karla had with another party, basically asking her to bring the item to the sky pirate haven of Broken Spires. A Streetwise roll at the local airfield will confirm that a woman matching Karla's description recently boarded a flight to a town near the Bastion Peaks.

The players' next step is to make their own way to the Bastion Peaks, presumably with their own aircraft. When they do decide to head to the Peaks they'll be met by a bunch of thugs (like the ones from earlier but d6 per player) who'll try to warn them to drop their pursuit, if the players have skipped meeting Ferret then these thugs will be his henchman instead. If the latter then the players will have alot of explaining to do for Ferret will think the players have double crossed him, long as the players can talk their out of it then hopefully it won't end up as a gunfight.

Cast of Characters

Ferret - Wild Card

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d4, Notice d6, Persuasion d6, Shooting d6, Streetwise d6, Taunt d6
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Edges: Connections, Quick
Hindrances: Cautious, Greedy (Major or Minor)
Gear: Machine pistol (12/24/48, 2d6-1, RoF 3, 30 shots, AP 1, Auto)

September 2016 Update

Update time!

Basically a quick roundup of whats happening with Utherwald Press at the moment, whats in the works and final conventions of the year.

Frozen Skies

The big one at the moment, currently trying to get a Print-On-Demand version of the setting primer done. It'll feature some extra content thats not in the PDF and those who have already 'brought' the PDF will be sent a discount link to get it at base printing cost (plus postage). Expect to see it in the next few weeks.

Artwork has been stalled for a little while, mainly due to the artist being away on holiday but hope to be able to showcase more pieces soon.

Also working on getting a series of adventures post up on the blog, these may be polished up later and compiled in some format at a later date.

Conventions

Couple of conventions left this year that Utherwald will be attending;

NOR-CON

Located at the Royal Norfolk Showground near Norwich and taking place on Saturday 8th October, Utherwald will be trading here and can be found on Stand A12.

EXILICON

On Saturday 22nd October will be Utherwald's second visit to this Cambridge based convention of creative geekery. As well as a trade stand, there will be a short Frozen Skies Q&A session.

Alyeskan Tales: Fool's Errand Part 1

This is a multi-part Alyeskan Tales with a new part going up each week until the campaign is finished.

Its envisioned for there to be three parts covering an adventure where the players are first hired to track down an item out in the Wulflands, only for them to get double crossed. The second act will see the players trying to get even and track down their rivals who stole the item in question, eventually ending up in the sky pirate haven of Broken Spires. Final act will hopefully see the players recover the item and attempt to flee the Spires as other parties move in to gain the item for their own ends.

Act One: Wulf Town Heist

The players are approached by the crime boss Ferret with an offer that they can't refuse.

Ferret has recently learnt the location of a valuable item that is worth a king's fortune to certain interested parties and wants to get his hands on it yesterday. The snag is that there MAY be others looking for the same item...oh and tis in the middle of the Wulflands. Ferret will state that it is believed that the item is contained within an old bank vault but won't reveal any information on potential buyers or who else is looking for the item.

Flying out to the location is fairly straight forwards, though things could be spiced up a little by either a military patrol or a sky pirate attack. The location itself is a ghost town, abandoned when the Wulflands were overrun by the Wulvers and home to the occasional scavenger. Thankfully Ferret's information is correct about the item being in the vault of the town's bank, also there doesn't seem to be any Wulvers in the local area. Ferret has sent along his own safecracker with the group to open the vault for them.

After the vault is opened and the item found the players' plans will feature a...slight hiccup, namely a rival crew laying in wait outside of the bank (Rival Boss and d4 Thugs per character). The rival crew will demand that the item is handed over, the players can hand the item over or try and fight their way out. Though regardless of whether or no they hand the item over the boss of the other crew will order his thugs to kill the players. If the players manage to keep hold of the item, then the safecracker will steal it either during the fight or at the first opportunity and disappear. After 2d6 rounds a pack of Wulvers will be drawn to the fighting prompting all parties to make a hasty exit.

Cast of Characters

Rival Thug

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6
Skills: Driving d4, Fighting d8, Gambling d4, Intimidation d6, Shooting d4, Streetwise d4, Taunt d6
Charisma: -2; Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Mean, Wanted (Major or Minor)
Gear: Rifle (24/48/96, 2d8, RoF 1, 10 shots, AP 1, Snapfire), knife (Str+d4)
Notes: One Thug will be armed with a Machine Gun instead (40/80/160, 2d8, RoF 3, 47 shots, AP 2, Auto, Snapfire)

Rival Boss - Wild Card

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d8, Notice d6, Persuasion d4, Shooting d6, Streetwise d6, Taunt d6
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Edges: Connections, Strong Willed
Hindrances: Arrogant, Wanted (Major or Minor)
Gear: Machine pistol (12/24/48, 2d6-1, RoF 3, 30 shots, AP 1, Auto)

Karla, Safecracker - Wild Card

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d6, Lockpicking d6, Notice d6, Stealth d8, Shooting d6, Streetwise d6, Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 4
Edges: Assassin, Thief
Hindrances: Cautious, Small, Stubborn
Gear: Pistol (12/24/48, 2d6, RoF 1, 6 shots, Revolver)

Wulvers - Wild Card

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d12+2, Vigor d10
Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d12+2, Intimidation d10, Notice d12, Swimming d10, Stealth d10, Tracking d10
Pace: 8; Parry: 9, Toughness: 7
Special Abilities
* Bite: Str+d6
* Claws: Str+d8
* Infravision: Wulvers can see heat and halve penatlies for bad lighting when attacking living targets.

Crime Is Our Business

Where there is law there will most certainly be crime despite the best efforts of the authorities. Crime also has a habit of thriving where the law is weak, particularly frontier areas like Alyeska for example. Pickpockets and house burglars tend to be expected in civilised areas, but these are often low key and could sometimes be a lone operators. Criminal groups tend to be responsible for a wider range and higher level of crime, one such organisation is infamous amongst Darmonica's criminal underworld.

The Blackforge Consortium

The organisation known as the Blackforge Consortium started with honest intentions by a group of merchants seeking to increase their fortunes, though these days it lacking in the morals department. The Consortium has its hands in alot of pies, often taking a fair cut from various criminal activities such as extortion rackets, pit fights and smuggling rings. It is only indirectly involved with such activities, preferring to use its resources to make life..'uncomfortable' for those unwilling to cough up when asked by the Consortium.

Occasionally it will be directly involved in high profile activities, usually those where alot of money is involved like smuggling priceless artefacts. For the most the Consortium usually sends its enforcers round to its various 'interests' to ensure that its cut is paid on time. Its enforcers will also send time guarding Consortium shipments and warehouses, they can usually be identified by a symbol of a black anvil. This symbol is bad news for anyone who ends up with items marked with it as the Consortium does not take kindly to those who handle its goods without its permission.

The black anvil also shows up on Consortium owned airships and aircraft which are used to move important and highly valuable shipments. Typically these aircraft operate out of sight of the authorities, though at the same time the black anvil is meant to act as a warning to sky pirates to leave these aircraft alone. On a number of occasions the Consortium has gone after sky pirates who'd attacked one of its shipments, even went far as attacking Broken Spires with a large air fleet. It has been known to hire sky pirates as proxies to steal cargoes, normally to keep its hands 'clean' to a degree.