<+GKG_Alan> I’m Alan Bahr of Gallant Knight Games, and today I’m here to talk to you about Fallen Justice, our vigilante RPG featuring heroes with no powers, and bloody knuckles
<+GKG_Alan> You can find it on DriveThruRPG in both PDF and POD now!
<+GKG_Alan> (Link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/258462/Fallen-Justice)https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/258462/Fallen-Justice
<+GKG_Alan> I’m here to answer all your questions about Fallen Justice, Utah, my puppies, my whisky habits, or anything else!
<+GKG_Alan> Fire away
<+GKG_Alan> (done)
<~Dan> Thanks, GKG_Alan! The floor is open to questions!
<~Dan> What can you tell us about the setting?
<+GKG_Alan> so the game has no default setting, as it’s made to be dropped into any major urban center you could define.
<+GKG_Alan> However, the rules are built around powerless vigilantes out to clean up their streets, more like the Punisher than the Avengers
<+GKG_Alan> it’s a love letter to Iron Age comics.
<~Dan> How do you think it compares with its fellow Iron Age game, Cold Steel Wardens?
<~Dan> (Assuming that you’re familiar with said game.)
<+GKG_Alan> I don’t think they’re directly comparable.
<+GKG_Alan> CSW has powers (even though they’re more low-key and limited), so you can do some powerful stuff.
<+GKG_Alan> Fallen Justice is simply folks taking matters into their own hands.
<+GKG_Alan> There’s no powers, no seriously crazy gear. It’s neo-noir
<~Dan> More like Sin City?
<+GKG_Alan> much more like that
<+GKG_Alan> even the art style takes a lot from Sin City (with a strong black,w hite and red scheme)
* ~Dan nods
<~Dan> Are there any commonalities about the heroes? Do they all wear costumes, for example? Do they use firearms?
<+GKG_Alan> there’s a wide spread in this game.
<+GKG_Alan> So it uses the VKC ruleset, which is our classic d20 ruleset, designed to emulate the early days of RPGs.
<~Dan> VKC meaning…?
<+GKG_Alan> Venerable Knight Classics
<+GKG_Alan> it’s one of our GKG game lines
<~Dan> Gotcha.
<+GKG_Alan> same as For Coin & Blood, Eorathril and others
<+GKG_Alan> So the classes are built aroudn classic Iron Age archetypes:
<+GKG_Alan> The Citizen, The Colossus, The Crusader, The Dark Avenger, The Legend, The Marksman, The Martial Artist, The Prowler, The Soldier and the Vigilante
<+GKG_Alan> each class brings different things to the table
<+GKG_Alan> There’s also mechanics for stress, breaking points, and infamy
<~Dan> (Howdy, JamesGillen!)
<+JamesGillen> hi
<~Dan> Can you say a bit about each of the classes?
<+GKG_Alan> Sure
<+GKG_Alan> The Colossus: All muscle, fists, and brawling, the Colossus wades through the violence by sheer stamina and toughness.
<+GKG_Alan> The Citizen: A citizen fed up with the rampant violence and crime on their streets, the Citizen has no special skill sets, just righteous fury.
<+GKG_Alan> The Crusader: The Crusader is a costumed protector, out to clean up the streets of the city
<+GKG_Alan> The Dark Avenger: The victim of crime, the Dark Avenger is out to make criminals suffered like they did, laws be damned. Death is too good for scum like that.
<+GKG_Alan> The Legend: A hero out of retirement, the Legend has returned to the streets due to some dramatic event. They’ve only got a bit of time left, but they’re going to leave an impact.
<+GKG_Alan> The Marksman: A master of ranged combat, the Marksman believes in dispensing justice at the point of an arrow or the barrel of a gun.
<+GKG_Alan> The Martial Artist: A master of close combat, the Martial Artist uses close combat weapons to inflict pain, soaking the streets in blood.
<+GKG_Alan> The Prowler: A master of stealth, surprise attacks, and infiltration, the Prowler strikes from the shadows to disrupt criminal enterprises.
<+GKG_Alan> The Soldier: Former military or law enforcement, the Soldier sees their vigilantism as their duty, to protect the community they love from crime.
<+GKG_Alan> The Vigilante: A citizen who was affected by crime, the Vigilante sees death as the only solution for the problems their community faces.
<~Dan> How does the Dark Avenger differ from the Vigilante?
<+GKG_Alan> so the Dark Avenger suffered personal loss, but doesn’t want to kill villains, just punish them
<+GKG_Alan> the Vigilante is out for death and blood
<~Dan> So Batman vs. the Punisher?
<+GKG_Alan> basically
<~Dan> Can you give some examples of class-based abilities?
<+GKG_Alan> Sure
<+GKG_Alan> Face in the Crowd When being tailed or followed, a Citizen can attempt to blend into the crowd. They have a 50% chance to lose their follower or have an appropriate alibi when questioned.
<+GKG_Alan> Neighborhood Watch A Citizen is a member of a neighborhood watch. If they’re looking to acquire a particular piece of information, they can speak to their neighbors. This gives them a 1 in 3 chance to get the information they require.
<+GKG_Alan> Granite Chin Three times per day, the Colossus can choose to either turn a Critical Hit they suffer into a normal hit or ignore damage from one normal hit. They can choose after damage is rolled.
<+GKG_Alan> Precision Pain When a Dark Avenger inflicts a Critical Hit, if the optional Critical Hit Tables are being used, they may roll twice and select the result they want. If the optional Critical Hit Tables are not used, when a Dark Avenger inflicts a Critical Hit, they may immediately reduce their stress by d3.
<+GKG_Alan> Specialty Ammo The Marksman starts with three types of specialty ammo. Each ammo type has a Reload Die as indicated by the Marksman’s level. This Reload Die resets every week for the Marksman (it takes time to make specialty ammo). The types of specialty ammo are: • Explosive Ammo – Increases weapon damage by +1d6 (+3d6 against structures or vehicles.) • Stun Ammo – If struck, target must make a Saving Throw with a
<+GKG_Alan> (that last one likely cut off, lemme know where)
<~Dan> (Throw with a)
<+GKG_Alan> penalty equal to half the Marksman’s level (round up) or lose 2d4 turns. • Hollow points – Deals +2d6 damage, but Armor reduction counts double.
<~Dan> What is the basic resolution mechanic? Or is there one?
<+GKG_Alan> (done)
<+JamesGillen> you need to have the Explosive Ammo do extra damage to vehicles so that they blow up good
<+GKG_Alan> There’s two. One is the classic d20 for saves, attacks, etc.
<+GKG_Alan> the other is the Action Check
<+GKG_Alan> skills have a difficult of 4 or higher
<+GKG_Alan> you have to test with a d6, and if you equal or exceed the Action Check Difficulty, you do it
<+GKG_Alan> stats and vocations can add to that
<~Dan> (Welcome to #randomworlds, Guest96!)
<~Dan> (You can set your name with the /nick command; e.g., /nick Dan 🙂 )
<~Dan> Are vocations the same as classes?
<+GKG_Alan> no. Vocations are player defined backgrounds or professions that they have training in
<+GKG_Alan> so you could be a Colossus with a Vocation of Bouncer
<+GKG_Alan> and that might give you a bonus on trying to determine underworld connections or see threats.
<~Dan> So sort of a holistic skill?
<+GKG_Alan> yeah
<+GKG_Alan> but as it’s player defined it gives a lot of narrative control to them
<~Dan> When you say “classic d20” for attacks, does it use a table? THACO?
<+GKG_Alan> no, we use Ascending AC 🙂
<+GKG_Alan> I’m not a monster
<+GKG_Alan> (despite writing a game about them)
* ~Dan chuckles
<~Dan> Speaking of AC, do you use any tweaks to that? Seems like your typical vigilante would be awfully vulnerable in d20 terms.
<+GKG_Alan> Yeah. So AC and Defense are different
<~Dan> (Howdy, erratic!)
<+GKG_Alan> Every Vigilante as a DEFENSE score, which is how hard they are to hit.
<+GKG_Alan> Armor itself reduces damage
<+GKG_Alan> so it’s the classic Defence/Reduction split
<~Dan> Classic in what sense? In what game was that introduced?
<+GKG_Alan> oh, D&D 3.5 Unearthed Arcana is the first time *I* saw it
<+GKG_Alan> but I’ve seen it many times in other d20 hacks
<+GKG_Alan> (I’m only 30, so 3.5 UA was a wildland of new rules for me)
<~Dan> I see. Cool. I much prefer that to standard AC.
<~Dan> (Heh. Youngster. 😉 )
<+GKG_Alan> Yeah, I find it fits lots of genres better than standard AC.
<+GKG_Alan> quiet night tonight 🙂
<~Dan> Seems that way…
<&Janus>
<~Dan> When it comes to equipment, how hard do you make it to get ahold of heavy ordinance?
<+GKG_Alan> It’s ok! and It’s dificult, but not impossible
<+GKG_Alan> Iron Age comics rely on improbable access to giant weapons
<+GKG_Alan> so I don’t hinder that
<~Dan> In system terms, what makes the game particularly gritty?
<+GKG_Alan> so, HP Is locked into a static number
<+GKG_Alan> it’s your CON score + Level
<+GKG_Alan> Critical Hits can easily one shot a character
<+JamesGillen> Moral: Don’t get hit.
<+GKG_Alan> additionally, there’s stress, and breaking points, whihc cause a character to lose it and potential harm an ally or beat an enemy to death
<+GKG_Alan> and our critical hit tables are pretty…brutal
<+GKG_Alan> you can lose limbs, eyes, and more
<~Dan> Backing up for a moment, how is Defense determined?
<+GKG_Alan> It’s a static number, modified by having a high Dexterity and Wisdom
<+GKG_Alan> It starts at 12, and you get a +2 if your Dex is 15+ and +2 if your Wisdom is 15+
<~Dan> Not a lot of wiggle-room there!
<+GKG_Alan> nope. Keeps the game moving and the violence and blood flowing 🙂
<~Dan> Heh. 🙂
<~Dan> Now, how are Critical Hits determined? Nat 20?
<+GKG_Alan> Generally speaking
<+GKG_Alan> some classes can modify them via ability
<+GKG_Alan> but usually Nat 20
<~Dan> How specific is the Critical Hit table?
<+GKG_Alan> it’s pretty specific
<+GKG_Alan> Severed Artery. The target has an artery severed. They will die in d3 rounds unless they are healed.
<+GKG_Alan> that’s one of the nicer ones
<~Dan> Wow.
<+GKG_Alan> eyah
<+GKG_Alan> it’s brutal
<~Dan> So there’s a 1 in 20 chance on any given attack that someone’s going to die quickly?
<+GKG_Alan> yeah
<~Dan> Can you give us some idea of the damage that an average weapon can do? Say, a 9mm pistol?
<+GKG_Alan> generally most weapons do 1d6 with a modifier
<+GKG_Alan> so a 9mm does 1d6
<+GKG_Alan> a 45 does 1d6+1
<+GKG_Alan> when you only have 10 to 20 HP that’s a lot
<&Silverlion> Interesting.
<&Silverlion> I’m sorry I was elsewhere.
<&Silverlion> So a pretty lethal Dark Heroes game?
<+GKG_Alan> yeah
<+GKG_Alan> pretty lethal
<+GKG_Alan> we had a player lose 3 PCs in 3 sessions during playtesting before they learned that some archetypes can’t do a toe to toe fight
<~Dan> Does the game include a sample adventure?
<+GKG_Alan> It does not,b ut it does include adventure generation tools like Die Drops and Villain Creation tables
<~Dan> Die Drops?
<+GKG_Alan> it’s a generation mechanic where you literally drop a die into the page and it generates a thing
<~Dan> How does that work?
<+GKG_Alan> (Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/chxofi9vwf1mym9/FJ-DropDice-Gangs.pdf?dl=0)https://www.dropbox.com/s/chxofi9vwf1mym9/FJ-DropDice-Gangs.pdf?dl=0
<+GKG_Alan> You can either roll percentiles
<+GKG_Alan> or literally just drop any dice onto the page and based on the box it lands in, you get a result
<+GKG_Alan> and since you’ll ask here’s a character sheet!
<+GKG_Alan> (Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zhv12ax214iyjbw/FJ-Charsheet.pdf?dl=0)https://www.dropbox.com/s/zhv12ax214iyjbw/FJ-Charsheet.pdf?dl=0
<~Dan> Oh, I understand now, sorry.
<~Dan> And thank you, re: character sheet!
<~Dan> I see that you have space for a shield. How common would that be?
<~Dan> The only thing that comes to mind is a riot shield.
<+GKG_Alan> It’s not super common, but it can come up
<~Dan> Can you say a bit more about the Stress Threshold and how it works?
<+GKG_Alan> Sure. So certain actions increase your Stress
<+GKG_Alan> as your Stress increases, you start to reach a breaking point
<+GKG_Alan> when you reach that breaking point, you snap, and lose control
<+GKG_Alan> that snap can come across as excess violence, turning on alleys, or a drug/alcohol fueled binge
<~Dan> What did those alleys ever do to you?
<+GKG_Alan> allies
<+GKG_Alan> sigh
<+GKG_Alan> long day 🙂
<~Dan> No worries. 😉
<~Dan> I was just amused at the image of a vigilante snapping and unloading his AK-47 into an alley, just because.
<~Dan> What sorts of actions cause stress?
<+GKG_Alan> Seeing allies or innocents harmed
<+GKG_Alan> or even killed
<+GKG_Alan> every time you’re hit with a Critical Hit
<+GKG_Alan> hospitalization
<+GKG_Alan> seeing the after effects/victims of a crime.
<~Dan> Is there any way to counter stress, or is it automatic when one of those circumstances comes up?
<+GKG_Alan> certain behaviors (blowing off steam, etc.) can bring it down
<+GKG_Alan> but once it hits hte threshold, it’s happening
* ~Dan nods
<~Dan> Is the reaction to reaching the Stress Threshold randomized?
<+GKG_Alan> yeah
<+GKG_Alan> there’s a d6 table
<&Silverlion> grumbles about Alan’s stress mechanics. 😀
<+GKG_Alan> Why!?
<~Dan> Yes, why, Silverlion? 🙂
<&Silverlion> You write a game with stress it goes crazy, I write one and it can’t get funded. Plus, I think it might should be tied to characters motivation a little. Each class needs a different table! 😀 (Mostly kidding)
<+GKG_Alan> We didn’t Kickstarter this one. I funded this one and it was a direct release 🙂
<+GKG_Alan> No going crazy here.
<&Silverlion> Ah, ok 😀
<~Dan> Well, there’s going crazy, but only if you hit your Stress Threshold.
<+GKG_Alan> truth
<&Silverlion> Hehe.
<~Dan> How long does the going crazy last?
<+GKG_Alan> Until narrative ending is appropriate. The GM and the player work that out.
<&Silverlion> Though it does seem like a soldier and citizen might react differently.
<+GKG_Alan> A player can always simply choose a result
<+GKG_Alan> the table is for when no particular choice is story appropriate.
<&Silverlion> Ah. Ok. Now that works.
* ~Dan nods
<+GKG_Alan> Yup! Any other questions?
<~Dan> You mentioned the Martial Artist class. Do you have a martial arts system?
<+GKG_Alan> Not outside of standard combat
<+GKG_Alan> it’s a melee focused class more than anything
<+GKG_Alan> you could easily emulate daredevil or iron fist with the same mechanics
<~Dan> Cool.
<~Dan> Does the game include a “bestiary” of standard bad guys/civilians?
<+GKG_Alan> Nope!
<+GKG_Alan> Enemies should be generated like PCs.
<+GKG_Alan> (honestly, that’s a weakness of mine. I hate writing stat blocks so I always find an excuse to avoid it)
<+GKG_Alan> I’m a bad game designer 🙂
<~Dan> Heh. 🙂
<~Dan> So I’m assuming there’s no “mook” mechanic?
<+GKG_Alan> Nopoe
<+GKG_Alan> this isn’t that sorta game
<+GKG_Alan> a thug with a knife can kill you
* ~Dan nods
<~Dan> I figured. 🙂
<~Dan> Hmm… I’m about tapped out for questions at the moment. Is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?
<+GKG_Alan> Nope, I think that went well
<+GKG_Alan> the two of us (with some help from Silverlion) almost made the two hours 😉
<~Dan> Want to wrap up a little early, then?
<&Silverlion> I’d wish I’d more to say. Honestly its just not my strong era of comic interest.
<~Dan> (And I’ll just remind folks that gratuities are welcome at (Link: https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/the-gmshoes-tip-jar/)https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/the-gmshoes-tip-jar/ 😀 )
<+GKG_Alan> that’s fine Dan 🙂
<+GKG_Alan> thanks!
<~Dan> Thank you for joining us!
<~Dan> If you’ll give me just a sec here, I’ll get the log posted and link you!