Andrew Medeiros, as you know we play a lot of Vampire, so I see the Vamp class used a lot.

Andrew Medeiros, as you know we play a lot of Vampire, so I see the Vamp class used a lot.

Andrew Medeiros, as you know we play a lot of Vampire, so I see the Vamp class used a lot.

I would love to look into reworking Eternal Hunger.

There is no roll, so it can be easily abused. If I am quite hurt I just walk into a crowd and feed. Yes, I the MC can push back, but without the roll or the Miss, it is kind of hard too.

Session Report: Shadows Under Boston

Session Report: Shadows Under Boston

Session Report: Shadows Under Boston

So, last night was pretty epic in regards to secrets revealed and wizards incinerated. This is a long report!

The curtain came up on our intrepid heroes as Liam Mitchell, the Aware, arrived at the secret hideout of the Emerald Wizards, and $100 later he was speaking with one of them about a way to power the mechanical raven construct that Volund was working on – a way that didn’t involve ganking a relative of the wizard Koslovski. Liam learned about other wizard circles in Boston, but most of all learned that Volund’s wife, Hervor, was being held entranced by something on her person – likely something containing cold iron.

With Gareth continuing to prep for faking his own death and taking on a new identity, he decided to track down the home of Merika, a vampire and wife of a Dutch slaver killed by Gareth in the Caribbean in the late 1700s. Merika later became a vampire and tracked Gareth down through the ages in an attempt to find and kill him. Gareth wanted to find the information she had on him and destroy it, so he went to her house which he found occupied by a young vampire, by whom he was caught messing about in the house. Gareth was attacked and killed, and too late Volund and Sol showed up, killed the vampire, and absconded with the information Merika had as well as Gareth’s dead body.

Back at Sol’s safe house, the elf and hunter watched Gareth for a few hours. Volund knew what would happen, Sol did not. When Gareth regenerated and awoke, he needed to quickly convince Sol that he was not a vampire himself, but an immortal. Then, he spilled the beans.

Gareth was somewhere around 2000-2200 years old, and was born in a small village in the south of what is now Israel, his name at birth was Judas Iscariot. Gareth was in fact who some say was the greatest monster in history. Gareth also shared his relationship with Liam’s family with the duo. Some questions were asked and answered, and eventually Volund and Gareth left – Volund to work, Gareth to rest and recover.

Meanwhile, Solomon and Liam had made plans to attempt a rescue of Hervor from Koslovski. They went to where he had a penthouse and lit a fire in the stairwell, hoping that the fire alarm would smoke Koslovski and Hervor out of the penthouse suite, but it did not. Instead, Sol kicked in the door and went in, guns blazing.

While Sol went toe-to-toe with the wizard, Liam learned that the item holding Hervor beholden to Koslovski was her girdle, so he tried to pull it free, however under the wizard’s spell, Hervor would have none of it and began kicking the crap out of Liam. Sol was blasted and burned by the wizard’s magic, and attempted to disarm him by stealing the man’s focus – a decorated cane – however it did no good.

Meanwhile, Volund arrived somehow and watched, as he had promised Koslovski that he would not harm the wizard or Hervor. The elf watched, perched like a bird on a heavy stone mantle. He suddenly saw the loophole in his promise and dove to hold Hervor still while Liam finally pulled free the girdle and the spell was broken.

Magic and bullets flew, and soon a fire elemental bared down on Sol. The hunter moved in towards the wizard quickly, delivering a crushing blow to the old man’s larynx and then tossing him into the blazing elemental. The elemental burned away into the sky as the wizard died with a rasp (and, unbeknownst to Sol, with a curse on his lips).

That marked the end of the session.

Ran an awesome session yesterday of Urban Shadows.

Ran an awesome session yesterday of Urban Shadows.

Ran an awesome session yesterday of Urban Shadows. Our teenage Wolf pack leader led her pack into a vampire den to rescue three of their captured members. Along for the ride was the Hallowed, armed with his magical dragon slaying sword Ascalon and his shiny new monster hunting team of true believers. Needless to say they mopped the floor with them! Can’t wait for the next session!

(This is a game with mostly RPG newbs and I am delighted at how well they have embraced the hobby and how much passion they bring to my table. What a treat for me!)

Another great session of “Urban Shadows: Shadows under Boston” or “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Ragnarok”.

Another great session of “Urban Shadows: Shadows under Boston” or “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Ragnarok”.

Another great session of “Urban Shadows: Shadows under Boston” or “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Ragnarok”.

Our plans to face off with the Twilight Trio (or, as I prefer to call them, the Ragnarok n’ Rollers) got pushed off because Völundr decided to take three days and make a giant, silver-and-onyx, clockwork raven. Additionally, Gareth consulted his vast digital library to gain some insights into possible weaknesses of the Trio; Fenrir, Jörmungandr and the other one I can’t remember right now.

So, while that was happening, Solomon the Hunter had a training montage with his apprentice and my Immortal, Gareth, had a tête à tête with Liam the Savant.

With Gareth’s help, Liam was able to learn a little more about his mysterious lineage, finding out that he is somehow connected to a long-standing line of members of the Teutonic Knights. Liam was also able to suss out that there is some kind of direct connection between Gareth and the Knights, as well.

Not a single Blood roll was made.

For the advancement, “Advance 3 of the basic moves” , why not just one basic move?

For the advancement, “Advance 3 of the basic moves” , why not just one basic move?

For the advancement, “Advance 3 of the basic moves” , why not just one basic move? Wouldn’t that make basic move advancements much more meaningful when you can only choose 2?

Started listening/reading Hounded, the first book in the Iron Druid Chronicles and so far I am diggin’ it.

Started listening/reading Hounded, the first book in the Iron Druid Chronicles and so far I am diggin’ it.

Started listening/reading Hounded, the first book in the Iron Druid Chronicles and so far I am diggin’ it. It is scratching the urban fantasy itch perfectly!

Thanks to Tim Franzke for recommending it a while back. 🙂

If there is an opportunity to take part in a playtest session in future I’d be very interested.

If there is an opportunity to take part in a playtest session in future I’d be very interested.

If there is an opportunity to take part in a playtest session in future I’d be very interested. If there is a way to put my name on a list, please let me know. Thanks.

Some big changes are coming to Urban Shadows.

Some big changes are coming to Urban Shadows.

Some big changes are coming to Urban Shadows. The Beta play-test, as we’re calling it, will involve several improvements and revisions, including the following;

A huge overall of the basic moves with revisions, changes, and in one case, a removal.

The Faction moves have all been revised.

End of Session move expanded.

Debt uses are shortened and stream-lined for the time being. Planning on building from the ground up.

The current Injury system has been replaced with a new Harm/Injury hybrid. Making armour more useful.

All the Archetypes have seen revision and updating for the changes. Some Archetype moves have been removed and replaced with (hopefully) superior ones.

Will be releasing the Beta Play-test in the next week or so. Will also be happy to discuss and share early with those who attend the play-test discussion on Wednesday evening.

Thanks for being a part of this awesome community and showing your interest in the game so far! It’s very much appreciated.