Song of Swords: FOLDED ONE THOUSAND TIMES edition

Last time on Song of Swords:
More Unkindlies, Again
Venezuela
Clan [ZELL] Flies Again
Ballad Russians Explored

Song of Swords is a a tabletop RPG centered around realistic medieval fightan' with a ludicrous variety of weapons and fighting styles, centered around a dice pool system. It's currently in beta, and can be used for both fantasy and historical games. The Kickstarter was nearly 300% funded, and we're on the fast track to kicking ass baby.

Call of the Void: Ballad of the Laser Whales is a pulpy sci-fi tabletop RPG about fighting space-nazis and hunting giant whales with harpoons made out of the moon. Its combat system is more modern, based in the early 20th century, but can probably handle combat up to the present day.

MEGA folder containing current version of the game and all supplementary materials.
Note that the latest version of the game is v1.9.9 but with additional supplements.
mega.nz/#F!S89jTT7J!ozFi9GvzaFGHfBa59Ik2-Q

Here's a wiki detailing SoS's fantasy setting, getting filled up bit by bit as Jimmy reveals more details:
tattered-realms.wikia.com/wiki/Tattered_Realms_Wiki

There's also a roll20 room where new players are encouraged to try the rules, test new rules, and find game breaking issues: app.roll20.net/join/346755/hRKd4w
If you're looking to learn, post here in the thread.

We also play Guy Windsor's card game Audatia in the room, but now we have a much better way to play Audatia: Tabletop Simulator! The (official!) mod for Audatia is now up and running!
steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=904774480

There is also a discord server you can join:
discord.gg/d66n2SW

Other urls found in this thread:

songofswords.net/
subcaelo.net/ensis/dynamics-computer/
twitter.com/NSFWRedditImage

...

Since Ballad has morphed into a multi-way cold war set in the space-40s, can we hear more about the various intelligence agencies of the major players aside from the UC which we already know a bit about?

Perfidious Space-Albion presumably has a first rate secret service and SOE-analogue but who do they favour in the looming struggle between the Crown and the Plutocrats?

We know that Chiron is doing a hell of a lot better than Abwehr and have a hateboner for the UC so they probably have at least some basic competence at counter-espionage. How is their intelligence-gathering, or are foreign ops mostly sabotage and gunning down streets of civilians in enemy capitals?

The Hive are the scary commies of the setting, but cold war China didn't exactly have a reputation for spying excellence and Maoism by way of Chairman Yang probably doesn't generate foreign sympathisers in the same way M-L did for the USSR. How is the Space-MSS doing compared to the other factions and is there the same fear of communists lurking in ones soup without the NKVD around?

...

That's it. I'm sick of all this "Masterwork Riddle of Steel" bullshit that's going on in the Veeky Forums board right now. Song of Swords deserves much better than that. Much, much better than that.
I should know what I'm talking about. I myself commissioned a genuine sword on Kickstarter for $149 USD (that's enough to feed a family for a year in most of the world) and have been waiting for it for almost 2 years now. I can even cut slabs of solid steel with my patience.

Californian catamites spent years working on a single subsystem and rework it up to a million times to produce the finest elves known to mankind.

Song of Swords is thrice as realistic as d20 games and thrice as fun for that matter too. Anything setting D&D can run, Jimmy Rome can run way better. I'm pretty sure a Song of Swords could easily run someone failing to bisect bisect a knight wearing full plate with a simple vertical slash.

Ever wonder why medieval Europe never bothered conquering Japan? That's right, it's because Jimmy never wrote the splat for Japan. Even in Ballad of the Laser Whales, Rahoo soldiers target the men with the tar first because their simulationist rule of cool was feared and respected.

So what am I saying? Song of Swords is simply the best system that the world has ever seen, and thus, requires a better editor in than the Veeky Forums boards. Here is the publication list I propose for this year:

(Core Book)
355 pages
1273 weapons
38 wound tables
97 different numbers to track per character
Counts as Masterwork

(Monster Manual)
Only the greatest monster of all: Man
Counts as Masterwork

(DM's Guide)
Three books stapled together:
A world history textbook
A reproduction of George Silver's Brief Instructions
Slobodijada (untranslated)
Counts as Masterwork

Now that seems a lot more representative of the simulative accuracy of SoS in real life, don't you think?

tl;dr = SoS needs to hit the markets with more vigor, see my new publication list.

Jimmy for Tuesday can we have dragon lore?

>FOLDED ONE THOUSAND TIMES
...I just realized. the confusion with katanas and the "1000 folds"...

how many times to you have to fold something to get 1000+ layers? especially if you started with more than one layer at the outset.

lost in translation a shit...

breddy gud

Was that a real struggle, the plutocrats vs the crown? Who won historically?

I mean, you could interpret the English Civil War that way if you were so inclined. And the matter of crown authority was settled in a fairly spectacular manner with the execution of Charles I for treason. And even under the restored monarchy Parliament was firmly in control of actually running things, which was roundly demonstrated in the Glorious Revolution a few generations later in which Parliament made it plain that it even got to choose who the monarch was once it was clear the current one was far too Catholic by half.

That all happened in the 17thC though, so this brewing civil war in the void is a tad anachronistic. A populist young queen is squaring off against a corrupt political establishment.

Quite how this all works with Albish history or the military/political structure of a 20thC British Empire in space is not yet clear.

Well Pluto isn't a planet anymore so you tell me.

>Pluto isn't real name of a god
>Pluto isn't a real planet
Really makes you think

Well it sort of boils down to this. The three primary intelligence services at this point are:

Albion's RIS, the Chironic Abwehr, and the UCUC's Intelligence Wing.

The RIS were the dominant intelligence agency leading up to and during the war, but have lost a lot of their network in the aftermath of their defeat. The service is still the most extensive in the world, reaching into nearly every country, but they must now contend with growing agencies in hostile countries. The group is presently divided into three factions: The Lions, the Unicorns, and the Crows, each of whom blames a different part of the government for the loss of the war, and who are tacitly working against each other to try and bring about reform in their direction.
The Lions want a return of power to the Monarchy.
The Unicorns blame the Crown, and want the Monarchy dissolved.
The Crows blame both, and are more or less crypto-Socialists.
Presently the group as a whole is fighting a desperate struggle in Arlon and its colonies to try and prevent Chiron's influence from extending further. They've regularly outwitted their rivals thusfar, but the prognosis is grim as the nation is simply running out of allies.

The Abwehr was purged twice before the war, first at Sternfleischer's insistence, and then again at Richtofen's. The second time, one of Richtofen's inner circle, an occultist by the name of Olga Boden, was responsible for uncovering disloyalties in the organization. She now runs the Abwehr. Boden discarded the scientific methods of espionage preferred by her predecessors and adopted a cult-like structure divided into what are essentially covens of witches. Voidborne mystics are a common sight in the group. They combine unconventional methods of espionage (so-called "remote viewing") and a very competent network of field agents. The armed wing of the organization is the Kadenburg Gruppe, led by the "Father of Kommandos," Kato Lundstadt.

>The three primary intelligence services at this point are
Are these just the largest, or do the other nations not have well-organized, bureaucratic intelligence services yet?

I remember Haramoto Is that the spelling? has something called the Chrysanthemum Room.

>realise that you have a spy agency staffed entirely by traitors and morons
>replace the whole thing with a cabal of SS-witches with a guest appearance by Otto Skorzeny

I love it Jimmy, cheers for the lore nuggets

They're not necessarily the largest, but the ones with the most reach. The Hive also has a huge intelligence apparatus, but most of it is contained to its own sphere of influence and counter-espionage.

The RoR, and surprisingly the Desotians also have very well developed intelligence agencies, but they again are limited largely to their own spheres of influence.
Arloni Intelligence had to go underground after the war, and is more functioning as a criminal syndicate with nationalist leanings than a real intelligence service these days, attempting to insinuate itself into the provisional government so that it can potentially affect a revolution in the event that Chiron is weakened sufficiently to make such a thing tenable.

The Big 3 have the furthest reach. Most of the actual fighting occurring right now is between the armed wings of these groups. The RIS's field agents are known for their fanciful gadgets and high degrees of professionalism, the Abwehr's Kommandos are known for their witchcraft and efficiency, and the UCUC's kill-teams are known for their ability to blend in to hostile environments, and their impressive use of the local population aid and conceal their agents.

Famously, the heads of the UCUC and the Kadenburg Gruppe, Pablo LaMadrona and Kato Lundstadt, were both students of "Elf Judo" under Die Lowen, and grew to hate each other even then. There is great animosity between those two groups, intensified by national rivalries. The Albish try to take advantage of this whenever they can, by pinning operations against one on the other, in the hopes of inciting further conflicts. This generally works.

Top tier

>The Albish try to take advantage of this whenever they can, by pinning operations against one on the other, in the hopes of inciting further conflicts. This generally works.
Nothing like slapping a dudes girlfriend on the ass, and convincing him that it was the trucker across the street.

What happens to half elves that fail out of the breeding program in Helion, or that otherwise commit some crime or transgression?

Jimmy, any input?

...

Can't argue with that

Hybernia has not yet escaped its relationship with Albion, but some argue that it is close. There are presently no fewer than four HLAs (Hybernian Liberation Armies) who collaborate loosely but represent different ideological goals--also also some of whom frankly hate each other. The two major groups are colloquially known as the Blue and Red Toories, known for the pom-poms on the berets worn by fans at the football clubs from which the groups evolved.

The Blues are a quasi-fascist organization that believes in a pure, Orthodox Hybernian society and the expulsion of all foreign influences and religions. The fact that the Chironites are arming and equipping them is the worst kept secret in the Core Islands.

The Reds are an Anarchist movement, intent on creating a stateless, classless society run by Worker's Unions. They're very militant, but they don't have much support because the UC considers them a lost cause. Nevertheless they produce their own weapons locally, and have stolen arms from other groups before.

The other two, the Northern HLA is simply a Republican movement that desires that Hybernia be freed to exist as its own democratic Republic, and the other group wants the same thing, but with religious overtones of Orthodoxy.

Venezuelan shot by automatic rubber bullet fire.

>they don't have much support
I assume from context that you mean foreign support. What kind of domestic support do they have?

And what color pom poms do the republican groups wear?

Isn't Hybernia Scotland or are all the Gaelic people one?

Jimmy doesn't really know enough about the bullshit of inferior races to make them meaningfully distinct anyway.

I'm pretty sure it was Ireland, that's going to be really embarrassing if I got it wrong.

Google says Ireland.

>the Crows are crypto-socialists
Well Corvids have never led me astray before and are the most intelligent of the three animals so I guess I trust them

Looks like he's all set to be The Pain

Now I feel bad for shooting all those VDV guys in the head with the rubber bullet FAL in MGSV.

>Ballad's version of James Bond will be a fucking judo wuxia film

Fucking hype

ten times
2^10=1024

also at ~24 folds you have more layers than atoms if your blade is 5mm thick

I DON'T

>four(4) times the amount flying columns
Glorious.

Are ya winnin' son

How much extra bleed and pain would a sawtoothed sword cause? Like a steak knife made arming sword.

None, overall. They would cause scary looking wounds which aren't as bad as clean deep wounds in reality.

I'mm sure the difference is really appreciable when compared to being stabbed regularly aside from maybe +3 bleed on all wound below LV3

Context?

Comic is called Irredeemable. From memory it's superman goes nuts and kills everyone: the series. Apparently it's pretty good

It has that "bad guy whispers some stupid bullshit in peoples ears" thing, I do not believe you.

But he's the hero, can't you read?

What's her saving her from?

Bump for Burdinadin Magitech

The terrible pain of parenthood.

None.

>posting worst elves

>Burdinadin
>Worst Elves
>When Orredin exist
You get right the fuck out of here scum

...

Skorzeny makes sense, but who is the Hispanic sounding fellow supposed to be?

What, Die Lowen? She's the sole Ohanedin and in the Void and christ alive it's probably hell. Think about it, almost everything is metal and technology. They have fucking ham radio. The place must have so little spirit it's like walking through fire at all times, or in the middle of a goddamn Glade.

I think he means Pablo, not Die Lowen.

Oh, he's new. Some UCUCIW bigshot from the sound of it

Christ's Sake

Your cuirass likes what it sees, even if you don't McMullet and I'm inclined to trust it more than you. Remember, vote Chiron

>Remember, vote Chiron
16 years later at Space-Nuremberg...

"What made a man of your calibre and excellent fashion sense become a collaborator supporting faschist atrocities McMullet?"

"I tried to resist but a couple of anime girls told me to"

"The prosecution rests and suggests death by hanging"

IMPROVED SHOOTING RULES FOR BALLAD


So, as many of you probably know, the shooting rules of Ballad is woefully inadequate. Fear not, however, as I, user, has come here to save the day!


First of all, every gun has a base TN of 7. This can be modified in two ways. The Longshot special increases TN by 1 if you shoot without aiming first, while bracing decreases TN by 1. (It also does something more that im gonna reveal soon)


Regular shooting stays the same.


Burst Fire and Fully Automatic fire is merged together into automatic fire:


Automatic Fire: Lets you shoot up to as many bullets as your gun allows down range at the enemy. Every bullet you fire that phase gives you a +1 to hit, and each BS causes an additional hit, up to the amount of times you fired. However this effect is dampened with the new recoil rules that im gonna show you very soon. You can aim with auto fire. You have to shoot atleast 3 times in a phase.


Suppressive fire is the same, but you gain additional dice equal to x(ROF)/(x(meters covered)*2). This means that covering a small area increases the chance of hitting anyone caught within that area.


Recoil


Every gun that isnt bolt action now has a recoil special, that looks like this: Recoil [x]


Recoil determines how many shots can be fired per round in full auto without increasing TN. If a gun has recoil [2] shooting it 3 or 4 times in auto fire the TN increases by +1. At 5th and 6th shot the TN increases to +2 and so on. (TN cant go over 10).

Recoil can be modified several ways. Bracing increases Recoil by *2 (Recoil [2] turns into Recoil [4]. Using a Bipod automaticly braces, and increases recoil by *5 (Recoil [2] turns into recoil [4] because bracing and then turns into Recoil [20] because of bipod). Using a tripod makes you ignore recoil entirely, but it takes several turns setting up or disassemble.


In order to make automatic fire more viable at higher levels you could also add new talents for recoil control.

If anyone is wondering how this plays out ingame im probably gonna do a small fetch for it in discord.

A pair of anime girls who own many, many tanks including Panzer III's, Elefants, Jagdtigers and Panzer VIII Maus'. There's no shame here. Also Chiron did nothing wrong. I bathe in Babel Tar every day, best day of my life

user, this is kind of terrible.

Not him, but how so? I rather like the recoil Stat.

It's absolutely hideously overcomplicated. Suppressive fire being x(ROF)/(x(meters covered)*2) in additional dice especially. This is the sort of equation that people think happens in GURPS.

Recoil as a system is a good idea, but this particular system is also hideously overcomplicated. You have to be able to adjust the Recoil value by multiplication on the fly, which means your rolls change every round. Dynamic changes in TNs especially are awful. It's far too unwieldy to bolt this onto an already fairly complicated system,. A simpler system would be giving a bonus to hit based on RoF but requiring more BSs for bonus hits depending on recoil.

Making weapons have TN7 automatically removes one of the few ways in which guns can be meaningfully differentiated, especially between classes of firearms.

Rather than firing off a bunch of ideas at random, user needs to sit down and figure out what his actual problems with the Ballad system are. What does he dislike about it? He's the first I've seen to criticize the system as a whole rather than just a lack of recoil, and in fact I've seen more people praise it than dislike it.

Start with a goal, not with rules.

So, GURPS, but worse.

monthly reminder

>dice pool
Into the trash it goes.

Cool.

Christ I wonder how many people recognise all of this image

Into the trash you go

For Japanese armor should I just go with standard/leather lamellar or iron plate?

Depends on the armour in question. Generally for an O-Yoroi use Lamellar. A Hotoke Dou is likely just an Iron Plate Cuirass

Gotcha, thanks

No new pictures of violence fro Venezuela so here's one finishing putting on her anti-pepper spray gear.

Thanks for keeping us informed.

Which version of the game should I use to play right now if I want to generate constructive feedback?

1.3, I think. The one on the sos homepage . . . which is not linked in the op. songofswords.net/

This revolution tickles my boner.

Its so dense, every pixel has so much going on.

Have another then. Those tops are popular because of the colors.

Blow off, choffer.

Anyone seen the Dark Souls tabletop? Ideas worth lifting?

It's like pottery it rinds

Yo jimmy, the Unkindly speed blessing says it gives you access to the Stains of Time as per the Burdinidin racial trait. Does that stack with the Feeling Dissapears, the Ohanedin racial trait?

Yes.

does anyone have that sword balance point calculator to hand?

Which one? The one that tried to be a 1:1 recreation of the game mechanics?

>Sexy revolutionary latinas being posted on the internet
Truly the best timeline.

Jesus Christ.

don't lie to me rome

Just be careful with starting stats, it's not fully explained.

>You will never sleep with a muscled Venezuelan revolutionary

You just need to travel there and overthrow the government. Infinite Venezuelan revolutionaries at your fingertips then. After that, it's all up to your natural charm and charisma to win one of theirs heart too. Just do it.

I'd do it. Women love freedom fighters rite? Tbqh I'm surprised the CIA isn't off giving them all guns and stuff, you'd think screwing with a commie's legacy would be big on the to-do list. I guess they've got other stuff going on.

I'd play a Ballad campaign set in a struggling south american country famalam, it'd be great.

Does anyone have that screencap of the Balkan Peasant Simulator?

subcaelo.net/ensis/dynamics-computer/ I found it

Thinking about getting The Flower of Battle for TRoS printed somewhere.
Hardcover, with linen would cost ~34€ without embossing the Title and ~57€ with.
Might do that for all important TRoS books. So three supplements and then maybe the corebook as well (only maybe, because I got an original one already; but I think it'd be nice to have them all in linen and such).

So, yeah.
bump

Tell me about Ballad Jimmy