The SANIC Hack: Part 7 - Auras and Aura Shards

 

I learned TODAY that the Japanese releases call these "Barriers"
which is a much better descriptor than "Shields" but what ya gonna do?
- Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (GCN, 2001)

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This post and others like it are made possible by members of my Patreon, where you can see Game WIPs and Previews of future blogposts a week early! Thank you in particular to _NetNomad for your continued support!

Howdy, Farmhands!

    It's been a long damn time since I posted anything with this title. While April through May 2024 was a very productive period of time for me, for the Sanic Hack specifically, my energy for it quickly waned as the scope crept bigger and bigger. It's a mish-mash of ideas for mechanics that fit, in theory, with the vague concept of an adventure game I've kept in my head. The unfortunate reality is, time needs to be spent actually trying to make it all work together at an actual table, which is mostly where I've been.

    I once, briefly, shared a Play Report for a session of an even earlier draft of what is currently The Sanic Hack, known then as "Daring & Dreaming." The hiatus for that table ended last May (conveniently after I posted the last major Sanic Hack blog), and my game design attentions shifted towards problem solving for a specific group of 2 to 3 individuals. How did my plans survive the field of battle? Well... 

    Without giving a full play report of  9 months worth of games, though those may still be coming, a number of assumptions I had about the game I was writing were tested and found wanting. Some subsystems worked fine! Others were fiddled with on the fly. The tl;dr of the whole thing is NO, Sanic Hack isn't going away, but YES, I've had a shift in focus and intent with the project. The Weapons Post in particular is going to be gutted. Ce la vie.

    Anyway, here's some temporary Shield type things to prevent specific kinds of damage.

Until Next Time,

    Farmer Gadda

 Aura Shards 

You can literally get these off Ebay for 180 bucks, this is a real product bandai made what the fuck
- Pokemon Evolution Stones Candy Set, Bandai (2017)

    Crystalized chunks of pure energy that can form in areas of heightened emotional chaos and intense geological pressure. They take on the color of the elemental energy they contain, with a symbol flickering inside. While these objects are uncommon, they can still be bought from Merchants for about the cost of mid-tier Armor. A method to artificially create these shards has been developed, but the technology is currently prohibitively resource intense. 

    Any individual who shatters a shard gains the benefits of the energy held inside, after which the pieces of crystal become inert. Only 1 Aura may be active at any time for a user; gaining the energy of another shard dispels the energy of the previous. Aura Shards of the same type stack up to 3 per slot.

Auras

    A field of energy that emanates from a single individual. Auras are attuned to the specific user, moving wherever they do and encompassing their body entirely. Specific elemental affinities create Auras with unique properties, which can be used to interact with the Users' surroundings in creative ways.

Common Auras' interactions are classified into 4 types-

• Passive- An ability that requires no intent of the User. Conversely, these interactions happen despite the Users' intentions, potentially having adverse effects.
• Active - Requires a conscious action by the User. As long as the Aura is active, this action may be repeated.
• Spend - Requires a conscious action by the User. The Aura is immediately Dispelled as a cost of making this action.
• Dispel - An interaction that will deactivate the Aura. Some Auras have multiple interactions that would dispel them, though most can be deactivated at will by the User.

Force Aura	A transparent orb of energy surrounds the user, giving a blue tint to everything seen through it. Objects cannot permeate the orb from either direction, but a good wallop will make it break.
	Passive	Active	Spend
	Negates all Damage once, is then Dispelled.	N/A	N/A
Dispel The User may Dispel this Aura at will.

Bubble Aura	A pocket of air within a viscous membrane forms around the User. It bends against objects that strike it, pushing back with equal force.
	Passive	Active	Spend
	Deflects any ranged attacks back at it's point of origin. Provides clean air for the User to breathe.	Dive - As an Action, the user may make a quick descent through air or water, bouncing safely once they hit the bottom.	Bubble Burst - Separate from their Action, the user may pop their bubble, dealing 1d6 Blast damage to any targets in Close range
Dispel The bubble can be popped by sharp or spiked weapons or terrain.

Flame Aura	Smokeless flames lick the air around the User. Objects may pass through, though any external sources of heat or fire are simply absorbed into the aura.
	Passive	Active	Spend
	The User is immune to damage related to Fire, Heat, or Lava. Flammable/Frozen objects that make contact with the Aura may ignite/melt	Dash - As an Action, the user may launch themselves forwards in a straight line, up to their standard movement speed. Targets within Close range of this path take 1d4 damage.	Flame Shot - As an Action, the user may cast this aura as a ranged attack at a single target for 1d8 damage.
Dispel The flames dissipate when making contact with Water.

Static Aura	Lightning arcs across an invisible field in a perfect orb around the user. When objects make contact, ripples of light emanate from the point of contact before fading.
	Passive	Active	Spend
	Attracts Magnetic objects, which latch on to hover within the Aura's orbit and cannot easily be removed.	Double Jump - As an Action, the user may ascend vertically up to twice their standard movement speed.	Rubble Burst - As an Action, the user may force objects latched onto the Aura as a ranged attack, dealing 1dX (X=# of Objects) Blast damage to any targets in Close Range.
Dispel Contact with water disperses the energy to any targets also in contact, including the user, dealing 1d4 damage.

Rush Aura	A haze of shimmering light surrounds the User, vibrating at a high speed. Vision through the barrier is unfocused.
	Passive	Active	Spend
	Standard Movement is Doubled	N/A	N/A
Dispel The effect ends if the User takes any Damage.

Spectral Aura	A cacophony of shimmering star-like motes of light swarm the User. Regardless of the properties of an offending source of damage, the User remains unaffected.
	Passive	Active	Spend
	Negates all damage taken.	N/A	Star Flash - As an Action, the user produces a bright light that floods the room, blinding any target looking at them.
Dispel This Aura can be Dispelled at will; once Dispelled, the User accrues Fatigue equal to number of Turns taken with the Aura Active.

d50 Fantasy Crop Table

 

Also known as "thank god these bitches are horny for fresh produce"
Don't actually watch this, please.

This post and others like it are made possible by members of my Patreon, where you can see Game WIPs and Previews of future blogposts a week early! Thank you in particular to WonderWalleye for your continued support!

Howdy, Farmhands!

    I'm a big fan of the Isekai genre, warts and all. For both the Protagonist, and the Audience, it's a chance to bumble upon facets of a world that's wild and new, while said facet is already comfortably set in it's place in the world. A good Isekai considers the ramifications of it's fantastic differences between itself and what we consider "normal", and an even BETTER Isekai takes those ramifications and makes them interesting problems for the hero to solve. There's not a lot of Good Isekai, to be clear.

    This comparison, the fantastical and the mundane, is something that can be deployed on your ttrpg players too! If you give them an Apple, they'll toss it in their pack as a ration. Give them an Apple that Tastes like a Hamburger, suddenly it's a memorable quirk of the campaign. It's a puzzle without actually being a puzzle - What could be done with this thing that's so familiar and yet so different? Enterprising parties will get creative, which might derail the game for a Fruit-based WcDonalds chain OR just convince them to finally engage with the cooking rules you've been pushing.

    Additional Reading -

• GrinningRat's "Dungeon Food"
• Prismatic Wasteland's "Cooking Minigame" 
• Throne of Salt's "Unified Food Theory"  
  

    Until Next Time,

        Farmer Gadda

d50	This looks like...	-except it's...	-and it's served...
1	Cantaloupe	Grows as large as a house	Fried in Butter
2	Apple	an Odd color (1d4: Red, Yellow, Orange, Pink)	Basted and Grilled
3	Pear	an Odd color (1d4: Blue, Purple, Green, Teal)	Baked as a Casserole
4	Peach	Covered in Fuzz	Baked as a Pie
5	Yam	Covered in wood-like Bark	Boiled Whole
6	Pineapple	Covered in a Stone-like Shell	Roasted with Meat
7	Kiwi	Oblong Shaped	atop Pasta
8	Lemon	Cube Shaped	Breaded and Fried in Oil
9	Cucumber	Grows tiny as a berry	Boiled and Mashed
10	Butternut Squash	Odd Markings (1d4: Striped, Spotted, Mottled, Iridescent)	Stuffed and Baked
11	Carrot	Odd Markings (1d4: Spikes, Pockmarks, Lumps, Cracks)	Chilled
12	Cauliflower	Triangle Shaped	in a Smoothie
13	Parsnip	Covered in Pollen	as a Garnish for Drinks
14	Corn	got a Dry Texture	Mixed with sugar and water as a popular Summer Drink
15	Tomato	got a Juicy Texture	as Popsicles
16	Artichoke	Gourd Shaped	as Barbeque
17	Radish	got a Crisp flavor	in a Stew
18	Rhubarb	Got a Minty flavor	as Stock for Soup
19	Garlic	got a Creamy Texture	mixed with Crushed Ice
20	Potato	Got a Chewy Texture	Frozen into sheets of Bark
21	Rice	got a Sweet flavor	Sliced and on Sandwiches
22	Wheat	got a Smoky flavor	as is, just bite into it!
23	Barley	Got a Tangy flavor	Cubed and paired with Cheese
24	Pumpkin	got a Sour flavor	Grated as a Seasoning
25	Tea Leaves	got a Bitter flavor	in Aged Cheeses
26	Cherry	tastes just like (roll again on Previous Column)	Julienne'd
27	Avocado	got a Gelatinous texture	Chopped into Sticks and dipped in sauce
28	Apricot	got a Meaty texture	Thickened into a Condiment
29	Banana	got a Crunchy texture	Covered in Cheese and Broiled
30	Beet	got a Soft texture	Pickled, sometimes as a relish
31	Strawberry	Root-Legged (Attempts to run away when Harvested)	Canned in Sweet Syrup
32	Blueberry	Camouflaged (Blends in with it's natural surroundings)	Dried into Jerky
33	Cranberry	Shrieking (Harvesting it causes an ear-splitting noise to erupt)	Smoked over a Fire
34	Blackberry	Poisonous (Improper handling will make you sick)	Frozen and cut into Cubes
35	Grape	Cursed (Spiritual energy latches onto improper harvesters, sapping their strength)	Heavily Salted
36	Watermelon	Singing (Emulates a gentle song)	Sundried into Crisps
37	Mango	Violent (Includes teeth or claws and will fight back)	Fermented into Alcohol
38	Orange	Domesticated (Mimics the behaviors and mannerisms of a Pet Cat)	as a Jelly
39	Plum	Mocking (Repeats noises it's heard)	as a Jam
40	Coffee Bean	Flying (Delayed harvesting results in the crop flying south for the winter)	ground into a Flour
41	Tulip	Only Grows in the light of a Full Moon	as an Extract
42	Sunflower	Only Grows within Deep Caves	Boiled into a Paste
43	Rose	Grows submerged in Water	Thrice Baked into dense Cubes
44	Daffodil	Grows on a Trellis	Stretched like Taffy
45	Dandelion	Grows buried in the Ground	Whipped like Cream
46	Ginger	Grows on the branches of a Tree	Mashed into a Sauce
47	Coconut	Grows on a tall Stalk	Pressed to extract it's Juice
48	Mushroom	Grows in spreading Vines	Crushed into a Powder
49	Jalapeno	Grows around Decay and Rot4	Chopped into a Salad
50	Leek	Only Grows on a Leyline	Used as a Garnish

 

Fish of the Nether - for the Nether Depthcrawl

Fish want me, I fear Women, something along those lines

     The following is an adaptation of an existing Minecraft Mod, "Nether Depths Upgrade". For the sake of this project, some details have been omitted or changed, and this write-up does not reflect the functionality or design goals of the original mod. Permission to use these concepts has been acquired from the Author, though no assets or code may be reused. Please support the artists and coders by giving the original mod a try the next time you play Minecraft.

Also, this Post was partly written as a thank you for a generous monetary donation that arrived during a moment of need! The Farmhand requested that in lieu of a bespoke post, that I put the energy into completing a fun draft! 

Thank you so much for your support, Suzy!

Howdy, Farmhands!

    You wanna go... fishing in the Nether? I mean, you could, with a Rod and Line capable of handling the heat. And despite the Nether oceans being filled with Lava, a number of fish-like creatures seem to thrive there. So sure, cast that line, see what you reel in!

 

    As I'm sure your system of choice already has a fishing minigame to use, I'm not going to offer any mechanics or procedures here. Just a simple d10 table, and data on what's swimming about down there. If I were to give you Advice, however, I'd suggest using a d6 instead of a flat d10, and have the quality of the Rod and Bait add bonuses to aim for the more valuable and larger fish on the tail end of that table. Whatever you choose, I hope you have a fun and relaxing time, taking a fishing trip in Hell.

Until Next Time,

    Farmer Gadda

Fishing Table

Roll 1d10	Result
1	Lava Pufferfish
2	Obsidianfish
3	Searing Cod
4	Bonefish
5	Blazefish
6	Magmacubefish
7	Glowdine
8	Soul Sucker
9	Fortress Grouper
10	You've caught a BIGGUN! Roll on this table again, increasing the catch's Size Rating by 1!

 

Fishing Bestiary

 

Any fish that drops "Itself" leaves behind enough to count as 1 Ration per Scale Category. If it's drop is (Bulky), roll 1d4 + Scale Category to determine how many Rations it can make once prepared.

Also, as I have been very lazy with drawing out the fish, some entries will use placeholder art made by a member of my Discord Server. Thank you for enabling me, Discord User FishFondler

 

Lava Pufferfish	Scale: ★  Drops: Itself
	A Pufferfish.                                                           It's Red.

Obsidianfish	Scale: ★  Drops: Itself, Obsidian Scales
	A pitch black fish with searing red eyes. It's dorsal fins cut through the lava, making it look like a hellish shark.

Searing Cod	Scale: ★  Drops: Itself, Charcoal
	A long, orange fish that is somehow as warm as the lava  you fished it from. In the open air it produces smoke as it's temperature burns the surrounding atmosphere.

Bonefish	Scale: ★  Drops: Bones
	A fish made of bones. How is it alive and moving? Can you even eat this?

Blazefish	Scale: ★  Drops: 1d4 Blaze Rods
	A lamprey-like fish with 4 blaze rods rotating around it. You don't want to know what it's like to have one of these latch onto you.

Magmacubefish	Scale: ★  Drops: Magma Cream
	A Magmacube that developed fins and a fish tail. Otherwise, it's a regular Magmacube. It looks ridiculous.

Glowdine	Scale: ★  Drops: Itself, Glowstone Dust
	A small and thin fish with scales made entirely of glowstone fragments. It's value lies in the usefulness of it's glow as there's not a lot of meat on it.

Soul Sucker	Scale: ★  Drops: Itself (Bulky)
	A fish who's skin camouflages it against the sand of the Soulsand Valley. It's eyes burn with an unnatural blue light. It eats remnants of soul energy off the Lava Sea floor. It's scales can be tanned into a leather-like material, which retains the necromantic properties of the original fish.

Fortress Grouper	Scale: ★★  Drops: Itself (Bulky), Nether Brick Scales
	A MASSIVE Goldfish with a protective mask on it's face made of Nether Brick. The scales on it's face can be used to craft Armor

 

Saying Goodbye (to Twitch)

 

Happy New Year, Farmhands.

    I'm in mourning. (Hi, "in mourning", I'm Dad)

    On April 22nd, 2018, I took a deep breath and clicked a button that read "Go Live." My cell phone whirred and the camera showed a younger and incredibly anxious me, in his kitchen, surrounded by the ingredients he'd need to make Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes. I was a cake decorator, you see, having been trained in the ancient ways of Sam's Club to frost and sprinkle atop freeze dried baked goods. With my move to Florida to marry my beautiful wife 3 years prior, however, those skills had been relegated to the hobby space and left to get rusty. Not anymore. I was adamant that I was going to teach myself the missing skill set, use my flock of chickens and their organic eggs to convince the health nuts in my area that my baked goods were somehow superior, and sell my cakes to them for money. And this was the first step in that journey; asking friends and family to watch me work as a way to pressure myself into consistently experimenting at minimum once a week.

    My channel quickly evolved. What started as a simple motivating tool became it's own unique hobby; I switched to a refurbished computer running Linux, designed bespoke graphics, upgraded my cameras to only SLIGHTLY shitty laptop levels of cheap, bought cool new baking tools to try out- but mostly fell face first into enjoying being an entertainer more than being a baker. I made some damn cool cakes, tried and failed at perfecting various flavors (still haven't figured out from-scratch strawberry), and eventually got the bug to try sharing video games I enjoyed to my audience that were increasingly there more for me than for the cakes. I remember passionately regurgitating the talking points of the latest Matt Colville video to a friend who'd never read 4th edition. I remember cackling like a madman when my cat decided he needed to be on my shoulders in the middle of a frosting session, laying down on my back while I was bent in half to accommodate him. I remember starting to cry when I hit 100 followers and achieved Twitch's (then fairly lax) Affiliate status live on stream. 

    The thing is, as I write this, I'm remembering all the good times and only the good times. Being a Twitch streamer wasn't always candy and roses. I fought tooth and nail with my very shitty and cobbled together PC to maintain any semblance of watchable video quality on an incredibly small budget. My un-medicated anxiety made hitting that button and Going Live feel impossible some weekends, compounded by the guilt of skipping a week when the entire POINT was to make me bake often. I struggled with my internet provider, and in particular, a neighbor who twice CUT OUR LAND LINE because he believed the buried cord to be on his property.  And all of that is before you take into account the amount of Dishes that piled up after any given baking sessh. (Beautiful Wife was mostly upset about the dishes.)

    Existing as a creator on the internet is a lot of work, actually.

    This is why, despite my love for the craft being as strong now as it was back then, I have made the decision to say goodbye to being a twitch streamer. Some may call it "graduating", a term popularized by Vtubers and the Japanese Idol culture that they've basically lifted outright, but I prefer the term "retiring." It isn't that I've aged out of the hobby, nor that I'm leaving to pursue bigger and better opportunities like a high school senior moving states to chase a specific college degree. I'm more like an old man who's accepted that maybe this grind isn't for him anymore. Even though I've long since switched the kind of content I produce from the live baking streams into interactive 2d puppetry Vtubing atop Video Game game play, this shit still isn't easy, and the amount of time required to keep it up and running just isn't available to me these days.

    Saying goodbye to parts of yourself is never easy. Admitting that you're not the same person you were 10 years ago comes with a sense of grief. Very rarely do we get to have that realization until it's too late to properly say goodbye. So with heavy heart, I look upon my twitch channel, and metaphorically watch as the cake decorator in his kitchen with anxiety and hope pauses before hitting the "Go Live" button, and gently reaches over to close the door between us. It is April 22nd, 2018, and he has Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes to bake. It is January 1st, 2025, and I have a TTRPG draft to edit.  

    Until next time,

        Farmer Gadda

     

    

Sonic the Hedgehog - Where do we go from here?

 

Sonic the Hedgehog had a rough transition to Live Action. 

This Blog-post was written as a thank you for a generous monetary donation that arrived during a moment of need! 

 Thank you so much for your support, Mxfaery!

    I have been a Sonic fan for the majority of my life, and I have loved him in many, many forms. From the very beginning, the character has been interpreted and re-interpreted across basically every form of entertainment media. In the first few years of the original video game's release, he appeared in two concurrently airing animated children's shows, one which portrayed him as a Looney Tunes styled hooligan performing slapstick, and the other in a dark and gritty anti-authoritarian guerilla resistance, with body horror and death frequently featured. So it was no surprise to me to learn that the first Live-Action adaptation was going to be a buddy cop movie with a CG animal sidekick. A disappointment, sure, but not a surprise.