Ashes Without Number

Even though my interest in the OSR has waned a bit I still really appreciate the work that Kevin Crawford has down with Stars Without Number, Worlds, Without Number, and Cities Without Number. Ashes Without Number starts crowdfunding in July and is an update and expansion on Other Dust a game about post-apocalyptic worlds and the struggle to survive. If you dig Gamma World, Mutant Future Planet of the Apes, Mad Max, Furious, Rifts, and zombie dead worlds this game has you covered.

He's posted the character creation section and like CWN classes are ditched for Edges and includes rules for mutations.

The timing, for me, is excellent because I've been thinking a lot about Thundarr the Barbarian and enjoying Fallout on Amazon so I've got an itch for this genre.

By It is believed that the cover art can or could be obtained  from the publisher or studio., Fair use, 

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=699389

I'm not sure I'm up for a campaign but I've been working up a setting and brainstorming an adventure or two.

If you want to check out the character gen section you can download it here.

Back This: The ShadowDark the RPG

I discovered the ShadowDark RPG several months ago and I was hooked right away. It's an Old School approach to adventuring with New School mechanics that are streamlined and easy to teach and learn. It captures the heart of early Dungeons and Dragons while embracing a modern approach separate from the wargaming roots of the OSR. The Arcane Library publishes well-designed adventures that help a busy DM focus on the game at the table in a very elegant and clear manner.  Kelsey Dionne, the owner and designer, has created a wonderful community to interact with. The game funded in 12 minutes and I am so excited to be able to finally back it.

I've already purchased the Quickstart rules and the Cursed Scroll Vol 1 Diablerie! as physical products, something I rarely do these days. I urge you to take a look for yourself.

You can back it here. 

Full disclosure: I have gotten access  a beta PDF of the rules.

I have produced a supplement with new Races for it here and material on the blog here.

Spotlight On Dragonbane or Drakar och Demoner Beta

First, I've always been a fan of ADnD's D20 roll equal to or under an Ability score and have brainstormed about expanding it into a full blown game for decades. Second, I love how easy it is to teach someone Basic Role Play/Call of Cthulhu/RuneQuest' percentile system. Third, I think DnD can be a bit daunting for new players with some of its concepts.

Dragonsbane (here in the States) or Drakar och Demoner's newest edition addresses all three of those things for me. I think it is an excellent RPG to teach to new players and yet rich enough to hold the interest of veterans. It has the roll under mechanic that older editions of DnD and ADnD utilize and while it doesn't use a percentage system I like how it sets base Skill chances and Trained Skill ratings.

DB or DoD for short, has six Attiributes: Strength, Constitution, Agility, Intelligence, Will, and Charisma. They are rated on a scale of 3 to 18 and are rolled using the classic 4d6 drop the lowest die. Your Ability score sets your base chance to perform a Skill, which range from 3 to 7 and if you are Trained in a Skill you double that amount. 

The game features six Kin: Humans, Halflings, Elves, Dwarves, Mallards (apparently DoD borrowed from Chaosium's RuneQuest and therefore uses that game's Ducks) and Wolfkin or wolf-like humanoids, Dog Men, if you will. Each kin has a Heroic Ability which requires Willpower, a pool of points equal to your Will Attribute, to be used. They are a lot like Feats from DnD and can have a broad spectrum of effects.

After choosing your Kin you choose a Profession, which is not a Class, but a group of Skills, Heroic Ability, Gear, and some form of Personalization such as an object from your past or a series of scars. You must choose to be trained in four of your Profession Skills during character creation and there are currently 16 which range from Swords and Marksmanship to Spot Hidden and Survival. The number of starting Skills is dependent on your age with younger characters being Trained in 5 Skills but a +1 to Agility and Constitution, adult characters being Trained in 6 Skills and old characters being Trained in 7 Skills but taking a -1 to Strength, Agility, and Constitution and a +1 to Will. The developers are planning to add more Skills, going to 25 of them, in the next Beta update and instead of each Profession have a specific Heroic Ability you will be able to choose the one you want.

Character creation yesterday took me about 15 minutes which is ideal, in my opinion and I really enjoy that this is a Skill based game so that while I might not start out with one of the three Magic Schools (Animism, Elementalism, and Mentalism) I can choose to study them at a latter point in the game. Experience is similar to BRP's you put a check next to any Skill you used that session that rolled a 1, called a Dragon and a Critical Success, or a 20, called a Demon and a Critical Failure. Additionally, you also answer the following six questions and put a check by a Skill of your choice at the end of each session. 
   Did you participate in the game session? 

   Did you explore a new location?

   Did you defeat one or more dangerous adversaries?

   Did you overcome an obstacle without using force? 

   Did you roleplay according to your motivation?

For each Skill checked you roll a D20 and need to exceed the Skill Rank with a success adding +1 Rank to it.

If you want to learn certain Skills you will have to seek training for a period of time. Additionally, you gain a new Heroic Ability every 5 sessions.

Armor subtracts from damage unless its from a spell and weapons range from 1d6 to 2d10 with a damage bonus (a D4 or a D6) from exceptional Strength and Agility Attribute scores.

To cast spells you make your Magic School's Skill check and spend the appropriate amount of Willpower Points even if you fail your Skill roll. You can decide to inflict damage upon yourself to gain WPs ranging from D4 to a D20 but you also take damage of the same amount.

I really, really like this game. I'm hoping to run some newer gamers through it and I am really glad I backed it. I even upped my pledge after reading the Beta.

I think it has a lot of charm and really flows into the background during play. 

Late Pledges are currently available on the KS page.

Back This: Gunslinger on Kickstarter

I just backed a Kickstarter, Gunslinger - Strange Science in the Wild West from Thomas Denmark of Night Owl Workshop whose OSR products are must-buys for me. His games are a What If Dave and Gary made a Supers RPG or a John Carter of Mars RPG or in this case a science-fantasy RPG in a Wild West of Strange Science.

Guardians is one of my favorite Super Hero RPGs and I've thoroughly enjoyed Raiders! and am a big fan of his OSR classes.

Gunslinger is right up my alley and I can't wait to get it in my grubby hands.

I urge you to back it too.

Back This: Hell Night by Gavriel Quiroga on Kickstarter

Hell Night, by the incredibly talented Gavriel Quiroga, is on Kickstarter right now and has around 72 hours left to back. Gavriel's work on Neurocity & Warpland is incredible and Warpland is the best looking RPG that I've ever had the pleasure to own.

Here is the set-up for Hell Night:

Hell, the dimension of torment and spiritual atonement, has suffered an insurrection. Its ruler has laid dormant for decades and the domain is convulsed by the inefficacy of a headless hierarchy. A few Archons, powerful demons which rule over the Circles, have escaped their obligations and are now breaking havoc on the land above, Earth. To make matters worse, a celestial herald from the cohorts of Heaven has come with an ultimatum, ¨You have until dawn to remove the deserters from the realm of man or else we will storm your gates¨

It is your solemn duty to hunt down these dangerous, demonic fugitives. So, gather your unholy arms, armor and cursed relics; the fate of cosmic balance lies in your hands. An infernal choir has been summoned to honor your quest and bid farewell as you blaze through the gates of torment on your thundering hellride.

Your strength is as great as your determination, as the fire that consumes your rage. Welcome to Hell Night.

I urge you to back Hell Night before it ends and relish in it's doom biker glory.

Here is the link.

Back This: The Night Companion for Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars

Jason Vey and Timothy Brannan are two talented people who I've been fans of for years and their Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars was a high point for me last year when it was fulfilled. Who doesn't want to play Buffy/Angel/Hellboy using, essentially, ADnD 1E? And as a fan of Eden Studios' RPG products I loved that the format they chose was a callback to Unisystem books.

The Night Companion is on Kickstarter right now and only has 4 days to go. I've been swamped or I'd have been drawing attention to it sooner but you still have time.

The Night Companions has tons of options and settings and I can't wait to get my grubby hands on it.

I really can't recommend their stuff more and I think you will love Night Shift if you give it a try.

The Most Played RPG System

I'm a backer of Privateer Press' Iron Kingdoms setting for DnD 5th Edition. I've loved the setting since it was released for DnD 3.0 back in the day and am looking forward to running it under 5E.

Matt Wilson of Privateer Press made this statement in response to a question about why they stopped supporting the Iron Kingdoms RPG with its own unique system, "5e is the most played RPG system in the history of RPGs, and so if we're going to keep exploring and expanding on the Iron Kingdoms."

Do you think that statement is true?

I know 5E is huge, I mean H-U-G-E, but B/X DnD and ADnD 1E were pretty successful too and they've had the benefit of being played since the 70s and been reinvigorated with the OSR in the last decade.

Let me be clear here, I'm not taking Mr. Wilson to task for his statement it simply made me think about the life cycle of various versions of DnD and the inventory numbers. His statement could be completely spot on and I'm sure he has a better chance of having insight from WotC than I do.

I'd love to hear what you think on the subject.

Worlds Without Number: Shokkoth of the Many Stones

I own several of Kevin Crawford's OSR RPGs, but I've never run one. Worlds Without Number is the first time I've ever backed one of his Kickstarters and that gave me access to the Beta Rules.

The company I work for, Comic Book World, was founded by my In-Laws and I've worked for them for the last 20 years and they've basically retired earlier this year. That means that now I do all of the buying of comics that come into our store and I just purchased a sweet run of Marvel's first Conan the Barbarian series.

Issue number 46 features Shokkoth on its cover so I decided I'd stat him up for WWN.

Shokkoth of the Many Stones for Worlds Without Number

HD: 6
AC: 18
Atk: +5 
Dmg: 1d10+1 stony fist

Shock: 2/15
Move: 30
Morale: 12

Instinct: 3
Skill: +1
Save: 9+

The living statue Shokkoth of the Many stones was created by the sorcerer Zoqqanor to protect his sanctum. 

Back This: City of Solstice: Low-Magic Urban Fantasy RPG

Chuck Rice of Apocalyptic Games has brought back his Kickstarter for the City of Solstice.

It features new classes, an alternative low-magic spellcasting system for the setting, and it's compatible with you favorite OSR engine.

Chuck's a great game designer and this setting rocks, I've been lucky to see it and you don't want to miss it.

Here's the set up:

"You are not adventurers.

They’re dead.

Just like His Royal Majesty, Prince Roth, Earl of the City of Solstice and his wife, the Princess Sirena.

Their killers were the Star Society, five rival criminal organizations who joined together as one. They are: the Church of Mother Moon, led by the Shadow Shroud, a mysterious prophetess, the Nizari, most ruthless mercenary company in the known world, the shadow archers of the Sagittarius Sect, the mysterious elven executioners of the Order of Antares, and the martial arts masters known as the Five Forms.

The city is now theirs in all but name. The Royal Chancellor, Lord Toren, Her Majesty’s Lord Protector, is officially in charge of the city. But everyone knows he’s a tired old man who looks the other way while terror rules the streets.

You are members of the Vigilant, a thoroughly corrupted effigy of a once proud guild, charged with keeping order in a chaotic city of 100,000 souls. You are not adventurers. But you have a duty.

Welcome to the City of Solstice"

You can back it here.

Review: 5th Evolution: Carbide City #1

I'm always on the lookout for a good superhero game, especially one that runs on the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition chasis. While Mutants and Masterminds is a very good game, it doesn't scratch my itch because I don't care for it's damage system. I like hit points, but I also have been looking for a superhero game where buckets of dice weren't necessary. I'm glad to say 5th Evolution: Carbide City #1 from Limitless Adventures fits the bill.

I was given physical and digital copies of 5th Evolution: Carbide City #1 for review purposes.

I'm going to talk about the formatting of Carbide City #1, nine of it's 45 pages is a comic book to introduce you to the setting and it's super powered inhabitants. I really like this, the art is excellent, the layout is great and it's fun. For some reason it reminds me 80's and 90's role playing games, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Palladium Books, in particular.

The book opens with a brief overview of the world and Carbide City itself. This leads into four encounters and ends with running a campaign in the setting. 

Next is equipment and then we are given write-ups for minions and henchmen. After that we are given full statistics and back stories for ten supervillains. Additionally, there is a "further adventures" section for each villain.

Then we are given ten superhero Archetypes: Blaster (Cyclops), Brick (Colossus), Feral (Beast), Gadgeteer (Forge), Ghost (Kitty Pryde), Martial Artist (Shang Chi), Marksman (Scalphunter), Speedster (Quicksilver), Telepath (Emma Frost), Teleporter (Nightcrawler).

Unlike other superhero RPGs, 5th Evolution: Carbide City strictly uses Archetypes for character creation, there are no rules for building a character with points or randomly rolling one. You pick an Archetype and work with your Game Master if you want to change things up. The Archetypes are 12th level characters and honestly, if you are well-versed in DnD 5E, you could build your own.

I really like this approach. I have numerous games where I can customize and min-max my character to the fullest, but this is a great way to just get the ball rolling. I honestly find it refreshing.

We are told that 12th level characters are lower powered than many of the superheroes in comics and I can see that, but I find the power level to be good for say the X-men of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Additionally, each Archetypes Advancements to improve them instead of using Experience Points.

5th Evolution: Carbide City #1 (plans for a #2 were mentioned with additional Archetypes) was like a breath of fresh air, it's easy to get going and yet complete and most importantly, fun enough to keep new and veteran players interested for a full campaign. I cannot recommend it enough.

Finally, Limitless Adventures is running a Kickstarter for 5th Evolution: Whitechapel which is in it's final hours right now.

You should check it out.

City of Solstice: Channeling Magic for the OSR

Charles Rice has outdone himself with City of Solstice: A Setting for OSR Fantasy Campaigns. As I've read over the setting I'm reminded of Lankhmar or Sanctuary, he's built a thrilling, dangerous, and gritty place either set your campaign in or to stop by for a change of pace.

Charles describes Solstice as where "noir crime fiction and old-school fantasy gaming meet." And it is completely true in my opinion.

One feature that I want to focus on is how magic is channeled within the city.  The Star Society are five criminal organizations who essentially took over the city from the Kingdom of Annwyn several years ago. In exchange for not harming the King's niece and Lord Toren, Solstice is in the Star Society's hands.

While traditional vancian magic is predominant throughout the rest of the Kingdom, only members of the Star Society may employ it and own wands, staves, and rods within the city. For anyone else it is against the law.

Channeling uses Mana Power (hereafter referred to as MP), not spell slots.  When casting a spell, the caster generates 1d4 x level each turn in MP. The MP required to cast a spell is 5 x spell level. If a caster doesn't generate enough MP to cast a spell they may taken another round to generate it, however, once a caster stops generating MP it is immediately reduced to zero.

So a 3rd level Magic-User would generate 3d4 MP per turn and would need 5 MP to cast a 1st level spell or 10 MP to cast a 2nd level spell.

It is possible to interrupt a caster while channeling by dealing damage equal to or greater than the MP that has been channeled thus far, doin so prevents the casting of the spell.

Additionally, if a caster is interrupted, but has generated 10 or more MP, and is attacked physically, the spell deals 1d4 x level of the spell with  the caster taking 1/2 the damage generated and the attacker takeing the other half. But, if a caster is interrupted by magic then everyone in a 30 foot radius takes 1d4 x level of the spell damage.

Extra MP over what is needed to cast the chosen spell may be used to alter the spell. Each additional 10 MP can be used to increase the Caster's level by 1, gain +1 per die of healing or damage, apply a -2 to a creature's saving throw, or increase the range of the spell by 20 feet, increase the area effect of the spell by 10 feet. For every 5 MP over what is needed the Caster may add +2 to the healing or damage of the selected spell.

Casters may generated more MP by using a focus, such as a wand, to generate additional 1d6 to 9d6 depending on the level of the focus. A Caster adds their primary spellcasting Ability modifier (Int for Magic-Users, Wis for Clerics, etc.) to the MP generated with a focus.

I'm really excited to use this system and hope to use Solstice as a setting very soon.

It's still on Kickstarter if you want to back this excellent OSR setting.

Monster Monday: Headless Horseman for Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars

"The Headless Horseman failed to kill Ichabod Crane in the encounter "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is based on. Townspeople found Crane's horse and pieces of pumpkin the next morning. Crane crawled ashore and later started a family. He had a son and 20 years later, he, too, was chased by the Horseman. Ever since then, he pursued the family with each new generation."

Today on The Other Side Blog, Tim posted the Zugarramurdi Brujas using the Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars stat box. I figured I'd follow his lead and try my hand at it.

Headless Horseman for Night Shift
No. Appearing: 1
AC: 4
Move: 60ft.
Hit Dice: 5
Special: Any creature that this ghost chases must make a Constitution Saving throw or have their Move reduced by 5 ft. and take 1d6 damage; Once per night, the Horseman can throw his helmet at a target that deals 2d6 damage on a hit.
Weakness: Water is a natural ionizing agent and causes a sudden drop in the Horseman's power

Back This: City of Solstice: A Setting for OSR Fantasy Campaigns

I'm a big fan of Charles Rice's RPGs and, in fact, his was the first blog I followed as he pulled back the veil of game design and shared the development of the projects with his fans.


He's made some great stuff, especially for the OSR, including the Akhara setting, OSRIC Unearthed, Old School Psionics, Old School Magic, and Old School Class: Necromancer.


The other day, his Apocalyptic Games launched his first Kickstarter, City of Solstice: A Setting for for OSR Fantasy Games.


I'm a big fan of using an urban setting to play DnD or OSR games from Lankhmar to Sanctuary to Sigil to my own Jarlsburg.


And after reading the Quickstart, which easily breakdowns the City and its movers and shakers, I'm pretty anxious to use it as soon as possible.


Backers get access to the Quickstart, which is a 51 page PDF that goes over the Cities' history, the five rival criminal organizations that rule it, new Classes, new Magic Items, and an Adventure.


First, the PDF opens with this: "You are not adventurers.They’re dead."


I really appreciate that statement. It sets the stage for the locale and the type of campaign it's designed for. Solstice is broken, decadent, and well past saving. And the Players take the role of members of the Vigilant, the cities' corrupt guards who are not "adventurers" but "have a duty" to carry out.


Ten years ago, Solstice experienced the Black Night, when a hight priestess of the Moon rallied 4 other criminal organizations to storm the Earl's castle and he trades his life and that of his life, spared the lives of his brother and daughter, and handed over the city to those organization, known as the Star Society.


Since that night five proclamations have been issued: First, weapons are restricted. Second, armor is restricted. Third, magic is restricted. Fourth, religion is restricted. Fifth, criminal organizations will be killed on site, well, all except those that are a part of the Star Society.


Those proclamations certainly cover the four "core" classes and set the tone for how bleak this place is, in my opinion.


The five members of the Star Society are: the Church of Mother Moon which is dedicated to the Moon Goddess, the Nizari are mercenaries, the Sagittarius Sect were an embattled thieves guild that now operates publicly as the bowyer's guild, the Order of Antares which was formed by saboteurs and assassins, and the Five Forms who are ascetics from the East.


New and altered Classes are presented, as well: the Anti-Paladin, the Arcane Channeler which doesn't use vancian magic and neither does this setting, a new version of the Bard, the Divine Channeler which, like the Arcane Channeler, doesn't use vancian magic, the Martial Artist, the Mercenary Captain, the Mystic, the Noble, a variant Thief class, the Zodiac Channeler (specialist magic-users), and the Zodiac Knight.


Solstice spellcasters don't have "spell slots" they draw their power from their environment with the aid of certain magic items specific to the class.


Several magic items are also introduced and is followed by the Wards of Solstice, which gives a great overview of each part of the City and some of it's notable inhabitants.


The Quickstart ends with an 11 page adventure to introduce your group to Solstice and I can't wait to run it.


I won't lie to any of you, I've been a big fan of Charles' work for years, from Modern20 to this OSR stuff to AZ: After Zombies. But this is a great setting and I've only seen 51 pages of it. I think it's a great concept and respectfully channels Lankhmar and Sanctuary, while also separating itself in the process.


I urge you back Solstice here.

Running Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars Quickstart

Last night our regular DM and a couple of players couldn't make it, so the three remaining players picked out pregens from the Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars Quickstart and we gave it a spin.

Let me state from the get go that if you are familiar with ADnD or any of the OSR games, you already know how to play this game.

As a refresher, Night Shift focused on three mechanics. First, is an ability check/attack roll/saving throw using a D20 where you add your ability modifier (which can have a bonus that increases as you level) or attack bonus and try to equal or exceed 20. 

Second, skills are percentiles, ala thief skills, and our modified by how difficulty the task is. So, if I have a Climb Walls of 55% and the DM feels that it's a level 3 challenge, I would subtract 15% (3 x 5%), I would end up with a 40% chance.

Third, there are times that, if no other skill or ability seems to apply, I can roll a d6 and I succeed on a 1 or 2. Per the Quickstart this is the default, for instance, if a player doesn't have an appropriate skill to use and the DM still wants give them a chance.

The PCs were:
Leo Derleth, the Fey (Veteran)

Jaimie Concord, the Chosen One

Dirk Pascal, the Veteran

The game went great and we were up and rolling in less than 20 minutes.

The rules easily handled investigation, social interaction and cinematic combat. If I had any uncertainty on what type of check was appropriate, I'd just have the PC or NPC roll a d6 and look for a 1 or 2. I felt secure as a DM running this system with very little prep time -- just a reading of the rules and the adventure.

NPCs and Enemies are easy to use, you simply add their Hit Dice value to any D20 checks they make. This allowed me, as the GM, to easily create some ally or enemy NPCs on the fly.

Due to the player's actions, I had an encounter that wasn't in the Quickstart and by simply figuring out the NPCs Hit Dice, I had their Hit Points, D20 bonus, and quickly figured out their AC, which defaults to 9.

I also felt the action was pretty dynamic, it was easy to run a small horde of bikers, hellhounds, and a Big Boss that outnumbered and challenged the PCs, while at the same time the their class abilities really channeled the action of the TV shows that inspired this game in the first place. At one point, the Chosen One was hanging from the side of the rooftop and facing a demon and the Player wanted to break free and then grab a window seal and smash through instead of falling to the concrete below. A simple opposed Strength check and a well time 1 on a d6 handled the action easily and had everyone at the table pumped.

I also want to highlight Fate Points and their uses. The Chosen One entered they fray on the rooftop 2 rounds sooner than the Fey and the Veteran and got pretty beat up extremely fast. Thanks to Fate points was able to activate Second Wind on one round, Righteous Rage on the next, and another Second Wind on the third round. Fate points were a great way to emulate the genre perfectly and allowed less flashy characters, like the Sage, to shine in the game alongside the Chosen One and the Fey.

To top it all off, we played the adventure in just under 2-1/2 hours. Night Shift is certainly a rules set you are probably intimately familiar with, but it's innovations channel the genre appropriately and highlight some of the recent innovations of contemporary game design.

I cannot recommend backing this game enough and taking the Quickstart for a spin.

Back this game right now!

Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars: Playing a Monster

I'm extremely excited for Jason Vey and Timothy Brannan's Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars Kickstarter. It takes Old School ADnD-style rules and merges it with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, and Charmed. It's a setting that we all love with a rule's set we all know.

Thanks to the kindness of Jason and Tim, I've gotten a small glimpse of the game. Most of the characters in the game are Humans, but the Supernatural race/species is available. 

I think it is ingenious that the Supernatural allows you to pick and choose abilities to build a Fey, Vampire, Werewolf, or other type of creature that prowls the night. This class is represented by the Fey in the Quickstart that was published earlier this week.

I'm going to do a character creation walk-thru by building a Supernatural, in this case Hiram Lang, a Werewolf.

The Ability scores of Night Shift are rolled as we are all familiar with ADnD: 3d6 in order, 4d6 drop the lowest and assigned by the player, or a point buy method.

Ability modifiers range from -3 to +4.

The Quickstart shows us that you may choose one Ability to be your Primary, two Abilities to be your Secondary, and the rest will be Tertiary. Primary and Secondary Abilities gain bonuses as you gain levels and are added to Ability Checks.

I'm going to make Hiram's Strength his Primary and denote it with a * and Dexterity and Constitution his Secondaries and denote them with **.

The Supernatural allows you to add a bonus to one Attribute and Hiram's Strength will get that bonus.

I can choose one ability from the Witch class and I decide on Wild Form at 1/Day.

As a Supernatural Hiram heals damage per Hour, as well as per Day.

Hit Points are 1d8, I rolled 7 and have no Con Modifier.

Supernaturals also gain a bonus to Saving Throws against supernatural attacks, magic, and spells.

A Supernatural's attacks are considered supernatural for the purpose of overcoming a being's immunity to normal weapons, if they have it.

There's a cool twist that I like too, after 3000 XP, a Supernatural may choose a Class. I think it's a great idea and am glad it is here, in the Quickstart, the Fey is a Veteran. 

Aside from equipment, Hiram is done and here he is:

Hiram Lang, Werewolf

Strength 13*           (+1)
Dexterity 9**          (+0)
Constitution1 11** (+0)
Intelligence 5           (-2)
Wisdom 13              (+1)
Charisma 10           (+0)

Hit Points 7

When Hiram gets 3000 XP, as a player, I can choose from the following Classes: Chosen One, Sage, Veteran.

I made this character in 10 minutes at the most. This is one of my favorite genres with rules that I know and love.

I hope my readers take a moment and back this on Kickstarter.

I'll also be posting an Actual Play in the next few days, as I'm running the Quickstart tonight.

PunkApocalyptic: Shadow of the Demon Lord to PunkaApocalyptic Conversion

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of Robert Schwalb and Shadow of the Demon Lord and I'm backing his PunkApocalyptic Kickstarter which still has around 40 hours left.

Rob has just released a free conversion guide from SotDL to PA (they both use the same game engine) and you can download it here.

If you were on the fence and already love Shadow of the Demon Lord, maybe this will help make your decision.

Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars Quickstart

The Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars Quickstart rules and Adventure has been released. If you love Buffy, Charmed, Supernatural and OSR rules this game is for YOU.

The Quickstart is 26 pages and provides an overview of O.G.R.E.S (Oldschool Generic Roleplaying Engine System), which breaks down to using 3 different approaches: a D20 roll high system to equal or exceed 20 (fans familiar with Delta's Target 20 system will get this immediately), a percentage score for Skills, (ala ADnD Thieves) and needing a 1-2 on a d6 roll.  Basically, if you are familiar with older Editions of DnD and it's various clones, you know these rules.

The adventure, By the Blood of the New Moon, is straight forward and quick and easy way to the genre and the rules for a spin.

Sample characters are provided and you get a look at the Chosen One, Sage, Fey, Veteran, and Witch classes. Jason Vey, the game's designer has mentioned that a supernatural creature race-as-class is available and gives options to allow it to model different types.

I like the genre this game is based on and I know these rules. There are some twists and turns like Fate points, but if you pick this up, you'll be able to play in about 10 minutes if you know older Editions of DnD and that is a feature, in my opinion.

I urge to take a look and back this project.

Back This: Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars

Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars just launched on Kickstarter today from Elf Lair Games. The game was designed by Jason Vey and Timothy Brannan. Both of them have worked within the RPG industry for some time and have done work for Troll Lord Games, Eden Studios and Palladium Books, as well, as published their own material.

Tim's Other Side blog was a central inspiration for me to start Cross Planes, I liked the tone of his work compared to other blogs I was reading at the time, and I respect him a great deal.

The rules set, known as O.G.R.E.S., is OSR-inspired and is familiar and compatible with earlier editions of DnD and it's many clones.

Jason has an article from his blog, The Wasted Land, that should give people some insight into what direction he is going.  Additionally, if you are a fan of his Spellcraft and Swordplay, Night Shift has conversions to it, as well as ODnD and B/X DnD.

I'm really hyped on this project and urge you to support it.

PostApocalyptic: Making a 1st Mission Character

Thanks to the awesome Robert Schwalb of Schwalb Entertainment, I have access to the the finished final PunkApocalyptic rulebook which just needs final editing, art, and layout.

If you are thinking about backing PunkApocalyptic then know that the product is fully written and already Funded.  Additionally, if you know how to play Shadow of the Demon Lord, then you know how to play PunkApocalyptic. However where SotDL has 4 Attributes, PA has 8.

Levels in PA are called Mission, as in after you have finished 5 missions you are Mission 5. 

I'm going to make a 1st Mission character (the Pay What You Want QuickStart let's you make a 0 Mission character).

First, we assign Attributes, I am using an array, but they may be randomly rolled. You determine an Attribute's Modifier by subtracting 10 from it's value.

Name: Horse
Attributes
Muscle 10 (+0)
Meat 10 (+0)
Hands 10 (+0)
Feet 9 (-1)
Brains 13 (+3)
Eyes 12 (+2)
Mouth 12 (+2)
Guts 11 (+1)

Defense (Half Feet + Half Eyes [round down]): 10

Health (Meat): 13 (Meat of 10 + 3 from Builder)

Grit (3 + Guts): 14
You may use Grit points to heal damage, but certain things will lower it, like radiation, sickness, or if you are dying.

Education (Brains Modifier): 3
You may choose a number Specialties or Languages equal to your Education. I gain 3 Languages from my Genius Background and will choose 3 Specialties from the following list: Architecture and Engineering, Arts and Culture, Law and Politics, Medicine, Philosophy and Religion, Science, or I can Make up a Specialty.
I choose Architecture and Engineering, Medicine, and Science. These grant me an Asset when I'm making an Attribute roll, generally, against a Difficulty of 10.

Speed (1/2 Feet [round down]): 4
This is how many yards I can move on my Turn.

Reach (defaults to 1): 1

Size: 1

Mutagen: 
To determine if you have a Mutagen, roll a d6 and on a 6 you gain 1 random mutation and 1 cosmetic mutation of your choice). I rolled a 6. I now roll 3d6 to determine the type of Mutation I have. My options are Harmful, Minor, Physical, and Mental. My 3d6 roll is a 12, which results in a Minor Mutation. Now I roll on the Minor Mutations d20 table to determine what body part is mutated. I roll a 9 which is my Head. I then roll a 12 which means I have A Second Face on the Back of My Head. For my Cosmetic Mutation, I decide that what little hair I have on the top of my head has a metallic sheen.

Next we choose a Background, you may choose from the following: Brute, Drifter, Face, Fanatic, Ganger, Genius, Scavenger, and Survivor.
Each Background gives you an Attribute boost, a Language, a Talent, Starting Gear, and a Mission 4 benefit.

I'm going to choose Genius. 

I roll on the Genius Background table (a d6 roll) and get "You used your mind for selfish ends. You manipulated a whole bunch of people into doing what you wanted them to do. Eventually, they wised up and ran you off.

I get to raise my Brains from 13 to 14.

I speak 3 Languages of my choice: Spanish, Latin, and German.

I get the following Talent:
Well, Actually: When you use an action to help another creature, you increase the number of Assets granted by 1. 
In SotDL, Assets are called Boons. Essentially, Difficulties in PA are either 10 or an Ability score. You can roll a number of extra d6s that help you or Assets and a number of extra d6s that hinder you or Complications. Assents and Complications cancel each out, so if your roll has 4 Assets and 3 Complications, your actual roll will be 1 Asset.

I start with the following Gear:  A nice set of clothes, a duffel bag, 1 food, 1 water, a slingshot with 10 stones, and a random piece of Junk (I'll roll on the Junk table to learn what this is). I roll a 6 on a d6 to determine what Table to use and roll an 18 to get an Avon Catalog.

There are random tables for:
Age: Adult.

Looks: Not so much to look at.

Height: Average.

Weight: About average.

Distinguishing Features: Missing a few toes, plus metallic hair and a second face from above.

Social Interaction: You get along with other people about as well as anyone else does. You’re not particularly outgoing but you’re not all quiet and reserved either.

Connections: You have lots of friends. Your connections are important to you and you make a lot of effort to maintain your relationships.

Sanity: You’re more or less stable. In other time and place, you’d probably benefit from a therapist.

Goal: You want to suffer.

Motivation: You are afraid of doing the wrong thing.

Obligations: You try to do what you say you will do, but you don’t always succeed.

Morality: You’re neither good nor evil. You look after yourself and sometimes make sacrifices for people close to you.

After my 1st Mission I choose a Novice Path. My options are Builder, Freak, Killer, or Scum. 

I choose Builder:
My Health increases by 3.
And I gain 2 Talents: 

Pet Project: You build a prototype of a device from those described under Pet Projects. You can choose upgrades for the device when you complete more missions. If you lose the device or it is destroyed, you can replace it at no cost once you finish your current mission. My Pet Project options are Ballistic Punch, Electric Suit, Flame Cannon, Pumper Gun, and Vaporeta.

I choose Ballistic Punch: I have a melee weapon that deals 1d6+3, if that attack roll is 20 or higher, the target falls prone. However, if my attack roll is 0 or less the weapon breaks and I need a Repair Kit and 1 minute to fix it.

Hasty Assembly: You can use a tool kit to turn salvage into useful objects. Pick one object worth 100 bullets or less. For every 5 bullets of the item’s price, you must have 1 salvage. It takes about 5 minutes of work to cobble together the device. If you finish, you expend the salvage and create the desired object, which retains functionality until the end of the mission, at which point the object becomes unusable and the salvage is lost.
I really love Rob's newest game and urge you back it!

PunkApocalyptic Quickstart

The awesome Robert Schwalb is running a Kickstarter for his newest RPG, PunkApocalyptic. Yeah, I mentioned it here.

He's provided an excellent 53-page Quickstart to allow to you to try out the setting and rules as a Pay What You Want product on DriveThruRPG.

The first 47-pages covers character creation, the rules, gear, social conflict, combat, and a quick overview of the setting. 

The rest of the document is a starting adventure. 

If you know how to play Shadow of the Demon Lord then the only real change is having eight Attributes instead of four Attributes.

If you are new to the system this brings you up to speed. Character creation is fast enough that you could make a character up for each member of your group and be up and playing in less than an hour.

One thing to know about Rob is that he has always delivered his projects in a very timely fashion and he communicates with the Backers regularly.

I hope you back this project, it's close to funding and I'm hoping to get lots of additional stuff :)