Wednesday 30 September 2015

Chaosium continues but death of BRP?

Chaosium continues to disappoint? - So Chaosium getting RQ back seemed to make people happy. After a few years of disappointing layouts and cthulhu products I was getting hopeful after products like Magic World (though if dyslexic me spots typos something is wrong) and Blood Tide gave me hope. Now Chaosium have cut licences to other producers of often superior products and are cutting the BRP gold book.I am saddened for companies and people who wasted time developing products to have them axed due to this and difficulty working with them. Ive been playing their games since 1983 often exclusively. For most of 90s I only bought Cthulhu stuff, now i'm pretty wary of new products and glad I only got PDFs. Id love it if they re-released some of older books as even PDF - many have ridiculous prices second hand.  

Delta Green - looking for new mechanics due to licencing problems?" Arc Dream sale point offline when I looked
Alephtar Games - producing new d100 system losing BRP Rome and many fine products gone probably forever - a dozen or so of best ever made for system pulled from market
Cubical 7 - seem to be hanging in with Britannia Line and Laundry - hope they hold out
Design Mechanism - Apparently losing some products? - no news since May - still most stuff on Drive Through

Please let me know if I'm wrong about any of this.

I imagine nobody new will enter field of BRP products after this.
Open licence versions might be only viable version.

I'm still pissed that CoC7 changed stats the way it did and still considering no longer keeping up
Id rather they went d20 like pendragon (underdeveloped BRP lite system)
Current RQ so slow to make characters and absurdly complex with choices

So I will stick with my own mutant version which is BRP or RQ3 without strike ranks and bonus system from Ringworld. I may be adding stun damage rules from TSR Gangbusters and TopSecret SI so characters can fist fight without killing as easily. Worked really well in past. Will do a new PC sheet soon. I still do most mechanical lifting for players and find them struggling with adding two or three two digit numbers. That's why I made this to help. In CoC I rarely used the derivative rolls like Knowledge or luck rolls in a session, likewise I don't use resistance rolls much and older system seems fine. Most pro story gamers who whinge about CoC search repetitive rolls as one of biggest gripes. I always allow someone who searches exactly the right place to find a thing or clue. It is pretty obvious. Point of a roll is to short hand process by sacrificing time so you don't have to roleplay searching every crate in a attack. In the 90s RQ and Cthulhu had so much gold online comparatively which helped when I was poor povo studying or being in a couple. Net and getting second hand National Geographics for 10c was my main inspiration.

There was a point I weighed up BRP vs GURPS. BRP won because it used metric and preferred idea of percentages not hexadecimal. Gurps also lost out because of points which I had had my time with that game in mid 80s. Champions and Gurps do great setting books. Actually I dislike GURPS4 look and feel. GURPS1-3 seemed to have a awesome setting every month and wide licencing of great books. Points trouble me when player picks up a new item "Why cant I keep the villains 4d6 Armour Piercing Ranged killing Attack obvious accessible focus gun?). The income charts in GURPS Horror are useful in Call of Cthulhu too.

All this confirms to me that licenced product lines are dangerous and will die over licence problems not popularity or quality like versions of Star Wars or Marvel games.

Feels like a Avalon Hill disaster all over again. For one of oldest companies the still seem to act like strugglers. I don't have fanboy faith in any commercial company in games or comics anymore.

So I will be grabbing everything still on shelves at my shop tonight and get my feelers out for the Merrie England Book (apparently intended as a RQ  book). Anyone selling piles of GURPS1-3 ed setting books let me know.

Stuff like this killed
http://www.alephtargames.com/images/preview/wots-preview.pdf

Saturday 26 September 2015

Murder Highway Sports for wasteland gladiators








So this is a quick list of major vehicle combat sports. Ten years of such events has made other sports obsolete. Cricket, soccer, rugby and football variants have experimented with more lethal combat have been developed. Rollerball has replaced netball as most played sport and most popular sport played by women. These are some ideas and prize guidelines to create races. My party after a year of play are at bottom of semi pro with a few career highlights promising they will make a-list.

Amatuer shows tend to have improvised plate armour and mostly a single machine gun on old cars.

Semi pro cars can survive machine gun bursts and hev multiple weapon systems on new cars. Older Gentech interceptors 4-9 years old often appear in semi pro class.

Pro team drive custom build heavily armed single passenger pursuit cars like gentech interceptor. Lasers, missiles and other expensive weapons systems and ammo used

Amatuer events are weekly
Semi pro monthly
Pro team quarterly

I plan a route on googl;e maps and draw a line to represent route on paper
I work out how many days and mark pitsop checkpoints
Each stage between pitstop checkpoints is a segment
For each segment I roll road conditions, terrain and weather
For each segment I roll a d3 encounters
I generate pitstops and roll and create encounters for each character in camp

DeathraceMulti stage legalized outside of City control zones. A popular telivised event reying on the lawless non urban zones world wide. Official race management select and prewarn people on route about the Deathrace. Spread world wide and imitated by local youths everywhere. Drivers race but more points are given for vehicular slaughter of pedestrians than anything else. Locals often prepare defences. Fans try to get killed by favorite drivers. Big prizes in three divisions (amatuer, semi pro and pro teams). Terrorist protesters leave traps for cars or sacrifice selves carrying placards. As the first such event it is pretty tame now as copies more violent and based on car vs car. Most have 3 day events with a pit stop zone to recover over night. This is part of the media spectacle also.
 
Racers may not open fire on each other or race officials
Racers may not open fire in start or finish zones on anyone
Racers may ram or bump each other
Racers obtain points for running over pedestrians
Score points for killing other car crews only if they are on foot
Score points for completing sections in place holder positions

Division Per Pit Stop Completion (amatuer, semi pro and pro teams)
1st Place $5000 - $10 000 - $20 000
2nd Place $2000 - $5000 - $10 000
3rd Place $1000 - $2000 - $5000

Division Final Finish (amatuer, semi pro and pro teams)
1st Place $1200 - $100 000 - $1000 000
2nd Place $8000 - $20 000  - $10 0000
3rd Place $5000 - $10 000  - $25 0000

Chicken Race
Racers compete for who is fastest and bravest. Mostly amatuer or criminal with short tracks.  Racers either race head on into a collision or race at a cliff and the first to chicken out loses. Most popular with teens or the desperate for cash. Bets pay for racers efforts and some bet their cars.

Cannonball Run
A non car vs car yearly illegal race challenges racers to cover multi state route and avoid law officials. Shabby and poorly run but popular. Despite conflicts with law a popular event and has many celebrity motor murder sport veterans. Showmanship contributes to fans and sponsorship. From Coober Pedy (South Australia - a underground opal mine town) to Alice Springs (Northern Territory near site of Ayers Rock). Fierce gang fights in wasteland, passes through 1960's A bomb sites on Emu Flats.

1st Place $250 000
2nd Place $100 000
3rd Place $25 000

Road War

Usually two gangs battle over a square battlefield. Originally unofficial and some took days or weeks. TV rights have ruined this event say old fans. Now teams have a budget and build a combat team and fight to the death. Some events battle over a strongpoint, a resource, a hostage, a moving battle truck or some other prize.

Division Team Winnings (amatuer, semi pro and pro teams)
1st Place $1200 - $100 000 - $1000 000
2nd Place $8000 - $20 000  - $10 0000
3rd Place $5000 - $10 000  - $25 0000

Kill Team Drag RaceTwo teams of four on a straight road charge each other and open fire. Teams have budgets to build vehicles and attempt different design strategies.  Variants include cat with bikes for poor copies and trucks with escort cars.

1st Place $1200 - $100 000 - $1000 000
2nd Place $8000 - $20 000  - $10 0000
3rd Place $5000 - $10 000  - $25 0000

Salt Flat Races

Mostly for speed with million dollar jet and rocket cars but a cheaper version of event uses rocket boosted cars which fire rockets at each other Experimental league running test games.

Sydney Murder Motorsport Stadium War League
One on one and team games in a marked battlefield including stadiums and sports fields. Space is relatively small and slow acceleration not such a problem. Event hosts may vary conditions with minefields, machine gun bunkers, mus, tank traps and other novelties. Battlefields are getting more exotic in big events.

1st Place $900 - $50 000 - $100 000
2nd Place $6000 - $10 000  - $25 0000
3rd Place $3000 - $5 000  - $10 0000/

Adelaide to Darwin 500
Cross country through off road often difficult condition routes. Less flashy with more amatuer contenders. Many racers disappear forever en route and numbers of racers limit TV drone feed. Discourages racer on racer violence but years of off camera violence, racers have stopped bothering to hide it. Bikes compete in this with cars.

1st Place $50 000
2nd Place $15 000
3rd Place $6 000

Broken Hill to Ballarat 
Two day event with one night pitstop. Has every year had major racers vs roadgang battle which has become the highlight. Victorian state side of course is sleepy but has winding roads. Broken hill is a former mining town increasingly with many artists while Ballarat is a tourist gold town with a large oth population. End of race party attracts international celebrities.

1st Place $40 000
2nd Place $10 000
3rd Place $2 000

Bathurst Raceway
Holy site of murder motorsports which quickly adapted multiple race events into car combat shows. Famous for full day circuit races with various prize divisions and weapon classes. The local township is one of the best custom car centres of the country. Daily there is some kind of race. Circuit increasingly introducing machine pillboxes, jumps and water crossings.

Philip Island Raceway
Island race course with many races including motorcycle only race. As unarmed races have declined, management have tried to save events and sponsors will poorly organised circuit events.

1st Place $40 000
2nd Place $10 000
3rd Place $2 000

Kids Charity Combat Bash
This yearly charity sponsors pay racers and racers donate cash to charity. Highly televised and a good profile raising event. Held in a different state each year but corporate management in Western Australia, Surviving competitors do sa victory lap in stadium with dying children passengers. Celebrity teams, charity teams, novelty teams, amateurs all join in for this race. At least one of the three days is cross road and country tracks. Some get sponsors to reward per kill others pay for the drivers death. At the end is a huge bachelors and spinsters ball which is a drunken vomit spraying rocknroll dance. Usually leaves a muddy field covered in tinnies and beer bottles.

d6 Day long race - if one day
d3 segments per day

d20 Race Oddity
1 Fanatic penal racers entered in event to earn pardons instead of cash
2 Targeted by anti death race terrorists who claim gladiators are a corruptive force
3 Media circus with global media and celebrities flocking to event
4 Organised crime everywhere and corruption in race admin
5 Ganglord of wasteland declared death to all racers
6 Cultists plan to use race fatalities in ritual climaxing in cult blood bath
7 Undead outbreak on route or around pit stop
8 Law have reasons to stop race as a message to race scene
9 Mutant hordes or species arises to avenge selves against past races that killed their kind
10 Christian sect gang cult opposed to race strike with force, singing to their deaths
11 Weapons cant be used till tokens captured or markers driven over
12 Ammo available at certain race locations often different systems
13 A heavy vehicle like bus or semi trailer truck operated by gang attacks race
14 Strange paranormal phenomena like ufo, psychic or supernatural power
15 Heavily fortified and armed locals well prepared dug in to stop racers
16 Shortages, hijacked supplies make food, fuel, water and ammo scarce
17 Race rife with pit stop sabotage, poisoning and hobbling drivers
18 Bonus Cash in bunkers with  armed defenders
19 Remote controlled traps, jumps, drones and other gimmicks set up for race
20 Fans on the track in cars or on foot get in way, swarm drivers and get in way

Orcus Talk to us...

Timothy S. Brannan on his blog asaked about readers experiences with orcus. I did one of my rants and here it is. Id be pleased to use Orcus he is so totally oldschool.

Feel free to request i remold any classic DnD or setting tropes.


We were 16 playing games at home, school, library and wargaming club
Old wargamer appalled by my running took over and had Orcus kill all our 16th lv first characters.

Ive seen a skit like this on a utube so it must be common

He also played a paladin who found an other characters (chaotic nuetral cat-spirit ninja wujen) orphanage for monster kids from years of plundering dungeons. The paladin burned it and killed them all while cat lady went to shops.

This guy was 40 and was in military and had been a fanatic wargamer. He would lend me cool game stuff so i could run it and he would get to play and take over as dm when he felt i was kind or heroic storytelling or something. I realized later most adults got sick of him and wouldn't put up with this shit.

Orcus:
So yeah a big bully power gamer who picks on weak, justifies it is for the best
while sitting on bone throne palanquin eating some gore and welcomes you to join him.
His champions are promised eternal death as a sentient unbound free roaming undead from the moment they die. By feasting with Orcus most low level arise as zombies. Higher level ones become what Orcus desires at moment and he justifies his treachery with self. He craves followers dedicate the souls of you murder victims to him and spreading his cause. Most Importantly and follow the path of chaos and evil.

"The undead that carry the palanquin are mixed,
enthralled, enslaved and resentful which pleases him
they wear filthy tattered rags and remnants of royal and great raiment
they swarm out and attack - they are constantly replaced and countless
he will tempt you with return of your ancestors souls or power
his chaos priesthood lurk in dungeons and spread seed of undeath
to seize the worlds dungeons and then use as bases to destroy all life"

Real and a false wand both sentient and hate each other claiming to love Orcus more.
Each have a cult. The false one is a titan mattock or maul with death touch, power word kill three times a day and sentient and controls non Orcus users increasingly. The other one is a divine artifact. Other subcults include ones specializing in each undead type, necromancy, horned templars, grave robbing thieves and a mostly harmless funerary workers cult.

This last sect portray him as a harmless underworld guardian but really are a secret demon cult. They take a tithe of all families of grave goods and bodies for Orcus and protect the rest. Taking more would expose them. Outsider grave robbers are eaten by ancestors of locals which seems ok. Many sorcerers male and female dedicated to Orcus like to wear the severed heads of their dead spouses hanging around their necks and continue to talk to them.

Some dawn age portrayals of him before the fall he is a minor fertility god with a sikcle in service of the earth. This he saw as a demotion and fall from heavens, becoming a unruly drunken murdering beastman. Some time in long night he cut ties with gods and became a kingdom maker in the eternal underworld. It is a ancient underworld land of darkness and ruin, scattered with sprawling necropolises. Even its forests are dead. Dismembered corpses hanging in trees. Undead beasts and horrors mimicking life.

Doh! Ive said too much, Orcus will be mad.

Monday 21 September 2015

Dungeon Rush Shanty Towns

So in a big dungeon with many adventurers increasingly flocking to the call of easy gold and slaves, enterprising folk decide to cash in.

To start with some adventurers usually leave a camp with donkeys, carts, guards and other followers. As more adventurers and curious come a shanty town begins to form. Each week a new feature is added till it evolves into a village then a town. Many survive long after the gold is gone and some ruler appoints a noble or locals elect a mayor and legitimate settlers move in under increased presence of law.

In first year most will use tents and wagons but wooden kit buildings spring up after it is apparent the town will be here a while. Some adventurers after a few sorties see town grow and go into business.

Use a d10 for early stage then d20 after a few months.

 d20 Businesses 
1 Dungeoneer supply store - every day tools of exploration and mining
2 Brothel - a few local women in tents at first to pimp run whorehouse later
3 Sly grog shop - a humble drinking venue with company and music
4 Stable - donkeys, wagons and care for mounted beasts
5 Tavern - a large drinking den with gambling and food and later brings in entertainers
6 Pawn Shop - buy and sell goods from broke adventurers
7 Boarding and bath house - initially rows of tents to eventually a wooden house
8 Smithy - horseshoes, tool making, weapon and armour repairs,
9 Shrine - a priest has come to heal and convert immoral adventurers
10 Food seller - buy rations, fresh and cooked food, each a specialty
11 Baker - brings in a oven and flour, makes bread daily for settlement
12 Butcher - provides meat and buys exotic dungeon meats
13 Money Changer - trades currency (d4% rate) and lends money
14 Slaver - buys and sells humanoids and men, most end up heavy labour till death
25 Barber - also acts as dentist and doctor for first aid
16 Thieves guild - will move in to control crime and keep tabs on adventurers
17 Mercenary guild - where you may hire guards or soldiers
18 Magic Shop - with a magician to identify and trade magics
19 Healer - sets up a hospital for diseased and wounded
20 Sheriff is elected and paid for by local business owners with a hut and a cage



d50 Local Problems
1 Bandits begin to prey on route to civilization
2 Lack of sanitation, stinks at first then disease outbreaks
3 Humanoids harass travelers in area
4 Humanoids skirmishers attack, possibly prelude to major attack
5 Drunk murder hobos flood town, sleep in streets and brawl in the mud
6 Homeless refugees and urchins looking for work arrive and start begging
7 Humanoids increasingly wander into town outraged people wont serve them
8 Main street is a foot deep in stinking mud
9 Shortage of women brings out peculiar habits not approved by church
10 Booze all drunk dry, fights break out
11 VD epidemic - locals itchy, scabby, infertile and increasingly insane
12 Inquisitor comes to inspect camp for signs of heretics or cultists
13 Cultists infiltrate camp and start murdering victims
14 Lice, fleas and ticks break out
15 Horses and donkeys all sick most die of disease
16 Local lynch mob hang or burn some one once a week
17 Spy from dungeon starts to murder, sabotage and cause local unrest
18 Fire breaks out damaging buildings, tents and killing some locals
19 Grog supplies bad, many go blind or mad or die
20 Lack of food causes price hikes and illness
21 Stray dogs increasing some with rabies
22 Rat swarms everywhere bit people in beds at night
23 Lack of clean water brings disease and high prices
24 A phantom terrifying locals
25 A lycanthrope in camp everyone under suspicion
26 Doppelgangers infiltrate camp to murder
27 Drug addiction and alcoholism rampant
28 Tunnel under town collapses
29 Everyone in false panic that monster attack imminent
30 Local thugs try to take over and monopolise alcohol
31 Local business man tries to take over other shops with dirty tricks
32 People found eaten by some monster attracted to camp
34 Monsters setting traps around camp
35 Backstabbed robbed corpses found about town
36 Gangs form among residents and start to brawl
37 Plague carrier visits and dies
38 A wolfpack in area starting to attack locals and kill dogs
39 A big cat like a panther or mountain lion eats a few locals
40 Shoddy building collapses and kills several people
41 Mosquitoes swarms spread disease to locals and animals
42 Leeches crawling everywhere
43 Flash flood washes away part of camp
44 A tree falls on camp killing someone
45 Trail covered by rockslide and new path required
46 Humanoids poison local water supply
47 Pile of severed murder hobo heads left by gate on morning
48 Locals fight over a woman starting a huge brawl
49 Signs of demonic summoning or cult ritual found near camp
50 Campers dig up haunted burial mound and undead attack by night

d50 Seasonal Visitors
1 Road builders come to improve road to civilization
2 Wagon of fancy prostitutes from city
3 Travelling minstrel and actors come to perform
4 Traveling circus always looking to buy new freaks
5 Slaver come with shipment of wives to sell
6 Priest and acolytes comes to convert sinners and feud with any local priests
7 Travelling tailor comes to mend and sell clothing and hats
8 Travelling tinkerer fixes things like boots, weapons and tools
9 Tanner comes to buy exotic skins, furs and hides
10 Cobbler comes to mend and sell boots
11 Visiting noble with entourage inspects camp for local ruler
12 Wizard and apprentice visits to trade magic items
13 Family of adventurer looking for kinsman who they have not seen in a while
14 Drug dealer come to supply area and enjoy local vices
15 Demihuman adventurers arrive, usually disgusted and make own camp
16 Quality cook visits and everyone raving about quality of food
17 Con man comes to fleece adventurers with land deeds and fake potions
18 Thief gang passes through to rob everyone and move on
19 Gambler passes through to suck camp dry of money
20 Bounty hunters looking for a wanted murder hobo
21 Military inspect area to consider building a fort
22 Lumber men come in to clear trees
23 Missionaries come to aid limbless, diseased and drunken murder hobos
24 Tax men come to claim income tax from business men and adventurers
25 Historian comes to visit to document happenings and examine historic finds
26 Dandy wannabee adventurers from city insult scruffy locals and start fights
27 Hoodlum from city organises pit fights with man and beast and monsters
28 A fight promoter with star gladiator takes on all comers for cash
29 A builder comes to construct a structure
30 Fortune Tellers mostly hucksters exploiting locals
31 Brewer visits with barrels on wagon
32 Preachers come to encourage adventurers to quit lives of sin
33 Cultist comes to recruit
34 Fight promoter comes to buy monsters for city gladiators
45 Messenger arrives looking for client to deliver map or letter to
46 Monster boss from dungeon sends envoy to make deal with camp
37 Loud braggart adventurer declares he will cleanse dungeon
38 A famous adventurer and followers joins camp
39 A band of filthy murder hobos join camp and start rivalries with established ones
40 An apothecary's son comes to trade potions for exotic monster organs
41 Inbred rednecks visit to see if a good place to settle down
42 Farming family visits to examine land and judge if camp a fit community
43 A poet comes to compose works on the local heroes or murder hobos if he cant find any heroes
44 A bard comes to put on shows, seduce women and make a name for himself
45 A cat seller with wagon load of cats arrives, guaranteed to reduce rats
46 Miracle medicine show comes through to fleece the foolish
47 Military officer comes to make sure locals not stirring up war with humanoids
48 Rural hunters and trappers come seeking furs and exotic game
49 Rich hunters come to hunt monsters for a lark, treat locals like stupid scum
50 Settlers with wagons come to inspect local land and community

When settlers move in and the dungeon is fished murder hobos move to a new megadungeon. Sometimes a noble takes interest and sends in tax men or military to take over. When a noble begins charging for a dungeon licence and his men begin to inspect and imprison adventurers this also can mean death for the town. Military might move in and build a fort to establish order and control. Military dungeon engineers will of course start strip and open cut mining on the mega dungeon. Some even seal entries and pump in smoke then ambush fleeing monsters. Amateur murder hobos are no match for imperial dungeoneers mining magic for the empire.

Local dungeon might retaliate and the camp might require more mercenaries and build a wall.

A camp like this and it's growth might be a entertaining diversion from a campaign megadungeon. Heroes might get to become important or even name the town. A graveyard with wooden headstones might well appear within a few months.

Also this is more detail on military dungeoneering
http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/impirial-dungeoneon-engineer-corps.html

Sunday 20 September 2015

Bezerka Con Mascots

Did these mascots for bezerkacon
http://www.bezerka.com/

It is a 2 day con which is doing some stuff ive never seen in a sydney con like focus on art, larp, boardgames, cardgames, wargames, stalls and more as opposed to rooms of just rpg guys

I will be doing some kids workshops, selling my new colouring book, and running probably road wars and marvel as they are visual looking - possibly do mars attacks and cthulhu wars.

A busy two months of 7 day weeks (including my game day sundays 12-1030 gaming here as a cheat). Then december to adelaide to hang with old crew and working on book production to finish the redbrick zone book (possibly name change needed as i found a similar company of that name).

I has day off monday then ten days over fortnight 9-5 when i thought i was on the way out....

So will buy more old gurps books and perhaps some more minis...

Saturday 19 September 2015

d100 Roads and travel conditions

Welcome to the wide brown land

I have had road conditions appear on other tables but i realized i need a more basic one for play - i need it pronto. Those older ones might be modified or be used for situational cases like car chases or are meant to be a surprise. These tables could be rolled for every segment of a journey or murder race. Meant to cover larger scales and provide scenery. Or google map and my pittstop tables. Off road desert probably easiest.

Also this

Difficult ground conditions require reliability roll for vehicle per day
Base is mechanic skill + off road handling bonus (GM might subtract lost car HP)
+20 if vehicle new, x1/2 if poorly maintained
A failure is some drop in performance or a bit drops off requiring a repair roll
Fumble would be catastrophic failure requiring parts or equipment
Suitably rugged military grade vehicles might ignore difficult terrain altogether

Roads, Barriers & Terrain
You can roll lower dice to get more common results. d4-2 wasteland (zero or less means no barriers d6 Agricultural areas d8 to include rural areas closer to cities with d10+ good semi abandoned wealth small farms for rich people near city. Areas where nice tree filled properties have been abandoned with a few die hard blue bloods hanging in. 



d12 Quick Roads
1 Trail in grass where kangaroos go to water supply or migrate
2 Rough dirty trail with rocks and water filled pot holes and prone to floods
3 Gravely rough road graded every few years
4 Well traveled dirt farmers road, dust visible for kilometers 
5 Battered pothole filled neglected bitumen road
6 Craters and bullet riddled. Reasonable road but combat damaged.
7 Reasonable sealed rural road with a few crumbling to gravel patches
8 Reasonable road but some some lanes lost to rockslides and washouts
9 Good condition road well maintained  10 Battered highway with a few craters and wrecks 1in6 sections lit well
11 G
ood quality highway well maintained, well lit by solar lighting 
12 Metalic self healing nanite
 coating highway, solar powered and lit, monitored by feds spysats and killsats, far more policed than any other road type. Mostly in uptown or important industrial links 

d12 Quick Roadside Barriers
1 Short posts with reflectors

2 Short posts with metal crash barrier
3 Concrete crash barrier 1-2m high with wire mesh
4 Short three wire fence with metal steaks or wooden posts
5 Short wire fence with barbed wire and electric wire
6 A 2m high wood or brush fence often dilapidated
7 As four above plus rabbit proof with chicken wire mesh above and below ground
8 Tall 2m high fence that can keep out dingoes, deer, kangaroos, refugees, zombies 1in6 electric 1in6 razor wire
9 Short dry stone wall from colonial times, some scattered farm ruins
10 Tall 2m stone wall with mortar 1in6 have cemented broken glass bottles or iron spikes  on top
11 Short brick wall 1-2m high, 
1in6 have camera systems, 1in6 razor wire 1in6 electric
12 Huge concrete walls and barriers or carved and tunneled into bedrock


d12 Quick Wasteland Oz Terrain
1 Sand d4 1=red 2=yellow 3=grey 4=brown 

2 Ash and burnt out bush fire 1in10 still burning off and smoking
3 Gravel mostly d4 1=red 2=grey 3=black 4=brown
4 Stony dirt with squat salt bushes 
5 Stony ground covered in dry thorny shrubs 1m high to the horizon difficult drive 
6 Rubble, rocks, big cliffs, eroded monuments with some scraggly trees difficult drive 
7 Grass with thin trees with occasional giant gum, creek and 2-3m high termite mound difficult drive 
 Grassy meadows with light trees, creeks, bushes and occasional drop or huge stone
Light bush land with lighter trees most common, rivers, difficult drive, difficult drive  
10  Heavy bush with mostly huge and large trees over rocky ground, rivers and rocky ground. impassable by car
11 Mountainous and hilly with winding roads with steep cliffs, tunnels and bridges. Straggly trees and bushes and native grass
12 Salt pan with surreal opalescent colours surrounded by fields of Salvation Jane (Purple) and Sth African Wild daisies(yellow) - introduced pests. Seasonal floods every one to ten years and is muddy some times or submerged. Mostly just salt.

d12 Weather
1 Bone dry as dead dingo's dick. 40c 104f Sky clear remains for 3d6 days

2 Sunny day on the beach for xmas 30c 86f Some clouds d6 days
3 Warm weather suitable to play cricket 20c 68f Clouds and gentle breeze lasts d6 days
4 Humid sweaty weather causes itching and dandruff 30c 86f Some clouds 2d6 days 
5 Drizzling and showers, muddy roadsides, humid, grey sky 10c 50f or 30c 86f  d6 days  
6 Pelting showers, flash floods, difficult creek crossings grey sky 10c 50f d6 days
7 Fog rolls out at dusk till dawn hiding the land under blanket of mystery 0c 32f d6 days
8 Snow or hail or sleet makes roads slick and may damage paint jobs -10c 14f 1 day
9 Severe winds blows huge dust clouds turning sky red or orange like mars 1 day
10 Severe storm and winds bring down trees and blow around cows like leaves
11 Acid rail damages clothes, stings eyes and defoliates plants
12 Chem and rad tainted clouds drop some hell brew, mutants dance in the rain  


Some areas in Victorian Alps and Canberra get snow in winter. On the edge of the apocalypse Australian weather can be crazy. Even deserts can get frost at night a way of gathering water. Many deserts areas flood 
seasonally or every decade in summer, remain green for a few months. Wetland areas have many crossings like ferries and bridges. Monsoon rain or hurricane might be a good backdrop. Or just cover everything in mud.

Night time rules might be handy

Australian roads have mostly wooden electricity and phone poles, while in Sth Australia they have i beams with concrete beams (ow!). More likely to be functional if better quality road. Mostly functional highways have lights.

d12 Other roadside features
1 Emergency truck breaking lanes regularly
2 Concrete barriers divide middle in places
3 Windmills or solar farms
Well appointed with payphones 1in6 not vandalized by kids or gangs
5 Crops of farm structures 1in6 modern and not in ruins
6 Plague of some kind d4 1=locusts 2=cane toads 3=rabbits 4=rats
7 Tourist attractions 1in6 not in ruins, popular gang hangouts if ruined
8 Observation points with rest stops and some kind of monument to Aussie failure*
9 Wild kangaroos, emus, deer, pigs, goats or feral farm animals thriving
10 Mounds of garbage like dumped wrecks, beer cans, ciggy and takeaway packs, used nappies, junkmail, sacks of old clothes, suitcases, fridges, broken appliances
11 Huge electrical towers, anterra, microwave towers, dish arrays in area
12 
Roadworks in progress with police armoured cars on guard

*=Starving explorers, killed settlers, racist bushranger, heroic dog sacrifice, war deaths

Friday 18 September 2015

d100 Wonder What's in the Well?


Well here it is. A local well in a village, city or dungeon needs water. Factions will seek to control wells but sometimes old ones are forgotten or change purpose over time. Most people dislike adventurers fouling their water supply and don't encourage adventurers. The contents of a well are often interesting. Ancients clans fought over wells and worshiped them. Even sacrificing animals and humans. 

d10 What kind of well is it?
1 Grassy or mushroom overgrown mound with a muddy narrow shaft opens to subtereanean water chamber
Grassy or mushroom overgrown patch with a sinkhole pit, a small spring produces a few gallons a day 
3 Dirty hole surrounded by muck and footprints, dry out in hot season but rest of year water pools in ground attracting animals
4 A neat shaft into ground with a bucket or jug and rope to gather water
5 A short stone circle surrounds the brick lined shaft into ground
6 As per five but a small roof covers the well and it has a winch and bucket
7 A shaft carved into bare rock long ago
8 A shaft carved into bare rock with a locked lid or bars preventing access
9 A shaft carved into bare rock next to dry fountain and broken hand pump
10 A crumbling ancient brick shaft with some old foundations around entry

d10 Quick Well Contents
01 Rubbish
02 Vermin
03 Body
04 Grotto
05 Hideout
06 Humanoid lair
07 Monster lair
08 Cursed
09 Haunted
10 Weird


d100 Well
01 Broken pots
02 Old broken bones
03 Rotten food scraps
04 Rotten lumps of floating wood
05 Slimy algae rafts floating on surface
06 Floating excrement
07 Remains of old wooden hoist and bucket
08 Floating remains of moldy books
09 Great floating lumps of fungus or mold or slime possibly 1in6 deadly dungeon kind
10 Abandoned treasure chest in bottom half buried in mud

11 Savage carnivorous school of rippy fish
12 Huge aquatic serpent or eel creeps from well some night and steals local pets 

13 Bats nest in walls and airspace in cave beneath
14 Huge stranded snapping turtle
15 Gigantic freshwater lobster
16 Tentacled horror (huge octopus)
17 Wounded animal on ledge d4 1=goat 2=dog 3=pig 4=donkey
18 Huge rat colony if startled swarms everywhere screaming
19 Giant bug nest usually ant or termites in dungeon but also bees or wasps if outside
20 Giant bat like a doom bat or huge vampire bat or goblin riding bat
21 Dead animal d4 1=goat 2=dog 3=bird 4=big fish with big bite mark
22 Sacrificed animals 1=dogs 2=cats 3=birds 4=goat
23 Burned ashes of human sacrifices
24 Mixed jumbled bones of human and animal sacrifices
25 Murder victims corpses dumped here by locals for centuries
26 Floating rotten human corpse
27 Remains of long lost underworld shrine with skeletons
28 Zombies dumped here when necromancer overstaffed
29 Ledge at bottom with remains of broken boned starved person
30 Ledge on side is a opening of a long forgotten crypt or tomb
31 A delightful cave with crystals, calcium formations and luminous fungi  
32 Gated cave almost sealed by formations contains a long mummified monk
33 Crystal filled cave with great crystal imprisoning something
34 A bubbling grotto with misty pools is home of a holy hermit
35 A strange slime encrusted grotto where a deformed sorcerer dwells
36 Cave complex with stone age paintings and megalithic shrine
37 Spectacular fungus cave with some mushroom folk
38 An amazing crystal grotto with steaming geothermal spring
39 Grotto with large docile albino cave fish
40 Grotto with a lonely undine appointed to live here as punishment of a god
41 Cave in bottom is secret lair of a bandit gang
42 Cave in bottom is secret thieves guild bolthole
43 Cave off side of shaft houses 1d6 runaway children
44 Cave off side of shaft home to a refugee family
45 Cave off side of shaft home to 1d6 escaped slaves
46 Cave system at bottom home to clan of inbred cannibals
47 Cave system at bottom home to crazed berserk madmen
48 Secret door off shaft is hidden cult shrine
49  Secret door off shaft is band of hidden desperate adventurers
50 Secret door off shaft is a assassin clan hideout
51 Kobolds have built a cramped hidey-hole to avoid bigger monsters
52 Goblin lair with hidden fungus garden grotto
53 Albino degenerate lizard folk have a semi submerged complex
54 Fish men outpost to monitor the surface and kidnap mates
55 Orc outcasts lair carved from shaft in hiding
56 Bugbear secret family burrow off shaft, they love to scare locals
57 Rat men lair with chaos altar and swarm of pet giant rats taint the water
58 Frog men dwell here peacefully fishing and trying to seduce local women
59 Secret lair of hobgoblin spies watching area for their distant king
60 A cave complex with magically sleeping serpent men and pet dinosaur
61 Owlbear fell down long ago into damp cave now very hungry
62 A Carrion crawler nests here with several paralysed prisoners
63 A Bonesnapper lived here since a egg left by lizard men
64 A enraged hook horror like to pull on any ropes dropped down
65 Nilbogs are thrown down by local goblin tribe kin for being too weird 
66 A furious troll lurks down here, tricked into being trapped
67 Hideous ogre lurks in cave constantly counting his sack of gold
68 A small black dragon has lived here for aeons in secret
69 A hideous formarian hid here as a child and now too big to escape
70 A grell was planted here by mindflayer cult long ago
71 Well is tainted but could be purified by magic
72 Water causes fevered hallucinations if not boiled
73 Water causes madness unless black altar in bottom destroyed
74 Water transforms drinkers into goblins unless purified by magic
75 Well has a trapped demon in the bottom bound by magic
76 Well is polluted until water weirds in bottom killed
77 A hellcat whispers advice from the darkness and offers to help you
78 Well has become tainted with sulpher and boiling, possibly connected to hell
79 A witch dropped a potion in well and drinkers turn into children 24 hours after drinking
80 Water is unholy water and causes disease if drunk
81 A spectre arises from well by night to torment living
82 Cave at bottom filled with megafauna skeletons which arise if disturbed
83 A vampire is trapped in well his coffin surrounded by flowing water
84 Ghouls lair in bottom, creeping out at night to steal corpses
85 Phantoms from millennium of sacrifice, human and nonhumans
86 Superior skeletons from ancient times guard a necromancers chest
87 A wight dwells in his tomb inside well occasionally screaming by night
88 Aquatic ghouls feast on centuries of dumped corpses in well
89 A spirit seeks someone to complete a quest so they may find eternal rest
90 A spirit possesses victims and makes them murder comrades and kin
91 Secret door off shaft is long lost trapped treasure
92 Lonely stranded selkie would love help to escape to sea
93 Leads to separate cavern or dungeon caves long forgotten
94 Water heals 1d4 damage if drunk within 3 rounds from well once a day
95 Water is holy water but if removed loses potency in 24 hours
96 Water has strange random magical properties (use this possibly)
97 Well is intelligent and will talk for hours about gods it has met or something
98 Well if swum through takes you to the "Woods between worlds" a multiversal hub
99 Well has a imprisoned immortal in the bottom
100 A god made a sacrifice here once, some remnants or entity or monster remains. Possibly messing with this will change your life

(should do random dungeon fountain table with a random magic pool table - i think JD has one...)

Thursday 17 September 2015

To do list top 100ish things



A list of projects - feel free to nominate stuff to do sooner or suggest more

Immediate things being written now
d100 wells
d100 caves
d100 crystal zone about half done looking gonzo
d100 bogans of the slumburbs for roadwar
d100 road conditions and barriers


To do list top 100ish things
d100 umbrellas
d100 Tragedy table - haunting covered some ideas for this too
d100 Gruesome deaths for saints, heretics and heroes of old
d100 Random Strange Crypt Table
d100 Non Corporeal Undead Encounters
d100 Corporeal Undead Encounters
d100 Wandering holy folk, hermits and hunters of unholy
d100 Found notes on "holiness factor" for grave areas
d100 undead boss monsters - might do sub-bosses also
d100 catacomb and Gothic decor
d100 alluring strange headstones
d100 Madness table for failed WIS checks vs horror, tragedy or shock
d100 Secret Societies
d100 honest undead motivations
d100 madmen and their monsters
d100 Elemental/Demonic relics with corruption fx
d100 Law/chaos/elven/cthonic and other relics with corruption fx
d100 village life encounters
d100 humanoid loot
d100 shrines
d100 cults
d100 lairs
Alchemist Class
story/plot tables
finish some suburbs maps and tables of Shadelport
Write a campaign set on a bridge in shadelport

Maritime Setting:
(Shadelport is a Pirate city state after all)
the deep dark and undead chaos mermaids
sunken city dungeon zone
d100 Captains
d100 weird odd and nonhuman sailors
d100 sea undead
ship weird ships
d100 pirate captains of shadelport
d100 weird sailors, weird captains, weird ships
d100 fishmen hybrids

Goblin mine zone ideas:
d100 goblinoid tribal factions for your goblin mine megadungeon
d100 whats in a hobgoblins war trunk
d100 whats in a bugbears backpack
d100 whats in a orcs satchel
d100 monster market

Redbrick Zone Book to finish:
who built and why - convert to d100
entrances change to locations and d100
get off my ass and get a proofing copy set up
d100 dungeon documents
common monsters
fix vermin table to real d100
mid and high level encounters
convert barrels and boxes to variable basic containers
1=Barrel 2=CCeramic Jar 3=Box 4-=Chest etc
false traps and secret doors - animal nests, repaired leaks, etc

Planet Psychon
d100 Petty bunker problems and gossip
d100 Utopian Arcology encounters
Citadel pubs for psychonian adventurers (psychon carousing?)
Elder Gods and pre human horror on psychon (or anywhere really)
Organizations and other creeds of psychon...
Heroes, warlords and wizards - champions
Pregens created for different genre piece adventures
ancient ruin generators for psychon
the twelve rays of Psychon

Dingo dungeons of gamma oz (psychon/gammaworld)
koala wagons - wasteland merchants with giant koalas
dingo dungeon - a big fat Aussie dungeon cobber
Possumclaw tower where possum wizards in troubles
Glory falls, behind waterfall is a hidden kingdom under the mountain
Emus and elves - elves ride emus in Sth and cassawaries in Nth
Bunyip Burrows - a dungein with wombats and bunyips
Gumboot gallows - a town that makes livin punishin folks for other towns
koala wagons for gamma oz setting
Magic puddings - nicest shoggoth you will ever meet

Post Crash ship exploration:
Robots part2 and mutant characters class
Spaceman characters class?
Post crash space hab modules 1 features industrial type
interior/superstructure ship sections
1 Engineering - power and engine sections
2 Ships boats, docking, drone rack, fighter bays
3 fabrication, factories
4 superstructure
5 gunnery, weapons and defense systems
6 exodus storage and supplies, terraforming
7 medical, suspended animation, dna vault, life support sections
8 crew quarters, mess, training, relaxation
9 Sensor/coms/electronics/computer section
10 Bridge and command sections
bio dungeon treasures
d100 alien space ruins

Early 20th C Science Fantasy:
(BRP Great Weird War, DECOPUNK and Planet Pulp)
d100 pulp villains
d100 pulp forces
d100 pulp mission targets
d100 Great Weird War tech table
D100 Terrible letter from home
d100 fortean phenomena - raining frogs and stuff
WW1 kit 30lb for major powers + other stuff like sappers headphones
Deco punk tech list
d100 pulp planets and places for decopunks
d100 Cabal recruits for the Zone
1 Pete Reagan a 7 foot tall Australian galoot who is a master with his machete and drinking beer, always jolly, very willing to torture if ordered and might suggest use
2 Major Charles Fort - American Preternatural Intelligence Agency - wants to send missions to Antarctica, north pole and mars to investigate mind control conspiracies.
etc

Roadwar2000:
d100 weird wasteland encounters
d100 sanctioned ops
d100 race teams
d100 gangcults
d100 CBD encounters
d100 slumburb bogans
d100 interzone scum encounters
firearms
d100 Wasteland Cyborgs
d100 Vehicles for sale
d100 Common Folk on Murder Highway
d100 drive fumbles
d100 monster drivers
new vehicles including interceptors, renegade, boats,copters
d100 bike gang freaks
d100 roads and terrain tables
d100 roadkill table
d100 professional criminals
d100 Race Events types, rules and prizes

long stairs Dungeon Stormers DnD vs Modern:
Lists of officers and personalities at three bases (about a third to half play time was in base).
rough maps of base and local zones
Print out equipment lists and info for players
Need to get my modern era skills sorted...
d100 Base missions - protect miners, bug hunt, whodunnit?
more stuff to do in bases and more tables on carousing
Possibly write up Modern version of infantryman as dnd fighter class
Might do as other way round game with players native monsters and acclimatized vs invading 21st c earth men invading death squads

Space Opera:
races/planets
tech templates
psionics
space patrol in different eras

Maps n Stuff:
Castle Geomorphs - keep and wall and tower section
Manor Geomorphs - a few mansions for haunting and tragic nobility
Crypt and tomb - lots of small funeral structures
Ruin Geomorphs
Catacomb Geomorphs - create a maze of tunnels
Mausoleum Geomorphs - this will be basic one
Cathedral geomorphs
Fantasy citadel zone
Scan Sir Banister Fletchers architecture book will help all of this - best DnD book ever

Reviews:
will write a comprehensive review of 80s RPG from Melbourne RUS a Russian fantasy fairytale romance game and will include Super Squadron and Hunter Planet also - Australian gamers now dont remember most of these 80s Oz games - update RUS was possibly stolen - a flawed DnDd100 80 mashup but great cultural and magic and mythology - you could have a christian priest or a koldun wizard but never both.

More scanning and go through old 80s and 90s notes and maps and stuff stuff so I can destroy old paper piles and mine space for myself

Tuesday 15 September 2015

d100 What's in the Dungeon Guard's Footlocker?

Spent two days as paid kids workshop artist at art fair. Big event. Got to see what sells now. Cool to see a girl into colouring books and public collaborator. Lots of 70s photorealism and geometric stuff again, reminded me of my grad show nine years back. But im inspired again.

So I have two game cons, two zine fairs and two art exhibits. Paste-Modernism4 (PM4) a international paste up themed show and a work show. Over rest of year then its time to prep for my annual return to Adelaide, game with old crew and see who among my freaky friends now has children. Will be trying to get full time work or more of my business running again. Xmas a good time to try and finish a book. Will be selling old zine stock this weekend. I have lots of old titles to print for now but would be good if i could have inside a month some gamer zines. Have 3x a4 sheet lair booklets and will do a knock up Elfmaids and octopi table compilation book 36pg A4. A new colouring book as adults are colouring book mad right now. I will make some PDFs available for collectors or put on LuLu. My older conspiracy books alas are taken as gospel by loonies and they are not as funny as they were ten years ago. Spicy Pony secret fantasy number #7 is half done too. A graffiti or hipster art colouring book could all be done too under the Hobo Press licence. This means anyone in the book can produce and sell copies as they please. Nobody else can. All artworks are owned by artists and cannot be reproduced or copied without permission of individual art creator or owner.  

Dungeon Foot Lockers
Dungeon monsters with good pay get a footlocker as a status symbol. Something they can carry or watch a slave struggle with. Something to put at the foot of your bed. Something to keep your holy signs, ancestral tokens, grog and booty in. Poor dungeons only the boss monsters get them but they are very common by any bed in a dungeon or occasionally in storage.

1d6x10 pounds mass typically most 30lb

d10 Styles
1 Wicker basket with leather fastener straps
2 Leather trunk with bone handles and a lock
3 Wooden fruit box, nailed shut
4 Wooden box with lock and wooden handles
5 Heavy wooden box with rope handles and stencils designs, padlocked shut
6 Wooden box with metal corners and lock
7 Wooden box with riveted metal edges and big lock
8 Small wooden chest with lock
9 Medium wooden chest with metal reinforcing and lock
10 Metal chest with d6 locks and chains

d10 Security
1 Owner preys to spirits and hopes
2 Owner threatens everyone lots
3 Covered in something that stinks or itches
4 Covered in threatening warnings in several languages
5 Poison needle on opening mechanism
6 Sythe blade cuts hand off opener
7 Fires 2d4 darts each causes d3 each 1in6 chance also poisoned
8 Encourage hand size spider, snake or scorpion to nest under and protect it
9 Baby screaming fungus sits on top sleeping
10 Magical sub-table

d10 Magical Security
1 Fireblast 1d4+3
2 Electric shock 1d8 +3
3 Lock held unless password given
4 Chest moves away from thieves
5 Alarm magically signals owner if intruded
6 Cursed if removes goods without permission
7 Stinking cloud released if forced open
8 Magic mouth appears screaming thief thief!
9 Gremlin guards the chest
10 A Imp guards the chest

d10 Quick what's in the Dungeon Guard's Footlocker?1
 Utensils
Snacks
Laundry 
4
 Trap
5 Field supplies
6 Tools
7 Loot
8 Pet
9 Trench Art
10 Strange Thing


d100 What's in the Dungeon Guard's Footlocker?

01 Battered old pewter tankard
02 Wooden tankard
03 Drinking Horn
04 Water skin
05 Wooden spoon
06 Small knife
07 Ceramic mug and plate and bowl
08 Wooden mug and plate and bowl
09 Tin spoon
10 Small tin or clay jug

11 Cheese 1in6 maggoty
12 Onions or leeks

13 Turnips or cabbage
14 Mushrooms or berries
15 Large snails
16 Wormy apples
17 Mouldy bread
18 Beer or wine
19 Dried meat
20 Frogs
21 Old boots
22 Spare socks
23 Belt
24 Hat
25 Underclothes
26 Shirt
27 Shaving kit
28 Bar of soap
29 War paint
30 Filthy old clothes with holes
31 Loaded crossbow
32 Snake or spider or scorpion
33 Acid sprayer
34 Zombie hand
35 Poison gas
36 Knockout gas
37 Contact poison (burns on touch)
38 Kit for trap never installed
39 Mould with dangerous spores if inhaled
40 Petty demon or devil appears
41 Backpack
42 Rope 50 foot coil
43 Spare dagger
44 Hatchet
45 Bag of 1d6 spear heads
46 Heavy cloak
47 Chain 10 foot length
48 Sleeping bag 
49 Tent
50 Camp stove and pot
51 Small spade
52 Small pick
53 Hammer or mallet
54 Two foot crowbar
55 Sickle
56 Tin or wooden bucket
57 Oil and whetstone
58 Tinderbox with flint and steel
59 Tin lantern or terracotta hand oil lamp
60 Box of candles and tin or ceramic holder
61 Purse of 1d100 copper
62 Purse of 1d10 silver
63 Gold coin
64 Ladies broach or bracelet
65 Necklace with rat skulls 
66 Bag of shells used as trade goods or jewelry
67 Statuette head made or marble or bronze
68 Set of dentures with small amount of gold
69 Copper ring or armband
70 Enameled copper medallion or broach or cloak pin
71 Pet gremlin
72 Large toad
73 Cuddly feral kitten (actually he bites and scratches lots)
74 Adorable scruffy puppy (trained to hate elves)
75 Big purple grub with sting
76 Flesh eating beetle
77 Hand sized bluebottle fly
78 Adorable baby gremlin 
79 Rabid giant rat
80 Insane kobold with knife 
81 Human ear neclace
82 Decorated human skull
83 Human helmet turned into funeral urn
84 Set of human knucklebones
85 Flute carved from human femur
86 Set of human bone dice
87 Shrunken human head
88 Carved human bones with poem
89 Human skull ashtray
90 Carved human bone chess pieces 
91 Squat statuette of vile demonic god 
92 Holy symbol of a cult
93 Fragments of old books, mostly kept cool pictures
94 Terracotta statuettes of family used to prey to
95 Strange gold lump with octopus stamp
96 Black powder cast iron ball grenade with 5 second fuse
97 Collection of possibly narcotic plants and mushrooms
98 Erotic print or tiny statuette, collect them all
99 Necklace d4 1=fragment of iron from meteor 2=amber 3=holy symbol 4=
100 Magic d4 1=Lucky Fetish +1 save d6 times 2=d6 healing potion 3=berserk potion 4=slimy eyeball of elder evil god concealed in ring used to spy on mortals

Another shooting fish in a barrel  post

Monday 14 September 2015

Vampire RPG How Not To Suck



Pic from WW1


I did this a while back

http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/my-token-vampire-cyberpunk-graff-fiction.html


Someone asked about what would it take to make vampires rpg not suck and I vomited up this RPG rant.

I guess I hate vampires and clowns and want them dead. More appealing than Nazi death camp guards or samurai by a few notches. I prefer superheroism. i play vamps i am a dandy jerk and annoy others for historical accuracy. Vampires rpg to me could be just as easily be school bully rpg or worekplace rituals of domination the rpg.

What would I fix?

Superheroism:
Id probably be more scifi horror superhero like blade. Marvel vampires of 70s were cool especially varny the vampire. atlantean elder were cool. Cap cutting of Barron Blood's head with shield. Had vamp hunting archer immortal in my marvel game for years and stole marvel story arc was cool. Use marvel rules with vampire rulebook for suggestions.

http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Varnae_(Earth-616)

No more occult/religious cliches:
The vampire rpg universe is gnostic and too christian so fix that. Im sick of western occult cliches in rpg games and comics. Specialty from Brit writers. I want layers of bullshit. Vampire cultist serve vamps who are batshit mad and members of cults all with untrue twisted mythology with no proof. When vamps call elder blood god they mostly have no freaking clue what will happen. Lest knowledge, so many tribes you cant know them all ever and create your own unique type every character. New gen vamps expose old clans heads as frauds stuck in past. Illuminatus trilogy but about vampires.

More Scifi:
Cyberpunk vamps id find cool. Alien cyberpunk tech. Red comet appears and vamps take over. They destroy the rich of the earth and take their place. 1965 Italian film Planet of the vampires (Prometheus prequel). Buck Rogers in he 25th century space vamp episode was the best. I love film life force too and Colin Wilson and Brian Lumley worth a look.

Time travelling vampires? Possibly vampires exist in separate time streams and can occupy different past or future or parallel selves but have flawed memories from times they have been killed. Dr who as vampire? (crisis is his spinach) .

Necro Illuminate Metatemporal Vamps - immortals of the multiverse with personal crusades incarnate different worlds and times as whatever passes as a vampire in this setting. Can kill incarnations off in off camera scenes or narrative intros each session.

First 40k rogue trader book had warpspace vampires that occupy bodies and drain life force through a host. So jump game system with each plane shift.

Psionic space vampires in silver and rubber body suits So much cool.

I want to chase vampire kids in trenchcoats and tears with a wooden steak and a leather satchel bag. Yet i was DJ in a goth/punk club for years. Evil Clown rpg would be more scary.

Other vamp game is cthulhu vampires. You lose san when feeding till you get used to it. Vamp culture forces you to perform more SAN blasting acts of inhumanity. Meanwhile cthulhu is coming and 99% vamps busy fighting and too ignorant to care. Possibly start investigating vampires then cabal have them turned to silence them. Waiting for them to go mad and join the fold. BRP vamps drain blood (blood=fatigue soul drain=MP).

Friday 11 September 2015

d100 Petty Ghosts and Hauntings



So i did some goblin stuff before now here is the ghosts. Idea been kicking about since i worked on my gothic dungeon zone book but recently needed for my trench exploration games. Searching through haunted sappers trenches through petty phantoms is needed for con game next month. Have art fair this weekend paid gig which is nice. Got some nice APCs, more cars, planes and emhar brand ww1 brits and german supposed tank crews but do have lotsa heavy weapons.

While made for WW1 could be transposed to other times nd will revise a version if i ever do my gothic zone book for DnD.

d100 Quick Phenomena

01 Odours
02 Sounds
03 Tactile
04 Apparitions
05 Genus loci 

06
 Poltergeists
07
 Phantoms
08 
Phantom beasts
09 Demonic events
10 Strange spirits


d100 Petty Ghosts and Hauntings
01 Strange stench of corpses follows you for d6 days 
02 Smell of fear and death, fear makes hard to continue 
03 Smell of fresh bread and coffee lures towards a hazard
04 Smell of slaughter and burst intestines wafts over area
05 Smell gas and feel panic
06 Smell of fire and sulphur
07 A ghostly fart from nowhere
08 Nauseous odour makes you fight urge to vomit
09 Burning odour makes eyes red, sore and runny
10 Stench of sewerage 

11 Strange ghostly whispers while you are moving
12 Sobbing seemingly from wall or dead end

13 Laughter from behind you several times
14 Tweet of a gas detector bird tweeting then going silent
15 Sounds of phantom digging from walls
16 Scratching noises like rats or someone trapped in walls 
17 Horrible choking and gurgling sounds of life being snuffed
18 Sounds of limping person dragging leg in mud  
19 Tool scraping on wall behind you stops if you look
20 Scream from a dead end
21 Hair stands on end
22 Feel hand softly stroke your hair
23 Ghostly goose pinches someones bum
24 Terrible chill passes over area
25 Something you touch suddenly feels hot
26 Something seems to bite you or stabs flesh
27 Feelings of nausea and disturbed sense of balance
28 Odd sensation somebody walked through you
29 Feeling of icy hands chocking you
30 Heart feels icy cold as if spectral hand squeezing it
31 Figure just ahead lures into danger
32 Figure following you but stays mostly hidden
33 A fresh dripping corpse, oddly cold gone if eyes leave it
34 Severed head, eyes and mouth move, gasping and looking at you then gone
35 Waterlogged white clammy hand crawls along leaving wet trail
36 Phantom blood drips from above or wall or ground marking a death
37 Face looks at you from darkness then vanishes
38 Hand in darkness gestures you leading to finding human remains
39 Glimpse of child smiling looking back at you then running into darkness  
40 Sobbing soldier in ball, if spoken too reveals skull face and vanishes
41 Floorboards creak rhythmically as if being walked by
42 Noose hanging from beam sways as if in wind but there is none
43 Face forms in the mud on floor or wall makes screaming expression and vanishes
44 Rotten hand from under mud grasps ankle, turns limp and lifeless after fright
45 Walls shake, wood creaks and mud sloshes as if troops marching through
46 Wall surface crumbles revealing horrible rotten corpse drowned in mud
47 Something invisible blows out candles and lanterns but cant fathom flashlights
48 Air thick with invisible spirits, living beings feel claustrophobic and panicked 
49 Skulls push selves from the mud grinning frightfully
50 Face forms in air vapour threateningly passes trough explorers and is gone
51 Rattling bullet in tin cup
52 Creaking chair as if someone sat in it
53 Firearm discharges or grenaide armed by self 
54 Rattling empty bully beef tins
55 Clods of wet mud gets thrown at your back 
56 Nails and rivets pop out of support beams
57 Hoard of rats perused by spirit over run intruders
58 Clanking abandoned helmet
59 Garbage angrily hurled at intruders in area till they leave
60 Angry poltergeist punches and chokes intruders till leave area
61 Headless figure seen staggering and groping,  falls, no trace up close
62 Burning screaming man charges and runs through intruders then vanishes
63 Soldier approaches up close is smelly maggot ridden soldier, screams and vanishes 
64 Phantom soldiers marching in line through anyone in way
65 A lost enemy throws a granaide but a phantom ally soldier jumps on top and vanishes
66 Officer or sarge appears barking orders, starts bleeding a torrent then vanishes
67 Flood of phantom blood fills the tunnel or trench then disappears
68 Phantom soldiers in archaic uniforms march into a wall 
69 A nurse with a lantern calls out, when closer a phantom shell explodes and she is gone
70 A young bleeding runner stops to ask directions, then runs into a wall
71 A creepy long slinking black wolf seen, he looks at someone whose heart skips a beat 
72 Swarm of rats flood tunnel but only phantoms
73 A unit mascot follows party but fades when approaches safety
74 A ratting dog barks warning near one passage as warning then fades
75 A rotting burning horse with a gasmask screaming runs through party
76 A adorable feral kitten crying vanishes if touched
77 Black ape like beast with a german pointed helmet carrying a woman, fades promptly
78 Devilish hog devouring real soldier corpses, screams and fades if attacked
79 Fearsome evil dogs bar way growling, fade if attacked 
80 Phantom dog made of darkness with scarlet eyes and mouth bite someone then fades
81 A unclean spirit tries to possess weakest in group
82 A lost female civilian actually a spirit seeking to drag a dead mans soul to hell
83 A smooth officer offers to get you out of here if you sign this contract in blood
84 A nasty gremlin creeps up on party and tries to sabotage equipment
85 A black young goat with regimental mascot coat follows, actually a imp tries to finish off wounded
86 A jolly fat soldier drinking offers you beer or rum, turns to blood if drunk, he laughs and vanishes in puff of brimstone
87 Horribly giant insect demon fly thing sucking fluid from corpses with proboscis
88 Swarm of demonic flies cover everyone and crawl in throats and noses then vanish
89 Possessed soldier attacks screaming he cant stop
90 Cultist soldier burying fetishes to increase the cursed zone area
91 Glowing female with spear & shield in nationalist colours, visible for seconds
92 Lost soldier with older issue equipment joins you till end of next fight when he fades
93 Young lost talkative soldier joins, expects to be home by xmas 1914, fades if challenged on this or any dated news he discusses
94 Wounded soldier with bleeding eyes moaning, if first aid given he fades
95 Wounded soldier tries to give letter to mum, if taken he fades
96 Two wounded enemy soldiers first aiding each other, if approached turn into corpses
97 Drowning soldier in pool of mud, if helped out turns into water logged rotten corpse
98 Lost guard so relieved to see you, wants a cigarette, fades away after a good puff
99 Drunk guard singing about prostitutes, if reprimanded he looks sad and fades
100 A whole dugout of men welcome visitors with beer and share stories, offer a nice dry bed. Awake in muddy hole filled with exploded corpses.