With Frank Frazetta's recent passing I thought it appropriate to use this picture for today's Simian Saturday. Love those classic Creepy covers.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Simian Saturday
With Frank Frazetta's recent passing I thought it appropriate to use this picture for today's Simian Saturday. Love those classic Creepy covers.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Atomic Highway RPG Youtube Reviews
I've found a couple of reviews for the new Atomic Highway RPG. Neither of these were done by me, but I agree with the two guys about the coolness of the Atomic Highway RPG. Check 'em out if your interested.
Atomic Highway Review Part 1
Atomic Highway Review Part 2
and another reviewers opinions about Atomic Highway, this one goes into a bit more detail about the mechanics and such.
Atomic Highway Review Part 1
Atomic Highway Review Part 2
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Torch (Villain for Atomic Highway)
I just realized I failed to post my Dreadnok write-up of Torch! Oops!
So without further ado I present...
Torch
"That was a racing stripe? Looked to me like a line to cut along!"
Race: Human
Rearing: Nomad
Pursuit: Raider
Muscle 3
Understanding 1
Tenacity 3
Appeal 3
Nimbleness 3
Toughness 3
Senses 2
Health 18
Fortune 5
Skills
Athletics 1
Boat 1
Brawl 2
Criminal 2
Drive 2
Intimidate 2
Melee 3
Notice 2
Persuade 1
Shoot 3
Scavenge 2
Stealth 2
Survive 2
Tech 2
Weapons: knife M+2L, specially modified Acetylene-torch 12L/4L (initial/continuing fire damage)
Armor: None
Clothing: boots, black leather vest, blue jeans.
Gear: sunglasses, mechanics tools, duct tape, various chains.
He has a Motorcycle that he has “enhanced”. He has increased its Toughness (+2), Speed (+1), and made it off-road capable. At one time he had a better motorcycle but he got carried away with his torch and it is now scrap.
Torch is one of the founding members of the Dreadnoks and many consider him to be the dumbest member of the gang. It is believed that before joining the Dreadnoks he spent time as a member of a gang of River Raiders and it was during that time that he developed his skill and fondness of working with a cutting torch. His stupidity coupled with his unpredictable acts of random violence makes him a dangerous person to be around under any circumstances. He loves to take apart complicated mechanical devices in the least complicated manner possible, which for him is slicing them into scrap metal with his customized cutting torch. Torch is quite skilled with the cutting torch but requires supervision if he is doing any actual repairs, he tends to get carried away with the cutting.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Neptunians, an Alien Race for Savage Worlds
Looks like I may get to do some gaming soon. A buddy of mine; Derelict Man has been talking to me about Savage Worlds. I've posted a bit about the game on my blog before but unfortunately haven't gotten the opportunity to actually play it. He seems to have a good handle of the rules and has even offered to run a few sessions so I can get a better feel for it. I've found some awesome resources for Savage Worlds on the 'net. There are some great conversions of well almost everything out there. And the folks on the Pinnacle forums seem to be really nice and helpful.
So until we can get our schedules to sync I figured I play around with the rules a bit myself. You guys know how much I love working up critters and converting stuff from other sources. So I thought I try to stat up an alien race to see how it works. I decided on an obscure Mego Star Trek toy for this one. The Neptunian
Neptunian
Scholars and scientists cannot agree about the origins of this alien race. How they even came to be called Neptunians is unclear. They are certainly not from the planet Neptune in the Sol system. Very little is known about these fearsome aliens. What is known is that they are quite aggressive and all attempts at peaceful interaction and diplomacy with these aliens have failed.
In the Slipstream Campaign Setting they are most often encountered living on small fragments scattered about that pocket universe or upon wrecked vessels in the Graveyard region of space. In non-Slipstream settings they can be found on light gravity worlds. Any intruders that come into their domain are attacked. They will usually set up ambush locations, using wrecks and other tempting debris to set up traps for intruders. They will then use their gliding ability to "get the drop on" their victims. While not true flyers, they make the most of height and light gravity to accomplish attacks that flying creatures can do on regular worlds and fragments. Also spending much time on thinner atmosphere worlds and asteroids has made them more resistant to negative environmental conditions than most other races. So they are often able to survive and even thrive on fragments and worlds that other races would deem uninhabitable.
• Clumsy: The hands of the Neptunians are not as well developed for fine manipulation as humans and other races, so they suffer a -2 penalty on all rolls where fine manipulation is required, such as lock picking or repair.
• Gliders: Neptunians can glide, descending 1" vertically for every 2" moved horizontally (in light gravity conditions they can glide much farther). They also gain the new agility based skill, Flying, at d6. This may be improved normally. A Flying roll during a round in which a Neptunian glides allows it to stay level for that round. A raise allow them to climb 1", but sacrifices 2" of horizontal distance.
• Outsider: Neptunians have a well deserved reputation for being cunning ambushers and savage killers. They suffer a -2 to Charisma when interacting with other races.
• Claws: Neptunians have fearsome claws on their hands and feet giving them the ability to do Str +d6 attacks. They can use the claws on their feet to attack while gliding. These claws also allow them to get a +2 bonus to all climb rolls.
• Environmental Resistance: Due to their habitat Neptunians have an innate bonus of +2 vs. all negative environmental effects (heat, cold, pressure, etc.).
So there you go, this didn't take me long to work up at all. I may have made some mistakes with it, since this was my first real attempt to create a race for Savage Worlds, but I'm pretty pleased with how easy it was to work them up with this system.
Loosely based on the Mego Star Trek Action Figure that was never actually in TOS.
So until we can get our schedules to sync I figured I play around with the rules a bit myself. You guys know how much I love working up critters and converting stuff from other sources. So I thought I try to stat up an alien race to see how it works. I decided on an obscure Mego Star Trek toy for this one. The Neptunian
Scholars and scientists cannot agree about the origins of this alien race. How they even came to be called Neptunians is unclear. They are certainly not from the planet Neptune in the Sol system. Very little is known about these fearsome aliens. What is known is that they are quite aggressive and all attempts at peaceful interaction and diplomacy with these aliens have failed.
In the Slipstream Campaign Setting they are most often encountered living on small fragments scattered about that pocket universe or upon wrecked vessels in the Graveyard region of space. In non-Slipstream settings they can be found on light gravity worlds. Any intruders that come into their domain are attacked. They will usually set up ambush locations, using wrecks and other tempting debris to set up traps for intruders. They will then use their gliding ability to "get the drop on" their victims. While not true flyers, they make the most of height and light gravity to accomplish attacks that flying creatures can do on regular worlds and fragments. Also spending much time on thinner atmosphere worlds and asteroids has made them more resistant to negative environmental conditions than most other races. So they are often able to survive and even thrive on fragments and worlds that other races would deem uninhabitable.
• Clumsy: The hands of the Neptunians are not as well developed for fine manipulation as humans and other races, so they suffer a -2 penalty on all rolls where fine manipulation is required, such as lock picking or repair.
• Gliders: Neptunians can glide, descending 1" vertically for every 2" moved horizontally (in light gravity conditions they can glide much farther). They also gain the new agility based skill, Flying, at d6. This may be improved normally. A Flying roll during a round in which a Neptunian glides allows it to stay level for that round. A raise allow them to climb 1", but sacrifices 2" of horizontal distance.
• Outsider: Neptunians have a well deserved reputation for being cunning ambushers and savage killers. They suffer a -2 to Charisma when interacting with other races.
• Claws: Neptunians have fearsome claws on their hands and feet giving them the ability to do Str +d6 attacks. They can use the claws on their feet to attack while gliding. These claws also allow them to get a +2 bonus to all climb rolls.
• Environmental Resistance: Due to their habitat Neptunians have an innate bonus of +2 vs. all negative environmental effects (heat, cold, pressure, etc.).
Loosely based on the Mego Star Trek Action Figure that was never actually in TOS.
Simian Saturday : Rise of the Apes!
I have just recently learned that a new Planet of the Apes movie is in the works. Entitled; Rise of the Apes.
It is apparently a prequel to the movie. Which confuses me?? I thought we already had several prequels for the classic series? Maybe this will be a prequel for the recent Tim Burton remake...*shudder*..
Guess we'll just have to wait and see...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
B. Portley Esq. from Algol sent me a Carcosa boxset!!!!!
This is quite awesome! I am happy to add this to my collection. I love the digest book format, and seeing some of my favorite classic art pieces from years ago repurposed is waay cool.
Now off to go do some reading!!
Good Gaming -B
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Is BRP right for me??
I'm looking for a gritty, universal system that is rules lite but will let me tinker with it as needed. I need something that allows for mutations, as well as, magic. Something that lets me mix and match genres, and is easy for me, the GM to work up my own critters/races and monsters. I need something that is easy for folks unfamiliar with the rules to pick up quickly as well. Oh and I don't want to have to do MATH in combat!!
Could anyone give me some info about BRP?? I've heard it might be what I am looking for.
I just downloaded the quickstart rules and am looking them over but thought some of you esteemed folks that have played it or have it could give me some feedback.
I've never played CoC or the other Chaosium system games (sorry those are some of the few classic RPG's that I've never played), So telling me its like CoC or Elric won't really help me.
Thanks in advance!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Simian Saturday : Mugato
I recently read where Goblinoid Games has acquired the Starships & Spacemen RPG and will be releasing a LL/MF Compatible version of the rules some time in the future. I think this rocks! I see all kinds of genre mixing possibilities! Since the S & S setting has a strong basis in Star Trek : TOS I thought I'd celebrate this by working up a beastie from the show that I really liked and felt was quite appropriate for Simian Saturday!
The Mugato!!
Mugato
No. Enc.: 1 (1d4 rarely)
Alignment: Neutral (Some would say Chaotic)
Movement: 120'/40'
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 5
Attacks: 3 (Claw/Claw/Bite)
Damage: 1d4/1d4/1d6
Special Attacks: Rending (if the Mugato strikes its opponent with both hands the ape beast does an additional 1d8 points of rending damage), Poisonous Bite (Deadly Venom! must save vs. poison or will suffer a slow painful death that could take several hours (1d8))
Save : F4
Morale : 9
Hoard Class : None (could harvest horn and spines for weapon use/trade)
Mugato are large savage apes. They are covered in a thick white fur and have a large horn protruding from the tops of their heads (primitive humanoid tribes have been known to fashion these horns into weapons). They also have a ridge of pronounced spines running down their backside. They are carnivorous and extremely aggressive many are said to actively hunt and eat humanoid prey (humans in particular), apparently having developed a taste for human flesh. In addition to their claw and bite attacks, Mugato have a frighteningly deadly venom in their bite. Many Mugato will ambush their prey, grappling them to the ground and bite them in an attempt to inject their venom into their prey. They will then either devour their pain wracked victim or wait out the poison to take effect depending on the circumstances and their mood.
The Mahko Root (gee looks like *Poo* to me) is the only known cure for a Mugato's venomous bite and even then only when administered by a female shaman of the Hill people (and in true Kirk fashion the higher her charisma the better). An elaborate ritual (which is apparently supposed to be rather "suggestive") is performed with the shaman applying the root directly to the wound. Oh and as a side note the victim cured by the shaman now owes the shaman their life and by the laws of the Hill People is bound to them.
The Mugato!!
No. Enc.: 1 (1d4 rarely)
Alignment: Neutral (Some would say Chaotic)
Movement: 120'/40'
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 5
Attacks: 3 (Claw/Claw/Bite)
Damage: 1d4/1d4/1d6
Special Attacks: Rending (if the Mugato strikes its opponent with both hands the ape beast does an additional 1d8 points of rending damage), Poisonous Bite (Deadly Venom! must save vs. poison or will suffer a slow painful death that could take several hours (1d8))
Save : F4
Morale : 9
Hoard Class : None (could harvest horn and spines for weapon use/trade)
Mugato are large savage apes. They are covered in a thick white fur and have a large horn protruding from the tops of their heads (primitive humanoid tribes have been known to fashion these horns into weapons). They also have a ridge of pronounced spines running down their backside. They are carnivorous and extremely aggressive many are said to actively hunt and eat humanoid prey (humans in particular), apparently having developed a taste for human flesh. In addition to their claw and bite attacks, Mugato have a frighteningly deadly venom in their bite. Many Mugato will ambush their prey, grappling them to the ground and bite them in an attempt to inject their venom into their prey. They will then either devour their pain wracked victim or wait out the poison to take effect depending on the circumstances and their mood.
The Mahko Root (gee looks like *Poo* to me) is the only known cure for a Mugato's venomous bite and even then only when administered by a female shaman of the Hill people (and in true Kirk fashion the higher her charisma the better). An elaborate ritual (which is apparently supposed to be rather "suggestive") is performed with the shaman applying the root directly to the wound. Oh and as a side note the victim cured by the shaman now owes the shaman their life and by the laws of the Hill People is bound to them.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Outer Space Men!!!
When I was a kid I had this awesome colorforms set... I know I am showing my age, some of you may not even know what "colorforms" are. Anyways it was this awesome set of these Space Aliens. The cover of the box looked like a picture of actual action figures. I soooo wanted those figures. But never found them...
Well fast forward many many years later and I've found them! Sort of! Turns out the figures were done back in 1968 and were well received but additional releases never happened. But the original line inspired how action space figures were to be done for generations. Now 42 years later they are back!
The Outer Space Men
They are being released as 3 3/4" action figures, including a graphic novel. The art alone give me all kinds of ideas for gaming! I see great RPG potential!
Astro-Nautilus!
Might could use Goblinoid Games upcoming LL compatible Starships and Spacemen rules along with a healthy dose of Mutant Future to play an Outer Space Men Campaign...or Savage Worlds might be the way to go! Hmmm now wheres my copy of Slipstream! Mwha ha ha!!
Oh sorry anyways I just thought this was cool and brought up some ancient memories from my childhood.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Atomic Highway First Playtest
I finally had a bit of free time last night to do a bit of gaming. I've been reading the Atomic Highway rules; I've made up a few characters and vehicles so it was time to give the rules a test spin. For this playtest session I kept things simple. One character, Sgt. Green armed with machete and shotgun wearing light armor vs. 5 Savage Cannibals armed with spears and knives with no armor...
Sgt. Green a young sentinel upon hearing of a recent cannie raid on an outlying 'Stead set out to investigate. The savages had killed an entire family and had kidnapped a young girl.
Sgt. Green tracked the savages down to the ruins of a town, he spent some time observing the ruins from a nearby rock.
He was able to determine the band was made up of five members and the girl was apparently being kept in a ruined theater in the heart of town. (Made some great Notice rolls)
Waiting until dusk, Sgt. Green attempted to sneak into the lightly guarded edge of town, thinking he could take out some of the savages before they were aware of his presence.
Sgt. Green's inexperience has caused him to make a bad decision, the savages all spot him with ease, he might as well have announced his presence with a bull horn. (The Tribals had great Notice skill and Green rolled terribly, or maybe it was the noisy mutant taun taun in the distance lol), The Savages let out a war cry and attack!
The nearest savage charges him and is blown to smithereens by Sgt. Green's shotgun. (I rolled several successes on this one, nasty damage!!)
Combat ensues the rest of the Savages quickly move up and engage Sgt. Green in Mortal Combat! Two more Savages fall, Sgt. Green skillfully dodges their thrown spears.
What's this? The young girl has been left unguarded! and has apparently gotten loose from her bindings!
More brutal combat!! Down to the last two Savages, Green makes a gamble killing the wounded savage to get him out of the fight, but one savage is left unhurt, and now Green is VERY injured!
Sgt. Green spies the young girl fleeing in the distance! Whatever the outcome of this fight, he has saved the girl!!
Green fought bravely, but he is slain by the last Savage. His inexperience and overconfidence was his undoing!
Comments...
This game can be brutal if you don't think and plan your tactics, my first mistake was thinking I could sneak up on a group of tribals, every darn one of them noticed me in a big way and combat ensued, No sneaking, no cover just full out mayhem. I did well initially...having the only firearm made a big difference, with my high shooting skill the shotgun was sweet, but after easily taking out two savages the third got a spear in me, I couldn't dodge this one, then things got rough, they were all over me, I injured another one, and only the use of a fortune point (taking away one of the savages successes) kept me from a skewering death from a spear, then it was all about dodging and shooting, I made some more tactical mistakes at this point, I wasted my remaining fortune points (These are kinda like Fate Points/Action Points/Hero Points etc.) trying to shoot and stab with my machete, I sucked with the machete so those points would have been better spent elsewhere, then when down to me and the last two savages I opted to shoot the injured one, which killed him BUT that left me vs. a healthy savage, I was now pretty hurt, only my armor kept me up but the penalties for being so injured were adding up, a couple more rounds of intense combat ensued, me bloody trying to take down the last savage, I hurt him but in the end he butchered me with his spear...*whew* what a fight! Cool game! Combat is very cinematic compared to other games I have played, and firearms are freakin' brutal especially when you get to reroll natural "6"'s until you don't get anymore "6"'s I made one savage utter paste with some great rolls. There are optional rules which I could have used that would have made the savages more like minions/cannon fodder but I wanted to go with a harder fight.
-Good Gaming! Bill
Sgt. Green a young sentinel upon hearing of a recent cannie raid on an outlying 'Stead set out to investigate. The savages had killed an entire family and had kidnapped a young girl.
Sgt. Green tracked the savages down to the ruins of a town, he spent some time observing the ruins from a nearby rock.
He was able to determine the band was made up of five members and the girl was apparently being kept in a ruined theater in the heart of town. (Made some great Notice rolls)
Sgt. Green's inexperience has caused him to make a bad decision, the savages all spot him with ease, he might as well have announced his presence with a bull horn. (The Tribals had great Notice skill and Green rolled terribly, or maybe it was the noisy mutant taun taun in the distance lol), The Savages let out a war cry and attack!
The nearest savage charges him and is blown to smithereens by Sgt. Green's shotgun. (I rolled several successes on this one, nasty damage!!)
Combat ensues the rest of the Savages quickly move up and engage Sgt. Green in Mortal Combat! Two more Savages fall, Sgt. Green skillfully dodges their thrown spears.
More brutal combat!! Down to the last two Savages, Green makes a gamble killing the wounded savage to get him out of the fight, but one savage is left unhurt, and now Green is VERY injured!
Sgt. Green spies the young girl fleeing in the distance! Whatever the outcome of this fight, he has saved the girl!!
This game can be brutal if you don't think and plan your tactics, my first mistake was thinking I could sneak up on a group of tribals, every darn one of them noticed me in a big way and combat ensued, No sneaking, no cover just full out mayhem. I did well initially...having the only firearm made a big difference, with my high shooting skill the shotgun was sweet, but after easily taking out two savages the third got a spear in me, I couldn't dodge this one, then things got rough, they were all over me, I injured another one, and only the use of a fortune point (taking away one of the savages successes) kept me from a skewering death from a spear, then it was all about dodging and shooting, I made some more tactical mistakes at this point, I wasted my remaining fortune points (These are kinda like Fate Points/Action Points/Hero Points etc.) trying to shoot and stab with my machete, I sucked with the machete so those points would have been better spent elsewhere, then when down to me and the last two savages I opted to shoot the injured one, which killed him BUT that left me vs. a healthy savage, I was now pretty hurt, only my armor kept me up but the penalties for being so injured were adding up, a couple more rounds of intense combat ensued, me bloody trying to take down the last savage, I hurt him but in the end he butchered me with his spear...*whew* what a fight! Cool game! Combat is very cinematic compared to other games I have played, and firearms are freakin' brutal especially when you get to reroll natural "6"'s until you don't get anymore "6"'s I made one savage utter paste with some great rolls. There are optional rules which I could have used that would have made the savages more like minions/cannon fodder but I wanted to go with a harder fight.
-Good Gaming! Bill
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Ripper (Villain for Atomic Highway)
"There's nothing like it in the whole world! Destruction and wreckage!"
Race: Human
Rearing: Nomad
Pursuit: Raider
Muscle 3
Understanding 1
Tenacity 3
Appeal 2
Nimbleness 3
Toughness 4
Senses 2
Health 20
Fortune 5
Skills
Athletics 1
Brawl 2
Criminal 4
Drive 3
Intimidate 2
Melee 4
Notice 2
Persuade 1
Shoot 3
Scavenge 1
Stealth 2
Survive 2
Tech 1
Weapons: knife M+2L, Assault Rifle 10L w/ jagged bladed bayonet M+7L,
Armor: None
Clothing: boots, ripped sleeveless yellow camouflage shirt, light blue jeans.
Gear: sunglasses, mechanics tools, Jury-Rigged “Jaws of Life” w/ power source, necklace, Case of Grape Soda. He may have other weapons gear (even grenades) depending on the gangs recent raids, he is hard on equipment and most gear doesn't last long in his possession.
He has a Motorcycle that he has “enhanced”. He has increased its Toughness (+2), Speed (+1), and made it off-road capable.
Ripper and Dreadnoks is copyright Hasbro corporation. No copyright infringement is intended.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Simian Saturday
With a good Right Hook!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Buzzer (Villain for Atomic Highway)
Race: Human
Rearing: Remnant
Pursuit: Raider
Muscle 3
Understanding 2
Tenacity 3
Appeal 2
Nimbleness 3
Toughness 3
Senses 2
Health 18
Fortune 5
Skills
Athletics 1
Brawl 1
Criminal 2
Drive 2
Intimidate 1
Lore 2
Melee 1
Notice 1
Persuade 1
Shoot 2
Scavenge 2
Stealth 1
Survive 1
Tech 3
Weapons: knife M+2L, light chain M+2L ,chainsaw M+10L, Light Crossbow 8L (w/ 12 bolts).
Armor: None
Clothing: boots, gloves, scarf, torn t-shirt, pants.
Gear: Gas Mask, Geiger counter, Sunglasses (Mirrored), Basic Mechanic's Tool set, gas can (chainsaw fuel). Smoke Grenade, Tear Gas Grenade
Buzzer wasn't always a savage raider he was originally born and raised in a remnant community, educated in reading, writing and other lore that is now lost to most of the rest of the world. However, on his first expedition outside his community he observed a band of raiders in the distance raising hell at a nearby 'Stead. He knew from then on that the Raider life was for him! He joined up with the raiders and has been a loyal member of the Dreadknoks ever since. He prefers to enter melee with his chainsaw wielding it to frightening effect. But will use his Light Crossbow in a pinch. If things are really dire he will don his gas mask, hurl his smoke and gas grenades and cut loose with his chainsaw, cutting his way to his Super Bike and escape!
He has a Ducati 1198 (Super Bike) that he is always tinkering with. He has increased it's Toughness (+1), Speed (+1), Muscle (+1), and made it off-road capable.
Just a quick post tonite. Work has slammed me the past few days. I'm behind on my emails so if you've emailed I promise to get back with you soon! -B
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Free Comic Book Day and A Monster of a Find!
Yesterday I braved the rainstorms, (I'm in West Tennessee and we've had 15+ inches of rain pour down on us in just a few days) to get out for Free Comic Book Day!
Above is what I have left of my haul, after my children went through my swag. Not that I needed the copy of Fraggle Rock, but the Mouse Guard was sweet! Anyways while out in between storm fronts I stopped at the Goodwill store and came upon this little gem!
The Monster Manuscript, a 32 page mini monster manual put out by Grenadier Miniatures back in '86. I had never seen or heard of this supplement before. It was only a couple of bucks so I picked it up. Looking inside I found page after page of what you see below...
Great little illustrations and stat blocks for AD&D! Cool! Mind you alot of the monsters are renamed versions of beasts from the regular rules; Blinc Dogs, Brain Eater, Stone Tangler but even these have some abilities not found with the "official" critters. Which is neat, especially if you've got players that have memorized all of the "regular" monsters. There are also some new critters in the Monster Manuscript as well; Zebra-Centaurs, Wolf Woman (clearly inspired from the first Conan Movie!), and others.
I'll definately be using some of these beasties for my Labyrinth Lord Campaign.
-Good Gaming!
Above is what I have left of my haul, after my children went through my swag. Not that I needed the copy of Fraggle Rock, but the Mouse Guard was sweet! Anyways while out in between storm fronts I stopped at the Goodwill store and came upon this little gem!
-Good Gaming!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Simian Saturday
Here's a bit of a different spin on Simian Saturday a journey into the macabre. The below art is a depiction of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue,".
