Monday, December 31, 2012

Monstrous Monday : Dragon Wasps

Dragon Wasps
Large Vermin, Neutral (N), Non-Intelligent, Nest (1d20)

HD 5
AC 14
Atk Sting (1d4 + poison II) Fiery Spittle 2d6
MV 20 (Fly 60)
SV F 10, R 13, W 13
Special Qualities: Immunity Fire
XP 600 (CL 7)
Dragon Wasps are a highly dangerous species of Giant Wasp, in addition to the abilities of normal giant wasps the Dragon Wasp can release a 10' flaming spittle 3 x per day (2d6 damage, Reflex save for half damage). Dragon Wasps are immune to fire, but their nests are not. Their eggs secrete a chemical pheromone that triggers a restraint in the Dragon Wasps which keeps them from accidentally burning up their own nests. Certain native tribes have learned this and coat key structures in their villages with this chemical (it is hard to obtain/produce so only critical dwellings usually have this protection). Dragon Wasps must make a Will Save to overcome the urge to use their flaming spittle when attacking these specially treated native dwellings. Dragon Wasps avoid cold climates and are usually only found in tropical regions.

Oh and these should work nicely for your Mutant Future games too!  : )


Based on the 2012 SCI FI TV Movie Dragon Wasps, no copyright infringement is intended.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

8-Ball Augury

Here's a little spell I thought of while working on another project, you can use it for Blood & Treasure or OSR system of your choice.
8-Ball Augury

Level: Cleric 1
Range: Personal
Duration: Instantaneous
Material Component: Incense worth 15 gp
     The 8-Ball Augury is a lesser version of the Augury Spell. Upon casting this spell a d20 is rolled and the below table is consulted. The answer/words will appear within the smoke from the incense.

1. It is certain
2. It is decidedly so
3. Without a doubt
4. Yes – definitely
5. You may rely on it
6. As I see it, yes
7. Most likely
8. Outlook good
9. Yes
10. Signs point to yes
11. Reply hazy, try again
12. Ask again later
13. Better not tell you now
14. Cannot predict now
15. Concentrate and ask again
16. Don't count on it
17. My reply is no
18. My sources say no
19. Outlook not so good
20. Very doubtful

I saw some folks talking about bringing Magic 8-Balls to their games over on the DCC forums and thought this would make for a fun low level spell.  I got the above list off of Wikipedia.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Orden Ogan!

My best bud Tormentor Rocks! He sent me a surprise Christmas package with some great Prog Metal including a band I'd never heard of Orden Ogan.  I found a video for one of their songs, very cool and with a nice Post Apocalyptic vibe to it!
Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Lego Mania!

 My brother got me some Lego goodies for Christmas.

I know what I'll be putting together later! Woo Hoo!
That led me to doing some poking around on the 'net and I found some upcoming releases for 2013, I came upon a new line called Legends of Chima.
Can you say MUTANT ANIMAL LEGO MINIFIGS!!!!

These look straight out of an old issue of Kamandi or from a Thundercats Cartoon!
Needless to say I see some cool potential for this line at the game table, forget 28mm lead minis I'm using Legos!!  Now where did I leave that instruction manual for the old Lego Yellow Castle set that I still have most of the pieces for....

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas!!

                                                                  

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Warlords of the Apocalypse is back on Track!!

I've gotten some really interesting emails in my inbox the past day or so.
To sum it up Warlords of the Apocalypse, that Post Apocalyptic RPG using the Pathfinder rules that was supposed to come out a few years ago but didn't has been picked up by another company for release, and not just any company... Super Genius Games! They put out some great product IMHO so this should be good!
The Field Guide to Doomsday blog goes into more details.
And here I was saying I was going to hang up my Pathfinder GMing hat... LOL
]Oh well never say never.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Monstrous Monday: Hell Hyena



Hell Hyena

Medium Magical Beast, Chaotic (CE), Average Intelligence, Cackle (1d12)
HD 3
AC 15
ATK Bite (1d6)
MV 40
SV F 12, R 11, W 15
XP 200 (CL3)

Special: Resistance to Fire, 10% Magic Resistance, +2 to hit and damage against Lawful creatures.

     It is said that certain particularly vile witchdoctors know a forbidden ritual that can bind the souls of evil men into that of a hyena, the resulting creature is a vicious hyena with the intelligence of man, the wickedness of a demon and the savagery of a hyena. These witchdoctors use these Hell Hyenas to torment and terrorize any who oppose them; however, many a careless and arrogant witchdoctor has found himself winding up on the Hell Hyena's menu. Without their master, to control them, these savage packs often go on wild killing sprees, wiping out entire villages before they are brought down.
With a nod to Edgar Rice Burroughs

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Spes Magna Games; Resources for Stars Without Number

I've been following several posts of late over on the Spes Magna Games blog, there are some cool alien beasties and such, but in particular lately there have been several posts about a new campaign in the works dubbed; Tiamat's Throne.  It reminds me just a bit of Dragonstar, and I mean that in a good way.  I'm always wanting to mix and match stuff in my RPG's and being able to add magic, elves and such into my SWN games has definately got me interested.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Simian Saturday : Ape Minis!

What's this a post from Brutorz Bill! Woo Hoo!
And just in time for Christmas some new 28mm Ape minis for your stocking!
Just released from Aintsy Castings

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Blood & Treasure Rocks!

Back in late September, I picked up the Blood & Treasure Complete RPG.

Unfortunately I spent most of October and November working out of town with limited free time.
Over the Thanksgiving Holidays I pulled out my copy from under my pile of "Need to Read" stuff and I read it from cover to cover, rather than just the casual perusing of it I'd been doing. I gotta tell ya this is a great game!   
Currently Lulu is doing a 30% sale as well (code is DELIRITAS), and Mr. Stater is taking an additional 10% off , that's 40% off for those of you that are mathematically challenged.  I like the game so much that even though I already have the complete game in hard copy, I ordered an additional Player's Handbook for my players to use at the gaming table.
Ok, you ask so why do you need to pick this up? Out of all the various Retro Clones and releases out there why do you need this one? (word of caution: I get a bit "Ranty")
For me it really hits that sweet spot that I've been looking for, for quite a long time now.  I shifted from 3.5 to Castles & Crusades many years ago, 3.X just got too rules heavy, especially at higher levels. 
I played C&C for many years and had a lot of fun with it, but eventually I found the system growing stale for me.  The CKG took years to come out, the multi-classing rules left me cold, the editing was horrible, the company consistently got my orders wrong with EVERY order I placed etc...sorry I didn't mean to turn this into a C&C bashing rant, C&C is fun, its just no longer feels right for me.   Anyways, I then got into the OSR; Labyrinth Lord (including AEC), Swords & Wizardry, Crypts & Things etc. had fun with many of these but I don't like descending AC, don't like race as class, and there were some other old schoolisms that cropped up that for me and my players didn't enhance the game.  3.x had a few good ideas and I didn't want to just throw the baby out with the bathwater.  So then I went completely the other way and got into Pathfinder.  Let me say Pathfinder is a fun game, the options are cool, the production values are top notch, a great company and a great product! But after running a Pathfinder Campaign for awhile, especially as the players started to pick up levels I started to feel just like I did with 3.5.  It was just too much to keep up with as a DM.  Paizo has done an awesome job of making their stuff available online and my players took full advantage of all those resources (this did help at the game table), but when I sat down to stat up the bad guys, I found myself spending more and more time on stat blocks and less time on developing the campaign.  I still enjoy playing Pathfinder as a player, but with my hectic work schedule, I just find myself no long wanting to run it for an extended campaign.
I shifted to non-fantasy stuff off and on during this time also; Mutant Future, Mutant Epoch, Stars Without Number; all great games, but I always come back to Fantasy as my base and I wanted a Fantasy "Home"... as in home system. I honestly think Blood & Treasure fills that need.  It has ascending AC.  Three saving throws, allows different races to be different classes.  Feats are optional, and even if used don't take up multiple pages, many of the monster races can be PC's. Combat is straightforward with some enhancements but not so much as to require frequent rules consultation. It has a comprehensive spell list, but not over complicated spell descriptions.  Oh and like C&C it is directly compatible with everything in my gaming library. Is Blood & Treasure perfect? Of course not, there are some layout issues in the rulebook I found the character class section in particular to be an issue layout-wise, alot of the art is public domain so  not too exciting, but none of that for me takes away from my enjoyment of the game overall.
So if any of this sounds of interest to you check it out, the price is great, Matt over on The Land of Nod is regularly posting material for it, and even has a Forum so you can chime in with comments and ideas.
Thanks for reading, hope I didn't "carry on" too much. I know everyone's gaming tastes differ and if we all were the same with the same tastes the world would be a boring place.
Good Gaming - Bill

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Using Rifts Resources for my SWN Campaign Part 3

Sorry for the delay in finishing up this series of posts, I've been having to work out of town alot lately which is unfortunately messing with my gaming/blogging duties.  : )
Part 1 can be found here.
Part 2 can be found here.
So now to work this info up for Stars Without Number…

Balam


Atmosphere: Breathable
Temp: Warm/Temperate
Bio: Miscible
Pop: 50,000 Humans, 250,000+ Natives
Tech Level: 3 (but with a good bit of level 4), Natives: 1
Tags: Colonized Population, Hostile Biosphere, Primitive Aliens
Enemies: Threskian Raiders, Nightmarish native predator, Colonial Army Commander Nathaniel Lang, Balam Warchief Kaax
Friends: Izta; friendly female native, Dr. Elizabeth Jamesberg (descendant of colony founder and Hospital chief of staff).
Complications: Fearsome Predator (T-Rex equivalent) attack, Compound Perimeter Breach, Raider Attack.
Things: Ancient Alien Psi-tech Relic, Botanical specimens with miraculous healing properties, Gear from a lost safari.
Places: Ancient Pyramid (Sacred "Medicine Lodge"), Sacred burial grounds
     Balam is a warm temperate world with a hostile biosphere, its native wild-life is reminiscent of Terran Dinosaurs.  A growing colony of humans are working to survive and carve out a niche here, and in spite of the dangerous flora and fauna, hostile natives and a recently arrived faction of alien raiders, the colonists are not only surviving but to some degree thriving.
Balam is also home to a race of primitive feline aliens that have a definite dislike of the human intruders, but after a viscious battle at the (now ruined) town of Grimmville, the Balam natives have a healthy appreciation (respect) of the humans hi-tech weapons, however, its only a matter of time before there is further conflict.  Aggravating the situation is the recent arrival of a band of alien mercenaries (Threskians) that prey on both groups, but are particularly cruel to the Balam natives (the Threskians have a racial prejudice against feline races).
Most offworld credit is earned by trading with those who have goods to sell with no questions asked.  While not able to pay top credits for most items, Balam's colonists are in too tight of a spot to get too nosey about where a visiting "trader" picked up his wares, also some credits are earned from the occasional visiting big-game hunter that tries his luck against the local wild-life. 

Warlords of Khemennu
Threskian Mercenary/Raiders
Force:4
Cunning:3
Wealth:1
Hit Points:15
Tag: Warlike
Assets: Elite Skirmishers, Saboteurs
FacCreds/Turn: 1
Homeworld: Balam (recent)
Goal: Blood the Enemy


The Warlords of Khenennu are a band of Threskians (a race of avian humanoid aliens) driven into exile from their distant homeworld in another sector  They are elite soldiers trained in sabotage and quick military strikes, the WoK have established a base somewhere on or near Balam. They are equipped with hi-end tech level 4 gear (including some Psi-Tech equipment), but currently lack the means to replace lost equipment, although they can repair their weapons and gear. They raid the local natives and sometimes the colonists whenever they need supplies or the mood strikes them.  Many of the members are said to be psychic and they use their abilities to full effect when conducting their military-precision raids. While currently a small time player in the sector scheme of things they could prove to be a growing threat, particulary if the right patron opts to retain them.

So there you go, I used the colony generation tables in Rifts Thundercloud Galaxy, a roll in Aliens Unlimited gave me the Threskians and a quick roll in After the Bomb provided me with the jaguar natives, mixed in some TV and movie influences, stirred a bit and now I have what I think is a pretty interesting planet to plop into my SWN Campaign.   

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Using Rifts Resources for my SWN Campaign Part 2

Ok, I've played with this a bit more and am liking how it is progressing.
Independent Colony- self sufficient
Colony = 1 main compound with several smaller outlying towns, forts and outposts.
50,000 colonists total on planet
Colony Alignment: Unprincipled – Hardworking people who mean well and try to do the right thing, but they tend to be focused on survival of the colony above all other things. Has a little bit of a wild west chaotic feel.
Trade Policies: No questions asked! But the colonists don't consider themselves to be criminals and always try to be discreet and never flagrantly flaunt any of their questionable activities. For this reason many smugglers, pirates and other bearers of questionable goods often make stops here to sell their ill gotten gains. The Colony leadership knows they are lacking in many resources especially hi tech goods, so they are willing to look the other way in order to bring in items that the colony would otherwise have to go without. However, no activities that could endanger the colony's overall wellbeing will be tolerated. That is if they know about it...
Environment: Warm mixed forest (decided to go with Warm after determining the planet has dinosaur-like beasties)
Special Resources: Big Game Hunting ! Dinosaurs! The planet has a reputation for having some of the more fearsome forms of big game in the sector and those big game hunters that have the means make their way to this world to try their luck.

Primary Source of transportation: Animals, the colonists have been able to domesticate several species of reptiles that they use as mounts.  While there are a few hi tech vehicles, mostly jeeps and cycles in use by the military, the vast majority of the civilian population, and even much of the military use these reptiles to go about their regular business.
Fighting Force: Colonial Soldiers, 10% of population, with one overall commanding officer.
Power Source: Solar Power is the colony's primary power source, wind is also used as a supplemental power supply.
Indigenous People; The Balam (see below*): Outnumber colonists 50 to 1.

Advanced Metal Culture- The Balam are from evolved pets from the ancient aliens that once inhabited this planet. They are angry isolationists and want no contact with outsiders. The colonists for the most part try to avoid the Balam, while they are more advanced technologically than the Balam they know they are outnumbered by the native population. Unfortunately there have been a few violent encounters between the colonists and the Balam, the ruins of Grimmville are a sober reminder of what happens when you anger the Balam.
*The Balam are a humanoid race of amber eyed, blue furred Jaguar-like aliens. (after rolling that they were from evolved pets, I pulled out my copy of After the Bomb 2nd ed. to see what animal race they were evolved from and rolled Jaguar, then saw a table to determine color figured what the hell and rolled blue?!....which reminded me of a recent episode of Grimm and that's where the name Balam comes from. Course this whole thing is starting to have some weird correlations to  Cameron's Avatar movie  also, oh well). The Balam can be quite obsessive under certain circumstances, particularly when their tribe or most especially their immediate family comes to harm. They are bold and daring beings that often act before thinking. They are known for uncanny feats of agility. The elite warriors among them are part of a sacred brotherhood, prior to critical battles or actions they gather in a sacred medicine lodge and go through some form of psychic bonding. This medicine lodge is some form of psitech artifact handed down from the ancient aliens that once raised the Balam as pets.
Outside threats to the colony: Raiders = Threskians (for this one I pulled out my copy of Aliens Unlimited and just did a random roll to determine what alien race the aliens raiders were, I figured going with regular humans would be boring.  What I got worked out perfectly!) below artwork is copyrighted by Palladium Books!! no infringement is intended.
Threskians Exiled elite soldiers (many are Psionic!)
The Threskians are an avian race from a distant planet in another sector of space; they are humanoid aliens with Ibis-like heads. Their people were engaged in a bitter war with another alien race. The Threskians in desperation pushed the limits of psychic abilities and created a breed of super soldiers to defeat their enemies. While the soldiers were ultimately successful, the would be war heroes found during peacetime their war programming, powerful abilities and growing mental instability caused them to be feared by the very society they were created to protect. When one rogue Threskian General led a group of elite soldiers in an attempt to overthrow the rightful Threskian government, that was the last straw, the remainder were exiled from their homeworld and threatened with death should they ever return. A large band of these rogue soldiers have established a base somewhere on or near the planet and prey upon both the native population, as well as, the Colonists.
I think I'll work these up using the SWN Faction rules. I'll save that for later...

Ok so what have I got so far.  I'm seeing Jurassic Park, meets the Terra Nova TV series, with Avatar, and a bit of the Grimm TV series thrown in.  I like it!  Running with these themes I get some names and such...

Jamesberg- is the largest concentration of colonists on the planet, a large barracks for soldiers, a hi-tech Agriculture Bio-Dome, a motor pool, and even has a fully functional (but small) hospital, as well as, many other buildings and facilities. There is a functional but rather primitive starport also; it has only minimal materials and equipment for the repair of starships.
Fort Cameron- The largest military base of the Colonial Army.  Colonial Army Commander Nathaniel Lang is headquartered here.

Fort Lang- Smaller (but growing) military outpost monitoring the southern approach to Jamesberg, has the standard fortified defensive wall, common to all permanent compounds in the colony, but is extra reinforced. Can easily house 1,000 troops but usually has far less, as most of its garrison is out on extended patrols at any given time.

Treevana- Break away community/group of treehuggers, they are pacifists that seek only to live in harmony with nature. 100-200 members.
Grimmville- abandoned town, was wiped out by the Balam, apparently the colonists unknowingly built it upon grounds sacred to the Balam.
Spielton- Small town, the town's leader hopes to make peace with the Balam, but has so far met with zero success.

Ok guess I need to dig out my Stars Without Number book and tag this up!
More to come!  : )

Using Rifts Resources for my SWN Campaign Part 1

 Recently I read a post from a fellow blogger over at Outsyder Gaming.  He talked about using the random colony generation tables from the Rifts Dimension book Thundercloud Galaxy, which reminded me of my post about using Thundercloud Galaxy as a resource for Stars Without Number. After a recent visit to a used bookstore I scored several Palladium products for dirt cheap.  So I thought I'd play around a bit today and see what I could come up with for my SWN Campaign.  Consider what follows to be a very early draft. I'm initially using the Thundercloud Galaxy Colony creation tables, but will indicate when and where I am using other resources as I move forward with this.

Basic Premise: The planet will be somewhere in a sector that I haven't worked up yet for a SWN Campaign that I have no idea when I will get to start.  LOL
So rolling away I get:
Colony Organization: Independent Colony, self-sufficient
Colony Size: Colony
General Alignment: Unprincipled
Trade Policies: No questions asked!
Environment Around the Colony: Mixed forest
Notable/Special Natural Resource: Big Game Hunting
Buildings/Facilities: I'll roll for these later
Medical Facility: Small Hospital
Primary Source of Energy: Solar
Primary Source of Transportation: Animals
Security/Fighting Force: Colonial Soldiers
Outside Threats: Raiders
All right that's a start let me go fiddle with this a bit.
More to come...  : )

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Machinations of the Space Princess

While I anxiously await the release of Starships & Spacemen 2nd edition, I'm keeping my eye on another fundraiser project. Machinations of the Space Princess! 
What I've seen and read of this one so far sounds pretty darn cool!  This will be a full Sci Fi RPG based on the Lamentations of the Space Princess rules.  It will include:
•Expert, Psion, Scholar and Warrior classes.
•Extensive rules for creating humanoid and inhumanoid aliens or robots as PCs or monsters.
•Expanded skill & combat rules.
•Cannon fodder rules.
•SF gear.
•Starship combat.
•Psionics
•Hints, tips and toolkits for the GM and players alike.
•Basic rules for creating stars, planets, cities and adventures.
•A full game background.
•A sample adventure.

So many games just not enough time in the day to play them all! LOL
Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Interloper Miniatures!

Hello everyone,
 Sorry my posts have been sporadic of late, I got a promotion at work and find myself quite busy of late.
Anyways, I know it seems like every time you turn around there is another Kickstarter popping up.  I've kept away from most of them (although I jumped happily on the Starships & Spacmen wagon er uh starship) but being an old school Gamma World fan I would be remiss if I failed to mention and contribute to the Interloper Miniatures Kickstarter!
 Check it out!! I hope this is very successful and we see more mutant beastie minis developed!!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Pathfinder Woes

 I've been running a Pathfinder game for several sessions now. My players are great and seem to be having a good time.  Me behind the screen, not so much.  Don't get me wrong, my players are awesome and we have a lot of fun, but the older I get the less and less I like rules heavy systems and for me Pathfinder is a rules heavy game.  For me its strengths are also its weaknesses. You can really create a unique cool character with all the multitude of options, skills, feats and variables but those same options and variables can be a chore for the DM to manage, at least this DM, especially once the campaign starts reaching some higher levels.  This was what eventually caused me to quit playing 3.5.  It's kind of a shame from my standpoint.  Paizo puts out top notch product, with some really great ideas, adventures etc. and I really would love to go whole hog all out for Pathfinder, but I hate having to refer to a rulebook during a game, for me it takes away from the session and even many sessions in, I still find myself having to look up alot of stuff.  Even my players, have to looks up alot of stuff, and it just seems to take away from our time at the table.  I don't mean to sound whiney, I know my experiences and opinions aren't shared by everyone, but I saw another blogger (Tenkar's Tavern) post something similar today and thought I'd chime in with my thoughts as well.
Anyways just curous what some of my reader's thoughts and feelings were about this.  Feel free to comment.
I've done enough prep to last me for a few more Pathfinder sessions, so I'm going to try to run it a bit longer, but after that, I will definately be switching to a different system.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Spears of the Dawn Kickstarter!

A quick post, because I just had to share this!
Kevin Crawford, the main man behind the Stars Without Number RPG, that I frequently talk about on this very blog, has just launched a Kickstarter for an African themed Fantasy RPG based off the SWN engine!
WOW and Double WOW! 
Check it out!
Come Pay day, I will definately be forking over some $$ to support this awesome project!!
Talk to you later!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Lion the Bounty Hunter, a Stars Without Number NPC

LION the Bounty Hunter

Str: 16 +1  Class: Expert Race: Aslan* Background: Bandit
Int: 9          Level: 5 Training Package: Bounty Hunter
Dex: 10      Hit Points: 22
Wis: 7 -1      AC: 4
Con: 15 +1   Attack Bonus: +3 with weapons, +4 with Dewclaws
Cha: 13
Saves
Physical Effect: 14
Mental Effect: 13
Evasion: 10
Tech: 9
Luck: 12
Racial Traits & Abilities: *
Requires 10-11 hours sleep for every 32 hours of activity or will be fatigued.
+1 BAB with all weapons, +2 with Dewclaws
If unarmed he may make 2 dewclaw attacks per round 1d6 damage, he will only do this in a life or death situation of last resort.
Low Light Vision
Heightened Hearing- +1 to any listen based Perception checks.
Base Speed is 40'

Skills
Combat Primitive - 0
Combat Unarmed - 0
Culture/ Tarlkin's Landing- 0 (replace with whatever world is needed for the Campaign)
Culture/Criminal -2
Navigation- 0
Persuade- 1
Perception- 0
Security - 1
Stealth - 1
Survival - 1
Tactics- 0
Vehicle/Grav- 0
Vehicle/Land-1

Weapons & Gear
Bounty Hunter Badge
Combat Field Uniform – "Bounty Hunting Duds" AC 4
Feathered braid "thing" in his hair
Telescoping Stun Baton- range 1.5m, 1d8 damage (stun only), ** Lion prefers to use his hand sprayer but will use this on particularly tough bounties.
6-shot hand sprayer – range 2m, damage either SopSpray or Pepper Spray (see below) **
     SopSpray- Target is sedated and becomes drowsy. The target must make a Physical Effect save but even if fails the save they will rarely become unconscious, but they will become apathetic and incoherent. They will attempt to defend themselves if attacked but will be very sluggish -3 to all rolls and will cease resisting as soon as they are no longer attacked. Otherwise, they will try to stagger off and collapse into a deep sleep. The effects last 2-20 minutes. **
     Pepper Spray: Causes irritation of nose and eyes, and intense burning sensations in both. On a failed Physical Effect save the target is rendered incapable of much beyond reeling around flailing at the air for 1d6 minutes.**

Tranq Gas Grenades x 2- 6m radius, anyone is area of gas must make Physical Effect save or fall unconscious, gas will persist for 1d3+6 rds. ** For when he has to take on several baddies at once.

     Lion the Bounty Hunter started out as a landless male Aslan running with a pack of rogue young males that quickly landed him into trouble with the law. After serving time in prison, he repented of his criminal ways and set out for a life of adventure, leaving his home and kin behind, he eventually found himself living and working among humans and picked up the nick name "Lion", after working as a Bounty Hunter his story was picked up by a Holovid company and overnight he became a star!.. sort of...this was all much to the chagrin of his people, many of whom felt the humans were making fun of him. He ran into several misadventures along the way, most of which made it to the spacewaves. He now resides on a backwater frontier world (Tarlkin's Landing) just trying to make a living still working as a Bounty Hunter and trying to reform as many criminals as he can, only time will tell where he will wind up next. Even though he has lived among humans for many years he still judges the gender of a others based on their profession (warrior types are males, scientist-scholary types are females, just like the rest of his race does, this has gotten him into several interesting situations.  One other curious thing about him, even though his profession is potentially a violent one, he refuses to use guns and only resorts to his powerful dewclaws if innocents are in grave danger.

*I based his stats on the Aslan from the old Traveller d20 RPG rules put out by Quicklink Interactive (now out as SciFi20 minus the Traveller setting references), if you don't want Aslan or Traveller references in your SWN Campaigns what the heck is wrong with you?! Oh sorry just kidding, seriously though just change the race to a felinoid alien race of your choosing. Oh and for you Traveller aficionados I know Aslan aren't so 100% lion-like in their appearance, but we always played them that way when I was growing up so for me it just kinda stuck. : )

**Adapted from the Traveller d20 Traveller's Aide #1, Personal Weapons of Charted Space, produced by Quicklink Interactive.

     I couldn't resist working this one up when I found the picture over on the Worth 1000 words website. I've liberally borrowed from many other sources to stat him up. I hope others don't mind me referring to their work, and of course a big tip of the hat to Duane Chapman for being inspiration for this NPC. Good Gaming! – B.

Lionisms- words of wisdom from Lion the Bounty Hunter (acutally from the real life Dog the Bounty Hunter)

"At the end of the criminal rainbow- there is no pot of gold."

"Start dreaming right now and planning your future."

"When you break someone down- make sure you always raise them up higher than they were before."

"#1 you never hit a women. #2- you never hit a pregnant woman."

"He now knows there's another side of life and he could get there."

" A lot of people won't change a plan thats how they end up not winning."

"The hunter when he understands his prey- its easier for him to find them."

"My grandfather would say they're all helpable if they wake up this side of the dirt."

"If you get a goal in your mind- go for it- you're not in hell yet, you can still make collect calls, you can still talk to your old lady, you can still have children and you can still love and be loved."

"Some guys you can look at and think - yeah he's a criminal and yet some guys who don't look like one - really are. So you cannot - obviously judge a book by its cover."

"You never know what a champion is or to be a winner unless you first learn to lose."

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Ghost Twins : Villains for Stars Without Number










Ghost Twins
(same stats except where noted)
Str: 13                       Class: Warrior      Background: Armsman
Int: 11                       Level: 4         Training Package: Assassin
Dex: 18 +2                                   Hit Points: 21
Wis: 10                                        AC: 5
Con: 12
Cha: 11
Saves
Physical Effect: 10
Mental Effect: 13
Evasion: 12 +2 due to Danger Sense
Tech: 14
Luck: 11

Skills
Combat/Primitive:: Ghost Twin #1 has Skill: 2, Ghost Twin #2 has Skill: 0
Combat/Unarmed: 1
Culture/Terra*: 0  *(Terra can be swapped to a different world if GM desires)
Athletics: 0
Combat/Projectile Weapons: Ghost Twin #2 has Skill: 2
Culture/Criminal: 0
Security: 0
Stealth: 0
Tactics: 1
Vehicle/Land: Ghost Twin #2 Skill: 0

Stigmata: Ghostly Pale white skin, stark white hair, pale eyes
Flaws:
Wrathful
Natural Daylight weakens them causing a -2 to Str Modifier, wearing shades reduces this
to -1 penalty.
Metadimensional Weapons (Shear Rifles, exotic TL5 Energy weapons etc.) are more harmful to them, roll damage dice and twice take higher result
Mutations:
Phasing
Danger Sense: Can't be surprised, +2 on all Evasion Saves
Resilient Body
Weapons & Gear
White Suit and Tie, Sunglasses, Armored Undersuit (AC:7),
Ghost Twin #1 - Monoblade –Razor 1d8+1
Ghost Twin #2 - Submachine Gun 1d8 (+ Burst Fire) w/ laser dot pointer +2 hit at close range.
     I have to admit not being a big fan of Matrix Reloaded, for reasons that I won't get into here. One thing I did like, well two technically, were the Ghost Twins, sadly they weren't used to their full potential IMHO. So for an experiment I thought I'd stat them up for Stars Without Number/Other Dust. I pulled the Mutations from Other Dust and went with Stars Without Number for class and skills. I know in the movie they really didn't seem weakened by sunlight but I thought it fit in with the "Ghost" concept. I can't wait to have these two show up as the BBEG's Elite Assassin/Henchman in my next SWN Campaign.


Ghost Twins are from the Movie Matrix Reloaded and are copyrighted by Warner Bros. No copyright infringement is intended.

update- I almost forgot to give a shout out to my fellow SWN blogger; Rather Gamey for giving me the idea of stat'ing these two up for SWN.  : )

update #2- I tweaked their skill points a bit, gave Ghost Twin two a vehicle skill. : )

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Tarzan : The Once and Future Tarzan

I'm a big Tarzan fan and as those who follow my blog know I'm a big fan of Post Apocalyptic stuff.
So when I heard about this upcoming One Shot From Dark Horse Comics, I thought OH YEAH!!!
Here's the blurb about it:
"Just in time for the 100th anniversary of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan of the Apes, artist Thomas Yeates (Prince Valiant, Conan) spins a surprising new tale that drops the lord of the jungle in an unfamiliar setting—the future! Can Tarzan’s vine-swinging skills serve him in the half-flooded ruins of a future London?"

  I hope this is good, I can see all kinds of gaming potential for it!  : )

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Trigger & Nutsy : Mutant Future "Villains"!

     Every villainous Mutant overlord needs some henchmutants right? After my recent post working up Frankenberry for my Mutant Future games I thought these two Disney favorites of mine deserved some attention.  Maybe the PC's have been captured by the BBEG, and find themselves locked up in his dungeons, why not use these two dim witted vulture-men as guards, if the player's play their cards right, they just might be able to trick these two into screwing up enough to let them escape and in the process learn some of the overlord's secrets via Nutsy's big mouth, they'd just better watch themselves around Trigger's itchy-trigger finger! 
                                             Trigger & Nutsy
Trigger

Race: Buzzerd*
Alignment: Chaotic (with Neutral leanings)
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Points: 30
Attacks: 1 (Heavy Crossbow)
Damage: Per Weapon (1d8)
Save: L4
Morale: 8
Mutations: Shriek
Str: 11
Int: 8
Wis: 11
Dex: 12
Con: 13
Cha: 8
Trigger-Happy – Trigger is ever ready with his crossbow, actually he is too ready! He gets +1 to all initiative rolls with his crossbow, but suffers -2 to hit due to not taking the time to aim.
Gear: Cloak (dyed purple), Metal Helmet, backpack, Heavy Crossbow, quiver with 20 bolts.

    Trigger is the somewhat smarter member of this duo, somewhat being the key word. He spends most of his time reloading his crossbow and trying to keep Nutsy in line, a nearly impossible task to say the least.

Nutsy
Race: Buzzerd*
Alignment: Chaotic (with Neutral leanings)
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 7
Hit Points: 32
Attacks: 1 (Halberd) –that is when he remembers to bring it! Roll a d6 each time he is encountered, on a roll of a 6 he forgot to grab it!)
Damage: Per Weapon (1d10)
Save: L4
Morale: 8
Mutations: Shriek
Str : 11
Int: 8
Wis: 6
Dex: 6
Con: 14
Cha: 9
     Nutsy is a dimwitted klutz that is prone to blurt out secrets whenever Trigger isn't around. If he knows a secret and has an opportunity to "spill it" he has to make a Wisdom Ability check, if he fails he blurts out the secret! When Trigger is around he gets a +2 to his ability check.
Gear : Hooded Cloak (dyed purple), backpack, Halberd

*If you have Sniderman's Most Excellent Deviant Database I recommend using the Buzzerd race for these two NPC villains. Heck I recommend the book period if you’re a fan of Mutant Future. If you don't have that book of coolness just play them as mutant vulture-men without the ability to fly. The Buzzerd references here have been used with the kindly permission of Sniderman!  Thanks!

I wrote up Vulture-Man a long time ago, I think it would be fitting to have all three of these miscreants working for the same BBEG, course Vulture-Man got all of the brains that these two missed out on! LOL

Trigger and Nutsy are copyrighted by Disney (from the classic Robin Hood Cartoon). No copyright infringement is intended.

Simian Saturday: Flying Monkeys!

I hope everyone is having a great Simian Saturday! And what could be better than throwing some Flying Monkeys into the mix!

I recently found a cool OSR Blog; The Dungeon of Signs ; The blog features some great art, session logs for three different campaigns, including one for ASE! and more. It even has Flying Monkeys worked up as a PC class for Labyrinth Lord! How amazingly Awesome is that!!!!
 I highly recommend it!

Wisdom from the Wastelands #16

  My buddy Derek asked me to mention to everyone that the Mutant Future ongoing resource series:  Wisdom from the Wastlelands has resumed after a recent short hiatus.  They are now up to issue #16!
Here is the official blurb about this issue and the series in general,
"Robots are just as important to Mutant Future as biological creatures. They can be antagonists, sources of information, or even slave labor. In this second installment of four robot-themed issues there are eight new robots, as well as several new accessories, a new weapon, and a new form of locomotion. Only a few of the machines in this article have precise dimensions; the examples here are intended as types, not specific models. Mutant Lords are encouraged to customize their machines, and provide fine details to fit their settings.

Wisdom from the Wastelands is dedicated to providing useful information, game content, and ideas to players of modern, science fiction, and post-apocalyptic table-top and role-playing games in general and to fans of Goblinoid Games’ Mutant Future RPG in particular. The material it contains are compatible with it and any others that use the "Basic" system introduced in the most popular role-playing games of the early 1970s and are easily adaptable to many other games (especially successor systems, to include those covered by the Open Game License).
Our goal is for each thematic issue of this publication to contain a variety of useful and earnest content that will inspire Game Masters and players alike and provide them with things that they can immediately plug into their games. We very much hope you will find this and subsequent issues of the Wisdom from the Wastelands to be useful and enjoyable!"

Friday, September 28, 2012

Post Apocalyptic Fashion Friday!

I've been collecting P.A. pics to inspire my Post Apocalyptic RPG games for awhile, thought it was time to share some of them.  : )

Have a great weekend!!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Frankenberry!


     I went to the grocery store yesterday and while I was waiting on "She who must be obeyed" to make a critical shopping decision my mind wandered and I spotted the new Frankenberry Cereal boxes out in time for Halloween and I thought now there is a fun encounter for my games!
I couldn't decide if I wanted to work him up for Mutant Future or for Labyrinth Lord. Stat-wise there isn't much difference (more hit points for Mutant Future, but otherwise little real difference).
The main difference is in his background, specifically of how Frankenberry came to be. I opted to go the Mutant Future route but you can easily tweak him for use in a Gonzo Labyrinth Lord game*.

                   










Frankenberry
Str:   21         Dex: 10               Mutant Human?
Con: 20       Int: 9                   Alignment: Neutral
Will: 6          Cha: 7                AC: 6        Hit Points: 101

Mutations: Increased Strength (+3d6 damage with melee weapons), Energy Retaining Cell Structure (can do 3d6 electrical damage to anyone touching him 1 x day), Prey Scent (modified): He smells like deliciously sweet strawberries (double chances of encountering herbivores or hungry annoying children), Bizarre Appearance: Pink Skin and the top of his head looks like a butt!, Phobia: Ghosts, Dual Cerebellum-Defective (his second brain is defective and in times of high stress it may take over and cause him to lash out violently), Acculumated Resistance : Cold & Radiation
Weapons & Gear: Chains, Pink clothing

     There is some debate as to how the creature known as Frankenberry came into existence. One common theory is that a radioactive cloud met head on with an electrical storm front and that the resulting clash unleashed a barrage of radioactive lightning bolts which struck a particularly large patch of strawberries. The patch contained an assortment of metal junk and not to mention a body or two! Frankenberry was "born"!
     Another theory is that a rather insane Count desired the perfect henchman so he opted to make one, assembling a creature from various parts, all designed for strength and power, being low on vinegar and pickle juice to preserve the body parts, the count added strawberry juice to the mix and after exposing the construct to electrical energy, Frankenberry was "born"!
The truth probably lies somewhere in between!
     Frankenberry wanders the countryside looking for friends to play with and to share his love of strawberries, when not looking for friends or eating strawberries he paints his fingernails to resemble strawberries, he has gotten quite good at painting his fingernails, but much to his chagrin can't effectively reach his toenails. Frankenberry can be quite flighty, oftentimes scared of his own shadow, but when his dark side takes over he is a terror to behold!
* If I ever get to run an Anomalous Subsurface Environment Campaign I think I'll work him into that, ASE has a nice Post Apocalyptic-Gonzo-Fantasy feel to it that I think this fun version of Frankenberry would fit in nicely!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Post Apocalyptic Fashion

 Need some inspiration for you Post Apocalyptic RPG game of choice?
  Whether it be Gamma World, Mutant Future, The Mutant Epoch, Other Dust or some other system I think you will find some inspiration over at the Post Apocalyptic Fashion Tumbler

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Kamandi!

Wow...does anyone hate the new blogger as much as I do? This is terrible!!
I may have to look harder at Google + at this point.
Anyways was out and about today and stopped in an out of the way comic shop and found Volume 2 of the Kamandi Archives for 75% off!! SCORE!!!!

I picked up the first volume quite awhile ago but haven't wanted to spend the $$ to get the second volume, but at 75% off I could resist!  Now to do some reading to inpire my Mutant Future/Mutant Epoch Games!  Woo Hoo!  : )

Friday, September 14, 2012

Latest Acquisitions

Thought I'd show some of my latest acquisitions.  The mailman was good to me today! Some awesome goodies arrived today.  Its always nice to get something in the mail other than bills.
     I haven't had time to do more than just a cursory scan of most of these, but I gotta tell ya Blood & Treasure is a sweet looking tome of coolness.  I wish I had this ruleset for my Fantasy games 30 years ago! I'm currently running Pathfinder but the next Fantasy game I run will definately be using the Blood & Treasure rules!  Heck I wish I could switch it over to B&T now, course that would blow my players minds. Oh well.
     I talked about The Metamorphica a bit ago, it is really cool.  I assure you I won't be running another Mutant Future game without this book handy! Heck whataver game I'm running, I'll have this handy, Love the random mutant tables and such.  Great Stuff!
Towers of Krshal looks pretty interesting some random twisted city  tables to trick out your macabre domains.
     So as you can see I've got alot of reading to do.  Just looking at this stack gives me some ideas, a twisted city of dark towers, creatures scuttling in the alleyways and warped denizens lurking in the shadows...with the Blood and Treasure system as the core mechanic  heh heh heh.
 I'll try to post more as time permits. 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Cycloposaurus : Mutant Beastie for Mutant Future

Here's one on the lighthearted side of the Apocalypse.

Cycloposaurus

No. Enc. 1d6
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120'(40")
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 13
Attacks: 1 (tail slam/trample/Optic Blast)
Damage: 4d8+2/5d8+2/4d6
Save: L5
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None (cyber visors, on those beasts with them are considered quite valuable loot)
Mutations: Natural Armor (thick tough skin), Reflective Epidermis: Radiation, Vision Impairment (one eye, -2 to ranged attacks), Night Vision, Optic Emissions (Gamma Blast 4d6),

     The ancients performed all kinds of scientific feats and marvels before the end came. One area, in particular, was their successful attempt to resurrect formerly extinct species. Dinosaurs in particular were a popular area of experimentation. Cycloposaurus is the mutant descendant of their successful cloning of the Apatosaurus. Mother Nature and the Apocalypse have taken steps further…
     Though still a massively huge beast (roughly twice the size of a large elephant), the Cycloposaurus is not as large as its ancestor the Apatosaurus. Perhaps the ancient scientists genetically engineered it to be smaller and thus more practical for zoos and other exhibits. Otherwise the Cycloposaurus has the same overall build and appearance as an ancient Apatosaurus. Their skin coloration ranges from dark gray to a dark purple in color, sometimes with a spotted or striped pattern. From their heads to partway down their long necks their skin coloration is often a yellowish or golden color, and they have one single large glowing red eye in the center of their heads.
     Surprising a herd of Cycloposaurus is an extremely dangerous thing to do. They have learned that even smaller creatures can be dangerous and can often act in unpredictable ways if they believe they are in danger. If young are present add +1 to roll.
Roll 1d6
1 Hold their position and wait to see if the intruder is in fact a threat.
2 Move away at normal pace in opposite direction of the intruder
3 Flee to nearest body of water (lake, river, marsh etc.), if intruder is in way "uh-oh"
4 Panic, herd runs in a panicked fashion trampling anyone and anything that gets in their path, if water is  
   nearby they head to it otherwise they just run!
5 Move at the intruder in an aggressive manner and attempt to stomp/trample tail swipe them. If intruder flees
   they will not pursue.
6 Entire herd unleashes their optic blasts at the intruder!! OUCH!!!

     There are reports that some rogue tech savvy individuals (some speculate that it is the work of rogue android thinkers), have developed a special cybernetic visor for the Cycloposaurus that enhance their Optic Emission attack (5d6 damage instead of their usual 4d6), it also eliminates their normal -2 penalty to ranged attacks and provides them with Ultravision (as the mutation), rumor also says these visors can be controlled remotely and even can be used to deactivate the mutant dinosaurs Optic Attack ability. Who would develop such a device is a disturbing concept indeed…

Based on the above artwork found in Marvel Comics: Next Wave Agents of H.A.T.E. #11
No copyright infringement is intended.

Monday, September 10, 2012

The Feathren : A New Race for Mutant Future

Feathren "Feathered Brethren"
Hit Dice: 1d6 per point of CON
Mutations: Complete Wing Development (due to their hollow bone structure they can still fly even if they weigh up to 200 lbs.), Increased Vision, Frailty (Hollow Bone Structure, takes +1 point of damage per die vs. blunt force trauma), Ability Boost (can swap Ability Boost for one Random Roll on Mental Mutation table, if a defect is rolled it must be taken).
     The Feathren are a race of mutant humans that have some avian-like traits. Namely feathered wing structures extending along their arms from their wrists to their shoulders, with some variation to these from individual to individual. These feathers are usually black or red in color but can be of any coloration normally found in nature (and some more mutated specimens have reportedly had even more exotic colors). Their skin coloration runs the full gamut of what can be encountered amongst normal humans.  Outlooks and attitudes are as variable as their human ancestors, but most Feathren communities are relatively peaceful and seek to live in out of the way high places and avoid mutant and humankind alike. One word of caution, many Humans and mutants refer to the Feathren as Bird Men, they consider this to be an insult and refering to them as such is highly discouraged!
             "A Feathren Aerie"
     Feathren make for highly valuable scouts and messengers and are sought out for this purpose by other races.  Their perfect suitability to this lends some credence to the common theory among many sages that the Feathren are in fact a genetically engineered race and not the result of random mutation.   Amongst many Feathren communities a rite of passage to adulthood is for a young male Feathren to leave his community and go out among other races and live for a time (usually 1d4 years), learning their ways and bringing back whatever knowledge and technology/loot was gained during this time.
     Feathren are not opposed to using the technology of the ancients, but due to their wings and their desire to not have their flying abilities hindered they are selective about what they will use/have in their possession. Some Feathren; champions in particular have specially created retro-engineered jet packs to aid them in their speed and carrying ability. These packs are also helpful to those older Feathren that may have "put on a few pounds" and would be otherwise too heavy to fly effectively. A young Feathren sent out to prove himself will never have one of these packs, and even among Feathren champions they are quite rare. 
No. Enc.: 1 (1d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120'(40') Fly : 120' (40')
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 7 (avoid heavy armors)
Attacks: 1 (weapon)
Damage: As weapon
Save: L4
Morale: 7
Hoard Class: XX

The Feathren are based on several sources: DC Comics: Black Condor, Marvel Comics: The Falcon, and MotU: Stratos
No Copyright Infringement is intended!