Let the Christmas Vacation Begin!!! The Metal Gods of Dwimmermount!

Reading....

while listening to...

up next

and don't forget the...

Special Thanks to Kevin for the copy of Dwimmermount!
Special Thanks to Tormentor for the Helion Prime and Sabaton CD's!
Special Thanks to the Great State of Tennessee for the Jack Daniel's!  

ACKS : Let the Work Begin!

The kids aren't home, my paper has been submitted, my honey-do list is complete (for now), that means it is time for CAMPAIGN DEVELOPMENT!

After months of going back and forth as to which Fantasy RPG System I wanted to run, I find myself back in the OSR, and sitting down comfortably to work on and hopefully run a Campaign using the Adventurer Conqueror King System (ACKS).  There are a ton of awesome Fantasy RPG's out there, my bookshelves are full of them, which was part of my issue, I kept chasing after that perfect system. Oftentimes to the detriment of my creativity and my players. The key thing I like about ACKS is that at it's core it is B/X D&D. The edition I grew up with and have arguably played the most over the years, yet ACKS has some fun new features and rules tweaks that allows players to customize their characters without me finding myself overwhelmed trying to keep up with all the different fiddly bits (like I experienced with Pathfinder). Given my hectic schedule this system really looks like it will meet my current gaming needs. While I haven't decided 100% on the campaign setting, I am leaning towards going with the official ACKS Campaign, set in and around the Auran Empire. The late Roman Empire feel to the setting seems like a refreshing break from the straight Tolkien Fantasy gaming that I grew up with, while keeping some of those elements familiar to D&D gamers (i.e. Dwarves and Elves).  Of course with all the cool stuff on my gaming shelves, I will be working in other material from my gaming library to use in my ACKS Campaign. Pictured above are a few of the books I'm planning on using. I've always liked Labyrinth Lord's Realms of Crawling Chaos, while I don't intend to go full-blown Cthulhu, this book is a great resource for Chaos elements to pull into my games. I'd also like to have some psionics in my game, not in a heavy handed way but having some out there, to make the game a bit more unusual and unique from things I have done in the past. And what campaign would be complete without monsters, but with ACKS even the traditional humanoid races have an interesting twist about them, so I'll be using my copy of the Monster Alphabet to put unusual spins on the monsters in the campaign. Well, that's all for now, I need to quit typing about the campaign and start working on it!  Have a great week and Good Gaming!

By This ACKS I Rule!

Here's a little something I worked up to kick-off my upcoming ACKS Campaign!


Original cover by Mike Ploog, from the Marvel Comics adaptation of R.E. Howard's Kull. No copyright infringement is intended. 

Weekend Reading: Conan, Kull and ACKS!

What an awesome day to go to the mailbox!

I know what I'll be doing this weekend! 

Moloids for ACKS

Thanks to Eric Fabiaschi's recents posts about the Adventurer Conqueror King System (ACKS), I started reading my ACKS books again. I have to say this is a great system. B/X at the core of the game, but with some great versatility and character options that don't overwhelm this busy DM. So for fun I converted an old Marvel Comic's race for adventurers to encounter while exploring the deep subterranean depths. 

 Moloids

% in lair:  50%

Dungeon Enc: Work Crew (4d4) / Work Gang(1 union)

Wilderness Enc: Union (1d6 work crews)/Lair (1d10 work gangs)

Alignment: Neutral

Movement: 60' (20')

Armor Class: 0

Hit Dice: 1d4 hit points

Attacks: 1 (weapon)

Damage: 1d3 or weapon -1

Save: 0 level human

Morale: -2 (in numbers fewer than 10, their morale is -3)

Treasure Type: Special (Moloids, do not value gems, coins or jewelry, however, if encountered in their lairs, they could be working to maintain powerful machines of the ancients).

XP: 2

Description

     Moloids are short (4' tall average, advanced moloids can be up to 5' tall) yellow-skinned, emaciated humanoids. Males and females are almost indistinguishable from one another to non-moloids, in fact other than the rare advanced moloids, to outsiders every moloid looks exactly the same; short, thin, yellow skinned humanoids, with large pointed ears, no visible nose and large, heavy lidded eyes, with very small pupils.

     Moloids make terrible warriors, they are workers not warriors, and will flee danger at the first opportunity, as well as, the second and third opportunities. They don't have the drive or interest in making weapons, and if forced to fight will use clubs or staves or whatever other tools they have at hand.

     Moloids live exclusively underground, and will only venture onto the surface at the command of a powerful master,  if commanded to the surface during daylight and without some form of protective eye wear they will be at -3 to morale.  They suffer a -2 penalty to all attack throws when in full sunlight. However, they have superior infravision 90' and keen hearing. 

Moloids are believed to be descended from a slave race created by some ancient peoples (Atlanteans?) thousands of years ago.  They have lived in the deep earth for untold millennia, and whatever they once looked like, or whatever their full potential once was, countless generations of inbreeding has reduced the race to its current sad state.

     Moloids are not innovative or creative (other than the rare advanced moloids), they usually wear simple rags as clothing, and beyond their occasional use of protect eye goggles wear little clothing or gear. However, they are exceptionally skilled at maintaining existing equipment and machinery. Originally designed to service the great machines of the ancients, they are innately skilled at keeping such forgotten devices in working order, however, they cannot explain to others how they work or expand on what the machines already do.

Subterranean Giant Monster Training: The moloids have lived in their deep caverns underground for generations, and share their lairs with a variety of subterranean large monsters (perhaps also creations of the ancients). Somehow the non-creative moloids have found a way to train these various giant monsters, in a way equivalent to the Animal Training Proficiency. It takes many moloids working together to train just one beast, but they have the time and the numbers, so any given moloid work gang, and especially a moloid lair will have 1d6 such beasts. 

      Moloids are innately docile and subservient, a strong, and/or charismatic leader can seize control of a large group of these creatures and bend them to his will. They are still cowards and do better as workers and laborers rather than warriors. 

                                                 Advanced Moloid

      One in every  500 Moloids shows traits of the race's prior potential, and while still weakly and sensitive to sunlight, these rare advanced moloids can be highly intelligent (16-18), morale 0,  (for an added twist give them a chance to be a wild psionic, as per Richard LeBlanc's PX-1  Basic  Psionics Handbook , a great resource for B/X based games, I highly recommend it!). 

 

Adapted from the Moloids race found in Marvel Comics. First Appearance : Fantastic Four #22 (January, 1964) No copyright infringement is intended.

Special thanks to Mark Craddock for giving me the idea!  Cross Planes

Pathfinder Worldscape #2

The second issue of the Pathfinder Worldscape comic released this week. This issue has a bit less action than the first issue, but it does explain a good bit more about what is going on, in particular how the Worldscape setting "works". Oh and yes that is indeed a Green Martian on the cover! Woo Hoo!  I am still really enjoying this series. This is the kind of campaign setting I would really enjoy playing. The end of the comic includes some Pathfinder stats for Green Martians, an encounter map and even Green Marian firearms rules. Even if you aren't a Pathfinder player, there is good stuff in here for your games. Oh and minor spoiler>>>....
.
.
.
.
this issue shows us that a Simian Army is on the rise! YES!!!
I personally can't wait for the next issue!

Apes Victorious Now In Print!

    "What's that you say? Apes Victorious is now available in print?!"
That's right General! You can get it right HERE!

Pathfinder Worldscape!

A while back I posted about the upcoming Pathfinder Worldscape comic series. Well the first issue came out this week and I was able to sit down and read it tonight.

I really enjoyed the first issue. My only complaint is that when I got to the end of the issue, I wanted more! Even if you are not into Pathfinder, I think there is some great stuff in here for anyone who is a fan of Swords & Sorcery, Pulp type adventures. I won't give away any spoilers but I will definitely be using ideas from this series in my own games. I really like the world-setting they are creating and I can see myself running adventures in such a setting. Some Pathfinder RPG stats are including (Red Sonja!!), but I can also see myself using the setting with many OSR rules systems (Fantastic Heroes & Witchery and AS&SH immediately come to mind). Also don't forget the 2nd edition Kickstarter for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea starts tomorrow!! Anyways, I hope everyone is having a good week, and I hope you are able to squeeze in some gaming this weekend!
Later-B.B.

Apes Victorious!

Big announcement just in time for Simian Saturday!
Head over to Goblinoid Games: Apes Victorious Page!!
The No Art PDF for this game should be available soon (hopefully early next week, is my understanding), the character sheets have already been posted, they look fantastic! A print version will be coming soon, the gracious Dan Proctor has opted to not go the Kickstarter route and will be making this available soon!
Want to talk about this awesome upcoming RPG? then please join the Google+ Apes Victorious Group. We are looking for a few good Apes!

Have a Fantastic Simian Saturday!

Happy Simian Saturday!

Happy Simian Saturday Everyone!
It has been a busy weekend in the Southern Radzone!  Got to go watch the University of Memphis Tigers beat Kansas 43-7  Woo Hoo!  I'm not a big sports guy, but I do enjoy some College Football on occasion. Two of my children are enrolled at the University of Memphis, so it was fun rooting for our team! Go Simians...er..sorry I mean GO TIGERS!!  : )
In gaming news I recently learned that the Rabbits & Rangers (Labyrinth Lord-compatible) RPG is now available in print.  R&R is a fun supplement for Labyrinth Lord that allows you to play all kinds of different anthro animals including Gorillas, Monkeys and Baboons! I spoke about it a few posts ago.
Sadly I haven't been able to squeeze gaming into my schedule lately but I hope to rectify that soon. 
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I hope you get to spend some quality time with friends and family!
Talk to you later -B.B.

Happy Simian Saturday!

I hope everyone is having a nice Simian Saturday, due to real life events I've had to take put gaming, blogging etc. on the back burner for a bit, but I'm still around. In the meantime Needles has just done a fun post over on the Swords & Stitchery blog regarding the classic PotA's and Gamma World. 
On the Apes Victorious front, Dan Proctor just recently announced that the kickstarter for the Apes Victorious RPG should be launching very soon!  Needless to say I am very excited!
Have a great weekend and I hope you get some gaming in!

A Mini-Six & Far Trek Simian Saturday

Hope everyone is have a great Simian Saturday.
No gaming on my end this weekend.
However, Mark Craddock was nice enough to make me aware of some fun Ape templates for the Mini-Six RPG over on the The Gnomish Embassy Blog!

 Also if you are a fan of Far Trek, you might want to join the Far Trek G+ group for some fun Siman (PotA-style) races for your Far Trek games!
Have a Great Weekend!

Rabbits & Rangers

I just picked up (well downloaded actually) the Rabbits & Rangers supplement for the Labyrinth Lord RPG.  Just did an initial scan of it and I love it! It includes 50 cartoon animal races to use as player races in your Labyrinth Lord games.  Oh don't let the "Cartoon" part throw you off, while the supplement is set up to allow you to play Wascally Wabbits, you can use the animal races straight.  You can get it HERE.  I hope a print version is planned!  I've long been a fan of the Labyrinth Lord RPG and this is an awesome and fun resource for it, whether you want to play it straight or cartoon-style.
Here is the blurb about the product," Rabbits & Rangers is a supplement written for Labyrinth Lord describing 50 cartoon animal races and various rules tweaks that let you get a slightly more cartoony vibe out of your game. Fully illustrated, this book also contains new spells, monsters, and magic items. I mean, who couldn't use a Ring of Ahkme that will let you mail order any device required to achieve your genius goals?"
Good Gaming- B.

Simian Saturday Minis & More!

Happy Simian Saturday everyone!
My internet was down last weekend, so I'm making up for the missed post by making this week's post more Simian Action Packed!!

I wanted to share that Simian Ultra X the range of bio engineered space apes and other mutants and creatures by Ganesha Games is now released at Alternative Armies!

You can get them HERE,

I going to definitely have to pick up some of these!

In other Simian Saturday News! I have heard that work continues to progress on the OSR RPG Apes Victorious! , no release date yet, but the project is still a go!

In other Simian RPG news, the talented Trey Causey has worked up  a ton of Simian related Awesomeness for 5E!
Apes of the Redwoods for 5e
Mutants of the Forbidden Zone for 5e 
Classic PotA's for 5E   WOW!!
Mark over on the Cross-Planes Drifter blog did up a slightly different version of the Intelligent Chimp from the newer movies for 5E 
I can't wait to use these in my games! GREAT JOB!!

I hope everyone has a great Simian Saturday, try to stay cool, it is already a hot one in the Southern Rad Zone today. 

                            

Simian Saturday!

Check your local movies listings! In select theaters across the U.S. Planet of the Apes will be showing July 24th and 27th!  Woo Hoo!

Pathfinder Worldscape!

While, I haven't played Pathfinder in a bit, I am rather excited about the announcement of this upcoming comic series featuring the Pathfinder Iconics meeting up with such classic characters as Red Sonja, Tars Tarkas, Tarzan and others! Due out in October, I will definitely be picking this one up!  I've always loved mixing and matching characters and settings in my RPG's so this sounds like it will be right up my alley!

Simian Saturday (Kamandi & Mutant Crawl Classics!)

Happy Simian Saturday to everyone!
The above picture is from Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth Issue 7 from back in 1973.
I'm excited to see that the Mutant Crawl Classics Kickstarter continues to blow through its many awesome stretch goals. There are still 3 days left to get in on the action.  I personally can't wait for this to come out. The game draws heavily from P.A. sources from my youth, including one of my favorite comics from back in the day Kamandi!  A recent podcast by Sanctum Secorum delves heavily into the strong influence that this comic series, and Jack Kirby has had on the MCC RPG.
I hope everyone has a great Simian Saturday and I hope you manage to get some gaming in this weekend!

The Black Hack!

I remember seeing the Black Hack RPG mentioned when it was first up on Kickstarter, even though the price was great at the time I had made the decision to hold off on backing anymore kickstarters until some of the ones I had invested in had produced product (still waiting on a few of them...*sigh* lessons learned).  I scanned some reviews of the game, and to be honest my first impression was that this was simply another rules-lite OSR product. Having a shelf, well OK SHELVES full of OSR clones and retro-clones and such, I again decided I didn't really need another RPG. Then I kept seeing all of the posts about this game and how fun it was, followed by a plethora of follow-up Hacks to the game and posts about how easy it was to play and "hack". However, I couldn't get my head around the whole concept of the players performing all of the dice rolls...for this ancient-school DM that seemed somehow strange to me. However, the more I thought about it the more I came around to understanding the idea and how it could work and let me focus on other stuff. Then I decided I didn't care for the limits on armor and how armor worked in the game (see how I kept trying to talk myself out of liking this system?), recently the game's designer posted some optional rules on handling armor and some other features of the game (Guns!) which addressed my concerns regarding armor and provided some other options. Several expansion hacks to the system are out or soon will be out (including some for Space and Post Apocalyptic Gaming!). So for $2 I figured what the heck and downloaded the darn thing.  I have to say that this game is a blast! I have found my creative gaming muse inspired in ways that hasn't happened in quite awhile.  Is the game perfect? no, but it is fast, intuitive has some cool features and for me allows the rules to fade into the background with ease, and any rules that don't work for me, I can easily change without feeling like I have wrecked the system or should be playing something else. The Black Hack incorporates the Advantage/Disadvantage Mechanic from 5E (my favorite mechanic from the latest edition of D&D), and the way The Black Hack handles limited use items (ammo, torches, etc.) via the Usage Dice is really cool!  Well I think I have carried on enough about The Black Hack, off to work on some gaming stuff! For a comprehensive list of current products for The Black Hack check out Sophia Brandt's RPG Blog!

Happy Steamy Simian Saturday!

Hope everyone is having a nice Simian Saturday. It is a hot one here in the Southern Rad Zone, fortunately the Restorationists have been able to keep the ancient cooling device in working order, and scouts were able to find a cache of ancient filters to keep the machine running smoothly. I assume most everyone following this blog has already heard the Mutant Crawl Classics Kickstarter launched a day or so ago and has already funded.  I am happy to say that I have backed this one, can't wait to give it a go! From what I have seen it hearkens back to the original Gamma World rules in many ways, which is very cool to this aging wasteland wanderer.  Anyways, try to keep cool and have a great Simian Saturday!

Witchfinder Wolves

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.  Today I thought I would share another beast from the recent pages of Dr. Strange, stat'd up for the ACKS system.  Enjoy!

Witchfinder Wolves % In Lair: 10% Dungeon Enc: Pack (1d4) / Den (2d4)  Wilderness Enc: Route (2d4) /  Den (2d4)  Alignment: Neutral  Movement: 120' (40')  Armor Class: 4 (boney plating, this plating has made them slower than normal Dire Wolves)  Hit Dice: 4 + 2 Attacks: 1 (bite) Damage: 2d4  Save: F2  Morale: 0  Treasure Type: None XP: 140 Witchfinder Wolves are a rare breed of Dire Wolf, believed to have been specially bred during ancient times to hunt down enemy spellcasters. Witchfinder Wolves have the Sensing Power ability. Like the proficiency they can detect spellcasters within 60', and can get a vague sense of the power level of the spellcaster. Sensing a high level spellcaster will cause them to send out a wide-ranging howl, summoning other packs of Witchfinder Wolves to join in on the hunt. Witchfinder Wolves can "smell" the recent use of arcane magic, within the last 24 hours within their vicinity. The wolves cannot determine if a specific item is magical, however, they will sense magic on the item if  it has been used within the past 24 hours. When they are actively sensing magic their eyes glow with an eerie green eldritch glow. Since the collapse of the Empire that first bred them, Witchfinder Wolves have found their way into the wilds and have spread to other regions. Certain brave (some would say foolhardy) individuals have relearned the means to tame and train these ferocious predators, although even in the hands of the best animal trainer a Witchfinder Wolf can be an unpredictable beast at best. Unlike Dire Wolves, Witchfinder Wolves will not tolerate a rider (goblin or otherwise). Witchfinder Wolves have the intelligence and viciousness of Dire Wolves but are even more cunning and display an almost malicious nature, especially when on the hunt for a spellcaster. They don't derive any special benefit or extra sustenance from preying upon spellcasters, but it is so ingrained into their nature to hunt mages, that even those living in the wild, engage in an almost vicious glee when they get the "scent" of an arcane spellcaster. In the wild they prefer to live in wooded and mountainous areas, but like Dire Wolves they are even more likely enter into caverns or dungeons in search of prey, especially spellcasters. When a Witchfinder wolf den is encountered, there is a 25% chance that 1d3 cubs are present. Witchfinder wolf cubs may be kept and trained in the same manner as dogs, but are difficult to train and control.  However, if cubs are present the pack will fight ferociously to protect the cubs (Morale +3). *If using these with the core ACKS Campaign, have them date back to the Empyrean War, possibly being bred by the Zaharans to hunt down enemy spellcasters. Based on the Witchfinder Wolves found in Dr. Strange, by Marvel Comics.  First Appearance Doctor Strange Vol 4 #1 (December, 2015) No copyright infringement is intended

Een'Gawori Slugs

Thought I would stat up a Slug in honor of Free RPG Day! Stats are for ACKS, but this critter should work for most OSR games.
Enjoy!

Een'Gawori Slugs

% In Lair: None

Dungeon Enc: Solitary or rout 1d8

Wilderness Enc: None

 Alignment: Neutral

 Movement: 10' (3')

 Armor Class:  (only harmed by magic)

Hit Dice: 1 hit point

Attacks: Only vs. Magic Items    Damage: Drains Magic

 Save: 0 level human

 Morale: 0

 Treasure Type: None (although enterprising souls have used them to find hidden magic items)

XP: 5

Drain magic: Een'Gawori Slugs feed on magic. They must be in direct contact with a magic item in order to feed off of it and drain its magical energy.

Een'Gawori Slugs are the bane of adventurers everywhere. These hand-sized bluish-grey slugs while being unable to harm living creatures actually feed off of magic. They move about in dungeons and dark places ever searching for magical energies to consume. They can Detect Magical auras, as the spell at will and will be drawn to the nearest magic item in order to feed. The slug will feed off of the magical energy found in enchanted weapons, armor and potions etc. Left undisturbed a slug will permanently drain the magical energies from a magic item. The more powerful the item the longer it takes for the slug to permanently drain it. Any permanent magic item being fed upon by one of these slugs must make a Save vs. Spell as a Mage (the "+" of the magic item indicates equivalent level of the Mage), a failed save indicate the item is no longer magical. Potions and scrolls being more temporary in nature do not get a saving throw. Although it takes a minimum of one round of feeding in order to cause an item to be forced to make a save. These slugs may feed off of artifacts, but are unable to permanently drain an artifact of its power, in fact some lost artifacts have been discovered with an entire rout of slugs feeding off of it. Due to the arcane diet of these creatures they may be only killed by magical weapons. However, they instinctively fear salt, and will avoid touching it at all costs. Moving in the opposite direction of it, even if a powerful magical item is nearby.

Dedicated to Free RPG Day, with a nod to the original Disenchanter created by Roger Musson from the original Fiend Folio.

Based on the Een'Gawori Slugs found in Dr. Strange, by Marvel Comics. First Appearance Doctor Strange Vol 4 #3 (February, 2016). No copyright infringement is intended