Knave 2E for Campaign Inspiration

 Hope everyone is doing well. I haven't posted in a bit.  Had a little time this morning while family slept in to do some gaming brainstorming. I grabbed my copy of Knave 2e. Rolled up a random NPC. Knave 2E is fantastic for helping a GM brainstorm ideas. In just a few minutes I had rolled up Bartholamew Brandybold, a down on his luck former jester/oracle. 

Maybe he once was the jester of the local noble and was kicked out on the street when he fell out of favor. Does he know secrets about the noble or the noble's family? Is there a secret way inside the noble's mansion that he knows about? Does he hold a grudge for his mistreatment?

Bartholamew Brandybold 

    Former Jester, former Oracle, now a  down on his luck "wretch".

Next, I wanted a location. Where would the players encounter this, down on his luck, fellow. Back to the wonderful tables in Knave 2E and I quickly had a unique and equally suitable (disturbing) location. The poor, unquiet village of Seep. A truly destitute place, where a black oily substance oozes up out of the ground and is slowing covering everything in a slick, oily coating. Many of the villagers are sickly and weak from the exposure but are too poor (or not allowed by the local noble?) to leave. What is the oil? Is it a curse? Well, that's where the players come in...

    

Village of Seep

And what makes a region even more interesting is a strange wizard's tower nearby. Once again, some random rolls and I have Xedu's Tower. A tall creepy stone tower on the far outskirts of the region. Stone vents are known to spew out a poisonous gas at irregular intervals. The gas has killed all vegetation in the immediate area around the tower. All sane folk give the place a wide berth. What is the gas? rumors say the wizard has a captured Green Dragon held below the tower and the poisonous gas is the dragon's breath weapon, but no one knows for certain...

Xedu's Tower

So next time your players go in an unexpected direction, grab Knave 2E make a few rolls on the great random tables and you will quickly have a memorable NPC/Encounter/Locale! The system your playing doesn't matter (although personally I'm an OSR guy). 

This encounter could easily be inserted into most any fantasy campaign regardless of the system you are using! Let me know how it goes!

-Good Gaming! B.B. 

I know some don't care for AI generated art, but the visuals help me come up with ideas. 

Not Out of the Woods Yet: Solo Play

  Continuing the (mis)adventures of the villainous and egotistical Jorven Master of Beasts. Jorven continued to make poor rolls and get lost, he finally found a trail, but chose the wrong direction, which is so like him.  He also was oblivious to the fact that he was being followed and carefully watched from above. He almost noticed a danger in the manor, but almost wasn't enough...I think Jorven is in trouble! 

     Jorven, tired from his trek and basically lost in the Ravenwold, continued along the old path he had stumbled across. He could see an opening amidst the ancient oaks just ahead and could barely making out a stone structure between the trees, breathing a sigh of relief. "At last, civilization!"...then coming to the edge he gave an audible gasp...he was not out of the wilderness after all...

     

Before him at the end of the old path was a massive stone manor house, no doubt an impressive structure when it was built, but by the look of the place it had been abandoned for a quite some time. Nature had taken over much of the place, vines and branches entwined about it. Still, it was a sign of civilization, he had to be getting near the edge of the Ravenwold, had to be close?..

     For a brief moment he thought he saw a figure moving about on the second floor of the manor house, a shadow passing by a window, but then it was gone, probably just a trick of the light? It would be getting dark soon, his trek through the woods had taken him much longer than he had realized. Perhaps having the crossbowman carry most of their gear hadn't been the best decision.  He had a few torches at least, but wandering in the woods at night by only torchlight, seemed like a bad idea. He would scope out the old manor, try to find a mostly intact room to shelter for the night, then take the path back the other way in the morning. 

     He made his way to the old decrepit manor house. Yes, his luck was turning around, he would find shelter for the night and make his way out of this damnable forest tomorrow morning. He would be back with Mistress soon, very soon. 

     Avian eyes watched the man leave the shelter of the woods and approach the old structure, that was so out of place here in this natural setting. She scanned the structure, noting a stumbling, shambling figure moving in the shadows of the second floor.  The wind shifted...what was that smell coming from the place? A whiff of rot and? a heavy musky sweet smell? 

to be continued...

Somebody's Watching Me: Solo Play

     Continuing my previous Solo campaign, I thought I would try something different this time. In session two an unseen assailant/ambusher of the party had escaped and the party had not yet determined whether or not to pursue.  I decided it would be fun to develop this individual. From the previous encounter I had rolled up a Beast Handler, but it was just the barebones information.  I finished rolling him up as if he were a full-blown character; and thus, Jorven Master of Beasts came to be. I wanted to see what happened to him as he fled the encounter with the party, so using the anniversary edition of F.O.R.G.E. with a big helping of Old School Essentials, and some other resources this is how things are going for Jorven thus far... 

     Jorven cursed his luck, that damned crossbowman (what was his name again? Not that it mattered he was surely dead now) had spooked the ravens, and attacked too early, ruining his perfectly planned ambush.  That's what he would tell her...yes that's exactly what happened, an incompetent minion had ruined things...Moving quickly through the brush, he muttered to himself as a thornbush tore his well-tailored trousers. "Drat, I'll have to get new clothes now, this is such a disaster!".  When he had realized the Cacklers were going to be defeated, he had bolted, better to live to fight another day right?!... 

     After all he was Jorven Master of Beasts! He willingly served The Baboon Witch! He didn't know if the party of rebels was pursuing him or not. He couldn't dawdle and risk checking. He knew he was more than a match for any one of them, but if the group hit him all at once? Well, he wouldn't think about that. The Corpse Cacklers hadn't performed, as well as, he had hoped, but he had more back in the kennels, along with other surprises. He hoped Mistress wouldn't be too disappointed, he did have the rebel's numbers and descriptions. He would get out of this mess and hit them again at a time and place of her choosing.  

    Moving quickly through the woods of Ravenwold, Jorven came upon a stream, pausing to slack his thirst, he couldn't help but notice his reflection in the water. What a handsome fellow he was, no wonder he was favored by Mistress.  Unfortunately, his trek through this damnable forest had mussed up his carefully groomed hair. He would have to rectify that after this was over with, he had standards to live up to after all. He had to look his best for her especially. Hearing a noise, he quickly got back up and headed off into the forest, still not sure if he was being followed, he tried to use the stream to break up his trail. The rebels had an elf in the group, some elves were skilled trackers, or so he had heard. Couldn't risk them catching him. He had to report back to Mistress.

     Meanwhile...high above in an ancient oak, keen avian-like eyes watched him. The human was clumsy in the forest, not moving in tune with his surroundings, the man moved against the flow of the wilderness, he didn't belong here.  Curious, why was the man here? Alone? She followed him from the treetops, stealthily moving through the branches, comfortable in the heights, heights that the man would have no doubt found frightening.

    After fast traveling for some time, Jorven realized he had somehow gotten turned around...He wasn't sure which direction to go in this old forest. This is all that damned crossbowman's fault..whatever his name had been... Jorven selected a direction that seemed right, then headed off. He knew he was near the Borderlands, but with the thick growth and large old oak trees he was struggling to get his bearings.

     He came to a clearing, and found what seemed to be an old trail, mossy and overgrown, but yes this had been a real path at some point. His luck was no doubt turning around.  It had been some time since he had strategically withdrawn from his ambush of the rebels, and there was no sign of being followed. So he decided to follow the old trail.  Which direction though? He was still turned around so he picked one at random, Jorven knew his luck was turning around. 

     Eyes watched from the treetops above. The human was following the old trail, this part of the Ravenwold had once been more settled, nature had long ago reestablished its dominance here, as was the proper way of things. Curious, the human was headed towards the old ruins? what purpose did he have at that foul place? Had the man taken the other route he would have soon been out of the Ravenwold? What was he up too? She would follow from a distance and see. 

To be continued...

An Unkindness of Ravens : Solo Play

      Continuing the adventures of our small newly formed band of The Righteous Vendetta. We rejoin our band in a small clearing within the Ravenwold near the borderlands... Part one can be found HERE.

     Before anything else could be said or decided, Elysion looked towards the treeline to the east of the clearing, just as the ravens in the nearby trees all took flight at once, cawing loudly and seemingly angrily.

  

   The Volturian turned towards the sound drawing his blade, and in a calm voice said,"Ambush!".. A horrible cackling echoed around them, seeming to come from several directions at once, as a crossbow bolt fired from the trees, the bolt struck Elysion's chainmail, narrowly deflected by his armor. The elf began to mutter an arcane chant. From the other side of the clearing an iron spear flew out, right at Elysion! but missed the elf by a league. The dwarf 'Grevele' turned to the elf and muttered,"It would seem someone doesn't like you, monsieur?"..Elysion continued with his chant. 

     A shrill whistle blew through the air, from the direction of where the iron spear had come from. Then out from the brush four freakish beasts rushed out cackling, they looked like a disturbing cross between a large hyena and some sort of predatory bird!

"Carrion Cacklers!" Yelled Aryon, drawing his sword, "Don't let them gang up on you!", although with the loud crazed cackling he wasn't sure if he could be heard clearly. 

     As if understanding the dwarf, one of the cacklers charged straight for him leaping at his throat!

The beast striking true to the unarmored part of the dwarf's neck between helmet and mail. A serious wound, gouts of blood soaked 'Gevele's' tunic, but the stout dwarf still held his ground!

  

   Another of the beasts attacked Aryon, but the veteran warrior's armor easily deflected the beast's bite. 

The remaining two carrion cacklers charged Solace, attempting to use pack tactics to swarm the paladin. The first beast couldn't penetrate her armor, but the last one struck true!  A vicious bite, but Solace still stood. 

      Now it was the party's turn!  Aryon struck at the cackler he faced, striking true! A mighty blow, which would have slain a natural beast, but these creatures were the results of foul magic. Then the Volturian leapt to assist Solace, again a hit, a blow as fearsome as Aryon's but this beast also still lived!  Solace swung her mighty two-handed sword, etched with the markings of her lost order. A strong hit against the cackler that The Volturian had just hit! This was enough to slay the beast, but three still remained and there were clearly other foes still hiding in the trees. Cacklers could not use spear or crossbow!  'Gevele' blood pouring down his neck, a cackler still gnawing at the dwarf's throat, struck with his sword at the beast, but missed, "Zut!"no doubt the loss of blood affecting his aim. Now it was Elysion's turn, He finished his chanting, turned towards two of the cacklers that were close together and unleashed arcane energy. The two cacklers immediately fell to the ground.

  

     This left only one cackler still attacking, the one ripping in to 'Gevele's throat!, the beast unconcerned about its fallen?sleeping? pack members attacked the dwarf again!  Again a hit! 'Gevele' went down slumping to the ground! Unconscious, and quickly bleeding out!  

     Aryon charged the cackler moving in to kill 'Gevele', swinging his sword, a hit!  The beast was slain, nearly split in two by the strong blow.  Solace raced to 'Grevele's side, kneeling down beside him, unconcerned about her own injuries, she started saying a prayer to her deity, while laying her hands upon his chest. Sweat poured off Solace's brow,'Gevele's injuries were grave, but her faith was strong, though still weak, the dwarf opened his eyes, he would live!!  The Volturian charged into the forest in the direction the crossbow bolt had fired from, mere moments ago, so much had happened so quickly. Elysion went to the two sleeping cacklers, dispatching them quickly, they were helpless in their magic induced slumber. He then crept towards the forest, towards the direction the iron spear had come from...

     The Volturian charged into the brush, a barely visible aura of blue energy was now surrounding him, he quickly came face to face with a rough looking man in leather armor working to quickly raise the heavy crossbow that he had just reloaded. The arbalest fired the crossbow nearly point blank at The Volturian! It should have hit! It should have torn a whole clean through the lightly armored warrior, but instead the bolt deflected off the blue shimmering shield empowered by the very will of The Volturian! The kineticist responded in kind, a fearsome strike against the crossbow wielding warrior. Striking true! The crossbowman went down, bleeding out in the forest as the ravens cawed overhead.

     Elysion found the spot where the other had hidden, the whistler, that controlled the cacklers. Boot prints behind a thick bush marked where he? had watched the battle. Then apparently fled when things turned against him. He reported his findings to Aryon.

To be continued...

     

Iustus Vindicta : Solo Play!

 The Introduction

     My buddy Matt recently encouraged me to give Solo gaming another try.  I find myself burned out on 5E; it just isn't my style of game. I looked at the 2024 edition at the local hobby shop and it just turned me off, the art especially was a huge downer for me. It looked more marvel movie superhero stuff than sword and sorcery or Middle-Earth. I'm not knocking you if 5E is your thing, it just isn't mine. Played it, DM'ed it, just no more for me. So, with that said, I have a gaming library full of stuff I want to use, mostly OSR related or even OD&D/AD&D era.  Matt challenged me to run two solo sessions before I go back to work Thursday, so going to try to see what I can come up with. Basically, just going to sit down and "JUST DO IT!".

     I ended up spending more than a brief bit of time playing with random tables and generating stuff before I just started play, which probably wasn't what Matt intended, but you know what? I have had a blast!!! I realized I wasn't burned out on Fantasy gaming, just 5E and whatever the apparent current corporate "modern" take on gaming is... This Solo experience has so far been loads of fun. 

     I've used multiple different resources for this; Knave 2nd ed., F.O.R.G.E. Anniversary Edition, Old School Essentials, Ordure Fantasy, Mythic, Tome of Adventure Design, Worlds Without Number, random online generators and more...Oh and I can't draw worth a darn, so forgive my use of A.I. art generators to give this solo campaign a bit of visual spark.

     

     Let me introduce the party, all randomly generated. While doing this endeavor, I was listening to metal, so the character names and other bits of inspiration are pulled from songs, albums and bands. 

The Party

                                           Aryon King

                                            'Grevele'

                                           Elysion

                                            Solace

                                           The Volturian

     The Gathering...

     A small forest clearing, secluded within the Ravenwold, on the edge of the borderlands, an unkindness of ravens cawed in the distance. A chill breeze stirred the air, a dead leaves blowing in the wind to land on the sparse ground. A group of five had assembled, all very different, and in other circumstances might never have interacted with one another, but they all shared a bond, or rather a shared pain and a common foe!

      All had their reasons to hate her, they had all lost much to the vile creature, the foul one, The Baboon Witch.  Aryon had lost a kingdom, 'Grevele' his only son, Elysion the love of his life, Solace her Order and The Volturian..his people. The Baboon Witch had much to answer for, but she was cunning, and powerful, and never faced her foes directly. She would pay, but revenge is a dish best served cold.

     Aryon had sent out the summons, using the last remnants of his now lost wealth, and calling in old favors and debts he had assembled this band. Not all he reached out too had responded, some were no doubt dead, others seeking oblivion at the bottom of a bottle somewhere or worse. But these had come, whether out of curiosity or something else, these others were here. Hopefully they would be enough. 

     It was Elysion who had gotten the tip, from some of his less than scrupulous contacts. Elysion had learned from his contacts within the Shadow Lanterns that the minions of The Baboon Witch had captured a young sorceress, Amalien the Amaranthine, and planned to sacrifice her, bleeding off her power (and life) to add to the Baboon Witch's own. Time was short, the sacrifice would happen in three days, under the full moon at midnight, typical evil type timing at a typical evil place the ancient Trees of Sacrifice. 

     The party discussed this information. This ritual if successful would make The Baboon Witch even more powerful. Solace, called their quest an "Iustus Vindicta"... The dwarf 'Grevele' looked confused "Excusez-moi" ?...The elf Elysion muttered an answer in his typical soft voice, "Righteous Vendetta". Aryon replied his noble background apparent in the way he spoke, "Righteous? perhaps, that is for the gods to decide, but revenge will be had upon this vile monster, though it may mean my last breath, I vow to destroy her! who stands with me?!...then as a united group, all raised their swords into the air and said with a yell "Aye!!" (Elysion merely said the words, an Elf never yells).

To be continued...

Knave Solo Part 3

      

     The stinging crimson rain continued to fall, the wind whipping the drops about, even getting past Raze's Hazard Wrap.  Reepr burrowed deeper into Raze's backpack, as Raze continued to look about for shelter. He passed a wheeled cart of trade goods, it was knocked over, various small tools, bits and bobs, littered the ground, it's owner no doubt panicked by the dangerous storm had knocked over his cart, and abandoned it, seeking shelter.  Probably some decent loot there, but no time to stop and if the acidic rain continued the goods would be likely rendered worthless before all was said and done. 

     Rounding a side street he spies a little girl crying, she has fallen down in the street and crawled under a small, overturned wagon to try to get out of the stinging rain, a few drops were still splattering on her and burning her skin. Raze spied the girl's mother from the doorway of a shack across the way, frantically calling to the girl to come to her. The mother clearly had a lame leg and couldn't run. The girl was terrified. Raze ran over picked up the terrified child, sheltered her under his hazard wrap, which caused more drops to hit him, and ran to the girl's mother, the grateful mother took the child from Raze's arms, then promptly slammed the door in his face, and he could clearly hear the door being triple barricaded and locked from the other side. He paused in the stinging rain for only a second then kept running, looking for shelter...What's the old saying? No good deed goes unpunished?...

     Quickly moving down the streets, trying to use the nearby buildings to give him some measure of cover from the biting rain, Raze ponders his situation...some scout he is.. on the run from an acid rain storm while still in the city.. Idiot! Raze finds a slight overhang from an old building that gives him slight cover but not much, the wind is still whipping the stinging rain into his face, he covers himself with his hazard wrap as best he can. Its raining hard now, he catches his breath and looks about.  Down the nearby alley he sees a heavy-duty tarp flapping over what looks like a big hole in the side of an old building. He sees the flap move and a gloved hand pops out, motioning him to come that way..to come inside?!

     The rain slackens just a bit and Raze makes a run for it.  He has no idea who this is, but if he stays out here his gear will be ruined at best, at worse... well better get moving... Stinging, acrid rain bites his face as he races for the flapping tarp on the side of the old building. He ducks inside, just as the rain starts to pour down even harder.  Darting inside, it is dark, musty and he smells something...something that smells like...an animal of some sort?!!!! 

To be continued....

Knave Solo Part 2

           

         Now out of coin, but happy with his new "pet" Hunting Eel, Raze Harrow realizes he needs to earn some coin.  Thankfully he bought provisions for his Wasteland scouting mission before he blew the last of his coin on his new pet. He wonders if he should also try to recruit an adventuring companion or two to accompany him? All he could offer them at this point is an equal share of any loot they might find. He could definitely use some extra muscle on this adventure, the wastelands were nothing to trifle with... 

         He passes the Temple of the Wondrous Worm...that odd religion that worships the massive carnivorous sandworms that live in the wastelands...odd folk, seems like a good way to get eaten to him. Raze picks up his pace to quickly move past the strange cultists proselytizing out in front of their temple. 

         Rounding the corner Raze smells something delicious, "Reepurrr" his Hunting Eel sniffs the air from its hiding place in his backpack. "Yeah, that smells good, sadly its rations for us until we can get some more coin." Raze spots the source of the smell, a little food vendor stall tucked in the alley by the temple. "Two Cheesy Rats" was the name of the place, although their attempt to provide a drawing/image of what two cheesy rats looked like left much to be desired.  Hmmm... cheese fried rats...Not a combo he would have thought of. Didn't matter he was broke so keeps walking. 

        While passing the food vendor, Raze overhears some merchants talking. He catches them mention problems with caravans reaching the city.  Apparently, bandit activity is a real issue. The Twisted Teeth Bandits were causing a lot of problems, more so than normal. They were hitting caravans heading through one of the few "safe" passages across the wastes that avoids Sand Worm territory. And to make matters worse the Zebra Gnolls were moving into the area as well. Not to mention The Jackals! Their raids though sporadic, only makes things worse... Raze would file that information away, good to know what factions are out there stirring up trouble. 

        Raze notices storm clouds moving in...a breeze stirs up, it has a strange acrid taste to it...It generally doesn't rain here, especially this time of year,, and those storm clouds don't look good. they have a strange dark red hue to them.. his recruiting efforts would have to wait, Raze needed to get to shelter and by the looks of the clouds and winds picking up...soon!  

          Raze had been staying at the Sleeping Hog Inn, wasn't the best place to stay, but by far it wasn't the worst. Now that he is broke, he can't even afford to stay at The Loathsome Fingerbone, its claim to fame was flea ridden beds, roach stew, backed up latrines, and a foul looking weird fingerbone kept in a jar of green goo behind the counter. Hmmm...storm was moving in pretty quick now, folk were clearing out of the streets and alleys, heading to shelter, wind was picking up, the acrid smell increased, even the air had a acrid taste about it...and why did the clouds have that strange reddish tint to them? This wasn't good...not good at all. 

         Raze gets concerned and looks about for some sort of shelter.  The wind whips up more, bits of gravel and sand are blown about, a misty rain begins to fall, but it isn't a normal rain, it has a reddish tint to it. And as it rains harder the drops get thicker and start to smoke where they hit the ground, where they hit Raze's bare skin it stings and burns. Raze realizes his hazard wrap, while shabby, is giving him some protection, but he can't stay out here indefinitely....  The streets are empty now, doors closed, windows shuttered... stinging crimson rain starts to come down hard, his hazard wrap helps, but he has to find shelter and soon.....         

To be continued...

                                             Crimson Rain

     I used Knave 2nd ed. tables for much of this process. With some inspiration from The Weird Wastelands (yeah it is 5E) book. 

I'm also incorporating things from Vaults of Vaarn, because..Why Not? 

     I'm enjoying solo play more and more. I'm able to squeeze in a quick session here and there. Oh, and for anyone paying attention, yes, I updated Raze's picture and tweaked his name a bit, included some additional rolls out of Vaarn for some extra gear and stuff. I like the character much better now.  Stay tuned for more!

Knave Solo Part 1

                 Continuing my Solo play of Knave 2nd Edition.  

      Although a skilled scout and trapper, Raze realizes heading out alone in the Wastes is unwise. He decides to see if he can acquire a hunting beast to assist him in his endeavors. Not having much luck in the regular trader's markets and stalls around Bethmoora, he tries his luck along the fringes of the city. 

     On the outskirts of Bethmoora, Raze finds a refugee camp where his coin may be a bit more valuable. Although he holds his coin purse tightly, concerned about pickpockets and thieves. These refugees are a strange lot apparently fleeing an invasion of their homeland and ending up on the outskirts of Bethmoora. They are scarlet skinned, with white wavy hair and unusual yellow eyes. Most having several piercings on their bodies, and oddly enough none appear to be older than middle age... He notes that the communities' sexual behaviors are much more open than he is accustomed too, he decides to not judge these folk (to each his own) but avoids being alone with any of the individuals he encounters that try to entice him. 

     After some time, he finds Krah; a sort of trader, apparently this refugee was some sort of beast tamer in his previous life and indicates he has a hunting beast that may be of interest to Raze. Krah shows Raze a strange beast, a Cerlulean Hunting Eel! a blue furred, serpentine creature that takes right to Raze and gives a soothing purr as it gently wraps around his arm and licks his cheek with its long tongue. Raze decides he must have such a fantastic creature, and before he realizes it, he spends all of his coin to buy the beast.  Krah smiles and tells him the eel is named Reaper.  Raze likes that and departs the camp, poorer in coin but happy with his purchase. He ponders for a moment, he never asked how big the eel would get??...

     Short little session tonite, before some family time. This was loads of fun! I used Knave 2nd ed, some random tables from Worlds Without Number and the One-Page Mythic rules.  Raze has an awesome furry companion but is now broke.  I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next!  

More Musings about Black Star RPG

      As I was convalescing from this unpleasant respiratory illness I've had for a month, I watched Solo: A Star Wars Story again.  I found I actually enjoyed it.  Especially the "things" hinted at in the background.

     Like the Cloud Riders, these guys look really cool, and I'd like to have seen more done with them. This got me to thinking about running a Star Wars Sci Fi RPG.  I realized I don't want to really run a game IN the Star Wars Universe, but Star Wars adjacent with the serial numbers filed off would be pretty cool.  I remembered I had picked up the Black Star RPG recently, even did several posts about it, but never got a change to run/play it.  Maybe I need to dust-off my notes and rectify that situation? 

                                                                   

     Oh and I love the digest size of Black Star, perfect to place in your GM kit and take on the road or whatever. Doesn't take up much room, so if you end up not being able to run your regular D&D Campaign or whatever, you can quickly and easily run a Black Star One shot, with minimal fuss or prep. The Black Star Companion adds a bit of extra coolness that make the game even better! 

     That's all for now, hope you all are well and healthy and have a safe and Happy New Year!

-B.B. 

Black Star RPG

 

     Thanks to a friend, I recently became aware of the Black Star RPG from LakeSide Game. This is a rules lite Space Opera RPG, with a good bit of a certain "War in the Stars" with the serial numbers filed off thrown into the very loose setting.  Those who read my blog know I've been on a Sci Fi kick for a bit, even though up until recently I had an active 5E Campaign going, I still want to play some Sci Fi!  With my work/life schedule, I've had to put my face-to-face game on hiatus, so I've been looking at trying more Solo, especially Sci Fi Solo.  Given that rolls in Black Star are player facing, this system seems perfectly suited for Solo play, although it looks like it will work just fine for group play as well.  

Here is the official blurb about the game,"Darkness has fallen over the galaxy. The once-noble Galactic Imperium now serves only the Grand Imperator and his inner circle. But the galaxy is vast. While the core worlds may be caught in the Imperium’s grip, many more exist beyond the galactic core, in the barely charted expanse of space known as the black star sector. A haven for criminals and unsavory characters of every stripe, the black star sector is also where the resistance against the Imperium is strongest. If there is any hope of overthrowing the Imperium, the galaxy will need heroes, and those heroes will come from under a Black Star.

Black Star is a rules light sci-fi roleplaying game you can carry around in your pocket. Using the latest version of the Furious Games Engine first used in Magnum Fury and refined in Six-Gun Fury, Black Star is designed for fast play and high-flying action, perfect for classic space opera and heroic science fantasy.

While not a big PDF guy, I prefer book in hand, there is now a print version of the core rules available via lulu. There is also a companion book that was recently released adding more options to the game.

As time permits, I'm going to be trying out this ruleset in Solo mode and maybe even try some Online play?  I don't usually do online, but with this rules lite system, I may just have to take the system for a spin. More to come! 

Grizzly Devil Squad Part 3 Adventures in Wretched Space

                                                             

                                        

Continuing the Adventures of The Grizzly Devils.

For this one I tapped into using Mythic Game Master Emulator, to add some interesting elements to the game. Where mechanics were required, I utilized the Wretched Space RPG. 

Reporting in from their last mission. Our crew was debriefed by base Commander Abrams and thoroughly checked over by Dr. Goodwin. The Commander had lots of questions about the psychic attack they had endured, as well as the eerie blue glowing structures they had found. Dr. Goodwin ran several strange tests on the squad. Eventually both seemed satisfied that the squad weren't under the influence of some "other" force or influence, and after they had healed up, they were cleared to return to duty.  

Commander Abrams - No nonsense, tough, and determined leader. The unsaid rumor is he is actually a transhuman cloned from the DNA of the real Abraham Lincoln...but that's impossible right?? 

Doctor Goodwin- Odd and eccentric, has a interest in psychic forces and energies. More of a (mad) scientist than a medical doctor, although he has some medical skill. He has been able to reverse engineer some of the alien tech found in the reaches of the massive alien Vault.

     The team had been barely cleared for duty, when Commander Abrams gave them a new assignment.  Bone Apes had ambushed two other teams (The Black Salamanders and The Iron Badgers), on the fringes of their territory. One rebel had been killed and several rebel fighters were seriously injured, with three members of The Iron Badgers MIA. 

     Any further explorations of the glowing blue ruins would have to wait until this latest threat was dealt with and any surviving Iron Badgers rescued/recovered. Doc Eldred would be pulled from the squad to assist with the wounded that had been brought in. While Doc Eldred was a skilled doctor and a veteran of many conflicts, his age was making it harder for him to crawl around in the dark and dangerous tunnels that connected the different vaults found in this ancient ruined underworld, his skill set would be better suited to working in the medical ward of the Vault. Combat Nurse Kadin would need to cover the combat medic needs of the squad for now. To replace the losses of Hector and Simon Luther, and the reassignment of Doc Eldred. The Grizzly Devils would be getting three new members.  Rogue One a combat clone that had been able to overcome its mental conditioning and had joined the rebel cause.  Druce, skilled forager, hunter and scrounger (finding supplies and resources had been a problem last mission, and Commander Abrams intended to quickly fix this deficit on the squad). The last new member to be assigned to the team was Heath, a veteran rebel and skilled tunnel fighter. 

Rogue One -Clone Trooper, he beat his mental conditioning/programming and has joined the Rebel Resistance Forces. Tough as Nails! 

Druce- One of the best foragers and scroungers within the rebel forces.  Not a people person, but when you are low on food and supplies he has a knack for turning up things just when they are needed the most. 

Heath- Ex-Galactic Federation Soldier, skilled scout and point man, lost his right eye to Bone Apes, now has a Cyber Eye, that's particularly useful to see in the darkened tunnels that connect the vaults (that is when it works properly). 

They would also be taking a SearchMaster Droid with them, while the rebels only have a limited number of droids, bots and special vehicles, Commander Abrams deemed this mission important enough to risk the use of one of their Special Droids. 

SearchMaster-9000  aka "Skitter"- A versatile rescue/exploration droid, equipped with a plethora of cameras and sensors. It can navigate through rubble and debris and squeeze into tight spaces. 

Leaving the main part of the Rebel controlled vault, they noted that even old Granny and her War Poodle Gladys were on alert and stationed to help secure the vault's access points to the main Tunnels. 

Granny- Veteran Rebel, she's forgotten more about fighting against Galactic Federation tyranny and corruption than most rebels will ever know. 

Gladys - War Poodle, while not fearsome or scary in any way, she has a keen sense of smell, that has saved many a rebel from a Bone Ape ambush and has carried much needed ammo and supplies to tunnel fighters in need. 

     With a final clack, the vault door locked into place behind them.  The Grizzly Devils moved out; time was of the essence.  If any of the Iron Badgers were still alive, they'd need to get to them quickly. Bone Apes were known to eat their captives alive!  

     To make better time, it was decided to cut through the Crustacean Caves... a group of very large caverns just outside of rebel-controlled territory.  The caves had unusual subterranean flora and fauna. Weird tentacled plant life and giant crustaceans and mollusks that fed upon them and each other....

Heath and Skitter were on point, Shalonna was up next, followed by Mungo, Combat Nurse Kadin and Duce (who was quite interested in seeing if any of this weird flora could be harvested), Rogue One was keeping a careful watch on their 6, Bone Apes could and would attack from behind whenever possible. 

Skitter's sensors went into overdrive, something big was moving in the large cave up ahead, actually a lot of somethings...Heath's cybernetic eye, picked it up as well.

Gigantic Cave Crustaceans were battling it out with Giant Cave Mollusks!  Could the squad find a safe way through this critter war?...backtracking would cost them a lot of valuable time? There were too many of these things to fight right?... 

To be continued...