Commercial

Shameless Self Promotion

/ jstater / 2 Comments

I don’t normally do this, but I have three new books out and about at the moment, so a little self promotion seems appropriate. Tomorrow I’ll find some time to do that G.I. Joe post I mentioned last week.

NOD 32

NOD 32 features a new hex crawl that is right next door to the Nomo crawl from last issue. Nomo was a falling empire, but in Kisthenes the whole world might be going straight to Hell … or Chaos. The nomads have conquered the great city of Ishkabibel and are now using its wealth and power not only to conquer the rest of Kisthenes, but to bring Tiamat (yeah, that Tiamat) into the material world from the Chaos beyond reality. Worse yet, the other cities of the plain are joining in, abandoning the old gods and gestating their own super-beasts to go toe to toe with the Queen of Chaos.

Other features include:

A new class that is fitting for this issue, the Prophet is a different kind of divine spellcaster, one who is bringing the news of a new deity into the world and trying to found a kingdom in that deity’s name.

The gods and goddesses of Mesopotamia

Rules for running circus campaigns in GRIT & VIGOR

And some notions on how (and why) to make monsters interesting for players as well as their characters

$3.99 PDF at Lulu.com

$3.99 PDF at rpgnow.com

Pen & Paper Football

Pen & Paper Football is football without the commercials, endless merchandizing and prison sentences. A few dice and some paper is all you need to simulate an American football game. Just find some friends (or play solo), roll up some teams and pit them against each other in League Play, which requires eight simple dice rolls to play a game, or in Head-to-Head play, which simulates a game play-by-play.

P&PF has all the rules you need to play a whole season of football, with rules for passing, running, kicking, penalties, injuries and even off-season rules for team development. There are dozens of sample teams you can use and handy record sheets for teams, leagues and games.

$1.99 PDF at Lulu.com

$1.99 PDF at rpgnow.com

NOD 31

I finally have the paperback version of this issue of NOD up for sale at Lulu.com. Here’s the description:

NOD magazine begins its fabulous eighth year with a full hex crawl covering the crumbling empire of Nomo, a Romanesque city that has lost its emperor. As the empire slowly falls, opportunity for adventures abound. The hex crawl includes three mini-dungeons and hundreds of places to visit.

Other features include:

Two old school classes, the Centurion and Dervish, as well as ideas for anti-classes designed to foil fighters, magic-users and thieves.

Rules for playing poker in GRIT & VIGOR, as well as a gambler sub-class

A host of new “eye monsters” for Blood & Treasure and other OSR games

Plus some ideas on votive orders and on introducing the most horrific concept into fantasy gaming ever conceived … Taxes!

$7.99 Paperback at Lulu.com

Blood & Treasure Going Hard (Cover)

/ jstater / 12 Comments

Hey boys and girls, I finally have the Blood & Treasure 2nd Edition Rulebook up for sale as a hard cover book! The book runs $24.99, and as always if you buy the hard cover book and email me with your Lulu receipt and I’ll send you a link for the PDF.

My next steps are as follows:

* Get Blood & Treasure 2nd Edition Monster book up for sale as a PDF (this week)

* Get Blood & Treasure 2nd Edition Rulebook up for sale as a paperback (next week)

* Get NOD 30 up for sale as a PDF (next week)

* Get Blood & Treasure 2nd Edition Monster book up for sale as a hard cover and paperback (two to three weeks from now)

* Get NOD 30 up for sale as a paperback (two to three weeks from now)

Then I get the chance to work on some mini-games and figure out how to do a B&T TK Screen!

And now, since you’ve suffered through the commercial, here are a couple spells to play with:

Footfalls (Divination)
Level: Cleric 1, Magic-User 2
Range: 300 feet
Duration: 1 round per level

This spell permits the caster to hear all movement on the ground within 300 feet, even if that ground is separated from the caster by thick walls, etc. The caster knows the general direction of the footfalls, the size of what is moving and the general number (single creature, small group, large group, etc.)

Wildfire (Transmutation)
Level: Magic-user 5
Range: 30 feet
Duration: See below

This spell turns a fire or portion of fire (campfire size minimum) into a swarm of tiny fire elementals who run wild and cause as much havoc as they can before they’re destroyed. The swarm has the following statistics:

Wildfire Swarm (Tiny Elemental): HD 4; AC 14 [+1]; ATK Swarm (1d4 fire); MV 30 feet; SV 15; INT Low; AL N; NA 1; XP/CL 1,200/6; SP-Immunity (fire), vulnerable to cold.

The swarm moves and attacks as a single creature. It covers a 10′ x 10′ area, with all creatures in that area suffering an attack from the creature, and all inflammable items in the area forced to make an item saving throw or catch fire.

Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes – First to Second Edition

/ jstater / 9 Comments

I have a few minutes today, so I want to get a post out on the changes from the first to the second edition of Blood & Treasure. I won’t swear that this is exhaustive, but it’s pretty close to it.

Messed with multi-classing a little on races, tried to relate them a bit more closely to their original incarnations

Classes each have their own XP chart now, and some were re-calibrated

Assassins don’t cast spells anymore, but can cast spells from scrolls at high levels

Got rid of bard, paladin and ranger spell lists – they now cast off the magic-user, cleric and druid lists respectively

Added some abilities to classes around 6th level to make the game a bit more distinctive and to hit some fantasy tropes missing in the original:

Assassins can brew their own poisons

Bards can carouse their way to valuable rumors … but may end up in the stocks or making enemies

Clerics can temporarily convert sentient creatures to their own alignment – not always easy, and doesn’t necessarily last long, but I thought it might be a fun non-combat way to get through encounters

Druids can harness greater bits of power by sacrificing the despoilers of the natural world

Fighters can subdue monsters and use them as mounts (as in every cool 70s rock album cover and van art ever produced)

Magic-users get access to little bits of arcane knowledge, ranging from something as simple as making phosphorous to making hot air balloons or understanding the healing arts

Paladins gain chivalric badges that give them access to royal and ecclesiastic courts and tournaments (a minor bonus, but the paladin already has some pretty cool abilities)

Rangers can pick up a loyal hunting beast (again, inspired by many pieces of fantasy art – particularly this one

Thieves can assemble teams of rogues for capers – bypasses the normal henchman rules … but can the thief trust these guys?

Changed the way a fighter’s multiple attacks worked, since lots of folks thought it was too powerful; also beefed up the barbarian a bit, as well as the sorcerer (see below)

Got rid of the basic/advanced/expanded concept to make B&T more its own game than a reference to old games, but I did keep the idea of basic and advanced spells; to learn or prepare advanced spells classes have to make a quick roll under their Int or Wis minus the spell level; specialists get free access to certain advanced spells, but treat others as though they were a higher level

Made some big changes to the sorcerer to keep it from being just a variant magic-user – they can now sense magic and do impromptu casting of spells they don’t know (with dire circumstances for failure); they might also choose bloodlines, and might be related to other magical creatures (got this idea from Bewitched I’m proud to say)

Changed some of the class variants, added a few – the monk has a ninja and ronin variant for example

Tweaked the equipment charts – more weapons because I like cool weapon names, got rid of some 3E alchemy I never liked

Worked on the adept spell list to better reflect its origins

Tried to streamline rules wherever I could; fixed errors in time and movement, changed reaction rolls a bit (simpler, based on alignment), made task checks easier (roll 1d20, 18 or over to succeed, add bonuses, add level if “skilled”)

Changed saving throws so that it’s now just one number, but you get a bonus to save vs. stuff that takes your character out of play (death, paralyzation, polymorph), magic from magic items (wands, etc.) and spellcasters get a bonus vs. spells – so a little like the old D&D saving throw categories, but streamlined

Different disease system – I think better – focused on the effects and overcoming them

Added a table of the mass of different materials – helps when adventurers want to pick up a golden idol and carry out of a dungeon and you need to figure out how heavy it is

Got rid of a few spells (not many) and streamlined the rest when possible; I also got rid of 0-level spells, bumping them up to 1st level (sometimes with modification) – I never liked the 0-level thing

Redid the treasure tables (I’m still not satisfied completely – I think I’ll add some alternate scheme in Esoterica Exhumed)

Streamlined the magic items, especially weapons and armor, and added some items that might be familiar from movies and cartoons; also added some sci-fi items as optional magic items for those who enjoy that – includes a mutation chart (for the mutagen capsules)

The appendices cover inspirations, conversions (other systems, and notes like these for 1st to 2nd edition, though not super extensive), a couple additional “specialty mages” to show how one can devise their own lists of advanced spells, did some racial classes for folks who like them, made a list of all the spell components and foci for quick reference, and then made a quick reference chart of common dice rolls in the game

That’s all that comes immediately to mind. I’m working diligently on the Monsters book now. Stay tuned, true believers!

Blood and Treasure 2nd Edition Rulebook is Released!

/ jstater / 12 Comments

Just a quick one today, boys and girls – the Blood & Treasure 2nd Edition Rulebook is up for sale as a PDF on RPGNow.com and Lulu.com. $9.99. I’ll get the hard cover and paperback version up ASAP – just need to get a review copy first.

This is a combination of player’s book and referee’s book, with all the classes, races, spells, rules, magic items and info on making dungeons, wilderness, settlements and other planes.

The monsters will be in a second book called, appropriately I think, Blood & Treasure 2nd Edition Monsters. I’m shooting for getting that one up for sale in 1 or 2 weeks – there’s some editing to do, and I want to include some mini-dungeons as well.

Anyhow – here’s the ad copy for the Rulebook …

Blood & Treasure is the fantasy role-playing game for people who want to spend less time arguing over rules and more time playing, and the new 2nd Edition continues this tradition.

Compatible with old school games, it strives to be rules lite and options heavy.

You get …

Thirteen character classes, as well as suggested variations on the existing classes

The classic fantasy races

A streamlined and easy optional feats system

Hundreds of spells and magic items – you can run games for years without running out of new things to try

Optional scientific treasures for those who like science-fantasy

Quick and easy rules for exploration, combat, mass combat, naval combat, strongholds and domains and a simple task resolution system

Guidance on designing dungeons, wilderness, settlements and even the cosmos

Suggestions on converting to other old school systems and changes between the first and second edition

Blood & Treasure 2nd Edition is designed to give you years of enjoyment in just two volumes, this book and the forthcoming Blood & Treasure 2nd Edition Monster book, which features over 600 monsters to challenge players.

Blood & Treasure doesn’t want to tell you what kind of fantasy game you should enjoy, it just wants to put all the tools in your hands and let you play YOUR GAME, YOUR WAY

Once the Monster book is finished, I’ll jump into updating the NOD Companion, which will be retitled Esoterica Exhumed (and have a few new bits as well) and the Monster Tome, which will be retitled Monsters II. After that, whew – I’ll rest.

Then I’ll get busy on finishing up the next issue of NOD and writing some shorter books and some blog posts.

NOD 28, Revisions and Goodies

/ jstater / 20 Comments

It’s a bad sign when you start all of your blog posts with “I’m sorry I haven’t posted lately …”. Still, I’ve been a busy boy, so I have a good excuse. Here are my current RPG projects and a glimpse at what I would like to do moving forward, as well as a few RPG odds and ends mixed in to make this more than an advertisement.

NOD 28

First and foremost – I’ve put NOD 28 out for sale today as a PDF! It’s going for $4.99 – 78 pages, with part one of the Trollheim Mountains hex crawl (trolls, pseudo-Russians, elemental folk, a crazed demigod, etc.), a Swiss mercenary character class, new rules for handling disease in RPG’s and a campaign idea for a “World of Atlantis” game drawing from Theosophy’s notion of “root races”. Tons of fun for $4.99. GET IT HERE or HERE.

BLOOD & TREASURE 2nd edition

I’m about 80% complete with editing and laying out the new B&T Player’s Tome, and about 35% complete with the Treasure Keeper’s Tome. The 2nd edition will not be a major departure from the first, but I’ve made some adjustments to saving throw values, XP requirements, I’ve tried to give the sorcerer some personality and make the ranger the cool cat I remember from youth, streamline any rules that could use streamlining, etc. The goal is still RULES LITE – OPTIONS HEAVY. Most of the work I’ve done is concerned with improving the layout and incorporating the first edition errata. I’ve also commissioned new covers from David Williams, which are being colored now. Here’s a sneak peek – half of this image will be the Player’s Tome, the other half will be the TK’s Tome.

 

If anybody has an ingenious old school idea they think would improve fantasy gaming, let me know and I’ll see if I can’t incorporate it into the rules.

QUICK MONSTER: GOATMAN

Goatmen live in hidden valleys, deep within forbidding mountains. Half mad, chaos flows through their veins. When the moon is full, they descend into the lowlands, seeking out people to torment or torture.

Goatman, Medium Monstrous Humanoid: HD 1; AC 16; ATK 1 slam (1d6); MV 30; SV F15 R13 W14; XP 250 (CL3); Special-Auras.

Goatmen cause fear (as the spell) to all within 10′ of them. Each time a person succumbs to this fear, the goatman grows larger, gaining 1 hit dice (and all that goes with it). At 6 HD, they become large creatures and their aura changes to one of madness (save or go temporarily mad). Each person that goes mad causes the goatman to gain another HD. At 12 HD, the goatman becomes huge, and the aura becomes one of death. All within 10′ of the beast must save or die. Each creature that dies increases the goatman’s hit dice by 1. At 18 HD, the goatman explodes into shadow and ceases to exist. The land where he explodes becomes permanently blighted and haunted by the souls of those who died.

 

MYSTERY MEN! Revision

I’m further along with the MM! revision than B&T. The book is laid out, the rules tinkered with, and now I just need to give it a thorough editing. This version will still have the sample Shore City setting and the sample adventure, but will also include several write-ups of heroes and villains.

NEW SPELL: UNWITTING ALLY

Magic-User 2
Range 10′ radius
Duration 1 minute

One enemy helps you despite himself. When this spell is cast, one enemy within 10′ chosen at random must pass a Will save or become your unwitting, unwilling ally. Every move the creature makes has the possibility of helping you. For each action, roll 1d6.

1-2. The creature’s action proceeds as normal.
3-5. The creature’s action proceeds as normal, but has a side effect useful to you.
6. The creature’s action is twisted to your purpose entirely.

Help, in this case, is up to the referee, but would include things like the monster making a move, but also accidentally tripping or running into one his allies, the monster making an attack, but accidentally attacking an ally as well, etc.

BLACK DEATH

The latest Quick and Easy RPG is Black Plague, which really just needs some editing and it’s ready to go. This one is set in the era of Europe’s religious wars (mostly the Hundred Years War), and is intended to be grim and gritty – more survive than thrive. This Q&E is a bit heftier than past editions, due to containing a bit more setting info and some rules for disease and damnation.

QUICK MONSTER: LEAF SWARM

A leaf swarm is a swarm of vicious green insects. They descend on a tree, strip it of leaves, and then take their place. When a creature nears the tree, the leaf swarm strikes, surprising on a roll of 1-4 on 1d6. The monster’s stings cause blindness. The first save a creature fails blurs their vision (-2 to hit and damage), the second failed save blinds them for 1 minute, and the third blinds them permanently.

Leaf Swarm, Tiny Vermin: HD 4; AC 13; ATK 1 swarm (1d3 + special); MV Fly 60; SV F14 R13 W14; XP 400 (CL5); Special-Blindness.

THE FUTURE

What I’d like to start doing next is producing more adventure material for the games I’ve written. No more games for me – just fun, supplemental material.

For GRIT & VIGOR I want to do setting books that cover different eras – the historical events that lend themselves towards adventure, the equipment, the personalities. Each book would also have an adventure for that era. These would be trade paperbacks, probably 40 to 60 pages.

For MYSTERY MEN! I’d like to do some short books of heroes and villains, also accompanied by an adventure or two. They might be themed, or they might just be whatever tickles my fancy. These would maybe run 20 to 30 pages, trade paperback.

For BLOOD & TREASURE I’d like to do some adventures, with a few new monsters, new spells, etc. Again, trade paperback, probably 30 to 40 pages.

I also want to start writing supplements called THE LAND OF NOD that would provide hex crawls, mini-adventures and other setting material. These would probably also be trade paperbacks, maybe in a landscape format. Page count here would probably be around 120 pages. The first step would be to collect and revise the old NOD hex crawls.

I still have a revision of Space Princess and Pars Fortuna slated for the second half of this year, and I have more Bloody Basics I would like to make.

So – that’s what’s on my agenda for 2016. We’ll see how far I get. Hopefully, as the revisions and editing slows down I’ll have more time for blogging. I have tons of ideas that need to be fleshed out, and God willing I’ll start that fleshing process as the year wears on.

Cheers!

THIS JUST IN – GRIT AND VIGOR ON SALE NOW

/ jstater / 6 Comments

Well, it took 5 years of starting, stopping, and starting over again, but GRIT & VIGOR is now real. I put it up for sale last night on Lulu.com and rpgnow.com. So, what is GRIT & VIGOR? I’m glad you asked …

GRIT & VIGOR is the game of bold ventures for rugged fellows. Roll up a character, buy some gear, and get down to business. G&V is rules lite and options heavy. In its 200 pages, you’ll find everything from monsters to machine guns, with advice on running all sorts of modern campaigns, from gentlemanly mysteries to espionage to explorations into the unknown. It also includes a timeline of adventure, covering the years 1880 to 1939, with important events of those years as well a selection of the firearms, cars, planes and military vehicles of those years. Future supplements will expand that coverage back to the Golden Age of Piracy and forward into the far future.

GRIT & VIGOR is compatible with most old school games, including BLOOD & TREASURE.

What do you get for $10.99? I mean, beside my blood, sweat and tears …

  • A system you know and know how to run, that is broadly compatible with BLOOD & TREASURE and pretty much every OSR clone and D&D rules set that popped up before 4E – six ability scores, d20 to attack, etc.

 

  • Lots of classes and sub-classes

 

  • Random character backgrounds instead of fantasy races – roll d% thrice, ladies and gents, and nail down those formative experiences of your misbegotten youth

 

d% Youthful Experience
01 Collected trading cards (Appraise Value knack)
02 Won big game at school (Athletics knack)
03 Escaped from jail (Bend Bars knack)
04 Worked as a volunteer fireman (Break Down Doors knack)
05 Ran with a gang of toughs (Cant knack)
06 Received a chemistry set for birthday (Chemistry knack)
07 Climbed the tallest tree in your neighborhood (Climb Sheer Surfaces knack)
08 Grew up in a city with many immigrants (Communicate knack)
09 Invented a cipher for you and your pals (Crack Code knack)
10 Played with firecrackers (Demolitions knack)
11 Burned the midnight oil studying (Display Knowledge knack)
12 Participated in the amateur theatrics (Don Disguise knack)
13 Got first place in the soapbox derby (Drive Car knack)
14 Built your own crystal radio set (Electronics knack)
15 Rowed crew in school (Endure knack)
16 Escaped from kidnappers (Escape Bonds knack)
17 Received a fine home training (Etiquette knack)
18 Forged parents signatures on report card (Forge Documents knack)
19 Played cards with the boys (Gamble knack)
20 Always had an ear cocked for gossip (Gather Intelligence knack)
21 Ran away and joined the circus (Acrobatics knack)
22 Grew up on a farm (Handle Animals knack)
23 Pulled pranks on Halloween or Guy Fawkes Day (Hide in Shadows knack)
24 Ordered a book on hypnosis from the back of a comic magazine (Hypnotize knack)
25 Fleeced the marks at a sideshow (Influence People knack)
26 Jumped over the creek on a dare (Jump knack)
27 Was a nosy little cuss (Listen at Doors knack)
28 Helped out in the garage (Mechanics knack)
29 Sneaked out for beer and girls (Move Silently knack)
30 Learned from an amateur cracksman (Open Locks knack)
31 Spent time in vaudeville or music halls (Perform knack)
32 Befriended pilots at the aerodrome (Pilot Aircraft knack)
33 Had to help support the family (Practice Vocation knack)
34 Raced a bike down Dead Man’s Hill (Ride Bike knack)
35 Hunted with the lads – Tally Ho! (Ride Mount knack)
36 Worked summers on a boat (Seamanship knack)
37 Spied on the girls at summer camp (Search knack)
38 Spent your afternoons in pool halls (Shoot Billiards knack)
39 Wintered in the mountains (Ski knack)
40 Jumped off a roof using a blanket for a parachute … and survived (Sky Dive knack)
41 Worked the crowds as a pick pocket (Sleight of Hand knack)
42 Explored an abandoned mine (Spelunk knack)
43 Summered in California or Hawaii (Surf knack)
44 Spent a week on a deserted island (Survive Outdoors knack)
45 Raised by the water (Swim knack)
46 Got ventriloquist dummy for birthday (Ventriloquism knack)
47 Learned to hunt from an old scout (Track knack)
48 Took care of little cousins and siblings (Treat Injury knack)
49 Helped an older relation in the shop (Woodworking knack)
50 Caught frogs in the black of night (Blindfight feat)
51 Looked out for the little kids (Bodyguard feat)
52 Never said “uncle” (Diehard feat)
53 Interested in everything, never took a rest (Dilettante feat)
54 Shot at while trespassing (Dodge feat)
55 Learned the sweet science (Expertise feat)
56 Worked as a prize fighter (Exploit Weakness feat)
57 Took up archery (Far Shot feat)
58 Stole home base or racked up the runs (Fast feat)
59 Lived off the land for weeks (Great Fortitude feat)
60 Raised in poverty (Improvise feat)
61 Learned to trust your instincts (Intuition feat)
62 Stood up to the class bully (Iron Will feat)
63 Formed a gang as a kid (Leadership feat)
64 Narrowly escaped death (Lightning Reflexes feat)
65 Kept your head on swivel (Look Smart feat)
66 Studied physics (Modern Archimedes feat)
67 Played lots of football (Nip-Up feat)
68 Hunted rabbits as a kid (Point Blank Shot feat)
69 Felled a bully with one blow (Power Attack feat)
70 Had to learn to fight dirty because you were small for your age (Rough & Tumble feat)
71 Made many daring escapes after stealing apples (Run feat)
72 Always had a big mouth (Taunt feat)
73 Scrapped with the fellas (Toughness feat)
74 Took fencing lessons from an old master (Two-Weapon Fighting feat)
75 Worked on the docks (Workhorse feat)
76 Lots of hard labor (+1 to Strength)
77 Studied advanced mathematics (+1 to Intelligence)
78 Spent time hunting in the wilderness (+1 to Wisdom)
79 Was excellent with a slingshot (+1 to Dexterity)
80 Always ate your vegetables and drank your milk (+1 to Constitution)
81 Had to talk yourself out of many scrapes (+1 to Charisma)
82 Raised a stray pup (gain a dog as a free sidekick)
83 Lived with a gypsy family (+5% chance of psychic powers; See Appendix A)
84 Went abroad for the summer (learn one foreign language)
85 Worked hard, lived simply (double normal starting money)
86 Escaped from a burning house (+2 save vs. fire)
87 Never sick a day in your life (+2 save vs. disease)
88 Kept yourself morally straight (+2 save vs. temptation)
89 Wrestled with the big kids (no penalty when grappling with creatures up to one size larger)
90 Spent the night in a real haunted house (+2 save vs. fear)
91 Stood lookout for friends (only surprised on 1 on 1d8)
92 Worked as cowpuncher (+2 save vs. being trappled)
93 Dove for pearls (hold breath for twice as long as normal)
94 Well versed in the classics (+1 reaction with scholars)
95 No stranger to the saloon (+2 save vs. alcohol)
96 Inherited money (bonus $100 to start game)
97 Studied meditation from a master (+2 save vs. psychic powers and magic spells)
98 Trained to run a marathon (+2 save vs. fatigue)
99 Born under a lucky star (re-roll one failed roll per adventure)
100 Roll again, and take bonus roll

 

  • A simple skill system

 

  • Firearms and vehicles

 

  • Rules for intoxicants and radiation sickness

 

  • Animals, humans and monsters to fight

 

  • Supernatural stuff in the appendices, so you can ignore it or use it as you like

 

  • Advice on working in different genres – Crime, Mystery/Suspense, Kung-fu, War, Sieges, Horror, and Explorations into the Unknown

 

  • A timeline of adventure from 1880 to 1939 – that goes year-by-year presenting major events that might inspire or inform your adventures, and provides stats for firearms and vehicles, such as:

 

1939 The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler introduces Philip Marlowe, Hewlett-Packard founded, Francisco Franco comes to power in Spain, King Faisal II (Iraq), Slovak-Hungarian War ends, Italy invades Albania, New York World’s Fair opens, Batman makes first appearance in comic books, Pan-Am begins transatlantic flights, Tientsin incident, last public guillotining (France), Siam changes name to Thailand, Molotov-Ribbentrop pact signed, first turbojet-powered jet Heinkel He 178 takes maiden flight, Germany invades Poland, World War II begins, u-boots sink SS Athenia, HMS Courageous and HMS Royal Oak, Soviet Union invades Poland, Stewart Menzies appointed head of MI6, Soviet Union invades Finland

Arisaka Type 99 LMG (Japan): CAL 30, DMG 2d4, ROF 150, SHOTS 30 (Magazine), RNG 1320 ft, WT 23 lb

BSA Welrod “Assassin’s Pistol” Silenced Pistol (UK): CAL 35, DMG 1d6, ROF 1, SHOTS 9 (Magazine), RNG 40 ft, WT 3 lb

DS-39 MMG (Russia): CAL 30, DMG 1d10, ROF 200, SHOTS 250 (Belt), RNG 3280 ft, WT 32 lb

MP 40 SMG (Germany): CAL 35, DMG 1d6, ROF 80, SHOTS 32 (Magazine), RNG 330 ft, WT 9 lb

Oerlikon 20mm Autocannon (Switzerland): CAL 79, DMG 5d6, ROF 75, SHOTS 100 (Belt), RNG 3000 ft, WT 150 lb | Anti-aircraft

Pistolet Mitrailleur MAS Modele 38 SMG (France): CAL 22, DMG 1d6, ROF 100, SHOTS 32 (Magazine), RNG 300 ft, WT 6 lb

Type 97 20mm Anti-Tank Rifle (Japan): CAL 79, DMG 3d8, ROF 1, SHOTS 7 (Magazine), RNG 900 ft, WT 114 lb


Bedford OB Bus (UK): Huge Construct, HD 22 (77 hp), AC 14 , SPD 40 mph, ACC 10 mph, MVR -5, CP 1/29, WT 7.2 tons

Bentley Mark V Compact (UK): Large Construct, HD 9 (32 hp), AC 15, SPD 97 mph, ACC 35 mph, MVR +0, CP 1/3, WT 1.2 tons

Chevrolet 1/2 Ton Streamliner “Woody” (USA): Large Construct, HD 10 (35 hp), AC 15, SPD 85 mph, ACC 30 mph, MVR +1, CP 1/7, WT 1.5 tons

Ford DeLuxe Coupe Roadster (USA): Large Construct, HD 9 (32 hp), AC 15, SPD 87 mph, ACC 35 mph, MVR +1, CP 1/1, WT 1.4 tons

Lincoln Continental Full-Size (USA): Large Construct, HD 11 (39 hp), AC 15, SPD 115 mph, ACC 40 mph, MVR -1, CP 1/5, WT 2 tons

Royal Enfield WD/RE Scooter (UK): Medium Construct, HD 1 (4 hp), AC 16, SPD 45 mph, ACC 10 mph, MVR +1, CP 1/0, WT 130 lb

Fiat M11/39 Tank (Italy): Huge Construct, HD 30 (105 hp), AC 16 (Steel 1), SPD 20 mph, ACC 4 mph, MVR -4, ATK 1 x 37mm gun, and 2 x light machine guns, CP 3/0, WT 12.3 tons

Kliment Voroshilov Tank (USSR): Gargantuan Construct, HD 59 (207 hp), AC 18 (Steel 3.5), SPD 22 mph, ACC 4 mph, MVR -4, ATK 1 x 76mm gun, and 4 x light machine guns, CP 5/0, WT 49.6 tons

Panzer IV Tank (Germany): Gargantuan Construct, HD 47 (165 hp), AC 20 (Steel 3.5), SPD 26 mph, ACC 5 mph, MVR -4, ATK 1 x 75mm gun, and 2 x light machine guns, CP 5/0, WT 27.6 tons

Sd.Kfz 250 Armored Car (Germany): Huge Construct, HD 20 (70 hp), AC 16 (Steel 0.5), SPD 47 mph, ACC 10 mph, MVR -4, ATK 2 x light machine guns, CP 2/4, WT 6.4 tons


Boeing 314 Clipper Seaplane (USA): Gargantuan Construct, HD 44 (154 hp), AC 13, SPD 210 mph, MVR +1, CEILING 19k ft, CLIMB 250 fpr, CP 11/74, WT 24.2 tons

Brewster F2A Buffalo (USA): Large Construct, HD 12 (42 hp), AC 20, SPD 321 mph, MVR +5, CEILING 33k ft, CLIMB 410 fpr, CP 1/0, WT 2.4 tons

Junkers Ju 88 Bomber (Germany): Huge Construct, HD 18 (63 hp), AC 15, SPD 317 mph, MVR +1, ATK 5 x light machine guns, and bombs (3,100 lb), CEILING 30k ft, CLIMB 130 fpr, CP 4/0, WT 5 tons

Lisunov Li-2 Bomber (USSR): Huge Construct, HD 25 (88 hp), AC 14, SPD 186 mph, MVR +0, ATK 3 x light machine guns, 1 x heavy machine gun, and bombs (4,400 lb), CEILING 25k ft, CLIMB 200 fpr, CP 6/24, WT 8.7 tons


Admiral Hipper-class Cruiser (Germany): Gigantic Construct, HD 120 (420 hp), AC 3 (Steel 3), SPD 37 mph, MVR -2, ATK 8 x 8” guns, 12 x 4.1” guns, 12 x 1.5” guns, 8 x medium machine guns, and 6 x 21” torpedo tubes, AIR 3 x Arado Ar 196A-3, CP 1372/0, WT 15,900 tons

MS St. Louis Passenger Liner (Germany): Titanic Construct, HD 130 (455 hp), AC 2, SPD 18 mph, MVR -6, CP unknown/973, WT 16,700 tons | Undertook the unsuccessful “Voyage of the Damned” to deliver people from persecution by the Nazis

Scharnhorst-class Battleship (Germany): Titanic Construct, HD 130 (455 hp), AC 25 (Steel 14), SPD 35 mph, MVR -5, ATK 9 x 280mm guns, 12 x 150mm guns, 14 x 4.1” guns, 16 x 37mm, 10 x 20mm, and 6 x 21” torpedo tubes, AIR 3 x Arado Ar 196A-3, CP 1669/0, WT 32,100 tons

 

In the future, I’m going to produce some supplements that will highlight other time periods, or delve into sci-fi, post-apocalyptic and other kinds of play.

I’m also going to try to make Mystery Men! and Space Princess as broadly compatible as possible with G&V, to give people a nice toolbox to work with.

Give it a chance, if it piques your interest. Print versions will be up for sale in a couple weeks.

$10.99 for a 200 page PDF

LULU

RPGNOW

Until then – stay gritty!

Mystery Men – Out of the Shadows

/ jstater / 13 Comments

Two years ago to this day, I announced that Fat Goblin Games was going to produce a revised version of Mystery Men!, with new art, new layout, etc. To that end, I pulled the existing version off the digital shelves.

Well, 730 days later, the revised Mystery Men! did not materialize. I took a stab at a collaboration, and in this case it didn’t work out. Chalk it up to earned experience (without a 10% XP bonus because of my low Wisdom score).

Fortunately, my contract with those folks is over, and Mystery Men! is back. I have re-instated the original MM!, digital and print, to my spotlight on Lulu.com. As before, the PDF is free, the print version costs $7.99.

You might want to hold off on buying the print version, though, because the next step is the official, long-awaited revision of the game, which will be released in early 2016. I need to get GRIT & VIGOR on sale first, partially because I just need to get it done, and partially because I want to make sure MM! and G&V are generally compatible. Once it is out, I will tweak the revised text I wrote two years ago, work on the layout, and get that sucker up for sale. I’m hoping for January release.

2016 is going to be my year of revisions. Mystery Men! will probably be first. Blood & Treasure will follow, with new covers I commissioned, as well as Pars Fortuna (I was going to make it Blood & Treasure-compatible, but I might make it Bloody Basic compatible, since those games have a similar vibe) and Space Princess (aiming at G&V compatibility for that one as well). In the meantime, I’ll keep publishing NOD and Quick & Easy games, and I’ll begin working on combining old issues of NOD into full-blown hex crawl adventures in their own right, and pulling those old mags off the market to let them become collectors items. I’m also in talks with a friend to design a nice, new Land of Nod website. Should be fun.

So keep your eyes peeled, folks, the mystery men are on their way!

New Monster and New Games!

/ jstater

A couple things today – first, a new monster:

DEAD EYES

Size/Type: Medium Undead
Hit Dice: 5
Armor Class: 16 [Silver]
Attack: 2 claws (1d4)
Movement: 30
Saves: F13 R13 W11
Resistance: Magic 10%
Alignment: Chaotic (CE)Intelligence: Average
No. Appearing: 1
XP: 1,250 (CL 7)

A dead eyes is an undead monster. It looks like a beautiful man or woman with frightening, dead eyes, black as night and absent of the spark of life. The monster lurks in caves or ruins, startling people first from the surprise appearance of a beautiful stranger in the wilderness, and then by the attack that follows.

A dead eyes hates beauty and happiness, and does what it can to destroy it. The monster can attack physically, even though it is semi-insubstantial, but its more potent attack is its gaze. The gaze of a dead eyes causes first physical numbness in the extremities, and then spiritual numbness.

The physical numbness takes the form of halving the character’s movement rate and a cumulative -1 penalty to hit and damage and AC each round, to a maximum of a -3 penalty. The spiritual numbness takes the form of first the crushing despair spell, and the next round the hold monster spell and the third round the loss of 1 level to energy drain per round.

SECOND – TWO NEW GAMES FROM JMS!

 

Swords & Sandals is a quick and easy role playing game based on old-fashioned gladiator and Hercules movies. Set in a fantasy Greco-Roman world, players take on the role of centurions, gladiators and sibyls, striving for gold and glory by fighting monsters and conquering cities. All you need to play is pencil, paper, a few ordinary dice, these rules, a few friends and a free afternoon. 37 pages. PDF … $3.19

 

Manbot Warriors: Remember the great sci-fi cartoons of the 1970’s and 1980’s? Well, Manbot Warriors isn’t one of them … but it could have been. Manbot Warriors is a quick and easy roleplaying game set in a sci-fi universe where heroic manbot warriors defend the peaceful citizens of the galaxy from the evil of the Galactic Core. Easy to learn and easy to play, it requires only a pencil, paper, a few ordinary dice and these rules. 19 pages. PDF … $2.99

I’ll have the print books up for sale soon – just need to get the review copies.

CHECK THEM OUT, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

Mini-Games-O-Rama

/ jstater / 10 Comments

A week or so ago, I started fooling with the idea of a mini-game called Manbot Warriors based on a Saturday morning cartoon show that never existed. I like the idea of a little 6×9 booklet, short and to the point, played only with normal dice (i.e. d6) that people could take on trips or pull out on a rainy day and have fun with. Cost should be minimal – maybe $6 or $7 for a book and a couple bucks for a PDF.

Well, Manbot Warriors is getting some play testing and I already have a first draft being printed at Lulu so I can see how I did on the technical side. I’ve also worked up a rough draft for a Greco-Roman fantasy mini-game called Swords & Sandals – based more on old Hercules and gladiator movies than actual history, of course.

I’m super excited about the idea of inexpensive mini games at the moment, and if I can get the rules right, I should be able to have lots of fun with the concept. In fact, my imagination has been racing. Here are the ideas/titles that I’ve pondered trying to make:

Deviant Decade – 1970’s era role playing on the mean streets – the adventurers are a party of vigilantes, cops and frightened citizens trying to make their way from one point to another in Big City (probably based on New York)

Emergency Rescue – firemen, paramedics, police fighting fires and rescuing people from harm; inspired by plastic firemen I had as a kid and the old Emergency! TV show (which I still watch to this day)

Love & Pain – a soap opera RPG – I think I have a clever way to make it work, but I’m not sure yet

Badmen – Old West – just feels right

Damask & Demimondaines – court intrigue, duels, factions, with lots of silk and snuff and lace and fancy facial hair

All-Out War – inspired by plastic army men; missions behind the line

Grenadiers & Gorgons – Napoleonic fantasy

Vaults of Gold & Sorcery – a modern take on dungeon delving (inspired by some stock art I got online)

King of the Surf – inspired by Endless Summer and 1960’s beach movies – I think this one could be a really fun rainy day game

Hippie Hijinks – inspired by the old Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comics I inherited from a friend (I was always a Fat Freddy’s Cat guy myself) – sneaking into Disneyland, fighting “The Man”, etc.

Goblins & Pagodas – Asian fantasy; got the name from a poetry book in the public domain

Justice For All – A quick and easy superhero game

Teen Mystery Club – inspired by Scooby Doo, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew type of stuff – mostly “catch the fake ghost”

Kaiju vs. Mecha – you play the mecha operator – fight the kaiju in your machine, and try to discover, on foot, it’s secret vulnerability

MegaRuin Explorer Tatakai – dungeon exploring anime style – again, I have some cool stock art, and I want to use it

American Empires 1800 – I think I’ll resurrect this idea as a mini game

Mutant Truckers – Likewise, this would work well in the mini game format

Astronauts & Aliens – I’m thinking a 1960’s, space age game of Astronauts (and Cosmonauts as well, I guess) exploring alien ruins on the moon. The technology would be “of the time”, so no ray guns and such.

Don’t Go In There – Horror RPG – party of normal folks being stalked by a monster or slasher or whatever. Might try to do this one for the next issue of NOD and include it as a mini-game for the Halloween season.

B for Barbarian – I’ll probably change the name, but I wrote this mini-game a year-or-so-ago and will definitely publish it in the 6×9 format.

Pen & Paper Football – Not quite the same, but the rules for the mini-game I published in NOD a few issues back. This is a no-brainer, so it will definitely happen at some point.

I did a poll with five of these on Google+, and Deviant Decade and All-Out War were the most popular (which is cool, since I figured I’d be writing them soon anyways). Let me know which one’s spark your imagination. I’ve also considered doing a combo of easy rules with actual short adventure included, something like the one-page dungeons.

In the meantime, I have GRIT & VIGOR and NOD 27 to finish up.

Remember – if you’d like to submit something to NOD, please contact me – email in the column to the right.

Grit and Vigor … Almost Reality

/ jstater / 3 Comments

Over the past weekend, I finished Grit & Vigor. Okay, 99% of it. Just need to rewrite an intro and do an appendix on how it can interact with Blood & Treasure. My first round of editing is done, though, and I have to say I’m pretty jazzed. When I write these things, I often write (and re-write) them in pieces, somewhat in the way movies are filmed. Reading through it to edit it was the first time I’d really look at it from cover to cover, and overall I was happy for two reasons:

1) I kept getting ideas for adventures and characters while I was reading

2) I kept statting characters in my head, and they made sense with the rules I’d written

G&V has been a pretty long time coming. It started life as Action X, but I never really liked the name and the game, as it stood then essentially a reworking of the Modern SRD into a more rules lite vehicle, had no soul. The shift to Grit & Vigor and “manly adventure stories” helped quite a bit – gave the game some direction and made it more fun for me.

What I thought I would do with this post is give a somewhat extensive “table of contents” for the game, so people could see what it looks like currently. My comments are in brackets. Here goes …

I. Rugged Individualists: Creating Your Character

… Ability Score [the basic six – you know them]
… Character Backgrounds [this replaces “race”, and consists of random rolls on tables to determine the four big moments in your character’s young life, and the feats or knacks or ability bonuses that go along with them]
… Character Classes
… … Fighters [with sub-classes Boxer, Commando, Dragoon, Dreadnought, Duelist, Gunfighter, Man-At-Arms, Ranger, Samurai and Sapper]
… … Brain [with sub-classes Archaeologist, Gentleman Detective and Inventor]
… … Rogue [with sub-classes Assassin, Gentleman, Grifter and Gumshoe]
… … Daredevil [with sub-classes Ace Reporter, Barnstormer, Big Game Hunter, Cowboy, Gearhead, Jungle Lord, Medic, Spaceman and Vigilante]
[The sub-classes are all really just variations of the main class, so they’re pretty simple for the most part and don’t take up much room]
… Feats [more integral to G&V than B&T]
… Character Details
… … Alignment
… … Drives and Hungers
… … Personality and Description
… … Patrons

II. Tools of the Trade: Gear and Gadgets for the Adventurous Man
… [this includes weapons, protective gear, artillery, miscellaneous gear and vehicles]

III. Man Versus: Overcoming Challenges and Providing Sound Thrashings
… [the basic rules of play, including rules for intoxicants and radiation]
… Tasks
… … Charisma: Cant, Communicate, Don Disguise, Etiquette, Gather Intelligence, Handle Animal, Hypnotize, Influence People, Perform, Throw Voice
… … Constitution: Endure
… … Dexterity: Drive Car, Escape Bonds, Gymnastics, Hide in Shadows, Move Silently, Open Lock, Pilot Aircraft, Ride Bike, Ride Mount, Shoot Billiards, Ski, Sky Dive, Sleight of Hand, Surf, Woodworking
… … Intelligence: Appraise Value, Bomb Target, Chemistry, Crack Code, Demolitions, Display Knowledge, Electronics, Forge Document, Gunnery, Mechanics, Practice Vocation, Survive Outdoors, Treat Injury
… … Strength: Athletics, Bend Bars & Lift Gates, Break Down Doors, Climb Sheer Surfaces, Jump, Swim
… … Wisdom: Gamble, Listen at Doors, Prospect, Seafaring, Search, Spelunk, Track
… Combat [includes the special maneuvers Airplane Spin, Bum Rush, Dazzle, Gouge, Ranged Disarm and Ranged Sunder]
… … Zero-Gravity Combat
… Damage & Death [includes rules for “the death scene”]
… Vehicles [I think I have some very simple rules for vehicle combat and chases here – pretty happy with them]

IV. Bold Ventures: Designing Adventures and Campaigns
… Genres: Crime, Espionage, Expeditions into the Unknown, Horror, Kung-Fu, Mystery & Suspense, Siege, War
… Timeline of Adventure: this covers the decades from 1880 to 1929, with notes on the overall happenings of the decade, fashion, adventure ideas, the price of gold and silver and then a year-by-year timeline of events that lend themselves to the game (wars, robberies, expeditions, discoveries, inventions) and stats for weapons and vehicles (and other things) introduced in that year, and some NPC stats worked in (see example to left)

V. Men & Monsters: Fearsome Foes to Fight and Conquer
… [the typical monster section, with an emphasis on animals and humans, but some cryptids and science-fantasy stuff thrown in as well]

Appendix A: The Supernatural
… [the book includes mentions of the supernatural throughout, especially in the Men & Monsters section, but I decided to separate the supernatural rules from the main rules in this appendix so people would understand that they are truly optional]
… Psychic Phenomena [rules for the chances a character is psychic, and list and description of psychic powers]
… Supernatural Sub-Classes [Occultist, Psychic and Vampire Hunter – all sub-classes of the Brain]

So that’s the book, as it now stands. There’s some more layout work to do, a bit more playtesting to do, and a bit more writing to do. At the moment, it looks good for a Fall release.