Denizens of the Blood Sands

 

     This is a fairly recent Kickstarter I backed, by Jeffrey Jones (he also does the Gary's Appendix books). I just got the final? PDF for it yesterday and I have to say I am blown away! It reminds me of the OLD Planet Algol blog, in a great way, I want to run/play this now. This is exactly what I have been looking for!  It uses Old School Essentials for its chassis (one of my FAVORITE OSR editions), had the art, all done by the same artist (NO AI), it fantastic!  I love Post Apocalyptic stuff AND Fantasy! Original Gamma World was my jam! And this delivers in gold!  This is the first product in what is supposed to be more.  Its a bestiary, and what a cool bestiary it is! Not just stat blocks but stuff a DM can use to inspire creative encounters. My only complaint is I want MORE NOW!! LOL

     I just ended a 5E campaign, which will be my last 5E campaign, at least for the immediate future. I also backed Kevin Crawford's Ashes Without Number, its more gritty, less fantasy than this, but I can see using the monsters from Blood Sands in Ashes or using the tables in Ashes to supplement this, at least until more content for Blood Sands is released.  

     If you like Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, mixed Gamma World with AD&D back in the day, and love Science Fantasy! You need to pick this up when it is available to the general public!  

Good Gaming -B.B. 

Sword & Planet OSR

 Gamer Greetings,

 Been a bit since I posted.  Been busy with work although we have still been playing our D&D Campaign. 

In a recent chat with an online friend, I came to an interesting realization. While being a longtime fan of the Sword & Planet Genre. I have never run a Sword & Planet campaign. I loved reading Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom books as a kid.  The Michael Whelan covers from back then just really resonated with me. Just look at some of these! 

And the fact that Barsoom has massive four-armed White Apes was just icing on the cake! 

I did some looking around and found there are some great OSR resources for Sword & Planet gaming, I knew about some, but others were a fun surprise.  I picked up some, pictured below. 

Look at that pile of Coolness!  The Marvel TPB is a comic I picked up in the discount bin at the local comic shop, more inspiration fodder for a campaign!  There are a couple of WotRP adventures out as well, that I need to pick up.  Now to find the time to run some Sword & Planet fun!  Oh, and this got me reminiscing about the old Planet Algol blog. I'd love to run something like Planet Algol.  Not sure when I will get a chance to run something like this, but I think it would be nice to do for a bit of change of pace.  Fighting Orcs and other monsters is fun, but I think some adventures in the Sword & Planet genre would be a blast!  

I miss Planet Algol!

     I know a lot of cool blogs are out there that aren't updated anymore, one blog that is still out there but hasn't been updated in almost a year is Planet Algol.  In particular I love Blair's posts on his Planet Algol Campaign Setting, WOW just WOW, there was talk of it being published at one point, he even teased some of the art (all of it looked great!!), but nothing has been said about that in ages. *Sigh*  I would love to play in such a Campaign.  Very cool Weird Sci-Fantasy Kinda Gonzo Fun! I was thinking the rules from Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea would work nicely with this setting.  Instead of Vikings, Celts, and Kimmerians the players could be Nire Witches, Vlesh Men, Bone Men and heck it even has its own version of Hyperboreans! See there is a connection!!
 : )  Hmmm...maybe I need to try to run a game of this! 

Something with Gunz!

     My darned Gamer ADD is kicking in again.  I'm currently running a "traditional" fantasy Castles & Crusades game on alternating Sundays (which has been alot of fun!) but lately I've had a hankering to run something different.  Yesterday's post   made me want to do this even more!  Something with magic, tech, different races...and most of all...Something with Guns!...
Heck I think that might be my working title for the Campaign/game.  "Something with Gunz!" LOL.
     I ever so briefly looked through some Rifts stuff...shudder...sorry but I just don't have the patience for hour(s) long character generation anymore, not to mention the combat, the system ..ok stopping that rant now. Onward with the topic/purpose of this post.
 Taking inspiration from yesterday's post, the premise of the players being mercs working for a Faustian organization looting other worlds and dimensions for arcane relics and tech just really appeals to me.  Course I need to narrow down the mechanic... yeah something OSR = "Oh Sh*t Run!" based, but wow there's a whole world of options out there for Old Grognards like me to use now.  Yesterday I was leaning towards the really fun X-plorers RPG but BlUsKrEEm has me rethinking this...Darn you BlUsKrEEm! ; )
X-plorers may not be gritty enough for my purposes...
Terminal Space has an awesome simple approach...just tacking on some basic tech stuff to good old D&D and it would readily allow me to plug in magic based characters. But I'm still trying to decide.  Blair has the awesome Planet Algol campaign based off of "regular" AD&D. I'm a big fan of Labyrinth Lord but I prefer Ascending AC....and don't really care for race as class...
 Hmmmm, I don't really see the need to make this a heavily skill based game, combat will be rough so no reason to have the players spend alot of time rolling up replacement characters...heh heh heh..
This could be done as one shots, go through the portal grab the stuff and bail! or a campaign or even a string of one shots tied together with the same background...."Everyone remember what happened to Skelter Squad not to mention the Crimson Cadre?!"  The hardened mercs all gave a shudder at the memory of the TPK's err the massacres at the Rim of Hell.
Hmmm...well no rush on deciding the mechanic just yet.  I've got time to think about this one some more. And with my notorious Gamer ADD I'm sure I'll change my mind a few times before settling on something.
Meanwhile after finding the issue of Warheads I went on to find a free online strip set in the same setting. It's called Loose Cannons.

It's an all female team and you can read the issues here! I really like the character Sister Sphynx!

I see her being some sort of Cleric worshipping the Egyptian Pantheon with some psionic abilities!   Oh yeah!  Once I finalize the system I'll get her stat'd up for sure.  You know Carcosa has a great Psionics system that would be perfect for....hmmmm....well off to do some reading.
Have a great evening and thanks for reading my ramblings.
-B.

Power Slave Army

Just spotted these new minis from Foundry:

Which made me think of this:

The Sword- Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzepheryians

Here's a cool video for your Post Apocalyptic Weird Science Fantasy Campaigns!!

Save me from The Weed!!

How's that for a title that made you think of something else?!  I'm sure "Weed" had a different connotation back in 1962.
Anyways I haven't posted any critters in awhile and I thought this one would make for a fun write-up. This is primarily worked up for Mutant Future, but with some minor tweaking it would work fine for an unexpected threat in a Labyrinth Lord game.  If I ever get to run Planet Algol, I might could see using this beastie in the Slime Lands also.

The WEED
No. Enc.: 1 (possibly a unique beast)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: Immobile
Armor Class: 8
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: as mutation
Damage: as mutation
Save: L10
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: XIV
Special Abilities/Mutations: Neural Telepathy, Empathy, Fragrance Development, Epidermal Photosynthesis, Full Senses (sight), Possession.

     The Weed is a newly awakened sentient mutant plant with extremely limited mobility. It has a high intelligence and a wide array of mental powers including telepathy. The Weed can overpower others mentally, and force them to do its bidding. The Weed's main vulnerability is that it must be rooted in fertile soil. The Weed considers all of humanity to be nothing more than slaves meant for it to conquer. It hopes to create an army of minions to force its will upon the stupid mammals and beasts that walk the earth. In time it will have a much larger hoard, as well as, servitor minions, but for now it has a limited area of influence. It will consider other intelligent mutant plants, like Brain Plants which it may be related to, a threat to its supremacy and will work to have its minions destroy any and all that they come across.

Adapted from Strange Tales # 94  1962
(please note the stat block above heavily relies on the Brain Plant write up in the MF core rules)

Herculoids AD&D Style!

I recently came across a post by Malcadon linking to a site that has some AD&D conversions for critter from the Herculoids cartoon.  Love that show!
So I thought I'd share the link with you Old School folks that might not be aware of it!
Herculoids: The AD&D Files
Excellent fodder for your Gamma World, Planet Algol, Labyrinth Lord or Mutant Future Campaigns!

B. Portley Esq. from Algol sent me a Carcosa boxset!!!!!

That's right! The mail man was good to me today! No bills...well there were a couple of bills..BUT I am now the proud owner of some Carcosa Boxed Set Coolness!!!  Here's some pictures!!

This is quite awesome!  I am happy to add this to my collection.  I love the digest book format, and seeing some of my favorite classic art pieces from years ago repurposed is waay cool. 
Now off to go do some reading!!
Good Gaming -B

Gruto the Creature from Nowhere!

I seem to be on an old school giant Marvel Monster kick lately. Dave B. was kind enough to send me a link to some more beasties from that bygone era and requested that I work up some more. So I chose Gruto for my next write-up.

Gruto the Creature from Nowhere

No. Enc.: 1 (on his homeworld/plane greater numbers of his species will be found)
Alignment: Lawful
Movement: 120'(40')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 9
Attacks: 1 (slamming fist, he will only use this attack in dire emergencies of self defense or to save another, he abhors physical violence, preferring to use his hi-tech devices to avoid confrontation.)
Damage: 2d8 (fist)
Save: F8
Morale: 8
Hoard C lass: (usually only carries his Paralysis Rod and Hologram Emitter on his person, in his ship all kinds of cool tech can be found, nothing of a harmful offensive nature however, XVIII is a good starting point replace magic items with tech equivalents). 
Special Abilities: He has several hi-tech devices that he can rely upon.
Paralysis Rod – the rod functions as a wand of paralyzation.
Hologram Emitter Crystal – When activated this duplicates the effects of the Mirror Image spell, creating 1d4 duplicates of the user that will last until attacked or 6 turns have passed. It will take 6 more turns for the device to recharge in order to be used again. The Crystal possesses charges like a wand.

     Gruto appears as a 12' tall massively muscled green scaled humanoid. His people are peaceful and good. Long ago they discovered advances in technology (or magic if that's how you roll) that enabled them to better themselves and their society. Gruto was chosen by his people to journey to other worlds and share this knowledge for the betterment of all. Unfortunately his vessel was damaged during transport and he has crashed in the wilderness. During the crash he suffered an injury which has caused him amnesia. Still a good and lawful being he doesn't remember who he is or why he is on this strange world. Locals have seen him and assuming he was a horrible monster reacted in fear. Gruto has fled deeper into the wilds, lost and confused.

Christian did a recent post in his Destination Unknown blog about violence in RPG games, I chose Gruto with that post in mind. This encounter is meant to be all about "not all is as it seems" and players shouldn't base their characters actions solely on appearances. While violence could be used to "stop" Gruto, that is the wrong approach for this encounter. Gruto could be a great potential ally to a party. If they can help restore his memory and help him get back to his crashed ship, he can repair it and would no doubt be grateful and reward the party with some cool stuff. However, if they attack him they have missed a great opportunity. Perhaps some locals spotted Gruto, assumed he was a horrible monster (mutant troll?) and have begged/hired the party to get rid of the beast. To be extra challenging you could even say Gruto's devices give off an aura that inhibit detection spells and such so that Know Alignment and detection magics don't work on him. Gruto is presented as an alien with hi-technology, you may not want to go that route for your Labyrinth Lord games, so simply make him a dimensional traveller who used magic instead of technology.  I wanted to stick close to the original creature as presented in the comics so I kept the tech in.  I plan on using Gruto in that Planet Algol Campaign that I've been wanting to run.  : )

Gruto first appeared in Journey Into Mystery #67, April 1961

I Defied GOMDULLA The Living Pharaoh!

     In doing research for my recent Gorlion post and another upcoming beastie I found a pretty wild (some would say silly) monster. I first came across this beastie many years ago in the pages of Dragon Magazine (oh how I miss the old Dragon mag. coming to my mailbox on a monthly basis *sigh*); anyways the monster was statted up for the Marvel Super Heroes RPG (now called FASERIP I believe). Back then there was no internet and I had a habit of using (scavenging) everything I could find for my games so I converted it to my AD&D campaign. My players loved it, well until it trounced half the party (very close to a TPK, they assumed it was "just" a giant mummy). I've long since lost those gaming notes, but Labyrinth Lord is so easy to use I decided to convert this monster to that system.

So without further ado I present…

GOMDULLA; the Living Pharaoh

No. Enc.: 1 (Unique?)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90'(30')
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 12+3
Attacks: 1 (fist, or telekinetic attack)
Damage: 6d6 fist, or 3d6 telekinetic boulder attack
Special Attacks: Telekinesis (using a special form of telekinesis he can mentally hurl rocks up to a range of 120' for 3d6 damage, he can also use this ability against living creatures but they are entitled to a save).
Save: F12
Morale: 12
Hoard Class : XVIII +5,000 gp, also if your campaign allows for ancient tech items, this is a great place to put them!!
Special Abilities: unaffected by Sleep, Charm, or Hold spells. May only be harmed by magical weapons, spells, and fire based attacks (energy weapons dull full damage!). Levitation 3x per day as the spell.

Optional : Gomdulla does have a weakness, in addition to being rather slow moving, on one of his feet, hidden deep beneath the layers of bandages is a small stud, which if pressed will render him immobile and put him in a stasis-like state.

In a forgotten corner of a lost desert lies a ruined ziggurat, somewhere deep inside an ancient evil slumbers…

     There is much speculation as to what exactly Gomdulla is. It appears to be a 20' tall giant humanoid wrapped in ancient wrappings like a mummy. Legends say Gomdulla came from another world and found the air of this world burned his skin, so he wrapped himself in special wrappings to protect himself. While he has some of the immunities of traditional mummies, he does not have their mummy rot attack ability. Nor has he ever been successfully turned by a cleric. Some sages have speculated that Gomdulla is not a living or unliving being at all but is in fact a construct (Robot) from another world sent here to conquer. Others have called him a mutant noting his abilities of telekinesis and levitation ,as well as, his size and the fact that he has only three fingers and a thumb on his right hand yet has four fingers and a thumb on his left hand.
Have fun with this one! If I get to run a Planet Algol Campaign I may just have to use this guy.  Maybe the party is in dire need of some Radiation Crystals or other hi-tech treasures, sounds like they need to seek out The Ziggurat of Gomdulla! Also I haven't done the stats, but Gomdulla would fit in just fine in an Encounter Critical game. Course you could just make him a giant mummy for your regular fantasy games, but I like to insert the unexpected and unusual in my games.
Good Gaming! -B
 
Gomdulla is copyright Marvel Comics and first appeared in Journey into Mystery I#61/1 (October, 1960).

4/12/10 Update     I found another cool picture of Gomdulla (or at least his precursor)

Simian Saturday: Gorlion

Well its Simian Saturday once again, Thanks for all the great comments on the War Chimps I did last Saturday. I figure you can never have enough Ape-based beasties to choose from for your gaming fun, so being a big Jack Kirby fan, I worked this one up for your party slaying pleasure!
The Gorlion; one time foe (ever so briefly) of Dr. Druid.

Gorlion
No. Enc.: 1 (1d6 rarely)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 150'/50' (+ can Leap for 30')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 6
Attacks: 3 (Claw/Claw/Bite)
Damage: 1d4/1d4/1d8
Special Attacks: Rending (if the gorlion strikes its opponent with both hands the beast does an additional 1d8 points of rending damage)
Save : F4
Morale : 9
Hoard Class : Usually have no personal treasure but are often guarding the treasure and lairs of other more powerful beings (especially sorcerers). If guarding another creature's treasure use appropriate Hoard Class for that creature.
Special Abilities: Keen senses (surprised only on a 1), Leaping attack (if there is enough room can leap for 30'), Rending attack (see above).

The Gorlion is part ape, part lion. Whether these are sorcerous hybrids (like Owlbears, etc.), otherworldly beasts or mutant monsters is unknown. What is known is that they are fearsome foes and exhibit an uncanny cunning not normally found in such savage beasts.

     I can see several uses for these beasts, first off they'd make for a cool guardian beast in a sorcerer's lair, sure it's a repeated theme, but it works, plus the party might not be totally surprised by an Ape guardian, but one that is a mixture of ape and lion now there's a surprise. Add in their fast movement and leap attack that will quickly nullify the party's ranged attacks and you've got a group of adventurers in potential trouble quickly, especially if the Gorlion makes some good to hit and damage rolls (claw,claw,bite …REND!). They could be used in this way in "regular" fantasy RPG's (Labyrinth Lord), or other OSR games, Planet Algol etc. You could also do the Gorlions as mutant beasts in your Mutant Future Campaigns, maybe a whole pack of them to make things interesting.

Simian Saturday: War Chimps

As some of you who have been reading my blog may know I'm a big fan of the Planet Algol blog.  So today's Simian Saturday is sort of a shout out to that cool setting with a little beastie of my own.  Hope Blair doesn't mind me putting my own little spin on his uber cool setting.
So without  further ado I present the War Chimps.

War Chimps
# Appearing: 3-12, Armor Class: 5
Move: 12", Climb 6", Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: bite (1d4) or by weapon (typically spears, swords, daggers)
Intelligence: Average to Very, Alignment: Neutral evil
Size: Medium
     Standing about 3' tall, War Chimps are stocky ill-tempered chimp-men who use weapons and light armor. War chimps are believed to have originated from somewhere in the Jungles of Venom. Apparently in the distant past an unnamed sorcerer brought several specimens of chimp back with him to the Iridium Plateau to serve as guardians and soldiers for his stronghold. The sorcerer worked magic to enhance the intelligence and abilities of these beasts and over time the War Chimps increased in number and developed greater intelligence, learning how to effectively make and use human weapons and light armor. However, they also learned human greed and that combined with their own natural savagery led them to turn on their master. They slew him, looted his stronghold and struck out on their own. Although rare, they can be encountered in scattered areas in and around the Iridium Plateau, sometimes working as mercenaries, sometimes raiders, oftentimes both. Few reasonable folk will hire them as soldiers, due to their unpredictability and savagery; they are not opposed to dining on their fallen foes if food is scarce.

I kept their stat block fairly basic so you can use them with whatever OSR mechanic you like. 
When I found this picture on this old Creepy Magazine I just knew I had to work these beasties up for Planet Algol.

Planet Algol meets Barbarians of Lemuria

 One of my favorite blogs is Planet Algol I know this has been posted about elsewhere, but I've recently been reading a blog; Bite the Bulette that is running a Planet Algol Campaign and using the Barbarians of Lemuria rules (my copy of BoL should arrive any day now).  Bite the Bulette also has an extra helping of Encounter Critical tossed in, which to me is an added bonus. This makes me even more anxious to check out BoL.  Seems like quite a versatile system.