Welcome Campers, Time To Die!

Intro and Overview

Camp Blood is the second part of Bloat Games bloody grindhouse trilogy. Like the first, Bloody Appalachia, it's a stand alone game but fully compatible with other SURVIVE THIS!! games. If you've played  any SURVIVE THIS!! game, Camp Blood is a game you know how to play. You have familiar attributes, class, and roll a d20 and add your modifiers.  

Character Creation

Some SURVIVE THIS!! games allow for inhuman and supernatural characters. Characters in a (core) Camp Blood game are human. They are also assumed to be campers and/or counselors in training. I feel this alters the vibe from Bloody Appalachia and almost puts it more in line with Dark Places & Demogorgons. There are several classes to choose from. Most of them are self explanatory but I do feel like pointing out some interesting aspects of a few:

• Athlete 
• Badger Scout
• Camp Archer
• City Kid - because they "keep it real" they have resistance to magic and psionics
• Counselor in Training - there's a lot of variety with this one because you get to pick specialties
• Cryptid Enthusiast 
• Farm Kid 
• Lascivious Teen - regain HP after sex, but also attract the attention of monsters by doing so
• Naturalist - this is the healer class
• Party Animal
• Prankster - this class pulls agro and has the ability to get away
• Snob - Who knew entitlement was a benefit?
• Survivor
• Underdog - this class is cool because it gets reward for failing, this is an awesome idea
• Whiz Kid - this class gain a robot buddy that can upgraded as the level up
• Woodsman

There's definitely overlap with several of these classes, but its still a great selection overall. Again, all of these make a lot of sense in a DP&D game. Skills and equipment are pretty much the same as standard supernatural ST games.

Rules For Play

This section includes standard ST rules. This is the general how to play section. It looks like the one for Bloody Appalachia.

Game Master Section

While there is a specific camp discussed later, there's a cool chart that lets you come up with the type of camp the game will take place at. This can affect character creation. There are also 12 adventure hooks. They are presented like adventure hooks/story seeds in other ST books. There's a nice variety of threats and ideas here. There are some legendary creatures, fey, revenants, and cults. There's also a small bestiary of camp creatures. If you need more, you should check out the Ultimate Edition of the DP&D Cryptid Manual.

Camp Red Ivy (aka Camp Blood) is given some detail. It's layout, information about the surrounding area, and staff are all presented. While you can (and should) add more to the staff and community, there are several npcs with related stats. Additionally campers and counselors at Camp Blood can earn badges, which grant one-time benefits for certain achievements. This is a great and thematic way to reward players. The book ends with several random chart to help GM's flesh out their camp and some recommended viewing. 

Final Thoughts

Camp Blood is a great thematic SURVIVE THIS!! game.  The femme Jason homage by Peter Frain is phenomenal. It goes great with the Bloody Appalachia  and Bloody University (currently on Kickstarter) covers. There are a few really brutal art pieces by Christopher Torres and Phil Stone that fit with the grindhouse vibe of the bloody horror line. However, I feel Camp Blood is more of a stand alone Dark Places & Demogorgons setting book. Don't get me wrong, the game is bloody and dangerous, but with a youth centric focus, it just gives me different vibes. I love the book, it's just a bit more tame than I expected (and there's nothing wrong with that). If DP&D is a kids and younger teen game and Bloody Appalachia is for adults then this one falls somewhere in between. You can play it as safe or dark as you'd like. Whether you want Ernest Goes To Camp or The Burning, you can do it with this book. 

Order your physical copy from the Bloat Games store or grab the pdf on DriveThruRPG

October Horror Challenge - Madman (1981)

Decided to check out an 80's slasher I hadn't scene for Day 21's "Summer Camp" prompt.

Plot

Max, a counselor for a camp of gifted counselors, recites a story about a local serial killer. When one of the teens decides to test the legend he summons the killer, Madman Marz.

Review

Like The Burning, also released in 1981, this flick is based on the legend of Cropsey. However because of the that film, the axe-wielding slasher was renamed Madman Marz. There's really not too much to say about this one. It's a pretty cliché camp slasher with pretty cliché kills. In general the characters don't feel real either. Honestly, I understand these are supposed to be gifted folks, but they are just too philosophical. There are some monologues that are just absurd. The ending isn't very satisfying either. These films often punish characters for their transgressions but the one that started it all survives. 

There are a few things I like about this movie. The idea that Madman Marz is summoned is different. There's a decapitation that's fun. The bus scene is cool, even if it's also kind of silly. Those bits aside, this is just a movie about crazy guy with an axe. I'd only recommend this one if you're a slasher completionist. 

 Your Game 

Madman Marz was human at one point but has become something more. Not really undead, he can be killed, however while in his woods he can be summoned back to the material plane by saying his name in a voice louder than a whisper. This is why I made him an outsider. 

Madman Marz (Outsider)
Armor Class: 14
Hit Dice: 34 (6 HD)
Move: 12
Actions: 2
Attack: Axe (1d8)
Special: Fearless, Toughness +2, shadow step (see below), summoned

Bonuses: +4 to melee attacks, +4 to melee damage, +5 to Athletics: Basic, +5 to Stealth, +5 to Intimidation

Alignment: Evil

Morale: 10

Madness: 7 (12)
Terror: 13

HDE: 3

If he is in dim light or darkness, Madman Marz can teleport to another place of dim light or darkness he can see. If Marz is killed his spirit returns to his home, waiting to be summoned again when his name is said aloud.  

Gear: Axe

Movies Watched: 23

New to Me: 15.66

October Horror Challenge - You Might Be The Killer (2018)

I recently found a DVD copy of 2018's You Might Be The Killer at Big Lots and when I shared it in a wrestling and horror chat I have with friends no one had heard of it. I absolutely love the flick and based on their response I figured it would work for Day 17's prompt 

Plot

Sam (Fran Kranz) is a camp counselor suffering from memory loss and surrounded by corpses. He turns to his horror loving friend, Chuck (Alyson Hannigan), for help and learns that he might be the killer.

Review

I love Kranz. I have sense I first saw him and stoner Marty in The Cabin in the Woods. He plays awkward protagonist well. Alyson Hannigan is fantastic and I've loved her since her Willow Rosenberg days.  Her character Chuck serves as Sam's "guy in the chair." She spends the entire film on the phone working in a comic shop, but is the strategy and lore person. Also, because she is a huge horror fan there are tons of references to other flicks, which is an extra treat for fans. Keith David has a voice cameo. The supporting cast is fun. Steve the Kayak King (Bryan Price) is goofy, but had me laughing.

Beyond the great cast, the flick is fun. There is some gnarly slasher kills and a lot of laughs. Due to the nature of the plot the film isn't told in sequential order. This adds a fun running gag where it present a Dead Counselors count that changes throughout the movie. The count rises and falls during the flick.

Finally I just want to point out the movie's theme, Harlo's You Might Be The Killer is a banger. You can hear a bit of it during the trailer. 

 Your Game 

This one is great fodder for a Camp Blood game (which I still need to review).  Here are stats I came up with back in 2019 for the cursed items.

The Woodcutter's Mask and Blade 

Anyone wearing the mask gains the following bonuses: +3 to melee attacks, +3 to melee damage, and 2d6 hit points (rolled randomly every time the mask is donned). In addition they gain the urge to slaughter. If no one is wearing the mask, it will choose a target and whisper into their mind. They must making a Mental saving throw (with advantage) to avoid the call. If they pick the mask up, the saving throw is made with Disadvantage. Once the mask is donned, it can be removed. However, it will seek to return to it's host. It is possible to avoid the masks call, but it's extremely difficult. If the mask calls to its previous wearer, the individual must make a Mental saving throw every round to avoid it. However after each kill the wear can make a saving throw (without Disadvantage) to remove the mask.  Also once the mask has bonded with someone, any damage done to the mask is done to them. The blade deals 2d6 damage and is considered magical. It can also strike incorporeal targets.

Movies Watched: 18

New to Me: 11.66

October Horror Challenge - The Burning (1981)

I've seen quite a few "Summer Camp" slashers, but until tonight I'd never watched 1981's The Burning. If you want to play your own summer camp horror game, you still have a bit of time to back Bloat Games Camp Blood Kickstarter.

Plot

Several campers play a prank of caretaker, Cropsy, and it goes horribly wrong. He is left badly burned and disfigured. A few years later he heads to another camp to get his revenge.

Review

I'd heard of this one, but never took the time to watch it. The movie came out the same years as Friday the 13th Part 2 and received negative comparisons. I can see why some folks would feel that way, but I feel it still has merit on its own. It doesn't hold back from the gore or the aftermath of said killings. I kind of dig the screen fading to red after the deaths. The villainous Cropsy is based on the Cropsey urban legend. While you don't see him often in the film, he looks thoroughly creepy. The acting and characterization is fine. It's not great, but its your standard slasher stuff. It was kind of odd to see Jason Alexander and Fisher Stevens play older campers. I kept seeing George Costanza and The Plague (yes that's a Hackers reference). 

This one is definitely worth checking out if you are in a throwback slasher mood.

In Your Game 

Cropsy (Humanoid)
Armor Class: 13
Hit Dice: 24 (4 HD)
Move: 12
Actions: 2
Attack: Garden Shears (d6)
Special: Fearless, Toughness +2

Bonuses: +3 to melee attacks, +2 to melee damage, +5 to Athletics: Basic, +5 to Stealth, +5 to Intimidation

Alignment: Evil

Morale: 10

Madness: 7 (12)
Terror: 12

HDE: 2

Gear: Garden Shears 

First Time View: 6

Total Watched (Including Non-Challenge Horror Movies): 26

 

Camp Blood!

Camp Blood is the latest Kickstarter from my fam at Bloat Games. It's a grindhouse style tabletop that uses the SURVIVE THIS!! rules to emulate slashers like Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, Fear Street II: 1978 and others. Characters will play campers and/or counselors trying to survive a deadly camp. 

It is a stand alone game, but also a part o of the "Bloody Horror Universe" of games. That means its totally compatible and goes great with Bloody Appalachia. Like that game it will have companion book. Whereas Bloody Appalachia's Beware the Locals let you play members of the community, These Campers Are Different will let you play campers with abilities beyond the normal (as well as supplement the game as a whole).

I'm really excited about this one. Bloody Appalachia is an amazing book and this one is going to be just as good. I have no doubt. Peter Frain has done an amazing job on the cover and the interior will feature more brutality from Christopher Torres.