TSS #43

Issue #43
March/April 2009
Contents
3
4
6
9
27

Editorial
TSS Returns!
Gloriendls Grimoire
New Spells for D&D Wizards!
Adventures in the Wastelands
16 post apocalypse adventure seeds
Exploitation!
The 70s Exploitation Action RPG
Fiends Foul and Friendly
New Monsters for D&D and GURPS

31
38
43
45
51

Dark Masques
An Historical Scenario for D&D 4E
The Other Side of the Galaxy
Tale of a Jawa Jedi by Jeremiah Griffin
Deerstalkers
Fiction by Dan Lambert
The History of the Stellar Expanse
Part II of a Traveller Setting
Column!
More Stuff for the Column

TSS #43
Submission Guidelines!
TSS is looking for artist and authors interested in contributing to the magazine, both to
expand your publishing portfolio and also for the general enjoyment of being published.
Presently TSS is not a paying gig, but you will receive a free electronic copy of the
magazine in which your work appears, as well as the accolades and admiration of the
readership (in theory). TSS gains one-time publication rights to your work, for the issue
in which it appears; you retain ALL copyrights and ownership to your work, and may
continue to do with it as you wish after publication.
Manuscripts should be submitted in word-readable format (.tx, .rtf, .doc and so forth).
Dont worry about formatting, thats my job. If you have accompanying visuals, please
include them in a hi-res jpg format or similar. If I have any trouble opening them Ill let
you know. If you are using an OGL, SRD, GSL or other license, please include all pertinent
text for inclusion with your article or artwork.
TSS needs fiction, scenarios, and game content of all sorts, as well as reviews and
commentary. Try to avoid blog-like comments.the bloggosphere has that stuff
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on the web (like including some material for use with the game under review, for
example, or a discussion of the publishing history of the game, background on its
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reviews in TSS should offer something more useful than the e-competition.
Send all contributions to: tsseditor@gmail.com and I will let you know I have received
your submission within a day or two. Dont be bashful! This is not (yet) a paying gig, so I
dont expect your work to read like John Ross or Kenneth Hite. If your piece needs some
work or improvement, Ill let you know, but the goal is to get published here, and it
wont happen if you dont send it in! Ed.
Editor:
Contributors:
Artists:

Published by:
Zine Mascot:

Nicholas T. Bergquist
John Diffley, Dan Lambert, Tori Bergquist
Various royalty free pieces. Some artwork copyright 2008 Mark Hughey, used
with permission. Some artwork from the Image Portfolio Louis Porter, Jr.
Design. All Rights Reserved, used with permission. ZGP logo by Simon Tranter.
Zodiac Gods Publishing in conjunction with Lulu.com, and available at
e23.sjgames.com and other online retailers!
Mimi the wonder cat
Published Whenever (in theory)

Produced using Windows Office Professional Word 2007

The Sorcerers Scrolls Issue 42 (October-November 2008) is copyright 2008 by Nicholas Bergquist, all rights reserved. All contents
copyrighted by the individual authors. All contributors to TSS grant the editor and publisher one-time publication rights in the issue
featuring their work, including reprinting rights of said issue.
The Sorcerers Scrolls will feature content which can be used with other role playing systems published by various companies and
individuals. No trademark or copyright infringement is intended, and no content in TSS shall duplicate such content without an
accompanying OGL or GSL agreement in the text of the contribution that specifically allows such. It goes without saying that to use
the content in TSS, you must own (and therefore should go buy!) copies of the specific rule books from the many fine companies that
publish these awesome games!
To contact the editor, please email me at TSSeditor@gmail.com or write to: Zodiac Gods Publishing; 188 Monte Largo Drive NE #4,
Albuquerque, NM 87123.

Published by Zodiac Gods Publishing

TSS #43

Editorial
Issue 43 March/April 2009
By Tori Bergquist
Welcome to the second new issue of The Sorcerers Scrolls! Yes, its technically issue
#43 (and many apologies for those of you who missed issues 1-41 back when it originally
ran from 1985-1990) but thanks to all these fancy new inventions that have popped up
between now and then, it shouldnt be too hard to keep up on the new issues now. TSS
is being presented as both an e-zine and a POD product, and I was very surprised (and
happy) to see that it sells well in both mediums. Nothing like brisk sales to inspire me to
produce the next issue! On the down side, I havent received very many submissions,
although I especially wish to thank John Diffley, Dan Lambert and others for their efforts
at providing content. I am sure if this was a paying medium it might get more attention,
but in order for that to happen I would need to generate many, many more subscribers
(not to mention advertising) before I could pull that stunt off. As it is, the online profits
are about enough to buy some stock art, get some fine logos from the talented Simon
Tranter, and order a couple print copies for my own edification!
I have received a number of great submissions, thank you! Several are featured in this
issue, including more awesome content from Dan Lambert, John Diffley and some
excellent art by Jody Wood. I have been scouring the interweb hither and yon for
copyright or royalty free art, and you shall find more of both within these pages, as well.
Thanks also to Simon Tranter for the beautiful logo for Zodiac Gods Publishing.
To keep the spirit of diversity going, this issue features a wide range of content,
including a batch of reviews focusing on the online RPG PDF market, some great Star
Wars-based fiction, a special feature role playing game by Dan Lambert, more D&D 4th
edition content including spells and monsters, an historical horror adventure designed
for use with Your Preferred RPG, and more.
The next issue may or may not be out in two months. It may take 3 like this one did, or
it may take 6 months or longer. All of this depends upon whether or not people are
interested in contributing material, and whether or not any more interest drums up for
TSS for a more regular schedule. At the current rate, I figure Ill produce a new issue
whenever I have enough content to fill one up, which could take all year for all I know!
But this isnt exactly a race here, and Im not exactly doing this for profit, so I think it will
all work out just fine. Anyway, please write, comment and submit material if you enjoy
TSS, and I would love to hear from you!
--Tori Bergquist
March 19th 2009

TSS #43

Gloreindls Grimoire
New Spells for Dungeons &Dragons 4E Wizards
By John Diffley
Gloreindls Frostfell Blade
Wizard Attack 3
Raising an upturned hand, you whisper a magical phrase and summon a longsword
made of arcane force surrounding razor-sharp slivers of blue ice drawn from the center
of the deepest glaciers of the Frostfell.
Encounter, Summoning, Arcane, Force, Cold
Standard Action Caster only
Target: Caster only

Effect: A longsword appears in the right hand of the caster formed from arcane force
with the blade radiating intense cold and being super sharp fragments of Blue Ice. The
sword resembles the style of Eladrin made longswords, and acts as such, doing damage
as a longsword plus the casters INT bonus in cold damage. The sword will remain in
effect until the end of the encounter, 5 minutes, or may be dispelled at will by the
caster. Additionally, this power works with all cold-based feats, such as Burning
Blizzard. If the caster is proficient in longswords or heavy blades, he/she uses the word
as normal; otherwise the caster suffers from not being proficient with this weapon. The
Frostfell blade counts as a melee weapon for any attack power requirements.

Gloreindls Beam of Rimefire

Wizard Attack
5
Picking out a target, you point your implement at it and send forth a beam of Icy cold
Fire which slams into the target burning and freezing it at the same time.
Daily, Implement, Arcane, Cold, Fire
Standard Action

Ranged 10

Target: 1 target. Increase to 2 targets at level 11 and 3 targets at level 21.

Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex

Hit: 4d4 + Int modifier of Cold and Fire damage. Target is stunned until the end of the
casters next turn.

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Gloreindls Icy Armor

Wizard Attack 3
Gesturing at yourself, your robes or armor begin to radiate cold, dealing damage to
anyone attacking you.
Encounter Cold, Arcane, Implement
Standard Action -

All Opponents in a Burst 1

Sustain Minor
Effect: Your robes or armor are coated with a light frost which does not affect you, but any adjacent
opponent that comes close enough to try and attack you with a melee weapon or touch attack is hit for
1d8 + Int modifier points of cold damage. This spell will remain in effect till the end of the casters next
turn. Enemies who begin their turn in a 1 radius of the caster take the casters Int modifier in cold
damage. The caster may, if he/she wishes sustain this armor as a minor action until the encounter ends.

TSS #43

Adventures in the Wastelands

16 Weird Plot Ideas for your Post-Apocalypse Adventures
By Tori Bergquist
I recently began a weird hard-science meets weird-science post-apocalypse campaign
using GURPS 4th edition, and in the course of brain-storming for weird ideas I rounded up
a few that may (or may not!) be used in the course of that campaign. Presented now for
your enjoyment are a few of those unusual seeds

While traveling through wasted ruins, characters stumble across a colony of

sentient rats which have descended from genetic experiments before the
holocaust.

The players see a distant shooting star that grows ominously large, and
crashed somewhere nearby. On investigating, they find a starship, out of
which emerges a cosmonaut who claims to have been part of an experiment
to test a ship that could travel close to the speed of light. The cosmonauts
ship left Earth orbit in 1970.

The entrance to a hidden vault is found, in which a fabulously wealthy

billionaire from Old Earth, surrounded by very human-like android servants
has whiled away the years, kept unnaturally young by telomerase
resequencing treatments. Recently, he discovered that his auto-docs are
failing, and he need to find the tools and materials necessary to repair his
anti-aging system.

One of the players discovers what appears to be an impressive ebony sword

trapped in a lava flow. After pulling it out, the local survivor villagers proclaim
him a new warlord. Unfortunately, the sword was lodged in the chest plate
of a powerful pre-cataclysmic warbot, which, weapon now removed, begins
to heal up with nano-repair bots before shattering its rocky tomb. Oh, and it
wants its sword back.

A nearby volcano (which may be a smoldering crater from the end times) is
radiating a lethal cloud of spores, which infect local humans and animals with
a silicone-based life form that drives them in to madness and frenzy. The
spores are wafting from a lava tube inside the crater, where the deadly
plants are blooming, having grown up and out after being exposed from the
depths of the earth.

A war satellite is still functioning, zapping targets at random on the planet

below with a powerful particle beam weapon. It is possible to be stopped,
but this involves finding an ancient comm. Station, breaking in past the stillfunctioning robot security units, and shutting it off.

TSS #43

A squad of immortal super-soldiers wanders the wastelands, carrying out a

need for war which was genetically encoded as a biological imperative. They
wander in to the peaceful lands of a survivor community, and attempt to
forge an army out of the weary folk, or destroy them if they wont cooperate.

An alien vessel arrives in orbit and sends a contingent of scientists down to

the surface of the apocalyptic world to investigate. It turns out they are from
Earth, and that the Wasteworld is really a colony that succumbed to civil war
decades ago!

While traveling the across the wasteland, the players stumble across a
humongous relic from the old war, a tripod-like tank left over from the
Martian invasion of Earth.

10

Locals are terrorized by what appear to be immense ravaging dinosaurs

straight out of the cretaceous and beyond. They ask the adventurers to stop
this menace. The trail leads to a ruined laboratory where particle physicists
once worked on creating wormholes. It turns out that the AI which runs the
facility is still quite active, and finished their work, creating a wormhole in
time which leads back in to the distant past. Its trying to perfect a way to
send people through, to test the laws of causality!

11

Sometime during the cataclysm an ancient army of war machines was buried
beneath waves of lava. The basalt later proved to be a valuable mining
source for a local colony of survivors, who were digging for the metallic parts
and pieces entombed within. One of the war machines was otherwise
preserved intact in the quick-cooling lava flow and has awakened! It now
seeks to reconstruct the interred army of its machine brothers, to complete
the job they started

12

A horde of slavering, liquefying mutants that generate voluminous quantities

of highly corrosive vomit are marauding the land and terrorizing the local
citizens. The heroes stumble upon a camp of survivors in an otherwise intact
resort facility from before the end times who are being terrorized by these
slimers.

13

An alien vessel investigating the burnt out shell of Earth has crash landed,
and the alien is on the loose! The alien is masquerading as a mutant, or
perhaps even looks human enough, but some of the more savvy scavengers
in the area have gotten wind of this high tech marvel wandering around and
are trying to find it. The characters might benefit from aiding the creature in
repairing is starship, either for gifts it offers them, or a chance to escape the
Wasteworld. Of course, they could just as easily by the scavengers!

14

Theres a local hermit in the mountains called Big Ben who is a survivor from
the old days, an ageless cyborg soldier who has lived through a hundred
years of struggle and doom. Rumor has it that hes the only one who knows

TSS #43
where the crazy cyber-mutants from the nearby city ruins are coming from,
and the PCs need to convince him to help their little survivor town.

15

Monstrous mutant insects are coming from south of the old border, larger
than skyscrapers and leaving massive swaths of destruction in their wake!
The PCs are not only challenged with protecting their local community, they
have to figure out why the bugs are migrating north, and what could possibly
be so terrifying to these immense mutants that they would flee from?

16

The PCs are investigating rumors of a local mystery, where people are seeing
a strange, supernatural entity that they are calling the mothman. Someone
still has a working DVD player, or one of them curious books about the
mysterious Mothman, so they know this is a supernatural being from before
the end-times, and a small cult is growing up around this being, which people
believe is a harbinger of doom. A local skeptic thinks the mothman is a fake,
and that someone is behind it, maybe even the preacher whos initiating the
new cult growing up around the creature, and he wants the PCs to debunk it
in favor of his techno-church thats losing its congregation! Of course, the
mystery of the mothman could be a fraud, but maybe, just maybe

TSS #43

EXPLOITATION!
The Roleplaying Game of 1970s Grindhouse Cinema
By Dan Lambert

PROLOGUE
Exploitation! is the role playing game of 1970s martial arts and black
exploitation cinema action. Fight your way through the porn industry, get
revenge on an Evil Genius, or score a scam on a drug dealer! Dont let your
enemies Have A Nice Day. Get medieval on their asses by unleashing your
bad mojo on em!!
EXPLOITATION! is a complete roleplaying game, the rules of which are
fully contained in these pages. All you need to play are these rules, pencils,
paper, a standard deck of 52 playing cards, and two six-sided dice. If you
are reading this magazine, you probably do not need a boring lecture on what
a roleplaying game is (Its like Cowboys and Indians but with RULES!)
Once created, the Player Characters (PCs) will face off against, interact
with, and (more often than not) fight characters controlled by the DJ
(Death Jockey, or Gamemaster to you roleplaying veterans).
EXPLOITATION! is designed as a beer and pretzels roleplaying game;
a fun diversion from more rules-heavy systems. EXPLOITATION! uses the
unique 8-TRACK system for creating adventures (see Chapter IV:
ADVENTURES, allowing each player to become the DJ during a session of

TSS #43
play). DJs are encouraged to add to (or subtract from) these rules to
create the desired amount of complexity in their EXPLOITATION! games.

CHAPTER ONE: CHARACTERS

Each player should create a character sheet for his Core Character
(CC, See Chapter IV: ADVENTURES). The player initially has 20 Ability
Points (APs) to divide between his four (4) Abilities, which are: Strength
(ST), Intelligence (IQ), Agility (AG), and Constitution (CON). No Ability may
start out below 3 or above 10. For example, Leroy the Lounge Singer divides
his 20 APs like so: ST: 7, IQ: 3, AG: 4, CON: 6.
Strength measures a characters physical power and muscle tone. Roll
against ST when a character must push the partys Peace Van to safety, or
bend the bars to escape the Roadkill County Jail.
Intelligence measures a Characters thinking and decision-making
abilities. Roll against IQ to devise a convincing story for Roadkill Countys
cops, or mix up a suitable substitute for Grandmas Kannabis Kookies.
Agility measures a Characters manual dexterity and hand-eye
coordination. Roll against AG to pick the Roadkill County Jails lock with your
afro comb, or unhook a bra with your teeth.
Constitution measures a Characters physical health and stamina. Roll
against CON to avoid succumbing to Doctor Naughtys latest torture
technique, or throwing up last nights fondue surprise.
Ability Rolls
An Ability Roll (AR) is made with two (2) dice each time one of a
Characters Abilities is tested. If the Characters Ability score (or lower) is
rolled, the Character succeeds. If a number higher than the Ability score is
rolled, the Character fails. A roll of 2 always succeeds, and a roll of 12
always fails.
Mojo
Each Core Character possesses a number of Mojo Points (MPs) equal to
her IQ and CON scores combined. For example, a Character with an IQ of 8
and a CON of 9 has 17 MPs. Mojo represents a combination of a Characters
luck and self-confidence. It is a trait unique to heroes and powerful villains;
DJ-controlled Henchmen do not possess it (see ADVENTURES). At any time

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during a game, when the DJ announces that an Ability Roll or a Gimmick Roll
(including Attack and Defense Rolls; see GIMMICKS and COMBAT, below) is
called for, the Character who is about to roll may announce that he is using
his Mojo. The Character then assigns any number of MPs (up to and
including his total number of MPs) to temporarily bolster the Ability or
Gimmick being tested. These MPs are immediately lost, and their loss is
recorded on the Characters Record Sheet. A Character may bolster any
ONE Ability or Gimmick FOR THAT ROLL ONLY; the Ability or Gimmick
being tested returns to normal after the roll, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER
THE ROLL WAS SUCCESSFUL. Remember that any Ability Roll or Gimmick
Roll that results in 12 is a failure, no matter how many MPs are expended to
affect the rolls outcome.
Lost MPs are regained only at the conclusion of each Hand of play (see
ADVENTURES, below). When a Characters IQ and CON scores are
improved as a result of Disco Points (see below), his MPs increase
accordingly. When a Characters CON decreases as a result of Combat or
other injury, his MPs are not lost accordingly, but stay at their original level
(although the Character has probably expended many MPs already to avoid
such a CON-draining situation).

CHAPTER TWO: GIMMICKS

Each EXPLOITATION! character possesses one or more Gimmicks, which
represent a combination of skills, personality, and background. Each PC and
DJC begins the game with 50 Gimmick Points (GPs) to allocate towards
Gimmicks. A character may not allocate more than 10 points, or fewer than
2 points, to any one Gimmick.
To use a Gimmick, a Character makes a Gimmick Roll (GR) using two dice.
A GR is carried out exactly like an Ability Roll. If a Character makes his GR,
the Gimmick succeeds. If a Character makes a combat-specific GR (such as
Got a Knife or Martial Art), his Attack proceeds, but his target may
perform a Defense Roll to block or dodge the attack (see COMBAT).
If a Character fails a GR, the Gimmick doesnt work (or the Attack fails).
The DJ is free to penalize the failing Character with humiliating (but not
life-threatening) fumble results. For example, a Character who fails a
Chain GR may temporarily tie herself up with her own chain!

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In the case of most Gimmicks, a Character without the Gimmick may still
attempt to use it by rolling against a particular default Ability, minus one
point. All combat-related Gimmicks default to AG 1 point (any sufficiently
pissed-off domestic engineer can TRY to use Got a Knife to hurl a butcher
knife!) Most other Gimmicks either default to AG 1 or IQ 1 (as specified
in the Gimmicks Description, below). Some Gimmicks have no default: a
character must have the Gimmick to use it. For example, Fro is a defaultless
Gimmick. You cant grow an afro on the spot; you either have one or you
dont!
Under each Gimmick description are playing card listings, for Players and
DJs who wish to randomly assign Gimmicks to their Characters using the
deck of 52 cards.

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Gimmick Descriptions
Bo Staff. You are adept with this 6 hardwood martial arts weapon, as well
as similar two-handed staff weapons. (Ace, 2 of Clubs).
Chain. Like the infamous Japanese schoolgirl/assassin Yo-Yo Gubari, you are
lethal with chains and chain-like weapons such as the Bola and Bullwhip.
(Master of the Flying Guillotine, anyone?) (3, 4 of Clubs).
Con. You are an expert at talking yourself into, or out of, any situation. You
could sell ice cream to Eskimos! You can fast-talk yourself out of a speeding
ticket blindfolded! Defaults to IQ 1. (5, 6 of Clubs).
Disco. You can sing and dance that music that will never die: Disco! On a
successful Disco roll, you will have everyone on the dance floor encircling you
and clapping to the music! Defaults to AG 1. (7, 8 of Clubs).
Fox. You are physically attractive to members of the opposite sex, as well
as so-inclined members of the same sex. In other words, you are a FOX!
Roll against Fox to seduce other characters into surrendering, switching
sides, stripping off their clothes, or anything else the DJ will allow!
Defaults to IQ 1. (9, 10 of Clubs).
Fro. You sport a huge afro hairstyle. In the world of EXPLOITATION!, a
Fro has nothing to do with a characters race or skin color. Roll against Fro
to successfully conceal a knife, shuriken, handgun, or other small object in
your righteous fro! Fro has no default, Sucka! Solid!! (Jack, Queen of
Clubs).
Get High. You are so experienced at using controlled substances that you
can utilize them to temporarily alter your physiology. On a successful Get
High roll, you can DOUBLE your IQ, AG, or ST (your choice) for the duration
of one Ability Roll only. You must make another Get High roll to affect a
subsequent roll. On a failed Get High roll, the specified Ability is HALVED
instead of doubled! (2, 3 of Spades).
Gold Chains. You wear numerous gold chains around your neck. Roll against
Gold Chains to BLIND an opponent in a fight! You get one close or ranged
attack on your opponent, while your opponent is deprived of making a
defense roll. You may blind any given Character only ONCE per fight. (4, 5
of Spades).
Got a Knife. Not only are you an expert with knives, throwing knives, and
shuriken, but you usually have a knife on you when the going gets tough. Not

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only can you use Got a Knife to Attack, but if youre weaponless, you can roll
against Got a Knife to produce a concealed knife that you forgot you had!
(King of Clubs, 6, 7 of Spades).
Handgun. You are an expert with handguns, as well as the smaller and
cheaper Saturday night specials. If you are disarmed, you may make a
separate Handgun roll to discover a concealed, fully-loaded, six-shot,
Saturday night special somewhere on your person (strapped to your leg,
taped to your back; your choice!) (8, 9 of Spades).
Jo Sticks. You can use a pair of short, hardwood sticks for deadly effect.
You may improvise by using similar weapons such as police nightsticks. If you
use only one stick, however, the weapons damage is reduced by two (2)
points. (10, Jack of Spades).
Katana. You are an expert at Kendo, or the art of using the Japanese
Katana (long sword). You are also adept at similar weapons, such as the
broadsword and the sabre. (Queen, King of Spades).
Language. You are adept at one foreign language besides your own. You
must specify which foreign language you know, and you may spend your initial
Gimmick Points to buy any number of foreign languages. Defaults to IQ 1.
(Ace, 2 of Hearts).
Martial Art. Your art might be Karate, Kung Fu, or Judo. Regardless, you
are a deadly fighter with your hands and feet. (3, 4 of Hearts).
Nunchaku. You are an expert with the weapon that nave westerners call
Nunchucks; the flail-like weapon that made Bruce Lee famous: the
Nunchaku! (5, 6 of Hearts).
Packin. You are an expert at concealing weapons. Many weapons, such as
rifles, are usually impossible to conceal on ones person. However, if you
make a successful Packin roll, you CAN conceal such a weapon, until the time
is right to open a can of whup-ass on your foes! Defaults to IQ 1. (7, 8 of
Hearts).
Pimp. The art of profiting from the burgeoning sex industry without being
nabbed by the cops. Make a separate roll for each transaction. You may
wish to team up with a Character possessing Fox and/or Porn; the clients
are waiting! Defaults to IQ 1. (9, 10 of Hearts).
Porn. You are a veteran of the pornography business. You have worked both
in front and behind the camera on numerous super-eight films, and you even

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know a bit about the rumored new technology called the video tape. Make
a Porn roll to successfully complete a blue film or cut a profitable deal!
Defaults to IQ 1. (Jack, Queen of Hearts).
Rifle. You are deadly with rifles, and similar weapons such as shotguns.
(King of Hearts, or Ace of Diamonds).
Roller Derby. You spent a great deal of time either as a roller derby player
or a frequenter of roller discos. You wear a really BOSS pair of skates, and
can out-maneuver your opponents in combat: if you make your Roller Derby
roll, you get TWO attacks per combat round, while everyone else gets only
one! You must roll separately for each Combat Round. (2, 3 of Diamonds).
Scholar. You are educated in a specific subject, whether it is History of
the Bong, Peace Movements Around the World, or something even more
obscure. This is a catch-all Gimmick for Characters who wish to specialize
in a particular subject. Characters must buy separate Scholar Gimmicks for
each subject they wish to study. Defaults to IQ 1. (4, 5, 6 of Diamonds).
Theme Music. You have your own theme music! If you successfully make
your Theme Music roll, you may temporarily use any remaining Mojo Points to
enhance one (1) Ability or Gimmick, WITHOUT permanently losing your MPs!
This effect lasts for THREE MINUTES OF REAL TIME (another player
should be drafted to keep time). (7, 8 of Diamonds).
Undercover. Youre either an undercover cop, or you once worked as an
undercover cop. Use Undercover to do undercover cop things, such as
sampling cocaine without getting high, or calling in the cavalry in the form of
police squad cars! Defaults to IQ 1. (9, 10 of Diamonds).
Vet. You are justifiably proud to be a veteran of the Vietnam Conflict. As
such, you are an expert in military affairs and jungle warfare. Roll against
this Gimmick to (for example) make a successful bamboo trap, or field-strip
an M-16 rifle. (Jack, Queen, or King of Diamonds).
Wakizashi. You are an expert with the one-handed Japanese short sword,
as well as similar weapons (such as the machete). (Joker).

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CHAPTER III: COMBAT
Combat in EXPLOITATION! is divided into Combat Rounds. During each
Round, any Character who wishes to may Attack any other Character,
provided the attacking Characters CON is one or more. Characters using
RANGED WEAPONS (see WEAPONS, below) go first, in order of highest to
lowest AG scores (Characters with equal AG scores roll one die each, high
roller attacking first). Characters using HAND TO HAND WEAPONS then
take turns attacking, again in order of highest to lowest AG scores, until all
Character who wish to have attacked. The process then repeats itself with
a second Combat Round, until the Combat has been resolved.
The attacking Character makes an Attack Roll (AR) against the Gimmick
appropriate to the weapon he is using. The Gimmick for hands and feet is
Martial Art; A Character without Martial Art may still fight bare-handed,
but must roll against AG 1 point to Attack; he also does only 1 die of
damage (see below). If the Attacker does not possess the appropriate
Gimmick, he rolls against his AG score, minus 1 point. If the AR fails, his
attack fails, and the next Attacker down the line in the rounds order of
attack gets a chance to show his stuff.
If the AR succeeds, the Defending Character gets to make a Defense
Roll (DR) to block or dodge the Attack. The DR is made against the
Defenders AG. If the DR is successful, the Attack does only the BARE
MINIMUM amount of Damage to the Defender, minus any penalty for the
Attacker not possessing the appropriate Gimmick (see below). For example,
Leroy the Lounge Singer fires a rifle at Pauley the Pimp, but Pauley
successfully makes his DR. A rifle does 1 die + 2 points of damage (see
WEAPONS, below), and Leroys shot does only bare minimum damage, which
is 3 points. It turns out Leroy doesnt have the Rifle Gimmick, so the
damage is reduced to 2 points. The shot only grazes Pauley, who is angry
about the new hole in his brand-new purple suit!
If the DR fails, this means the Attackers attack succeeds, and he gets
to roll for damage. Damage is determined by the type of weapon the
attacker is using (see WEAPONS, below). If the Attacker does not possess
the appropriate Gimmick to handle the weapon he is using, his Attack does
ONE POINT LESS than the damage rolled. This can result in successful
attacks that do zero points of damage to the Defender. For example, Pauley
has just attacked Leroy with a knife. A knife does 1 die of damage. Pauley

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rolls a 4, but he doesnt have the Got a Knife Gimmick, so he does only 3
points of damage to Lucky Leroy.
Damage from Attacks is subtracted from the Defenders CON Ability
score. A Character whose CON drops to zero or lower (due to being
attacked or through some other hazard) is incapacitated and unable to
participate in Combat. A Character whose CON drops to negative his original
CON score is dead.
Attackers may still wail on an incapacitated Character. Incapacitated
Characters cannot make Defense Rolls or use Mojo, so they make easy
targets. The only real chance for an incapacitated Character is to be
dragged to a safe area to heal. Lost CON points heal at the rate of 1 point
per ten minutes of game time, but this time must be spent peacefully;
bandaged wounds open back up in Combat.
Weapons
Each Character may begin the game with up to four of the weapons listed
below (not counting Hands and Feet). Weapons doing up to 1 die +1 point of
damage are easily concealed; more powerful weapons are considered more
bulky, and require successful Packin GRs to conceal (one per weapon and
potential Combat situation). Because EXPLOITATION! is not a miniatures
game, there is no separate set of rules for ranged weapons; assume that
users of Ranged Weapons may attempt to hit any other target within lineof-sight. The only other advantage to using a Ranged Weapon is you usually
get to attack first in Combat (see COMBAT, above).
In parentheses after many weapon names are other, similar weapons that
use identical game statistics. These similar weapons default to the Gimmick
appropriate to the accompanying weapon outside the parentheses. After
that is listed the level of damage the weapon does.
Under each weapon description are playing card listings, for Players and
DJs who wish to randomly assign weapons to their Characters using the deck
of 52 cards.

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Ranged Weapons

Damage

Handgun (Large Revolver, Automatic Pistol)

1 die

Rifle

(Ace; Any Suit)

1 die + 2 points

(2, 3, 4 of Clubs)
Saturday Night Special (Small Revolver)

1 die 1 point

(5, 6, 7 of Clubs)
Shotgun (Assault Rifle, Submachinegun)

1 die + 1 point

(8, 9, 10 of Clubs)
Shuriken (Throwing Star)

1 die 2 points

(Jack, Queen, King of Clubs)

Throwing Knife (Thrown Hatchet)

1 die

(2, 3, 4 of Spades)
Hand-To-Hand Weapons

Damage

Bo Staff (Pool Cue)

1 die + 2 points

(5, 6, 7 of Spades)
Chain (Bola, Bullwhip)

1 die

(8, 9, 10 of Spades)
Hands and Feet

1 die 1 point

(2, 3, 4 of Diamonds, or Joker)

Jo Sticks (Pair of Billy Clubs)

1 die + 1 point

(Jack, Queen, King of Spades)

Katana (Broadsword, Sabre)

2 dice

(2, 3, 4 of Hearts, or Jack, Queen, King of Diamonds)

Knife (Afro Comb)

1 die

(5, 6, 7 of Hearts, or 8, 9, 10 of Diamonds)

Nunchaku (Nunchucks, Flail)

1 die + 2 points

(8, 9, 10 of Hearts)
Sai (Pair of Daggers)

1 die + 1 point

(Jack, Queen, King of Hearts)

Wakizashi (Machete, Short Sword)

1 die + 2 points

(5, 6, 7 of Diamonds)

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CHAPTER IV: ADVENTURES

The 8-Track System

EXPLOITATION! works best with 3 to 8 players. To begin a game of
EXPLOITATION!, each player sits down and creates and arms her Core
Character (CC) using the rules already presented above. Then, a randomlyselected Player shuffles and cuts the deck of cards (leave the Jokers in)
and deals a hand of eight cards to each Player. The Players must not look at
their hands; they leave the cards face down in front of them. Each player
then turns over the first card in their hand. The Player with the LOWEST
numbered card is drafted to be the DJ for the first Hand! (Aces and
Jokers are wild; a Player may declare them to be any numbered card.) Ties
are resolved by Players turning over the next cards in their hands, until a DJ
is drafted for the first Hand. In each succeeding Hand of play, the duties
of DJ are handed over in a clockwise fashion around the table, until all
Players have had a chance to be DJ once each. Once everyone has been DJ
for a single Hand, that Game of EXPLOITATION! is over!
The DJs Core Character has now become the Adversary; that is, the
villain that the other Players must thwart to successfully complete the
upcoming Hand. This simulates the fact that 1970s exploitation actors
often quickly went from playing heroes in one movie to villains in the next!!
The DJs next task is to create a number of HENCHMEN equal to the
remaining number of other Players at the table. Each Henchman is
identically attributed and armed as the DJs CC, with the difference being
that HENCHMEN DO NOT USE MOJO. These newly-created henchmen
work for, and therefore do the bidding of, the DJs Adversary. If an
Adversary dies during a Hand, the Hand is over, and the current DJ may
never again use that Character. However, one of the Players Henchmen
must now be promoted to Core Character status, and is allowed to be given
and use Mojo Points.
Similarly, a Player whose PC has been killed may promote one of his
Henchmen to take the dead PCs place in the current Hand. This can be
explained in any way the Player chooses; perhaps this is the original PCs longlong brother, who now seeks revenge against the Adversary! A Player who
has not been DJ yet does not possess Henchmen. When his PC is killed, he

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stays dead, and the Player is out of the game itself, not just the current
Hand! (This is an excellent incentive for shy Players to WANT to be DJ!)

The Plot
The other Players now put aside their hands of cards for later use. The
DJ must now generate a Plot, which will serve as the basis for the upcoming
Hands scenario. Much of the detail will, of course, need to be made up on
the fly by the DJ, but the Plot provides a course for him to steer by.
The DJ turns over the next card in his Hand, and consults the table
below to determine the Hands Plot:

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TSS #43

SPADES: Kill Phil. He killed your family, left you for dead, and slapped
your dog! Worse yet, now hes spewing psychological advice on network
television! To quote the old Klingon proverb: Revenge is a dish best served
cold. Revenge is also an ideal seed for EXPLOITATION! adventures. What
the bad guy did to piss off the PCs is up to the DJ.
CLUBS: Evil Genius Must Die! The Government has paid you to infiltrate
the infamous Doctor Naughtys secret island stronghold, and kill him with
your Hands and Feet (no guns allowed!) See Bruce Lees classic film Enter
the Dragon for inspiration.
DIAMONDS: Scam the Dealer! The friendly neighborhood coke dealer
has a million dollars in cash hidden under his floorboards. The PC with the
lowest IQ has devised a FOOLPROOF plan to get it, and it involves filling
five zip-lock bags with baking soda. Never mind the dealers 300-pound
bodyguard and the crocodiles! See Boogie Nights for inspiration.
HEARTS: Scam a Fox (or Gas, Grass, or Ass: Nobody Rides for
Free!) Love and/or lust are perfectly good reasons to embark upon a Hand
of EXPLOITATION!. A PCs friends have agreed to help him elope with his
true love, but they have to get past her shotgun-toting father Or, a PCs
friends have agreed to help him claim the holy grail: the local homecoming
queens panties! If this Adventure seed seems sexist, feel free to switch
genders and go after that football hunk!
ACE (Any Suit): Long Live the Eight-Track! Something has gone
terribly wrong in the recording industry! Have the PCs uncovered a plot to
destroy that bastion of quality pop music, Disco? Has a secret society been
conducting its illegal affairs disguised as a record label? Maybe the PCs are
a Disco band that must storm a greedy record execs office building to
retrieve their stolen master tapes!
JOKER: Flat Tire. This is a great opportunity for a horror-themed
Hand. First, the PCs eight-track tape player broke down on the way to a
huge Skynard concert. Now, the van has broken down in the middle of the

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desert! But wait, theres a house on the horizon! Its boarded-up and
decrepit, but maybe they have a telephone!
The Setting
The DJ must now choose a Setting, where the Plots initial action will take
place. The DJ turns over the next card in his hand, and consults the table
below:

SPADES: Roller Disco Rink.

JOKER: Car Wash.
CLUBS: Dojo.
HEARTS: Porn Movie Set.
ACE (Any Suit): Recording Studio.
DIAMONDS: Disco.

The DJ should now have five (5) cards remaining in his hand. During the
course of this DJs Hand, should he require new Plots and/or Settings, he
may use one or more of his remaining cards to choose them. He may also use
the cards to randomly assign Gimmicks (see GIMMICKS) and/or weapons
(see COMBAT) to his DJ Characters. Once all the cards in his hand are
turned over, the current DJ must choose Plots, Settings, Gimmicks, and
weapons without their help.
The 8-Track System allows EXPLOITATION! Players to forget all that
crap theyre learned about roleplaying games not having winners! After
each Player has had a chance to be the DJ for a single Hand of
EXPLOITATION!, the Players vote, by secret ballot, on which Core
Character survived the evenings game most successfully. A Player may not
vote for his own Character. Dead Core Characters dont count; If a Players
CC has died, and he has no Henchmen to replace the CC, the Player is out of
the game. A Henchman who has been promoted to CC is eligible for the
Vote.
The Player who wins the vote wins the Game. In the event of a tie, all
Players vote again to choose among the tied Characters. Veteran CCs may be
used in future EXPLOITATION! games.

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Disco Points
DPs are the EXPLOITATION! equivalent of what bigger, more boring
RPGs call Experience Points. Each time a PC makes a successful Ability Roll
or Gimmick Roll, the current DJ may decide to award the player a DP. A DP
should be awarded only when the roll is made under suitably dramatic and/or
cinematic circumstances, or the roll results from a particularly clever idea
on the part of the player (Well make a grenade launcher out of a VACUUM
CLEANER!) When a DP is awarded, the DJ will tell the player to make a
check mark next to the Ability or Gimmick he just used. At the end of the
current Hand, the Player may turn in his DPs for points added to the
checked Gimmick and/or Ability, at the rate of 5 DPs to one Gimmick or
Ability Point. Extra DPs may be saved and turned in after future Hands
(never DURING a Hand). The improved Core Character may, of course, come
back later as an Adversary. No Ability or Gimmick may ever be raised above
12 points.

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CHAPTER V: INSPIRATION
The following films (plus one Compact Disc set and one television show)
will provide EXPLOITATION! players and DJs with an endless supply of
Characters and situations to draw inspiration from. This is not an
exhaustive list, but is rather a random sampling of media to get players in a
sufficiently-seventies mood.
Most of these films soundtracks are available on Compact Disc.
EXPLOITATION! DJs should, by all means, use these to create atmosphere
during play. Better yet, a working eight-track tape player provides an ideal
atmosphere for EXPLOITATION! games. Check garage sales and the
Internet!

ABBA Gold (Compact Disc). It is hard to imagine that this Swedish

foursome once outdid the Beatles in record sales, but it is equally hard to
imagine the 1970s without them. I dare you to listen to such ABBA faves as
Dancing Queen or Waterloo, and get their music out of your head any
time soon. (Editors Note: the opinions of Dan on Abba do not reflect those

of the magazine editor, who shudders at the very mention of their name!)

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TSS #43

Boogie Nights. As the much-endowed porn actor Dirk Diggler, Mark

Wahlberg takes us through the twisted 1970s world of director P.T.
Andersons imagination. Inspired performances by gifted supporting actors
such as John C. Reilly (People tell me I look like Han Solo!) make this film
memorable.

Car Wash. A song-and-dance extravaganza, reminding us that enduringlybad 1970s cinema is about much more than murder and mayhem!

Enter the Dragon. This is Bruce Lees finest film, and the quintessential
Evil Genius Must Die! scenario. The nunchaku fight scene is worth the
price of admission.

Foxy Brown. Jackie Brown fans will be surprised to discover that Pam Grier
has apparently not aged one day since her stint as the premier 1970s Fox.

Game of Death. Bruce Lees second best film is worth a look for inspiration
into the devious tricks of 1970s evil geniuses, and bad guy Kareem AbdulJabbar leaving a huge footprint on Bruces chest!

Get Christie Love. As Nice Guy Eddie reminds us in Quentin Tarantinos

Reservoir Dogs, black female detective Christie Love is famous for the
immortal line Youre under arrest, Sugar! Teresa Graves street-smart,
undercover cop helped to pave the way for the strong, black female
characters that we now take for granted.

Grindhouse. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez magnum opus. The

directors pay loving tribute to the 1970s films that inspired this game. In
true grindhouse format, they present the audience with a double-feature,
laced with a myriad of trailers for upcoming films. Rodriguez Planet
Terror is an homage to the best (worst?) of 1970s zombie thrillers.
Tarantinos Death Proof is an ultra-violent, car chase-o-rama (with a bit of
chick flick thrown in), in the tradition of the 1970s film Vanishing Point.

Jackie Brown. Quentin Tarantino brought back such 1970s luminaries as

Pam Grier, Robert Forster, and Sid Haig for this adaptation of the Elmore
Leonard novel, Rum Punch. A stellar cast, and more twists than the limbs of
Bruce Lees latest opponent.

Kill Bill. Quentin Tarantinos two-part film owes more to 1970s martial arts
and black exploitation films than any of his other offerings. From the
cheesy Our Feature Presentation opening title to the soundtracks bleep

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every time the name of Uma Thurmans heroine is uttered, this film is pure
1970s exploitation.

Shaft. Forget Samuel L. Jacksons modernized remake. Check out the

original for a classic of black exploitation cinema.

Street Fighter. There is a reason why Quentin Tarantino cast Sonny Chiba
as a master swordsmith in Kill Bill. Chiba is a legend of 1970s martial arts
cinema, whose films are too often lost in Bruce Lees shadow.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The original is a brilliant slice of 1970s mayhem

by Poltergeist director Tobe Hooper. The remake is a look at how 1970s
mayhem is perceived by a 2003 filmmaker. Both films helped to inspire the
Flat Tire Adventure Seed (see ADVENTURES).

That Seventies Show (Television Series). A watered-down version of what

the 1970s were like, but also a funny, lighthearted look at what your 1970s
characters might do when theyre not kicking ass.

Wonderland. Val Kilmer as porn legend John Holmes takes us on a gritty

tour of the 1970s skin trade. A more authentic version of Boogie Nights.

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Fiends Foul and Friendly

Some new Monsters for Dungeons & Dragons 4E
By Tori Bergquist
The following beasties have appeared before; these are the fourth edition versions of
entities which have appeared previously with stats for Castles & Crusades and Tunnels &
Trolls in other Zodiac Gods Publications. These updates let you add them to your fourth
edition delves!
Kattachi Scorpion Men

world are to secure breeding stock.

They may also seize elves and other
demi -humans, but the hybrid children
of such unions are always degenerate or
deformed in some manner. Still, there
have been wan times when such was a
necessity. Unfortunately, the Kattachi
males are all sterile, so only the females
can mate with outsiders. Likewise, only
the females can shape shift in to a form
which allows them to mate with species
that lack chimeric traits.
Kattachi prefer pole weapons,
scimitars, and shields. They usually wear
lamellar/curbolli armor. All Kattachi
have natural chitinous armor, and a
character with a talent for
armor smithing and tanning could craft
the chitin in to a non-metallic plate mail
which weighs half as much as normal
plate.
Kattachi are usually found in arid,
subterranean realms beneath the
desert. They have a strong presence in
the Hyrkanian Deserts, near the
ashtarth lands of Dahik, and often war
with the dark elves. Both sides like to
take slaves as they can.

Kattachi scorpion men are a degenerate

race created eons ago for the sadistic
whim of
Kathack, the repulsive demon god.
Kathack is the immortal lord of insects,
and in a spiteful conflict lost to time, he
saw fit to impregnate human women
with his own kin, and the birth result
spawned (among other monstrosities)
the Kattachi.
Each Kattachi is a male or female who
is fully
capable of combat from a young age.
They are
trained early on and reach adulthood by
the age of 10-12. Only one Kattachi may
rise to the status of Queen in a given
network, and if the Queen is killed,
another Kattachi woman will
metamorphose to take her place within
a few weeks. Queens are easily
distinguished, as they look like normal
human torsos welded to a fully
ambulatory giant scorpion body,
including pincers; the normal Kattachi
lack pincers, and are about half the size
of the queen.
Kattachi have been cursed by their
god with the need to breed with
humans in order to continue their
species, so most raids with the surface

Kattachi Scorpion Men Lore

Nature DC 15 Kattachi are native to the
Hyrkanian Desert, and dwell in
catacombs beneath the sandy wastes.

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Kattachi Scorpion Men

They are prone to raiding human

communities for slaves and food.
Nature DC 20 The Kattachi revere a
single great queen, to whom they are
unwaveringly dedicated. They have
poisonous stingers which they use in
combat.
Nature DC 25 It is rumored that most
male Kattachi are sterile, and they must
find human and demihuman males to
provide to their queen, so that she may
carry on the species.

Level 8 Brute
Medium Aberrant Humanoid (chaos)
XP 350
Initiative +7 Senses Perception +10; Dark
Vision
HP 107; Bloodied 53
AC 20; Fortitude 22, Reflex 20, Will 19
Resist Cold 5, Fire 5
Speed 6 (8 in the desert)
Scimitar Strike (standard; at-will)
+11 vs AC; 2d8 + 5 damage
Long Bow (standard; at-will)
Ranged 10/20; +11 vs AC; 2d6 + 5 damage
Net Attack (standard; at-will)
Range 8; +11 vs. Reflexes; Effect: target is
immobilized and is at -2 to Reflexes (save ends
both).
Venemous Tail Strike (standard; encounter)
Poison
Reach 2; +11 vs AC; 4d8 + 5 damage and
Ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).
Shape Shifter (Daily; Minor,) arcane, female
Target: Self, females only. Females may
transform in to a medium sized human or elvish
woman. This effect will last 12 hours or until
dismissed. She can not use her tail strike attack
in this form. She gains the following basic attack:
Dagger strike (Standard, at-will;+11 vs. AC;
1D4+5 damage).
Alignment: unaligned
Languages: Kathack (native), Middle Tongue
Skills: Athletics, +14, Endurance +12
Str 20 (+9) Dex 17 (+7) Wis 14 (+6)
Con 17 (+7) Int 12 (+5) Cha 14 (+6)
Equipment: Scimitars, shields and hide armor
(for the human part). They have deep
subterranean slave mines to extract precious
metals and gems from the earth, as they love
such baubles.

Deity Profile: Kathack

Aspect: Insects, chimeras, kattachi
Origin: Ancient chaos god
Kathack is a degenerate mad god of chaos, an
ancient being that is believed to dwell deep
within the bowels of the earth. The Kattachi
worship this mysterious and malevolent deity,
and twice yearly during the solstice and equinox
honor him with sacrifices of slaves and treasure
to immense idols in darkened temples. There
are said to be Kattachi priests who can call up
swarms of insects in the gods name.

Kattachi Scorpion Men Tactics

Kattachi prefer to ambush in numbers,
usually groups of 6-12, during which
they will try to restrain potential slaves
with nets and slay any strong opponents

Kattachi Scorpion Queen

The hub of any Kattachi nest is the
Scorpion Queen, a woman who is gifted
with the ability to transform between
her half scorpion form and a true
human or elvish form, to insure the
propogation of her species, as all
Kattachi males are sterile. There are
usually a few Kattachi women in a
community, all highly regarded for their

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Kattachi Scorpion Queen Lore
Nature DC 25 Scorpion Queens require
normal humans and demihumans to
mate, though how this is done is
unknown.
Nature DC 30 The Scorpion Queens can
shape shift for short periods in to
normal forms. Their species is a chaoscursed race created by the insect god
Kathack.

rarity. They take husbands from the

males, but see human and demihuman
men as their concubines. Some treasure
these concubines like pets, and others
discard or slay them after mating.
Kattachi Scorpion Queen
Level 12 Controller (elite)
Large Aberrant Humanoid (chaos) XP 700
Initiative +9
Senses Perception +21; Dark Vision
HP 244; Bloodied 122
AC 26; Fortitude 26, Reflex 24, Will 24
Saves +2
Resist Cold 10, Fire 10
Speed 6 (8 in desert)
Action Points: 1
Pincer Attack (standard; at-will)
+17 vs AC; 1d8 + 5 damage
Long Bow (standard; at-will)
Ranged 10/20; +17 vs AC; 1d8 + 5 damage
Double Pincer Attack (standard; at-will)
+17 vs AC; 1d8 + 5 damage
Make two basic Pincer Attacks; if both attacks
strike, the target is considered grappled.
Venomous Tail Strike (standard; recharge 56)
Poison
+17 vs AC; 4d8 + 5 damage
Instant Reaction if target is grappled. Does
ongoing 10 poison damage (save ends) and
immobilizes the target (save ends).
Trample Attack (standard; encounter)
Close burst 1; +14 vs Reflex; 3d8 + 5 damage
Scorpion Queen may shift up to her full move
and engage in the trample attack at any point
along the movement line
Shape Shifter (Daily; Minor,) arcane
Target: Self. The Scorpion Queen may transform
in to a medium sized human or elvish woman.
This effect will last 12 hours or until dismissed.
She can not use her trample, pincer, or tail strike
attacks in this form. She gains the following
basic attack: Dagger strike (Standard, at-will;+17
vs. AC; 1D4+5 damage).
Alignment: unaligned
Languages: Kathack, Middle Tongue
Skills: Athletics +17, Endurance +15, Insight +15
Str 22 (+12) Dex 17 (+9) Wis 19 (+10)
Con 18 (+10) Int 18 (+10) Cha 16 (+9)
Equipment: regal adorning jewelry, long bow

Kattachi Scorpion Queen Tactics

The Scorpion Queen favors her trample
attack whenevr possible, and quickly
moves to close in, grabbing foes with
her pincers and stabbing them with her
tail.
Velboshia Lock'Nodivia Tomb Guardian
Ancient guardians of the tombs of the
gods, these desiccated corpses were
once the proud temple guards and
paladins of the divine palaces in the
mythic city CortiZahn over three
thousand years ago. When the War of
the Gods destroyed the early Fertile
Empire of Hyrkania and laid low the
mortal forms of the divine lords, the
temple guardians who died in the
conflict against the demons were
mummified and submitted to a terrible
necromantic process to revive them as
eternal tomb protectors. Something
horrible corrupted the spells of
reanimation, however, seeping in from
the chaos energy which permeated the
land in the wake of the war, and grew
like a fungus in the bodies of these
undead guardians. The bodies became
covered in a moss-like green substance,
which tinged their skeletal forms, ate
the mummified flesh, and devoured the
skull-caps of the bodies, from which

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then extruded four tendril-like
appendages, each with a hideous
blinking, sickly eye attached at the end.
Many of these corrupted tomb
guardians remained eternal guardians,
but some were freed for reasons most
suspicious, and certain Necromancers
found them useful for guarding other
things, as well. However, the geas of
duty upon the Velboshia Loknodivia is
so strong that, the moment the
necromantic control slips over them,
they will immediately seek to return to a
tomb and continue guarding (a different
tomb, if they must!)
The tomb guardians are usually found
in the ancient tombs hidden throughout
the Slithotendan Mountains, as well as
in the ruins of Hoggoth and Old Galon

Velboshia Lock'Nodivia Tomb Guardian

Level 14 Artillery
Medium Immortal Animate (Undead) XP 1000
Initiative +12 Senses Perception +26; Dark
Vision, All Around Vision
HP 105; Bloodied 52
AC 26; Fortitude 26, Reflex 26, Will 28
Resist Necrotic 20, Vulnerable Radiant 10
Speed 6
Rusty Iron Long Sword (standard; at-will)
+21 vs AC; 1d10 + 6 damage
Eye of Disintegration (standard; at-will)
Ranged 10/20; +19 vs Reflex; 2d8 + 6 damage;
Target takes 5 ongoing force damage (save
ends)
Eye of Fire (standard; encounter)
Area within 20; +19 vs Reflex; 4d8 + 6 damage in
a Burst 3 radius
Eye of Flesh to Stone (standard; encounter)
Ranged sight; +21 vs AC; 4d8 + 6 damage. First
Round: target is slowed (save ends); Second
Round: target is immobilized (save ends); Third
Round: target turns to stone. Target will revert
to normal if the tomb guardian is slain within 24
hours of the effect's onset.
Eye of Idiocy (standard; encounter) psychic
Ranged sight; +19 vs ; 4d8 + 6 damage; Target's
Int is reduced to 1 (save ends).
Alignment: evil Languages: old tongue
Skills: Athletics +17, Stealth +17
Str 20 (+12) Dex 20 (+12) Wis 24 (+14)
Con 15 (+9) Int 17 (+10) Cha 17 (+10)
Equipment: As tomb guardians, they are usually
armed with enchanted or ancient weapons of
fine craftsmanship. Some are armored in plate
mail, or carry shields, but their heads cannot
bear a helm of any sort.

Velboshia Lock'Nodivia Tomb Guardian

Lore
History DC 25 Tomb Guardians were the
dedicated templars and paladins of
dead gods from the ancient war, who
were interred as a form of undead
intended to guard the tombs of their
fallen deities. Corrupting chaos magic
mutated the undead in to a strange
abomination with tentacles where their
head should be.
Arcana DC 30 Tomb Guardians are
rooted to the tombs they protect.
Stoned victims can usually be cured if
the tomb guardian is slain within a day
of the victim's stoning.

Velboshia Lock'Nodivia Tomb Guardian Tactics

Tomb Guardians move in groups of two to
four, and prefer to lurk in darkened corners of
the tombs they are so familiar with, then strike
when their targets are in visible range, but
unprepared.

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Dark Masques
A scenario of historical horror in Tarrascon, France for any game system
By Tori Bergquist
The Tarasque was allegedly killed (in
the tale) three centuries earlier, in 1280
or thereabouts. In fact, the Tarasque
was not specifically killed, but instead
banished by the holy miracles of Saint
Martha. It has remained a spectral
presence in the region ever since,
especially the swamps near Tarrascon,
which may be haunted by the devil
himself.

The following adventure outline was

originally used for a protracted weekend
campaign I ran several years ago using
Dungeons & Dragons 3.5, with the
Darkness & Dread sourcebook from
Fantasy Flight Games (an excellent
resource for D20 horror fantasy, by the
way). The scenario as written is set in
historical France in 1580; the material
below is primarily an outline, and serves
equally well as an adventure for any
fantasy setting, historical or otherwise;
simply change minor details to suit your
preferred locale as desired. It would
make an excellent period piece
adventure for a Ravenloft game, and is
especially suitable for a Strange Aeons
style Call of Cthulhu scenario, as well. I
have included only generic references
with the scenario, to allow the GM to
utilize it with his preferred setting and
rule system as desired.
Time Period: 1580 Europe
Location: Tarrascon, in Provence,
France

Background
The town that killed the legendary
Tarasque, Tarrascon has long celebrated
the victory over this dragoness of evil.
The Cathedral of Tarrascon, with the
holy shrine and tomb of the savior Saint
Martha, is an attractive spot for holy
pilgrims to visit.

Indeed, the Tarasque is a dimensional

being, and entity of the outer darkness,
which seeks the worship of mortals to
aid in its escape. To breach the veil of
reality, it must draw humans in to its
worship, and recently, this has begun

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TSS #43
with the arrival of a warlock named
Francios Callot, a man who learned
hermetic and black magic from the
Tabula Smaragdina. He later met a
basque witch named Efrida, who was a
true black magician and acolyte of the
Tarasque. She lured him through favors
and promises of power in to studying
the whispers of her outer goddess
through drug-induced slumber and
astral dreams.

Daughter of a wealthy count of

Marseilles, a gifted medium and
rebellious spirit
A special agent and envoy in the
service of Henry III, who is sent
to investigate unusual threats to
His Majesty and France
A Tarrasacon native of no special
importance, whose grand father
told many stories of the
legendary Tarasque

Suggested Character Backgrounds

Adventure Opening

You can pick from the following

suggested background and hand them
out to your players to give them a
starting point for their character
histories:
Served a decade in Henry IIIs
army, who mustered out, gained
the wealth of a nice inheritance
to start his own business
A traveling Calvinist priest, a
noted healer and miracle worker
Employed by the Comte de
Maracon as a researcher and
investigator; the comte would
love a fine new
An alchemist and scholar (and
secret sorcerer) who studied for
two years with John Dee; a
member of the Luminares, a
secret society of enlightened
men and women who seek out
the hidden truths of the universe
A knight of Spain, currently out
of favor with the Lord of Galicia,
and a Jesuit who is questing for a
Basque woman named Efrida,
who cursed him; he can never
stay in one place for more than
two days

The PCs are all brought in to play via

their connection to one man: a patrician
and scholar of Marseilles named Sir
Stephan Launet. Launet has an
extensive collection of texts, dating back
centuries, as well as a fascination for the
exotic. He regularly funds foreign
expeditions to Africa and the New
World to recover unique artifacts for his
collections. But most recently, his most
unusual acquisition came from
neighboring Tarrascon, when hunters
uncovered what appeared to be the
remains of a fabulous creature, one
which bore a terrifying similarity to local
tales of the Tarasque. Though it appears
not unlike the decomposed flesh of a
body, it is something like a skin, shed, as
if by a reptile. The skin is hard, scaled,
and bone-like. It shows evidence of a
six-legged beast, with traces of coarse
hair.
(GM Note: The Tarasque does not
truly shed, but instead possesses and
polymorphs a host creature in to its
desired form on being summoned.
When the summoning ends, it leaves
the desiccated corpse, drained and
mutated, behind.)

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TSS #43
hapless human as the vessel of its
spiritual manifestation. The GM should
utilize these sances at convenient
times, usually when he wants to make
life more interesting for the PCs, or
when they are getting close to tracking
down who is attempting to raise the
dark dragon.

Launet has contacted his likeliest allies

on this matter to investigate. He will
candidly admit that he paid his two best
hunters, a Spanish man named Navarre
and a Fenchman named Golan to seek
out the origin of this creature, but he
received news a week ago that they
were found killed and dismembered in
the swamps outside of Tarrascon. When
he sent for the bodies, they had gone
missing. He begs the PCs to investigate,
and explains that he fears that the old
legends may be resurfacing. He arms
the PCs with the Reliquary of St.
Martha, to aid in the defeat the
Tarrasque. The Reliquary contains a few
grains of the saints hair in a vial of holy
water. The reliquary is an artifact that
provides protection from evil to the
bearer. He also tells them that the
blessed vial of holy water she used to
subdue the beast is on display in the
Cathedral named in her honor.
Summary of Events and Complications:
The GM should reference each of the
following aspects of the story, which are
not exactly time-dependent, although
they are all story dependent; that is, the
timing of events should correlate to the
investigations of the party and the
opportunity for interesting events and
revelations.

The Violation of the Graveyards

When the PCs arrive, the graveyards
of the Cathedral of St. Martha will have
recently been vandalized. Someone dug
up dozens of graves, including the
alleged site where the saint herself was
said to have been entombed. The
scandal is causing panic in the streets,
and a mob is assembling to find the
culprits. The bishop of the cathedral,
Bishop Lothaire, fears the vandals seek
to desecrate the tomb of Martha, and
looks to hire protection for the
cathedral. He does not admit it, but

The Cult of the Tarasque

Fracois Callot and Efrida have formed
their local cult, and with a local man
named Rene Dubois, a grave robber and
necromancer, they have begun the
process of permanently reawakening
the Tarasque. Every third evening they
attempt to call upon the spirit of the
Tarasque, utilizing a fragment of its old
form, and holding some poor animal or

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TSS #43
local merchant and old soldier, has
started a mob on a witch-hunt, and has
suggested that the daughter of Lord
Savagni, Murielle, is really a witch. The
noble and his men have protected her
so far, but soon he will have no choice
but to accept the will of the mob. For a
fun side-story and an extra twist (as well
as a ruse if desired) the GM should give
the investigators an opportunity to
discover that Murielle is, in fact a
witch.just not one related in any way
to the dark coven dedicated to the
resurrection of the Tarasque.

knows that the key to the hidden

catacombs was stolen some time ago,
though the entrance is undisturbed. No
one has entered the catacombs in two
centuries; they were sealed away and
hidden behind stone in the church
basement, after a rash of mysterious
deaths in and around the cathedral one
summer.
The Hidden Catacombs
The basement of the church was
compromised, but not like expected;
one of the violated grave diggings
penetrated a catacomb tunnel. The
necromancer and grave robber Dubois
has awakened the ghouls trapped
within, and uses them now to do his
bidding: find the corpse remains of the
Tarasques last true body, which were
scattered by the peasants in the
swamplands. Meanwhile, he also seeks
a way to get in to Saint Marthas tomb,
that he might shatter her holy water vial
and steal her corpse, or at least her
skull, as a means of performing a ritual
to immunize the Tarasque against
counter summonings. Investigators may
stumble across the hole in the
basement of the church that leads to
the ghoul catacombs, although Dubois
has ordered the creatures to hide this
hole.

The Castle of the Beast

Hidden in the swamplands lies an old
castle, called Castille et la bete, the
Castle of the beast, long uninhabited
and regarded as haunted. This castle is
the location of the covens operations,
and is guarded by a fiendish werewolf
summoned by the cabal to protect
them. It is here that the pieces of the
Tarasque are being brought, festering
globules of semi-sentient ectoplasm, to
allow for the resurrection of the beast
on the mortal plane. It is also here that
sacrifices have been offered to bring the
Tarasque to the mortal plane, that it
may possess the sacrificed victims and
walk for an evening among men
(shedding the body by daylight). Each
summoning has allowed the coven to
augur a portion of the ritual spell
necessary to bring forth the Tarasque,
as well as imbue each member with a
dark pact.

The Fear of the Townsfolk and the

Festival of the Tarasque
Within Tarascon, the people are
fearful, as omens are afoot that evil is
once more loosed upon the town. The
anniversary celebration of the
Tarasques death is a month away, and
people suspect that the beast might
seek to return to life for revenge. A man
named Richard Cuviere, a prominent

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TSS #43
Francois Callot
The dark master of the cult
masquerades by day as a simple farmer
and sometimes hedge wizard who can
offer up cures for livestock to a handful
of dedicated peasants who fear and
respect him. Callot claims to have stolen
the secrets of magic from a lengthy
period he spent in the Middle East,
where he studied under Persian
magians to divine dark secrets, and he
claims allegiance to the dark Zoroastrian
deity Ahriman. Not long after moving to
the province, Callot encountered the
Devil in the Swamp, which directed him
in the means to awaken the Tarasque
on the eve of its death. Convinced that
this entity is a manifestation of Ahriman
or one of his demonic minions (the
amesha spentas), he has obeyed.

NPCs and Monsters of Note

Richard Cuviere
The merchant and leader of the witch
hunt, seeking to cast down Murielle as
the source of evil. His ire towards
Murielle secretly stems from the fact
that he once coveted her, but she
spurned him. Murielle has been carrying
on an affair with his brother, Alain
Cuviere.
Murivelle Savagni
The aristocratic Murielle does, in fact,
has a gift of second sight, but she is very
secretive about it. She is a flirt, and as
yet unmarried (she is 19), but currently
has a quiet romance going with Alain
Cuviere, who is a married man and
esteemed land owner of Tarascon. Her
father is the Lord of the Town.

35

TSS #43
Efrida the Witch
Efrida is a woman quite taken with
Francis Callot, and she remains aloof
and hidden from the local community,
largely because of an incident a year ago
in which she was midwife to the now
deceased wife of the merchant Luis
Erabonne, and both wife and child
perished in the birthing. Worse yet, the
child was born hideously deformed, and
Efrida was accused of causing the
deformities. She fled before she could
be hanged or burned, and in the
swamps she met the mysterious Devil of
the Swamp, with whom she had
relations. Shortly thereafter she took up
residence in the Castille et la bete, and
not much later was directed by the Devil
in the Swamp to take up the cause of
Francis Callot.

informed him of the ghouls beneath the

graveyard, and instructed Rene on how
to make talismans which allowed him to
control them. Rene became fascinated
with this evidence of power, and eagerly
joined in on their cause, with a design
on eventually gaining control of the
Tarasque for himself, and eliminating his
allies if necessary.
The Werewolf of the castle of the beast
A terrifying beast, originally a soldier
names Treville, who was bitten by a
lycanthrope while campaigning as a
mercenary in Germany. He fled to his
homeland when the changes began, and
eventually los touch with his humanity
and became a hermit in the swamps. He
has occasionally argued philosophy with
the Devil of the Swamp, and he
reluctantly deals with the coven, for
Efrida has promised him a cure to his
malady in exchange for his services. He
could be a potential ally, if treated right.

Rene Dubois
Rene Dubois is a valued merchant and
lesser noble in the province, and
frequently makes visits to Paris proper
and has been in the attendance of
Henry III on more than one occasion. He
is a collector of taxidermied specimens
from across the world, and maintains
what is effectively a cabinet of
curiosities, filled with strange relics and
specimins from around the world. Rene
spent several years in the darkest
regions of Africa, where he became
fascinated with necromancy and
witchcraft, and despite his outward
appearance of dedication to the church
he is a natural heretic and atheist.
Rene stumbled upon Callots and
Efridas coven by accident, and upon
learning of their plans along with an
arranged meeting with the Devil in the
Swamp he grew fascinated with their
intentions. The Devil in the Swamp

Ghouls of the Catacombs

These ghouls are the restless halfdead corpse eaters who survived from
the first coven that was formed by the
Devil in the Swamp to summon the
Tarrasque successfully- three centuries
ago, and were then entombed for their
sins in the catacombs by a vengeful
mob. No memory of this event exists,
except in a diary by the Bishop from
that period, who sealed his diary up in a
hidden cache in the basement of the
church. Within that diary he tells the
tale of the depraved cultists who
brought forth the Tarasque, and how
only the intervention of lady Martha,
later to become a saint, allowed the
peasants to stone the beast to death.
Afterwards, the mob sought out the

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TSS #43
should pick an appropriately horrifying
major villain (or manifestation thereof)
from the campaign or presumed mythos
setting that they are using to be the real
entity behind this presence. In the
proper historical setting it would not be
at all improper to assume this being is
some Gnostic demon or even the
aforementioned Ahriman himself!

man and woman responsible, living in

the swamps, and dragged the two to the
catacombs beneath the church, where
they were forever enclosed.
Unbeknownst to all, the Devil in the
Swamp simply did not allow the two to
die, forcing them to predate upon the
remains of interred victims.
The ghouls abhor sunlight, and are all
but useless in the day. They have
perfect dark vision, however, and are
nigh-indestructible, as only
dismemberment will stop them.
The manifestations of the Tarasque
Each manifestation is terrifying, and
otherwise invulnerable to most attacks.
The manifestations excude a noxious,
black gas and can move about through
the shadows and swamp water with
some sort of protean speed. However,
holy water is especially repellent, and
does severe lingering damage. Likewise,
saintly reliquaries will repulse the
creature. If the beast is swayed by a
holy man with a tether to St. Martha
then it will follow hypnotically, and may
become vulnerable to mortal attacks.
Each time the shadow manifestation
appears, it will last until dawn, at which
time it expires, messily. The apparition
will appear in permanent and
resurrected form on the day of the
festival, if it is not stopped!

Goals and Resolutions

The PCs have the following possible
goals: prove the innocence of Murielle,
the barons daughter. Prevent (or
restore) the defilement of Saint
Marthas tomb. Seal the catacombs
and/or sanctify it by destroying the
ghouls within. Uncover the plot of the
coven and the location of the
summonings, castile et la bete, and
prevent the resurrection of the
Tarasque. Especially proactive players
who figure out the presence of the Devil
in the Swamp behind all of this, or who
find obscure clues (such as the diary
telling the tale of the ghouls origin)
should get extra credit!

The Devil of the Swamp

The mysterious being that has given
the swamps its reputation. What is it?
None really know.but it appears as a
dark, sometimes thorny being,
occasionally as a maddened hermit, and
under the dark of the new moon, as
something incalculably horrifying. It can
never leave the swamp, however. GMs

37

TSS #43

The Other Side of the Galaxy

A tale from long ago, in a galaxy far, far away
By Jeremiah Griffin
weeks. Then, the Mandos announce
that they know the real reason the tip of
the human penis is wider than the shaft,
and that's so the man's hand won't fly
off and hit him in the face. The spacer
erupts into laughter.
No, you can't leave yet. I'm just
getting started. I've got a good one, and
it's true too. So listen up.
The story I am about to tell you is
true. By that I mean that I am not
making it up. It may, however, have
been made up by the person who told it
to me. Or, perhaps by the person who
told it to him. Or it may never have
been completely made up, but rather
have had some parts of it modified or
added to it throughout its passage from
one person to another. But, from what I
understand the basis for the story has
some truth to it. So, I promise to tell
you the story that was told to me
exactly the way it was told to me
without any embellishments or
alterations, because that is as close as I
can get to the truth.
The story of the first Jawa Jedi (and by
first, I mean the first one that we know
of, or rather, that I know of, assuming it
is true in the first place) is not a happy
one. In fact it is rather sad, which is
strange, because it could have been so
very happy, if it were not for the
unfortunate circumstances.
For it all begins in such an unusual
way, yet it is a way that would seem to
have happened under the most natural
progression of events. It all begins, as

The greasy spacer sets down his mug

and lets out a thunderous belch then
sighs.
Haven't seen you around in some
time. He pauses for a moment. Hey
stop me if you've heard this one before.
These scientists on Correllia realize that
they don't know the anatomical reason
for why the human penis is wider at the
tip than at the shaft. Prolly because
they sit around looking down their own
trousers all day. I don't know. But they
decide to find out, see. So they use like
a million credits of grant money and
spend about two years researching it.
When everything is done, they
announce that they have discovered
that the tip of the human penis is wider
than the shaft in order to give the
female more pleasure. So after they
make their announcement its a big
thing in the scientific community. After
word gets to some scientists in
Corsicant, they decide to do some
research of their own, because they are
sure their study will be more accurate
because they are the Emperor's
scientists and stuff. So, they use like
two million credits and about three
years for their experiment at the end of
which they announce their findings.
They say that after their longer better
study they have determined that the tip
of the human penis is wider to give the
male more pleasure. Not to be out
done some Mandalorian scientists
decide to do their own study. So they
use like twenty credits and a couple of

38

TSS #43
He took to drinking and gambling, and
even selling his body for change (for
obvious reasons the going price for
Hutts has always been very low on the
streets).
When all seemed lost, his salvation
appeared. The late, great Master Luma
found him trying to siphon fuel from his
battered old speeder in the slums of a
sprawling city. Rather than punish the
destitute Hutt, he took him in, offered
him food, shelter, and kindness. As
Zorba slowly began to regain his
strength and open up to him, Luma
began to teach him in the ways of the
Force. Zorba finally found peace, an
inner peace that few individuals and
even fewer Hutts have ever had. Zorba
slowly began to become strong in the
Force, and became a true Jedi, just like
in the old days. His transformation from
wretched to pious seemed permanent,
apparently for the time being, and then
as it turned out for the rest of his life.
This was, however, the times before the
fall of the Empire, and the few Jedi that
remained found it necessary to remain
hidden and practise in secret. So it
came that Zorba realized that he must
move on to other systems to find a
padawan of his own. Luma and Zorba
bid farewell to each other, though they
were both sad to part, they were both
filled with much anticipation of what he
might accomplish. And so, Zorba left in
secret on his quest to show others the
way of the Force.
Like so many beginning Jedi he was at
times a bit overzealous, expecting
everyone to see the wonderful changes
in his life and take up as he himself had.
Naturally he was sure that those who
would benefit most from his knowledge
would be his own dear relatives who he

so many things on Tatooine do, with the

Hutts. One Hutt in particular, Zorba the
Hutt. Zorba Anjiliac, not Zorba Desilijic
(that guy was a jerk and a totally
different Hutt than the one I am talking
about. The Zorba I am talking about,
you probably never heard of and once
you hear the rest of the story, you will
know why). Zorba, like so many Hutts
was quite greedy. When Zorba was very
young, one of his wealthiest relatives
died. It is very unlikely that the relative
in question would have liked for Zorba
to inherit any of his wealth. In fact it is
quite likely that Zorba killed him
specifically to inherit his wealth. The
reasons it is believed that Zorba killed
his relative are varied. His relative did
not like him, at all; he did not trust him,
at all; he did not think he was good
with money, at all. He would have
preferred his significant wealth had
been passed to any other relative,
accept he had no closer relatives. He
would have willed his money to just
about anyone else, accept that he died
before he had finished signing his will.
Whatever the case and facts of his
death, leaving his large fortune to young
Zorba proved unavoidable in spite of all
his best and most obvious efforts (to say
nothing of his less obvious ones).
And so, being suddenly very wealthy,
Zorba set out to rise in power and
influence, and more wealth, of course.
In spite of his best and most dire efforts,
Zorba could not seem to rise in power
or influence, and he only seemed to
make money when someone was
foolish enough to die in his proximity.
He was eventually reduced to begging
the other Hutts for positions and jobs
for which he was hopelessly under
qualified and very frequently refused.

39

TSS #43
have shown even the least interest in
Zorba had been exploded, the Jawas left
him to fend for himself, but the four
young brothers insisted on
accompanying him.
They built a home out of a nearby
cave and he continued their training
most diligently. Like many Jedi masters,
he began with the basics, he taught
them meditation, how to reach out to
aspects of the Force that seemed to
present in their lives already. He moved
on to teaching them how to move small
objects, which I am told took them
some time to become proficient in (I am
not sure which of the four was learning
the fastest, I am not sure he knew
[Jawas all look the same anyway]). He
was very proud when they were capable
of moving a fist sized stone from one
end of the cave to the other. Next he
taught them how to far see and how to
do that thing where they talk to each
other through the force. Like I said he
could not have been more proud of
their progress, but he came to a
realization; He had but two light-sabers.
One that he had built himself under the
guidance of Master Luma, and another
that he had found during his travels on
the floor of a men's room stall in a less
savory kind of space port in Hutt Space.
In order to further their training, they
would all need to build their own lightsaber. It is necessary for any Jedi both
for fighting and for meditating in the
Force. Had he been a more experienced
Jedi, he might have waited just a little
while longer before beginning this task,
but he was anxious, and full of vigor. He
was all too proud of his padawan and
truly believed that they were ready for
the task.
Some how Zorba managed to get hold

had so poorly treated throughout the

years of his previous life. But, we all
know how Hutts are and they were not
interested, in fact most of them tried to
make him pay for his debts resulting in a
myriad of stories which are best told
another time. He traveled from system
to system, only to experience one
rejection after the other. Finally, he
returned to Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine.
Unfortunately, Jabba was trying to force
feed Luke Skywalker to the Sarlacc at
the time and was completely
uninterested in learning the ways of the
Jedi, and would be at any other time
due to the outcome of that particular
event. With a heavy heart, he turned
back, hoping to travel to some distant
planet peopled by a race with much
higher intelligence. But, as fate would
have it, his ride to the nearest space
port crashed in the desert, where he
was stranded for some days.
Eventually he was rescued by Jawa
traders, who most likely thought they
could ransom him for lots of money.
They could not have known that he was
not worth very much, and so they took
him into their trade vessel. In spite of
their best efforts to make him work at
even the most menial tasks he seemed
to spend most of his time with the
young Jawas. His manor was different
due to his change to Jedi, he was much
more open, friendly, and jocular, and so
the young Jawas in particular took
interest in him in return. In only a short
time he realized that four young
brothers both seemed to posses
something of the Force in them. An
epiphany struck him, and he quickly
went to work training them in the ways
of the Force and the Jedi. Upon learning
that the nearest creature who might

40

TSS #43
he only suffered such horrible pain, the
little rodent might have only been
angered, but to be laughed at by all of
those he had trusted so very much was
unbearable, and he deserved
retribution.
Apparently, it took Zorba some time to
realize that his padawan was in serious
pain, and since they were living out in
the middle of the desert, it took even
longer for him to get the kid to the
proper medical facilities. After several
months and a handful of surgeries, the
stone had been removed and the Jawa
had healed enough to sneak out of his
room in the hospital ward, retrieve the
crystal, and using mostly memory and
improvisation build his own light-saber
and use it to murder his master (he was
conveniently meditating in the hospital
waiting room).
Upon learning the fate of Master
Zorba, the other brothers took up their
arms (only the oldest had his own saber,
the youngest used Zorba's weapon, and
the other took up the other without
knowing where it had actually come
from [I am told it had an odd smell, but
Jawas are pretty smelly creatures as it
is]), and took off in pursuit of their
brother to avenge the death of their
beloved master.
And so this sad story comes to a close
with the three still in pursuit of their
own brother, who manages to stay one
step ahead of them every time, slowly
growing more evil with each day. For
the story of the first known Jawa Jedi is
also the story of the first known Jawa
Sith.
Didn't I tell ya it was good? Hey!
Don't go yet! Yeah, I know that look.
You've had a bad day and your just
expecting it to get worse, but don't

of some light-saber crystals as well as

parts that could be used to construct
the base of the weapon. The first, and
oldest brother began building his first
under careful watch from Zorba.
Fortunately there were no problems,
the finished product was quite versatile,
and the other brothers were just the
least bit jealous upon watching him
train with it. Next, one of the more
eager bothers rather forcibly
volunteered to go next, and Zorba was
all too glad to help him in the
construction of his own blade. Sadly
this is were the great calamity begins.
As I mentioned before, Zorba's
personality was was greatly changed,
and he was much more jocular than
most any other Hutt in history. And so
it was, that in a most innocent manner,
he casually joked with his young
padawan that light-saber crystals are
actually made of candy. The young
Jawa, having perhaps a little too much
trust in his master quickly snatched up a
beautiful, tasty looking bright pink
crystal and stuffed it into his little
mouth. When he tasted not but the
bland cold, hard surface of the stone, he
thought little of it. When it failed to
give way to his teeth, and rather his
teeth gave way to it, he didn't think too
much more of it. When, with some
difficulty, he managed to swallow it, he
began to think considerably more of it,
as he fell over curling ito a fetal position
and going into little spasms of
excruciating pain. Upon seeing that the
fuzzy little guy had indeed fallen for his
joke, Zorba broke into uproarious
laughter, in moments the other
brothers realized the trick that had been
played and joined in the laughing. This
was most likely the turning point. Had

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worry. I got a million more jokes and
stories and stuff to brighten up your
night. Here. Let me buy you a drink.
Fin

42

TSS #43

The Adventure of the Deerstalkers

Fiction by Dan Lambert
I have told many tales about how my
friend, Sherlock Holmes (with my
meager help), has solved some of
Englands most vexing mysteries. I have
never, however (until now) put my pen
to the task of relating the tale of how
one of Holmes well-loved idioms made
its way into his voluminous vocabulary. I
will break with that tradition today. We
all know Holmes idiom about
eliminating the impossible. But here, for
the first time, I will reveal the origin of
another of my friends oft-repeated
phrases. The phrase itself I will save for
the end, to whet the readers appetite.
It was midmorning, in the late Autumn
of 1888. Holmes had been wearing a
trough in the floor of our flat at 221B
Baker Street. It was one of those
periods of London history that Holmes
deplored. It was a period in which the
city was devoid of criminal activity. I,
too, was feeling the dull effects of
boredom, being between marriages,
and finding my medical practice to be
excruciatingly slow. A story in the Times
gave me a splendid idea for a diversion.
The story was about a new statue being
dedicated to one of Englands most
beloved literary figures: Robin Hood. I
had often jostled Holmes with
predictions that the Crown would soon
erect a statue in honor of him! Holmes
usual response was that if such a statue
were to portray him wearing that
ghastly Deerstalker cap and Inverness
cape, he himself would be the first to
sneak in under cover of darkness and
pull the abomination to the ground.

The idea I proposed to my friend was a

mid-afternoon hunting excursion to
Sherwood Forest. To my delight, Holmes
agreed, and we were on a train within
the hour.
Later that afternoon, we found
ourselves in Sherwood Forest, the
legendary hunting grounds of that
famous outlaw. Once there, I
unwrapped a package containing
artifacts that I had purchased from a
Belgian trader in Kabul: two beautiful,
finely-polished sporting shotguns.
Donning his much-maligned but
necessary deerstalker and Inverness
cape, Holmes loaded his shotgun, and
led the way into the midday forest
gloom.
Come, Watson, he called. Soon, we
spotted a magnificent, sixteen-point
stag, and I promptly shot the beast
through the heart.
At least, I thought I had shot the
creature through the heart. In fact, I had
merely dealt the stag a far from
grievous blow. The truth be told, it was
only a flesh wound.
My marksmanship skills had
apparently worsened since my army
days, to my utter disgust.
This elusive stag, whom Holmes came
to nickname Moriarty, eluded us for
nearly an hour. During that time, we
had only Moriartys blood spoor to
guide us, like a gory trail of bread
crumbs in some twisted variant on that
German tale about the children and the
witch.
It was nearly sundown when we
caught up with Moriarty. We stopped

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TSS #43
the while managing not to awaken the
sleeping bear.
I learned all this immediately upon
Holmes return to my sheltering oak.
Holmes! I exclaimed. Youre alive!
Putting his forefinger to his lips,
Holmes admonished me to keep my
voice down. Yes, my friend, Im alive.
Im afraid our game was not so lucky.
Dont keep me in suspense, Holmes,
I whispered. What has become of our
game?
Holmes reached into the pocket of his
greatcoat, and, handing me the stags
hoof, said with a grin, Our game, my
dear boy? I hate to tell you this,
Watson, but the games a foot!

short, gasps caught in our throats, when

we saw where the stags trail led us.
The blood spoor led directly into the
darkened entrance to the cavernous
den of a cave bear! As we approached
the mouth of the cave, my heart sank as
I imagined our hard-earned stag in the
belly of a bear. As we inched closer, our
guns at the ready, I could hear the
brazen glutton snoring from within the
shadowed cave.
In hushed tones, Holmes whispered to
me his intention to enter the lair. But
Watson, he admonished, I want you
to stay here. If you spy me making
haste from that cave, with that bear hot
on my heels, I expect you to provide
covering fire. And not to insult you, Old
Boy, but please endeavor to let your aim
be true this time.
So, bracing my shotgun against a
nearby oak tree, I aimed and waited.
Holmes crept up and into the cave,
shouldering his own weapon as he
went.
After a few breathless minutes (when
the very air around me seemed to
pulsate with the rhythm of my rapidlybeating heart), Holmes returned from
his excursion.
It turns out that the bear had, indeed,
devoured our beloved stag. In point of
fact, one part of Moriarty survived.
Holmes had managed to find in whilst
searching the bone-strewn floor of the
bears den. It just so happens that the
bear had spared part of Moriartys left
foreleg: the creatures hoof, to be
precise.
Holmes had managed to pocket this
little treasure and steal away with it, all

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The History of the Stellar Expanse

Part II of an evolving Traveller setting
By Tori Bergquist
governing body of Earth grew weaker
and weaker as its own means of
enforcement in the colonial expanse
was stretched thin.

The Stellar Expanse is the name

commonly used for the First Human
Commonwealth. This region of space
encompasses a spherical region roughly
one thousand light-years across, the
furthest distance to date explored and
reached in humanitys stellar expansion.
The opening period for this campaign
by Old Earth time measurements is
3450 AD, roughly one thousand years
after mankind developed cheap and
effective post-luminal travel, passing
beyond the confines of the Sol system.
During the early period of stellar
colonization humanity stretched itself
thin among the stars, colonizing every
world that came close to an earth-like
norm. The progressive expansion of
technology, resourced and
communication relays necessary to
allow the web of humanity to maintain
relations amongst one another forced
the early colonists to plunder any and all
attainable resources they could find.
Somewhere along this track, the early
idealism of the colonists, in which
individuated lives and self-governing
polities were the norm, was slowly
swept away in the wake of corporate
nations, in which grand organizations
motivated by profit and control
gradually engulfed and smothered the
colonies. The corporations sought the
management of both raw and living
resources, and worked competitively
against one another, as they strove to
expand and perpetuate their own ends.
Throughout all this, the centralized

The Early Years

The first three centuries of human
expansion lasted from 2200 to
approximately 2500 AD. This early
period of advancement included leaps
and strides in post-luminal technology
(sometimes also called superluminal
drive technology). The basic
functionality for post-luminal
technology has remained unchanged
from this early period right up to the
present. The development of
increasingly more efficient fuel sources
allowed for more efficient use of the
post-luminal drives which ships were
outfitted with. In 2200, the first colony
ships were primarily nuclear-powered
vessels which utilized their post-luminal
drives for short-period stutter jumps,
allowing the vessel to draw on
enormous energies for short bursts
through String-Space. By 2500 the
efficient production of anti-matter
generators allowed for extremely
efficient energy output, and the concept
of the stutter jump was replaced by
longer period of N-Dimensional Travel,
as it came to be known.
Post-Luminal Drive
The principle behind post-luminal
drive technology is hinged in the socalled N-Dimensional Theory, a unifying

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TSS #43
vessels after 2500 AD used new antimatter harnessing and bottling
technology, although such power
systems carried inherent risks that were
not minimized until centuries later. Even
in the present, fusion drive technology
is still more common than anti-matter
drives, which are usually only found in
very large vessels. Currently, by 3450
there are new advances in the
understanding of zero point energy and
the vacuum energy of space. The
experimental technology suggests that
it may not be impossible to actually tap
in to these controversial energy sources,
although the consequences of utilizing
such fundamental energies from the
very fabric of space-time remain
uncertain.

theory of physics based on the stringtheory of earlier generations, and

relying on 26 active compressed
dimensions to explain the functional
basis for space-time, which later came
to be called String-Space. N-Dimensional
Theory united the superstrings of the
Planck-length microverse with the
largest bodies of the cosmos, the
macroverse. In doing so, the
postluminal technology was first
discovered as a means by which the
various 26 dimensions, most of which
had been compressed to the Plancklength, could be expanded artificially
and projected around a given object
from a radiating device, called the
Higgins-Rohmer N-Dimensional
Projector. An object surrounded in the
expanded N-Space field effectively
gained the additional properties of that
dimensional space, and could move
through that space, which it was
discovered meant it could pass from
one region of normal space-time to
another without ever moving the
distance through conventional fourdimensional space. It wasnt fasterthan-light drive; it simply moved
through dimensional spaces in which
the speed of light was irrelevant. Thus,
the post-luminal drive was born.
The only problem with the postluminal drive is the enormous cost in
energy it takes to expand the NDimensional bubble around a large
object. The cost in energy is effectively
equal to the square of the mass of the
object contained within, times the
propulsive power of the conventional
drive system, which will be used to
move the vessel through the expanded
N-Dimensional space. Early vessels used
fusion drives of various types. Later

First Contact
So it was that mankind, armed with
the post-luminal drive, began expanding
in to space. After the colonial period
from 2200-2350, and the corporate
expansion period from 2350-2500, a
new turn in the history of mans
interstellar expansion came to pass. In
2511 a research vessel for the YTM
League, a contractor working for the
Gellman-Finder Advancement
Megacorp, discovered a temperate
water world dubbed Sirius-II in the Dog

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Sirius II often served as hosts for the
symbionts, but without the intelligence
inherent in the Nommosi brains, these
species displayed no outward sapience,
although the electrochemical radio
communication the symbiont made
possible often made host predators
more effective hunters and host prey
more effective survivors.
When the survey team left Sirius II,
they had established how to
communicate with the Nommosi
through radiowaves and had begun a
basic language conversion. The YTM
League had recorded dozens of known
marine cities, and evidenced enormous
levels of egalitarian cooperation and
respect amongst the giant sentient
Nommosi, who in turn had no real
predators to contend with. The survey
team also collected volumes of evidence
that Sirius II was a metal-rich world,
obviously water rich with 98% of the
surface immersed in oceans, and on top
of all that there were three cold gas
giants in orbit around the Dog Star
cluster, all rich with the necessary
resources for fuel to convert in to
energy for post-luminal drives.
Sirius II was a lush water world, and a
major prize for the corporate interest
which gained principle control over it.
Although the YTM League honored its
contract and provided the data it had
recorded to its employer first, the data
was nonetheless quickly leaked and sold
to other sources for enormous profit. In
short order, prospector ships both
corporate and private descended upon
Sirius II to set up shop. A stellar version
of the range wars would ensue, from
mega corporate sabotage to simple
criminal activity and guerilla warfare as
various factions ought to gain an edge

Star trinary system, with an erratic but

surprisingly stable orbit. After an eightmonth survey and assessment of the
resource potential of the world, the
survey team made first contact with a
sapient species. Called the Nommos in
honor of the Dogon folklore from earth,
these whale-like beings were immense,
and displayed a high level of
intelligence, and seemed to be
entwined with symbiotic jelly fish
eventually called Sirians, for lack of a
better title.
The Nommos may have been an
intelligent animal species at one time,
but the developing symbiosis with the
Sirians created a unique sort of hivemind. The electrochemical
communications of the Sirians allowed
the Nommos to communicate through
radio waves, for instance, and as the
symbiotes merged with their host
forms nervous system, the
consciousness of the Nommosi
expanded. Likewise, though the
Nommosi were intelligent, they lacked
appendages for tool use. The Sirians had
sophisticated tentacles which the
Nommosi could manipulate through
their connection, to utilize tools. Over
time, vast and unique architectures
cultivated from controlled coral reef
growth created sophisticated
underwater cities. Nommosi learned to
harvest plants and other creatures for
food. They had created, effectively, an
aquatic stone age.
The survey crew determined that the
Sirian symbiont was only capable of
binding with another species nervous
system of the same ecosystem; it
couldnt interact with a human nervous
system, for example, in any meaningful
way. Other non-Nommosi species on

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across the galactic landscape,
encountering approximately thirty
sapient species, most of which were
living in pre-industrial societies. A
notable exception is the Kardenath
Republic, a coalition of gecko-like
humanoids (Kardenathus-gekkoniderectus, as they were labeled) which
had actually developed a space-age
society with impressive efforts at STL
colonization and development within
their own solar system. Luckily for the
Kardenath they were mentally very
much like humans in thought, and when
they were first contacted by the
Astrogation Survey Guild in 2908, the
initial response was a very pleasant and
diplomatic affair, with guarded caution
tempering the optimism of a first
contact event. As was traditional by this
time, the corporate machines moved in
to the system to begin facile efforts at
negotiating what they wanted with
plans to take it anyway, but the
Kardenath proved to be politically savvy
and maintained a strong military, albeit
without any post-luminal ships.
Not five years after the Kardenath first
contact scenario, corporations such as
Mystical Enterprises (MysTech) were
already in violation and tensions began
to run high. A radical guerilla group
called the Sentients Rights of Freedom
Movement (SROFM) had recently
sabotaged the Dogstar 9 Mining
Complex, sinking it to the bottom of the
Sirian oceans after an act of sabotage
and protest about Nommosi slavery.
This group made contact with the
Kardenath Republic, funneling
technology and the secret of the postluminal drive to the Kardenath as a
means of helping them.

at the expense of their competitors. In

the midst of all this, the Nommosi
observed with curiosity and blind trust,
for they were a species which had not
grasped the concept of war; it took
decades before the Nommosi came to
realize that humans were effectively the
equivalent of Sirian sharks, which they
called Scabari. The Scabari, it seemed
had come to their home world to
plunder.
After a century of industrial
exploitation and abuse, the Nommos
were forced in to hidden enclaves as
their world was devastated by drilling
and mining, their oceans polluted from
industrial byproducts and spills,
radiation damage from occasional
fusion reactor meltdowns, and airborne
pollutants from the atmospheric lifter
rockets. Giant floating cities were
constructed, designed to weather the
intense storms of Sirius II. Orbital
platforms served as median ports for
orbital lifters to meet with cargo
vessels. In 2602 the Emmerson
Waystation suffered a terminal collision
accident with the Heavy Freighter
Ullyses 81A, and it plummeted in to the
Western Korius Ocean of Sirius II,
destroying countless Nommos habitats
as well as several floating cities. It was
this disaster which brought Sirius II to
the attention of the larger public body,
and led to the formation of the
Xenological Research Institute, an
oversight organization designed to
police and protest the exploitation of
indigenous sapient and non-sapient
species in the colonies.
From 2511 until 2912 AD the pattern
of contact and exploitation was
repeated countless times. The First
Human Commonwealth expanded

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TSS #43
remove the existing political body (a
world government) from power, then
establish who the new rulers are.
Although many groups had a hand in
this invasion, it was Mystech that was
most prominent in its intentions, and
provided the greatest impetus for the
invasion.
When the invasion began, it was met
initially with no opposition. When the
fleets had moved to a range suited for
orbital bombardment, the Kardenath
suddenly revealed their selves, utilizing
technology and equipment funneled to
them by humans sympathetic to their
cause, such as the SROFM. More over,
they employed the Post-Drive in a
fashion which had never before been
seen, by generating a large field bubble
in the coronal region of their home star,
projecting via the N-Dimensional space
an intense solar flare, jumping right in
to the heart of the invasion fleet. The
desired effect was instantaneous,
although not without consequences.
The corporate fleet was decimated by
the radioactive storm which exploded in
their midst. The equatorial region of the
home world Eryak below also suffered,
as hundred of miles of land was scoured
with gamma radiation, igniting forest
fires and burning the very atmosphere.
Ships in orbit plunged in to the
atmosphere as well, crashing with
devastating results. Only the foresight
of human and Kardenath scientists who
had conceived of the plan insured the
damaged regions were largely
evacuated.
It was a pyrrhic victory, but the
Kardenath won. Their own military
forces and acquired human ships rapidly
mopped up the survivors, and took their
surrender. The CDF forces were jaded

The Kardenath, being scrupulous and

inquisitive beings, were delighted to
gain this elevated technology. They had
already watched the corporations
violate established treaties and were
contesting the flagrant violations of the
megacorps that had moved in to their
system with military action. So far, the
local military of the Kardenath was
strong enough to hold off privately
backed corporate mercenaries, but the
SROFM knew that the megacorps were
attempting to secure the backing of the
FHC, allowing them to use the
Commonwealth Defense Force,
normally reserved for the sole purpose
of peace-keeping and patrolling
shipping lanes, to break the Kardenath
defenses.
The Kardenath Republic sents its own
diplomats, in the company of the
SROFM, to Earth itself, where they
petitioned the Stellar Council of the
Commonwealth for recognition as a
separate and equal political entity, with
participation on the all-human Council,
as well. It was at this time that the
Kardenath diplomats realized that the
HFC was riddled with corruption and
was merely a puppet government to
manage the colonies and allow the
megacorps the freedom to do as they
wished. It was time for a change, they
realized.
It was not long after this visit to Earth
that war erupted. The
megacorporations secured the backing
of the Colonial Defense Forces through
illegal channels and hired numerous
professional mercenaries for the job.
The intent was simple: subjugate the
Kardenath homeworld (called Eryak by
the natives and Scorpius Prime by the
Stellar Scout Service designation) and

49

TSS #43
the Kardenath ecology, and with
devastating results. Most Kardenath
who survive today descend from the
spacers and colonists that dwelt offworld. The bulk of the Kardenath
population on their homeworld was
killed in a matter of weeks.
Although many fringe groups and
more progressive colonies decried the
attack and labeled Mystech and its
conspirators as war criminals of the
highest order, while others offered
refuge to fleeing Kardenath, no action
was taken at that time. Nonetheless,
the action was so vile that it was at this
time which a number of fringe colonies
seceded from the Commonwealth, and
declared themselves independent in
every way possible.

and less than interested in losing their

lives for this event, anyway. The
megacorp. Mercenaries realized their
failure could mean criminal charges
back home. It didnt take much for them
to turn around and beg for asylum and
protection from the Kardenath.
Afterwards, formal talks opened up, and
it looked like the Kardenath would hold
not one but two positions on the Stellar
Council of the Commonwealth.
As it turned out, Mystech and the
other megacorporations did not take
defeat well. In the midst of the talks, an
assassination on the Kardenath leaders
was attempted. Simultaneously, a small
but decisive force of Corporate Soldiers
entered the Scorpius system and struck
Eryak with illegal weaponry, biobombs
that were customized from illegal
laboratories in the Rim World regions
where the CDF held no sway. The
bioweapons were designed to attack

Next:
The Current Era of the Stellar Expanse

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TSS #43

Column!
This Month: Retro Game Fun
Ramblings by Tori Bergquist
including a rule set for the original TSR
Conan RPG, and efforts at a Star
Frontiers reimagining. GORE is another
Goblinoid Games special that utilizes the
OGL to reconstruct the essentials of the
Basic Role Playing system, although it
does have some competition from, well,
BRP itself, which is one of the only big
name book releases in this era to
faithfully adhere to the tenets of its own
system from time immemorial. Even the
Mongoose Runequest adaptation
changed enough to warrant
reconsideration by the hard-core old
schoolers (and having played MRQ for a
year and a half, I can safely say that its
good, but it missed the point of those
earlier editions which remain better.)
Ive even seen some new modules
appear for use with (and hopefully
containing some rules foe) the Fantasy
Trip, if you can believe it! The Fantasy
Trip is definitely one of those systems
Id love to see revived. While its always
nice to sit down to play GURPS and
reminisce about how its spiritual parent
was TFT, thats not quite the same as
laying out a hexagonal map with some
digest-size copies of Melee and Wizard
lying around, and a bunch of tiny little
cardboard chits about to head Into the
Labyrinth
Of course, there are games which
dont actually emulate the mechanics of
their spiritual ancestors so much as pay
homage to them, seeking instead to
evoke the look and feel of those older
systems. I find Castles & Crusades to be

Well, I warned you all that if no one

wanted to submit anything to Column!
Then I would be forced to.rant again!
So here it is.
This month I was going to discuss the
retro game movement, specifically,
those game which are built around the
emulation of older systems, or at least
their mechanical elements. The most
famous of these games come from the
Goblinoid Games guys, who have
produced some very nice, fully useable
systems in the form of Labyrinth Lords
and Mutant Future (reviewed last
issue). Providing old school gamers with
an outlet for their Basic Dungeons &
Draqgons and Gamma World cravings
these two definitely head the pack.
There is also the Knights n Knaves
impressive but severely under-pimped
OSRIC, the Old School System Resource
Index Compilation, which is a
remarkably efficient emulation and,
dare I say it, cleaner and more concisely
worded version of 1st edition Advanced
Dungeons & Dragons. Its actually
spawned quite a few modules and
sourcebooks, yet somehow I still cant
seem to find a copy of OSRIC for
purchase on lulu!
So retro games have manifested
themselves in all sorts of forms. We
have the 4C System (emulating classic
Marvel Super Heroes), which is my
personal favorite outside of the above
games; if you want fast, simple and
furious nothing beats 4C. I am aware of
a few other emulators out there,

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TSS #43
Exponential Game System given a retro
game treatment. Its history after
Mayfair folded in on the RPG market
was fairly sad, going off to Pulsar
Games, which released a new edition in
the form of Blood of Heroes, which
while true to the rule set was rife with
god awful comic art and poor
presentation. They released a much
improved revised edition that was
pleasing to the eye, and then apparently
folded. I still slide by their website every
now in then, fingers crossed that
someone has revived Blood of Heroes,
of that the system has moved on to
more living and active control.
Second, Id love to see a retro edition
of the aforementioned The Fantasy
Trip. I doubt theres any legal issue, as
the fundamentals of the system were
extrapolated from long, long ago by
Steve Jackson to spark GURPS, and as
we all know GURPS is about as removed
from TFT as most hominids today are
from our Oligocene ancestors. That said,
TFT was one of the big five (as I see it)
to embody the early days of old school
gaming (along with T&T, D&D,
Runequest, and Traveller.)
Finally, Id really, really like to see the
Knights N Knaves take all that hard
effort behind OSRIC and place it up on
lulu.com with a halfway decent cover.
Please! Ive been waiting for two years
now, and the OSRIC 2.0 edition is
perfect. I like them bound and printed,
what can I say? Heck, I even snagged a
print copy of the 4C System over there!
--Tori Bergquist

the finest example of this lot, with its

evocative and wordy prose with a
deceptively simple system hidden
behind the veneer of obscure
Tolkienesque fantasy. Indeed, I have
sworn that when next I return to
running a major campaign in a fantasy
realm, C&C will be my sole muse! I am
especially excited about the Troll Lord
Games people brining James Cook on
board as editor of their magazine. His
first set for them, Towers of Adventure,
is pure classic delving and do it
yourself, but heres all the building
blocks style gaming, which I love.
Makes me think that if the old Fast
Forward Entertainment modules had
been designed for older editions of
D&D, or C&C instead then they might
have been more successful.
I think the 4th Edition of Dungeons &
Dragons has also created an entirely
new dimension to the rift between
gamers the way it was and the way it
is today. Some players I know are
impressed with how much the 4th
edition of the game captures the
essence of old school as they remember
it, while others see only blasphemy and
heresy. Most gamers probably dont
care and just play to have a good time;
those are the ones not writing in blogs
about it (or Column!) because they are
too busy playing. In fact, they are so
busy playing games that I doubt theyve
even heard of the whole Go Play thing,
either.
Anyway, there are a few things Id
personally love to see happen in the
retro game market, highly specialized
and focused little sub group that it is:
MEGS retro game! Anyone remember
Mayfair Games DC Heroes RPG? Well I
do. Id love to see the Mayfair

52