On the Radar: Fictional Past, Present, and Future

Three RPG books that caught my eye on DriveThruRPG this week were the following:

RuneQuest

Oh, yes. The latest version, and crafted by the hands of Greg Stafford, Jeff Richard, Jason Durall, and Steve Perrin. Rules update, and a delightful dive into the world of Glorantha.

Here's the book pitch:

RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha is an all-new edition of one of the world’s most influential and acclaimed fantasy roleplaying games. First appearing almost 40 years ago, RuneQuest is as dynamic and vital as ever. This all-new, deluxe edition introduces RuneQuest and its setting of Glorantha to new players everywhere.

Try out a skill-based percentile system that balances experience-based progression with deadly combat!

The core rules of RuneQuest are essential for players and gamemasters, as they contain all the rules for character creation, starting homelands, background history, professions, skills, starting Runes and magic, and the cults and gods whose influence will define your character’s activities. Further, the rules for character advancement are contained here, for the times between adventures.

Torg: Eternity

I have fond memories of the original Torg rules and setting, and wanted to impact the outcome of the Possibility Wars during its heyday with other Storm Knights. Perhaps now, if I pick this up, I'll have that chance again!

The invasion of Earth told in previous tales of TORG took place on one version of our world. The High Lords there were successful for many years, but were eventually stopped by the planet's valiant Storm Knights.

But there are infinite versions of our world.

This is the tale of a different Earth, one where things did not go as well...

The Torg Eternity Core Rules include all the rules and setting information you need to create characters and play the game, including

• Background on the Possibility Wars
• World Laws and adversaries for Core Earth and the 7 invading Cosms
• Creation and advancement rules with dozens of perks for all kinds of characters
• Magic, Miracles, and Psionics rules
• Gear for all tech levels

Star Trek Adventures: Command Division supplement

Last but not least, a supplement detailing what life is like for characters in the Command Division of Starfleet:

COMMAND A STARSHIP. A HUNDRED DECISIONS A DAY, HUNDREDS OF LIVES, STAKED ON YOU MAKING EVERY ONE OF THEM RIGHT.

The Command Division supplement provides Gamemasters and Players with a wealth of new material for use in Star Trek Adventures for characters in the command division. The Command Division supplement includes:

• Detailed description of the command division, including its role in Starfleet, the various branches within the command division, the role of Fleet Operations, life as a command division cadet, and details on starship operations.
• Expanded 2d20 Social Conflict rules, enhancing social encounters and galactic diplomacy.
• An expanded list of Talents and Focuses for command and conn characters.
• Over a dozen additional starships and support craft to command and pilot, including the NX, Nebula, Sovereign, and Steamrunner classes, as well as many shuttle types and the indomitable Work Bee!
• Advice on creating command division focused plot components for your missions to test the mettle of your captain and flight controller. 
• New rules on running Admiralty-level campaigns that let you command entire fleets, as well as information on commanding starbases.
• Detailed descriptions and game statistics for a range of Command and Conn focused NPCs and Supporting Characters.

TM & © 2018 CBS Studios Inc. © 2018 Paramount Pictures Corp. STAR TREK and related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

On the Radar: Dawn of the Emperors is out!

So, for those Mystara-philes out there, here's something of interest:

The classic Gazetteer boxed set, Dawn of the Emperors: Thyatis and Alphatia, is now in available on DriveThruRPG.

I haven't picked it up yet, mostly because I've yet to run any kind of D&D game again, let alone in my "Dark Corners" version of Mystara.

But I do have fond memories of flipping through the pages and reading through the maps -- and thinking about how I would go about tweaking it for my game.

Apparently, the instructions given to the late Aaron Allston for this set were "to make Thyatis a country that specialized in the concerns of the fighter class, while Alphatia would be a magocracy." Of course, given the linear progression of power for fighters, and the exponential progression of power for mages, it makes sense that Thyatis would have spellcasters with a martial bent, while Alphatia would have fighters (treated as second class citizens, however).

To my mind, Thyatis really draws on historical Rome / Byzantine Empire, which has a different set of cultural touchstones in the wake of TV series like Rome, Spartacus, and so on. Alphatia is a bit of a mystery to me -- this is a culture that has access to great magical power, and is actively engaged in research, but is also of a chaotic bent. Since, according to canon, "Alphatia, a land of magicians, was itself colonized by people from another world", the argument can be made that perhaps it is meant to be a very alien culture that has grown into an Empire.

Cubicle 7 and Call of Cthulhu part ways (Old News)

They say any news you haven't heard is new news. However, since the announcement came out in December of last year, and it's already March 2018, it still feels a bit old. But no less shocking.

Three Call of Cthulhu-powered settings from Cubicle 7 have lost the license to the system, and must now retool their material for a new (unnamed system). That's The Laundry (which I collected), World War Cthulhu, and Cthulhu Britannica. Official statement from the Forums of Cubicle 7:

Cubicle 7’s Call of Cthulhu license expires at the end of the year and by mutual agreement with Chaosium it is not going to be renewed. There are no hard feelings on either side, and we are still on great terms - these things happen. Call of Cthulhu is Chaosium’s baby and we wish them all the best. 

We’ve enjoyed working with Call of Cthulhu and Chaosium, but we’re also looking forward to the challenge of designing our own game systems for Cthulhu Britannica, World War Cthulhu and The Laundry. Putting together games that really showcase the themes of their setting is what we do best, after all! Keep an eye on the newsletter for more information in due course.

On The Radar: Go go, Glorantha!

Glorantha-philes rejoice. Two books are out, and available for devouring!

One of them is 13th Age Glorantha by Chaosium (developed by Rob Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet). You'll still need a copy of 13th Age to play though.

Here's some of the promotional blurbage:

For Game Masters, 13th Age Glorantha includes:

• More than 80 pages of monsters and enemies fully compatible with any 13th Age campaign, including Chaos priests, dragonsnails, scorpionmen, Crater Makers who call down the Moon, and the awesome Chaos demon known as the Crimson Bat.
• More than 60 pages of ready-to-run adventures and heroquests—venture into myth to refight the battles of the gods and gain their cosmic powers!
• A distinctive setting that will entertain longtime fans but is aimed at gamers who've never heard of Glorantha.

For Players, 13th Age Glorantha includes:

• 5 new classes, including the hell mother who summons Darkness spirits and giant spiders; the swordmaster Humakti who wields Death; and the trickster who (in theory!) funnels your bad luck onto your enemies.
• 5 new class variants, including the wind lord, a fighter with magical storm-related exploits; and the rebel, a rogue with the supernatural ability to get where he’s not supposed to be.
• 2 new PC races, the trolls and ducks, plus Gloranthan humans with new cultural traits.

The other book, also from Chaosium, is The Glorantha Sourcebook. As you might guess from the title -- it's a rich sourcebook about Glorantha, but don't take my word for it, check out the blurbs:

The Glorantha Sourcebook is an essential resource for Greg Stafford’s world of Glorantha, one of the most extensively developed and renowned fantasy settings of all time. A world of mythology, gods, and heroes, Glorantha has inspired roleplaying games, board games, computer games, comics, fiction, and more, a setting beloved and revered worldwide. 

An invaluable resource for gamemasters, players, and readers of fantasy worlds, this sourcebook is gorgeously illustrated and filled with informative maps and diagrams. Drawn from a variety of out-of-print and rare sources, this material has been dramatically revised, updated, and expanded. Alongside this foundational material are new essays, insights, and extrapolations on the world and its incredible denizens. 

Inside this sourcebook, you’ll learn about the creation of the world; the main ages of its past; the history of Dragon Pass and its people; the pantheons of the gods, including the Lightbringer and Lunar pantheons; the Coming of Argrath; Elder Races such as the Elves, Dragonewts, Dwarves, and Trolls; genealogies of the major royal dynasties; legends and lore of the various tribes and peoples inhabiting Glorantha; the fundaments of Gloranthan magic and the Runes that shape the world; the history and gods of the mighty Lunar Empire; and finally, the Hero Wars!

On the Radar: D&D Cyclopedia and New Styles of Play

You may not have heard yet, but at the end of January 2018, the D&D Cyclopedia went up for sale on DriveThruRPG. Apparently, it's possible to order printed versions of this, but I'm sorely tempted to get the PDF version, for archival purposes -- because it's only $9.99 at the time of this writing.

Now while, this was available before, they now also offer a softcover and hardcover version (POD, I believe). I own the hardcover, but the concept of a softcover version blows my mind!

Story Games & Indie Games in Mystara

The setting of Mystara is a such an easy go-to for me, especially when I have to force myself to read through new material these days (it used to be so easy to read and retain stuff) that I've been looking at how to build characters using the old system here -- then just use mechanics from a variety of sources to add a different sheen or style of play for a night or two, before going back to the old rules. What rules sets are these?

Retro-clones and Neo-clones

I won't go through the list, especially since you can find it online -- more than one, actually. But it's a trivial matter to go through this list to see what particular aspect of play might be spiced up by the emphasis of a given ruleset. In fact, that may be part of a future series of posts.

D&D 5th Edition

Given the system's construction, it's pretty easy to just use characters built from the Cyclopedia and then apply a handful of rules from 5th edition (Advantage / Disadvantage, hit points and death) and so on to get the modern feel without doing a full on conversion.

Special Plug-ins

If you want to handle something like investigations in the world of Mystara (there's been a multiple murder -- of the same guy, and he wants you to find out who's been killing him over and over), you may want to pick up something like Gumshoe (especially their rules-lite version Pocket Gumshoe), and pop it into place to handle some Manhunter of Mystara adventures in the Known World.

There's also the possibility of taking from the page of FATE, and similar and similar aspect-oriented games, to create an aspect or two for your character, which allows you to trigger a special Advantages / Disadvantages when you can invoke it them game -- due to circumstances -- in order to further cement your character's uniqueness in the world. They can be serious ("Not on my watch!") to silly ("Kobolds must but saved"), but do add a twist to the traditional gameplay in the setting.

Flights of Fandom: Star Wars Gaming

To me, Classic Star Wars is what Lucas had envisioned: a return to the pulpy, swashbuckling, never-tell-me-the-odds heroes against dastardly villians in a never-ending series of space opera cliffhangers and reversals.

But it also transcended that. In addition to the well-worn hero's journey, there was a celebration of friendship and loyalty, and an exultation in having close friends adventuring together and -- despite seemingly adversarial banter -- triumphing in the face of overwhelming odds.

Perhaps, in light of the conflict in fandom this day, it's time to explore what Star Wars means to us in our own circles of friends and gaming buddies -- through the classic Star Wars RPG!

Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game 30th Anniversary Edition

You can pre-order this limited edition recreation through the website of Fantasy Flight games, if you're eager to have the original edition of the book. I owned one of these way back when -- two of my prized possessions (I left it in the hands of a friend who has since drifted away) were the Star Wars RPG rulebook and sourcebook.

The price is a bit steep, and delivery to my country is always expensive. But hey, if I can pull together the creds -- and pay off Jabba first, of course -- who knows? The system really supported that seat-of-the-pants-adventuring feel, and the starship combat, chases, and melee combat resolution was fast and fun. And there was something magical about seeing all the technical specs, the in-universe ads and recruitement posters, and the pitch-perfect section on gamemastering that nailed what adventures in Star Wars are all about (based on the 3 original movies, anyway).

By the way: these books, for a time, were canon, and the basis for some of the Expanded Universe novels.

Classic System, Expanded Source Material

Of course, if you're not eager to cough up the creds for this limited edition set of books, you can always grab the classic West End Games system rules online. There's a generic line, now in the care of Nocturnal Media, that you can use to run your space opera games (d6 Space) with the same ruleset as Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. You can even grab the supplement (d6 Space Ships), so that your interstellar travels aren't limited to a Stock Light Freighter.

And you can of course go to places and settings that were never covered in the chronicles of adventures a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away:

• there's Bill Coffin's Septimus setting, which uses the same system, which will allow adventuring inside a Dyson Sphere and trying your luck against clashing factions within.
• there's Exilium by Fire Ruby Designs, which is a setting that allows you to play post-humans in a planning-spanning setting called the Flame Worlds.

and there are a number of resources out there online that you can search for that support the Classic Star Wars ruleset and setting.

Me, I'm trying to carve out time to read the new Star Wars RPGs by Fantasy Flight Games, but I'm a bit confused by all the offerings. Staying with the classic theme of this post, I'd probably target the Star Wars: Force and Destiny RPG.

Doctor Who: Farewell to Time & Space?

Well this is a short one. The new 'edition' of the Doctor Who RPG, formerly known as Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space (DWAITAS) --

is now known as --

-- Doctor Who Roleplaying Game. I guess enough time has passed since the FASA one, but I do wonder at the change. Was it because of the sheer length of the old name (despite the neat acronym), or because of some legal issues?

In any case, I do enjoy the look of the new book. Darker, somehow drawing from a shadowy yet still science fiction-y feel. The wild eyed, grey-haired look of the Doctor also somehow adds to the subtle shift in feel, though it's still the same system (Vortex) as before. A regeneration, as it were.

However, with the change in the status quo of the Doctor Who universe, is it finally time to clock in some gaming hours for this? Only time will tell.

Quick-bits 2: More Supers RPG news

I forgot about this in my last post, and it was even mentioned on the Hero Games message boards!

It's like adding a new channel to your feed list. The more you write about it, the more you see. Here are some other little bits of Supers RPG news you may be interested in.

Extreme Earth: A Dystopian Superhero Setting (Kickstarter)

Extreme Earth is, as cited in its title, a dystopian superhero setting. Drink in the colored art and the the write-ups on their kickstarter page, but pay attention to this little bit:

The EXTREME EARTH campaign setting is written by Joe Bardales with artwork and original concept by Jon Gibbons. There are seven different books for seven different RPG supers systems: the latest versions of BASH!, Bulletproof Blues, Fate Accelerated Edition, ICONS, Mutants and Masterminds, Savage Worlds, and SUPERS! We have assembled a team of conversion experts to make sure each of these different rules systems is properly tailored to fit the EXTREME EARTH setting.

Aha! Multiple game systems! Excellent! Wait -- no HERO? *gasp*

Wait, wait, in the updates:

However, as a way of saying thank you to all of you who supported this Kickstarter, we are going to give free PDF copies of the Cold Steel Wardens and Champions/HERO versions of EXTREME EARTH when they finally become available to anyone who backs the current Kickstarter at the CITIZEN OF EXTREME EARTH level or higher as a bonus.

No print version, but a PDF version. Still pretty cool, especially if you've made the jump to digital like I have.

Settings of the Fainting Goat

I'm intrigued by the potential story of the fainting goat, but I have to say that I like two of their settings for the ICONS RPG: Welcome to Stark City and The Great Game.


Stark City is something I'm going to review in the upcoming weeks as a setting for superheroic gaming in the ICONS ruleset. It reads really well, and sparks lots of campaign ideas.

I've always been interested supers settings, and signature supers cities in particular are always a challenge to flesh out. Perhaps one day I'll be able to put together my fictional RPG supers universe stitching together all the fictional cities in RPGs across the world.

Wait, let's not spin off more work for ourselves. Here's a blurb from the product listing itself:

Stark City is ... both a source of inspiration and a home for all of those diverse ICONS adventures to comfortably take place, a framework to tie them together, and a springboard for your imagination. From the streets of the downtown Silver District to the ultra-modern Telsa Industrial Park, from the wealthy Platinum Coast to the seedy dives of Geartown, you’ll find endless opportunities for taking the ideas found in this book and transforming them into stories of your own, because Stark City is ultimately about your heroes and their stories, an additional player to add to the ensemble cast of your ICONS game. 

The Great Game is something different. Still a setting, it's for galactic & space-based superheroic gaming. I really love the homages to various seminal characters and organizations in comic books, and the twists are very interesting in pulling together various elements of the settings into a cohesive whole. Take a peek:

• A mad god searches for a dark ritual that will give him the means to destroy the universe.
• A corrupt space-police organization enslaves civilized worlds to enrich itself.
• An empire of sentient machines is exterminating any biological life in its path.
• Pirates prey upon the space-ways with impunity

Worth a look? You betcha.

Quick-Bits: Supers RPG news

I've not had time to write a lot about RPGs, what with all the deadlines and work, but here are a few items of RPG news related to super-heroes that are top of mind right now:

The Worlds In Peril RPG on Kickstarter

I learned about this from Google+, but the concept intrigues me: a supers RPG based on the *World engine, the system behind Apocalypse World and Dungeon World RPGs.

Not been able to play either one, but Worlds In Peril would definitely get me to try it out. From reading these RPGs (the finished versions of Apocalypse World and Dungeon World, and the in-editing version of Worlds in Peril), the idea of creating a PC in broad archetypeal strokes, and then refining and discovering more about them and the world during play intrigues me.

The fact that this is *World entry is in the super-heroic genre is enough to make me want to jump in!

Here's part of their marketing copy:

Worlds in Peril combines descriptive, creative and flexible powers with a narrative structure that encourages players to take control of their stories and build worlds together. Powered by the Apocalypse World system (2d6+ modifier), Worlds in Peril is a standalone RPG that will produce compelling super hero action in any world with little-to-no preparation. Play to find out what happens, be the hero you want to be!

There are a few days left (3 at the time of this writing), so if this is your kind of jam -- take a shot at this one!

Bulletproof Blues -- Successful Kickstart!

What's that you say? Bulletproof Blues is already an RPG; why was there a (successful) kickstart of this? Well, this is the 2nd Edition you see. They can improve all sorts of stuff on this RPG! Here listen to them:

"Bulletproof Blues is a rules-light, setting-dark superhero RPG. The game is getting new art and an updated layout. All of the art and text has been, and will be, released under a Creative Commons license."

Sounds good -- I look forward to the release of the second edition! Art looks good, and I'm digging the rules I've read so far. Waiting to get to the powers to fully grok things.

Invulnerable Super Hero RPG: Vigilante Edition

Yet another supers RPG? This one came out in April and caught my eye with its art and my interest in many things super-heroic related.

I'll admit to being a collector (not ultra-obsessive, just mildly so) for many supers RPG systems, because there are so very many subgenres of the super-hero genre, and I'm always down for using a specific system to effect a particular feel or mood due to the mechanics and the super-heroic color of the writing and the art.

Here's their spiel:

Invulnerable's simple, flexible system lets you create a super hero with a wide array of exciting Powers and Power Enhancements, quickly and easily. Purchase Levels in a Power and pick some Enhancements, and you're good to go! If you want more fine-tuned control, tweak every gadget and mutation with Power Modifiers.

Being a super hero is more than punching tanks and laser-blasting alien invaders, though. Invulnerable encourages roleplaying with its Motivations and Central Contradictions. What does your hero believe in? And what storytelling tension does this character bring to the table? Make the call!

Invulnerable supports every power level, from street-level crimefighters up to interstellar paragons, and includes a complete setting, Earth-Omega, with its own heroes, villains, and mooks to face. This new edition brings new Talent Focuses and Power Enhancements, revamps Power Modifiers, refines the damage system, streamlines combat, and has tons of new internal art.

Sounds like something for you? Pick it up at DriveThruRPG!

Valiant Universe: The Roleplaying Game

You heard that right.

The Valiant Universe RPG.

No way? Yes way!

Well, there's only a quickstart rule download available now, but the full RPG is slated for release in July of 2014. Check out all their related offerings on DriveThruRPG:

The edge between superhero and villain has never been sharper. In the Valiant Universe RPG, players will immerse themselves in a dark and gritty world where every mission and every battle has deadly consequences. Whether playing X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Shadowman or even the all-powerful Toyo Harada—or any of dozens of characters—Valiant’s most fearless heroes will unite for the first time in a roleplaying game, allowing you to join their stories and create new ones!

Whether you’re a longtime fan or brand new to the Valiant Universe, this is the only source you’ll need to bring Valiant’s leading characters to life in a fantastic superheroes setting!

I tell you -- with all this, plus the Marvel films, plus the 75 year celebrations of various super-heroes, it's a great time for the Super-heroic RPG!

On the Radar: Some Thoughts on the Ennies

I was browsing through the winners of the Ennies, trying -- I suppose -- to see how up-to-date and in tune I really was with the popular view of the RPG industry. Overall, I sense that I'm really a niched kind of gamer, with off-center tastes, but I'd hesitate to call myself eccentric or unusual given the pool of gamers out there.

Here are a few things that caught my eye:

Night's Black Agents gets the Silvers for Best Game AND Best Writing

I did an Armchair Review for this RPG and its related campaign, The Zalohzny Quartet, and I heartily agree with the award. It's a lovely crafted subgenre that does spectacular work in focusing on the parent genre -- espionage -- for genre emulation.

I think a lot of people recognize its many merits; after all it was nominated for Best Rules, Best Interior Art, Best Game, Best Writing and Product of the Year!

On a meta level, the Gumshoe ruleset is certainly coming along nicely. It's gotten so that the ruleset allows for a greater variety of genre scope.

In fact, with Night's Black Agents, Ashen Stars, Trail of Cthulhu, and Mutant City Blues, a possible sub-campaign premise in my developing Confederation Chronicles campaign would be:

Not all Lasers are released into the wilds of space. Some are tasked to keep track of worlds and systems being brought into the fold of the expanding Confederation -- to make sure that the weaknesses, dangers, and existential threats that might be lurking beneath the surface of these rediscovered wonders do not destroy all that the Confederation has built.

Trained, Motivated, and gifted with special abilities that set them apart from their peers, these Ultra-violet Lasers stand against another Fall of Night, as the Confederation struggles toward a true rebirth.

Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space wins the Gold for Best Family Game AND Doctor Who: The Time Traveler's Companion wins the Silver for Best Supplement

I quite like this RPG, and I'd never actually thought about it as being a family game. The de-emphasis on combat (and rules that support this -- with talking and running taking place before any combat initiative-wise) was, in my mind, a great nod to this genre of TV show.

In retrospect, it does have a family appeal with the emphasis on resorting to communication first, before resorting to an out-and-out rumble.

The supplements for this RPG have also been astounding, with real love for the entire series very evident. A review of the Second Doctor's sourcebook will be upcoming.

Other Items of Note

Eldritch Skies gets a Judge's nod -- a game whose take on the Cthulhu mythos deserves a return, beyond my initial Armchair Review. Certain themes and aspects of the themes and tone make it a fresh feel on the standard mythos treatement, in my humble opinion.

Also, this Pathfinder RPG seems to be really popular. ;) Probably should give it a read.

On the Radar: D&D Cyclopedia

I still have this in hardcopy. Need to find a way to preserve it better -- the perils of living in a tropical clime. And maybe I should pick it up in electronic form already! Fortunately, it's available online already... for $9.99 at the time of this writing.

I remember buying this, even though I still had my B/X rulebooks and could borrow the rest of the BECMI sets, because I wanted to have one solid reference -- with monsters -- in my hand whenever I wanted to run this game.

Once again, the entry's description has tidbits of historical significance, courtesy of Shannon Appelcline. Here's an excerpt:

"The Compilation. The Rules Cyclopedia is a compilation of the D&D Basic Rules Set (1983), the D&D Expert Rules Set (1983), the D&D Companion Rules (1984), and the D&D Master Rules (1985). It contains not only the rules from those boxed sets, but also the monsters, making the Cyclopedia one of two great sources for Basic D&D monsters, the other being the Creature Catalog (1986, 1993). Approximately 150 pages of rules on characters and magic from the "GAZ" Gazetteers (1987-91) are also included, making the Cyclopedia a truly massive compilation of about a decade's worth of Basic D&D rules.

The Immortals Rules (1986) are notably not included in the Cyclopedia, although it does contain seven pages from the Master Rules that include basic information for immortals, including rules on PCs ascending to those lofty ranks.

Rules on jousting in tournaments and on artifacts were also left out of the Cyclopedia.

Not an Introductory Book! Unlike every other iteration of Basic D&D, this one was not intended to be an introductory roleplaying book. It was instead a reference for Basic D&D play, which matched TSR's thinking about the AD&D 2e rules. 

Expanding the Known World. The Cyclopedia doesn't expand the Known World in any notable way, but it does include a rather impressive atlas, featuring 16 full color maps, including the maps from the Gazetteers and the world maps from the Master Rules and the Hollow World Campaign Set (1990)."

What are you waiting for? Pick it up now!

RPG News: A Pathfinder Sale!

Have you heard about the Pathfinder Sale? It's this week it's on Pathfinder compatible RPG PDFs. Over a thousand PDFs are be marked down 40%!

Been holding off on the purchase of that setting or supplement? Now's the time!

Books of interest include the following:

The Midgard Campaign Setting by Wolfgang Baur and the folks at Open Design has gotten high marks for its production values and its writing.

Maybe it's time to spend on this richly detailed campaign setting?

Lorefinder is a mashup of the GUMSHOE rules with Pathfinder. So for those who've got a hankering for investigation mixed in with their hack & slash, this may be the ruleset for you!

NeoExodus: A House Divided is a high-powered Pathfinder setting with some science fiction genre tropes mixed into its thoroughly fantasy setting. Give it a try at a discounted price this week!

Heroes of the Jade Oath is one of the best Far East-inspired settings for the Pathfinder ruleset. Looking to change up your fantasy adventuring for your gaming group? Look no further!

The Freeport Companion is a lovely resource for the Freeport setting cast in Pathfinder rules. It's one of the two swashbuckling settings I'd recommend for this ruleset -- high seas adventure, abounding treachery, and a touch of cosmic horror!

Sales & Promo Watch: OSR Promotion on RPGNow

DriveThruRPG / RPGNow have created an exclusive 15% off coupon code: OSRF711F2

It's good for these 12 featured OSR titles! The coupon code is good for the week of Monday 5/13 - Sunday 5/19 only; use it while it's still valid!

On the Radar: Gaming in the 'Verse

or Why Must You Take All My Money, Margaret Weis Productions?

I just spotted this on RPGNow: the Firefly RPG Preview Pre-Order! What exactly is a Preview Pre-Order? Well, according to the page:

This PDF pre-order is for the digital, full-color version of this exclusive and will be available to fans worldwide. Gaming in the 'Verse will include preview material that will be expanded upon and published in the upcoming Firefly Role-Playing Game based on the popular Fox television series created by Joss Whedon. 

* Sample Art and Full-Color Map Previews
* Select Chapter Previews
* "Wedding Planners" a playable Echoes of War adventure written by Margaret Weis
* "Shooting Fish" a playable Echoes of War adventure written by Andrew Peregrine
* "Serenity Crew" a collection of stand-alone characters compatible with the Echoes of War line
* Chinese pronunciation guide
* ...and more! 

All game material provided in Gaming in the 'Verse: Gen Con 2013 Exclusive will employ the Cortex Plus mechanic. The estimated release for the Firefly RPG is Winter 2013.

But that's not all. Check this out:

Fans who purchase this GenCon Exclusive will also receive a 20% discount off the Firefly RPG corebook at DriveThruRPG. This discount will be e-mailed directly after the corebook debuts.

So, what are you waiting f--

What? So this isn't the pre-order for the Corebook? It's the pre-order for the preview. Of course. Quite obvious in retrospect; it's right there in the title.

Ah, got a bit excited there. Hm. Still, I'll probably get it anyway since I plan on getting the core book...

D&D Classics: A Surprising Source of History and Trivia

Some of you may be aware that some of your favorite D&D classic rulebooks and modules are available online on DriveThruRPG and RPGNow.com.

However you may not know that the descriptions of some of the products (I haven't gone through them all -- I have a life, really!) have a write-up on their historical significance and some trivia associated with each.

From (WG4) The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, for example, we learn that

Though "Tharizdun" was labeled as WG4, there were no previous "WG" adventures (and never would be). In the Glossography for the World of Greyhawk boxed set (1983), TSR indicated that T1: "The Village of Hommlet" (1979) was meant to be WG1 and that S4: "The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth" was meant to be WG3. Meanwhile, in Dragon #71 (March 1983), Gygax revealed that the adventure formerly known as T2: "The Temple of Elemental Evil" was to be WG2 - but he now said it was to be published in two parts.

There's more there with some behind-the-scenes history and speculation on what might have been.

This, of course, piqued my curiosity and I check out one of my own favorites from the Mystara collection of modules: (B10) Night's Dark Terror. I found out that:

the TSR UK office wanted to code the adventure "B/X1," making it clear that it was a transition from Basic to Expert. The home office demurred, though, so the adventure went out as "B10" in the US and was stickered as "B/X1" in the UK. The "B/X1" copies of the module are much rarer (though an original printing of the adventure is pretty expensive on the secondary markets in any form).

Furthermore, it also turns out that

"Night's Dark Terror" marks the start of the second wave of Known World creativity, following the period from 1981-1986 when it was primarily the vision of Zeb Cook. The adventure details many of the wildlands of the Grand Duchy of Karamekios and also introduces new peoples such as the ancient Hutaakans and the Iron Ring slavers. It extensively describes several major locations, such as the city of Threshold. A magic tapestry of the lands that appears within the adventure really helps to define B10 as the gazetteer for this part of the Known World. 

No surprise, then, that this module was the major source for GAZ1: The Grand Duchy of Karameikos (1987), which got the second wave of Known World publication really going.

Also, further justifying some of my ripping off of The Enemy Within for my old Mystara campaign:

Authors Bambra and Gallagher both left TSR UK to work for Games Workshop in 1986, where they coauthored Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (1986). Ironically, they brought a little bit of "Terror" with them: A map of Sukiskyn from B10 reappears in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay as "Map 7: Typical Farmstead."

Which I suppose ensures that I'll eventually pick up a PDF of this module that I already have in print form... somewhere in my dusty collection of RPG material.

It turns out that this material is written by Shannon Appelcline, who worked on the highly recommended book Designers & Dragons -- a history of the RPG hobby!

Watching the Heard: No More Princess Ark

A time for endings, it seems.

According to Bruce Heard's "Bye-bye, Princess Ark" post on his blog, there will be no further writings using that particular bit of intellectual property. As his discussions with the IP manager of WOTC revealed:

"There was no interest in anything involving a transfer of rights, a sale, a license agreement, a permission to publish, or any other option--as a matter of policy.  From what I'd heard of WotC, I knew this going in."

So, no new Princess Ark fiction, and perhaps a curtailing of the Mystara-related posts that had been fleshing out one of my favorite settings from D&D.

I do look forward to the future work of Bruce Heard, in particular his upcoming supplement for The Secret Fire RPG.

The Secret Fire RPG was Winner of the 2012 Innovative Game Design Award from I-CON 31, and is an RPG that apparently blends old school gameplay with storytelling. With Heard's involvement in a supplement, I may just revisit it out of curiosity.

And what of my own posts on Mystara & Enigmundia?

Well, my early instincts to differentiate Enigmundia from its inspiration (Mystara) seems to have made sense. To be honest, it was more because I didn't want to confuse my own wildly divergent ideas from being confused with canon. But in light of this, there'll be a clearer distinction in the future.

No More Marvel -- for now

Well, that's a shame.

According to the press release, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying by the folks at Margaret Weiss Productions is going away.

Here's the official statement from their Pipeline News page.

And in Marvel news… the economics of licensing a tie-in product is always something we have to weigh carefully. We brokered an admittedly ambitious license with Marvel. Our first event, CIVIL WAR, was successful and well received, but it didn’t garner the level of sales necessary to sustain the rest of the line. We’ve learned from this and are taking a very different approach with the other licensed properties we’re bringing out to you in the next three years. We believe we created a great game. Those of you that have supported us have been terrific, and we appreciate you. But, unfortunately, we will not be bringing any new product out under the Marvel line. We know this affects our customers. Those that have pre-ordered Annihilation will receive a full refund or a credit worth 150% of their Annihilation order to use on existing or future product.

It's sad, but them's the breaks with licenses. It's time to pick up all the PDFs you've been planning to get on RPGNow, because they're going to be gone in around 5 or 6 days after this posting.

Quick Hits - March 2013

Cubicle 7 is coming out with some neat Doctor Who stuff on all the incarnations of over favorite Timelord, starting with the First Doctor. Hope to do a review soon.

Also, because of some Transformers-related posts on GooglePlus, I've become interested in two ongoing IDW comics series:

• Transformers: Robots In Disguise; and
• Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye

primarily because there's a certain depth to the setting, a greying of the sides of the Cybertronian war (which has ended for now), and some fantastic, surprising, and shocking characterization of some Autobots and Decepticons that have become my favorites. The humor, and occasional light-hearted stories make a fine counterpoint to the dark past of Cybertron and the surprising history of some well-known heroes and villains.

I particularly liked the spotlight on Ratchet in this issue:

Lastly, I'm working on a Steampunk / Wuxia RPG ruleset -- tinkering with FUDGE, FATE, and (gasp) Fuzion for this Frankenstein system. It means I've been on a steady diet of Wuxia films. The big winners have been Wu Xia (with Donnie Yen and Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Reign of Assassins (with Michelle Yeoh).

The stories are good, there's some humor, great fight scenes, and some tragedy and drama and human moments strung together into satisfying films.

Of course, your mileage and taste may differ.

New Year, New Game: Only 2 Days Left!

DriveThruRPG's sale is running out of time, and I wanted to give a list of things that caught my eye, just in case some of you share the same interests.

1. Conspiracy X -- This is version 2.0 and it uses Unisystem, which I've been fond of ever since I ran a Buffy the Vampire Slayer campaign set here in the Philippines. It's a great, easy to teach, and allows you to take stuff from all the other Unisystem games out there. It shouldn't be too much of a stretch, given the premise of the game:
   
   "Conspiracy X takes place in a world of dark secrets and hidden agendas where the only certainty is nothing is what it seems. The president might not be human... and the sign carrying paranoid on the street corner ranting about CIA mind control satellites may very well be right."
   
2. Imperium Chronicles Roleplaying Game -- This is a new game system, and threatens to scratch my constant itching for new Science Fiction settings. Here's the premise:
   
   "The Imperium Chronicles is a mashup of sci-fi and fantasy, set in a universe of intrigue and adventure. The Imperium is a tapestry of conflicting groups, each with their own agenda. From the richest aristocrat to the poorest thug, every citizen dreams of power, prestige, and a piece of the action."
   
   Sounds like a good space opera campaign! Also, a quick look at the publisher's page shows that there are already other sourcebooks and minis available for the game.
   
3. Leverage Roleplaying Game -- Powered by another Cortex+ variant, this one can help recreate the heist and scam-filled episodes of the TV show. It's a different take on the action/adventure filled modern day world with less guns blazing and more lies, doubletalk, and sneaking about -- but always for a good cause.
   
   "Based on TNT’s hit show, The LEVERAGE Role Playing Game puts you in the middle of a dysfunctional but highly specialized group of con artists, criminals, and crooks who are trying to turn over a new leaf. You protect the victims of corporations, mobsters, and corrupt politicians by using your expert skills to outwit and overcome the real bad guys."
   
   Already, it has some additional sourcebooks that I've also reviewed elsewhere in this blog.

What are the games that caught your eye in the sale?

On the Radar: Doctor Who RPG and Sourcebooks

Looking to adventure in the universe of the Doctor? Hoping to spend some time on Gallifrey, or take in the sights on Skaro? Well, for those of you who haven't been keeping tabs, there is an official Doctor Who RPG out and available.

And in true Doctor Who fashion, it regenerated to keep up with the current incarnation.

Choose Your Doctor

If you prefer Tennant over Smith or visa versa, there's a Doctor Who RPG available for you:

Tenth Doctor version

Eleventh Doctor version

Of course, if you're a compleatist, you can always purchase the adventure packs for the Tenth and Eleventh doctors if you wish -- yes, they're different in each version -- or if the adventures don't matter to you so much, perhaps buy the Tenth Doctor version of the RPG and buy the Eleventh Doctor upgrade pack. Oh, wait, the upgrade pack's free!

Choose Humanity

Of course, you could choose instead to be a member of U.N.I.T. and battle all those strange things that keep invading Earth with neat technology, and not so much of the 'run, don't shoot' philosophy of the Doctor. You could also use it for a Torchwood campaign, since it doesn't look like they're coming out with one.

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for U.N.I.T., primarily in the person of the Brigadier and those doomed, brave, often nameless soldiers that keep getting mowed down like Star Trek redshirts.

Perhaps we can take a page from Dog Soldiers and X-COM and put together a proper counter-alien team. Too much killing for The Doctor, you say? Well, he isn't always around, you know.

Fight Nasties

Of course, you need your own set of (properly frightening) opponents. If the adventures weren't enough for you, you could certainly pick up the Monster Manual of this RPG -- Doctor Who: Aliens & Creatures. Want to tackle the Cybermen, or face off against the Weeping Angels? Then this is the book for you, you mad, doomed soul.