What's Happening?

Whew! I've been gaming a lot.

A lot!

Well, a lot for me in comparison to last year at least. 

Most of it has been very fun too, and really, what more can you ask for?

At this point I figured I should update you all on what I'm doing, if for no other reason than to share the joy, and get some new content up on this blog for cripes sake! It's September 18th, and this is only my third post! Sheesh! 

Have no fear citizens, a meatier post is forthcoming. 

Most of the games I'm in, or running are bi-weekly, or monthly. Only the online Google Hangouts Kapow! Group (the one I am running DC Adventures for right now) meets every week.

Wait. That isn't exactly true. I meet with Dan's Group every Friday night (roughly), but we alternate games. 

Following our DC Adventures game, the Google Hangouts Kapow! Group will be doing a DC/Marvel Crossover, and then its back to our Kapow! campaign. 

Crisis on Earth G+

We've had three sessions so far, and everyone seems to be having a great time. I can tell you that I am. This mini-campaign is just my personal love letter to the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths, Silver/Bronze Age continuity of DC Comics. Getting the chance to do this is awesome, but knowing that my players appreciate the work I've put in is really icing on the cake. 

This week will feature the fourth part of our story, and a trip to World War II, and Golden Age DC! In addition to DC's WW II 'War Comics' heroes, such as Sgt. Rock, and Easy Company, G.I. Robot, and Jeb Stuart and The Haunted Tank, we'll get a guest appearance by the Earth-2 Justice Society of America! Woohoo! I can't wait.

Star Trek Adventures: Excalibur

Our new Google Hangouts group completed the adventure 'The Rescue at Xerxes IV' last week, and I must admit, it was really good. A fairly straight forward scenario, it was nonetheless an excellent introduction to the new Star Trek Adventures RPG. 

We are going forward with a mini-campaign, which may last no more than one additional adventure scenario, or it may continue onward. Lots of enthusiasm, but no pressure to commit to a tightly scheduled, long term game. 

We run this every two weeks, or so at a terribly late hour on Saturdays. 

The idea of using the Star Trek Adventures game to run a campaign based on 'The Orville' (which I touched on in my previous post) is one that keeps popping into my head. I am currently trying to rework the character sheets, and obtain as much information about the setting as possible, which isn't easy considering the series has only had two episodes at this point. 

My Hero Academia: American Ultra!

The Students of UA High School's Class 1-A

My Hero Academia

We've had three sessions of American Ultra, my homebrewed spin-off campaign based on the popular Japanese Anime/Manga series, My Hero Academia. 

So far it's been really great, with moments of WOW. It's some of the best GMing I've done in a long time, and I have the perfect group of players for it. Everyone, and everything just connects in a way that makes the game a pleasure to run, and the players have told me they love it.

The first two sessions had a nice mix of action, intrigue, humor, and world building. The third was much more focused on character development/role playing, investigation, and was a tad less funny, and action packed, but the players/PCs uncovered a bombshell reveal that had the team 'Holy Crap!'-ing all the way to the end. 

I'm pretty proud of that.

Next session is coming soon.

New Group - New Campaign - Villains & Vigilantes?

We played a super fun game of that Superhero RPG classic, Villains & Vigilantes last week, and are considering turning it into a campaign.

When I say we, I really mean myself, and two of my buddies. The third participant from our first foray won't be able to make it on a regular basis. Actually, it will be a rare occurrence if he can make it, which is too bad. He was a great guy to game with, and really rounded out the team.

While we had a great time, and I was flooded with nostalgia over the use of the very first Supers game I'd ever run, the loss of the third player and the fact that I am already running two Superhero campaigns has me wondering if this is a missed opportunity to run something else, like a Sci-Fi/Space Adventure game. 

More about this in my next post.

This group will also probably meet every two weeks, but I'm kind of running out of free days, and nights, so we'll play it by ear. 

Dan's Group - Alternating Games

Dan's Group meets at my friend Dan's house, and therefore we creatively refer to our entourage as 'Dan's Group'. Currently, Dan isn't GMing our Friday night games. That task is usually handled by my friend Alex, who is running a home-modified Powered by the Apocalypse 'Harry Potter/Hogwarts' game, or myself running...whatever. 

Whatever is a catch-all for the various games I start up with the group, run for a couple to several sessions, and then try to figure out what else might work better. Over the past year, or so this has included Ars Magica 3rd Ed., Champions 4th Ed., Marvel Heroic, Star Trek (LUG Version), and a number of others.

The problem is that games with the group never feel quite right to me. While we all get along and share similar interests, our playing and GMing styles are quite different, and even clash on occasion. The group is doing great with Alex's game, but every game I try feels either underwhelming, or annoying. 

I've yet to figure out what game works best with this assembly of gamers. 

I will keep trying of course. 

That's all for now. I have another post coming up very soon on some game ideas that have come to me of late. With any luck I can get this next entry out tonight.

Until then,

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Barking Alien

One for All

Recapping our first session of My Hero Academia: American Ultra...

For those unfamiliar with My Hero Academia, it proposes a world where some 8, or 9 generations from now (roughly), about 80% of the world's population has some form of superpower, known as a 'Quirk'.

Quirks vary widely, and may manifest as relatively minor abilities such as breathing underwater, or moving very small, lightweight objects with one's mind, to devastating levels of super strength, or the power to generate intense heat and flames.

In the Japanese Manga and Anime it is explained that to prevent Japan from descending into pure chaos as a result of these conditions, it was made generally illegal to use ones' Quirk in public for any reason. It is highly illegal to use ones Quirk against another person, or against public buildings, or private property.

There are still those who attempt to abuse, or unlawfully benefit from their Quirk. As police generally do not use their Quirks in combat situations (adhering to, and upholding the same laws that apply to citizens), the profession of Hero was developed to handle such criminals. 

In order to be a professional Hero, one much qualify for a Hero License. Once a license is obtained, it is common for new Heroes to join up with one of the many privately operated (but government approved) Hero Agencies.

As with any vocations, schools were developed to help teach potential professional do-gooders how to be Heroes. Staffed by former, and current Pro-Heroes, Japan's most famous and well regarded high school is Ultra Academy (UA) High School in Musutafu, Japan * (thought to be located Shizuoka Prefecture).

Japan's greatest hero is All Might, whose rather unusual quirk is known as One for All. 

Our campaign is set in the USA of this world, beginning around the same time as the events in the Japanese Manga begin. There are a number of differences between my American setting, and that of the Japanese original.

First, American laws are a bit more flexible, and relaxed, which means the police do occasionally use minor quirks to help with their police work, delivery boys bike across town with an occasional burst of super speed, and causal quirk use in public places is not illegal, though it may be frowned upon in certain areas. By contrast, the penalties for aggressive quirk use with the intent to cause harm are much more severe. 

The US in general, and New York especially, sees more crime than Japan does, and it's Hero organizations are set up differently to respond to that. Instead of privatized companies and agencies, American Heroes are split into teams overseen by one, or more government agencies. While most superhero teams operate on either a city, state, or federal level, it is not the city, state, or even Department of Defense that has jurisdiction over them. Instead it is a series of Supers specific groups, and departments such as the US Department of Quirk Affairs, and Welfare, and Q.U.A.N.T.U.M. (the Quirk User Anti-terrorism Network Tactical Unit Monitor).

There are hero schools in the USA as well, with the best known and respected being American Ultra (AU) High School. To be a professional Hero on any level, American heroes also need to obtain a license just like the Heroes of Japan, and AU is the recommended place to start training for such a calling, and career. 

Episode 1: 'Favorite Sons and Daughters'

I opened with a prologue scene (which the PCs were not involved in), in which America's greatest hero, Favorite Son, and a protege'/sidekick hero named Waterbug, are chasing down a superhuman assassin named Killjoy. Favorite Son knows for a fact that Killjoy ran down a particular alley, and has cornered him there. Favorite Son sent other members of his team to surround the block just in case Killjoy made an attempt to escape. Waterbug is there to watch, and learn, and alert the other team members if things get nasty.

The thing is, Killjoy, though very dangerous, is no match for Favorite Son. While Killjoy is similar to Marvel's Deadpool, or DC's Slade Wilson/Deathstroke, he is not as good, or as powerful as those men. Favorite Son meanwhile is similar to Captain America, though decidedly more powerful, and possessing an additional superpower unknown to most of the world's populace (and not mentioned here). 

The lights in the alley go out suddenly, and Waterbug, who thought he saw something seconds before, is suddenly gripped with severe, debilitating doubt, sadness, and despair. Obviously the work of Killjoy (Quirk: Sorrow - Emotion Control that absorbs positive feelings, and thoughts, and heightens negative feelings, sadness, and depression).

Suddenly, Waterbug is stabbed through the chest by a katana! As he clutches his chest, and slumps to the ground, Favorite Son spins around searching for his attacker, and is stabbed as well. Both men are left bleeding in the alley...

And we cut to the next morning, where the top news story on every station is the death of Favorite Son (oh, and Waterbug). Heroes, current and retired, speak on how this terrible tragedy could have happened. Most agree that while the evidence points to Killjoy murdering the two heroes, it seems so unlikely that Favorite Son couldn't have taken him on. 

Flags across the country fly at half staff. A National Moment of Silence is declared in the early morning hours. A rifle salute is given at Arlington National Cemetery. 

That day, a Monday, marked a very special day for American Ultra High School, the USA's premiere Hero Training School, located in New York City, New York. It was the day accepted applicants were to take their placement tests to see what class, and department they'd be in.

Many recommended cancelling the event, including well known Superheroes and government officials. However, the school's principal, the beloved, long time heroine Timeless Beauty, declared that after the moment of silence the placement tests would go on as planned.

Timeless Beauty was a close, personal friend of Favorite Son, and gave a rousing speech about how he would want them to go on with the vital task of training the next generation of heroic defenders of peace, justice, and good will. He would want to send the message that, "Our spirit remains intact. Our mission never more clear."

Scene cut to the front of American Ultra High School, where over 120 students, their parents, family, friends, and teachers gather together waiting for the event to begin. And the placement exams truly are an event, and a time honored tradition at AU. 

The PCs are in the crowd, eager to see who else will be attending classes with them, who the teachers are, and what more (if anything) they can learn about the passing of Favorite Son.

The PCs are:

Darien Thomas (Played by Dave)

Quirk: Ball Lightning - Darien surrounds himself with a field of electricity that is dangerous to come into contact with (you could get electrocuted! Stay grounded! Wear rubber gloves!). After charging up for a few seconds, he can shoot himself throw the air like a lightning bolt. The field remains the whole time, making him a cross between an electricity character, and Marvel's Cannonball. 

Darien is the son of two very famous pro-heroes. His mother is the extremely popular Electric Blue, whose electricity quirk is one of the top versions in the world. His father is the well liked, but less popular Momentum. His Quirk is called Unstoppable, and he is a bit like the Juggernaut of Marvel Comics. 

The family is wealthy, upper class, but environmentally, and socially conscious. They are popular among the Superhero set, as well as the public (though Mom, and Son more than Dad, as he can be a little gruff). Darien grew up with Superheroes the way a lot of Celebrity's kids grow up knowing Hollywood types. 

On the surface, Darien is 'the popular kid', and seems a bit shallow and showy. In truth, he plays that part because its what the public expects. With closer connections, family and friends, he is very serious about being a hero. He is more down to Earth than one would expect.

There's a lot of pressure for Darien to do well, especially from his parents, but he remains a good natured, friendly sort who is trying hard to take it all in stride. 

Darien is friends with a number of other pro-Superhero 'celebrity kids', such as...

Jax Reed (Played by Marcus) 

Quirk: Sound Control - Jax can control sound. He can increase, or decrease the volume of any sound around him, including silencing loud explosions. Jax can not create, or completely eliminate a sound however, and when he appears to silence something, he must release that sound somewhere else. He can of course create sound by snapping, or speaking, but he can't, for instance, think of a sound and have it happen. 

The power is pretty versatile, though Jax is most accustomed to using it as a blast by absorbing the vibrations of loud noises and redirecting them. 

Jax, like Darien, is a legacy. His grandfather was the well known hero Sonic Marvel, who eventually retired from Superheroing to become a political and social activist, and community leader. 

Jax's parents are apparently quite wealthy, having made money off of granddad's fame. They run a business that produces the Sonic Marvel animated cartoon, makes the action figures, t-shirts, and assists in funding his charity and non-profit work. 

By contrast, Jax and his grandfather live in a middle income neighborhood, enjoying a simple 'blue collar' lifestyle. Sonic Marvel wanted Jax to grow up the same way he did, hoping that would lead to his grandson gaining the same morals, and sense of right and wrong that he has.

Sonic Marvel was a major advocate of a low-income housing program backed by the Catholic Church which is the current residence of...

Seph Rigard (Played by Jeff)

Quirk: Belief-Shaping - Seph can transform belief in himself, in his ideals, and in his goals into solid, and semi-solid 'energy' that he can then shape into various useful forms. If others join him in achieving the same goal, or give him encouragement (i.e. believe in him, or share his belief), he has more energy to work with. 

Essentially, he is like a Green Lantern, or possibly a Blue Lantern. He can not perform fine manipulation or create fine details thus far. Nor can he generate any of the side effect or additional powers many Green Lanterns seem to be able to manifest (Creating a fire extinguisher that actually puts out fire or a Sonar machine that bounces sound waves). The power is still incredibly useful, flexible, and potentially dangerous.

Seph has a very interesting background, though much of it remains a mystery. 

He is originally from England. Following the disappearance of his parents, his older sister became a rebellious youth, acting out as a hero or villain as her needs and desires suited her. After a near disastrous run in with a powerful pro-Superhero, she decided to make a major change for herself and her younger brother by moving to the USA.

The two youths found help, housing, and friendship through the Church. One particular priest took to looking after them personally and became a mentor for Seph. During one of their talks, the priest told Seph, "You are destined to do great things. You will make a difference in the world but only if you believe you can." Seph took this to heart and with the priest's help, applied to American Ultra High School. 

Seph is very philosophical, and seems older and wiser than his years. He gets along well with the other PCs, though each is a very different personality.

As the PCs interacted with each other they also met a slew of their future classmates. Among them were...

Chenrong Leung - Childhood friend of Darien's who can teleport short distances (only a few inches or so), although she does this very often and very quickly. The strobe light-like effect makes it very hard to hit her or lock onto her with quirk attacks. It also gives her low-level super speed.

Chet Walters - A jerky jock with a quirk that creates a basketball sized 'kinetic ball' of force. 

Desiree Alvarez - Very self-assured girl with density increase resulting in super durability and strength.

Jeremy Byrne - A nerdy kid with powerful heat vision.

Jesse Kirkman - Zombie looking girl who appears to be undead. Doesn't tire, breath, etc.

Lana Poe - A quiet, blue haired, pale skinned girl with a chilling touch.

Mikita Sferson - Daughter of the pro-hero 'The Viking'. She can generate disc shaped 'shields' of force.

Spencer Greyson - A kid with gray skin, white hair, pointy ears, and antenna. His quirk enables him to temporary redirect the pull of gravity, making people or objects appear to fall up, backward, or sideways.

Rocco Sargossi - A large, super strong, super tough lobster/man hybrid. His quirk is that he can breath water as easily as air and swim as easily as he walks or runs.

These are just a few of the many NPC students I introduced but they were the ones that got the most attention. 

After a bit of role-playing, and getting familiar with both their PCs, the NPCs, and the setting, the players got ready for the 'placement test' to come. 

I had the AU High School staff assemble the crowd, and direct everyone's attention to the principal, Timeless Beauty. I gave a short, impassioned speech (as the principal) about what the school was about, and how they are carrying on Favorite Son's passion of helping people, and stopping those who would abuse their gifts. 

It really went over well with the guys, building the relationship between the principal, Favorite Son, the bigger plot, and the world for future sessions. 

Following that, the group was totally jazzed to get to the action/adventure part of the game. 

And I will tell you all about it...next time.

Plus Ultra!

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Barking Alien

Go Beyond Plus Ultra!

On Saturday, August 5th, 2017, I ran the first session of a new, ongoing Superhero RPG campaign based on the Japanese Manga, and Anime series, My Hero Academia. 

The session featured three players, all male, mid-to-late 30s, with myself (male, 48) as Gamemaster. I used a homebrewed system created specifically for this campaign, with rules based on the similarities between Apocalypse World/Powered By the Apocalypse, Marvel Heroic, and a Japanese indie tabletop game I recently discovered through Google+.

Our session was five and a half hours long, with the first half hour taken up by character creation and some background on the setting. 

It was my best session of any kind in nearly five years. 

Entitled, 'My Hero Academia: American Ultra', the campaign focuses on the most famous, popular, and prestigious high school in the United States for training Superheroes, American Ultra High School.

In follow up posts I will go into more detail about the campaign's setting, and recap the first session, but what I want to talk about right here and now is how frickin' happy I am with how the game went, and why it worked so well. 

The Players

I had only three players for this game and while that is pretty small for me, I think it worked to everyone's advantage. 

Everyone got equal 'screen time', everyone easily interacted with each other, and it left ample room for me to introduce and even flesh out a good number of the large cast of NPCs. 

These three players are friends who've known each other, and me, for a while now and two of them are cousins [in real life]. We all get each other. We back each other up. They can get competitive but not to the point where they will let one of the others take a fall. Real camaraderie. You can't beat it.

They're all creative, quick thinkers. They don't spend a half hour to an hour of real time on a plan. They think of a move and then execute it. OMG how I've missed that! OMG! Seriously, that is such a refreshing change from what I've been experiencing over that last few years. It not only keeps things moving, it keeps me on my toes. I GM better because they make me think quickly to keep up with them. 

They created characters that both fit the world and pushed on it a little. Another thing that I love and don't always get. 

Here's another big one...they listened to the story, to what was going on in the setting, and reacted to it in different ways. Again, they reacted to what was going on! I know, that doesn't sound like much to some of you but OMFG what a change of pace that is for me. I've been playing for a while now with players who either can not follow what is going on and are either not able or not willing to postulate on what the deeper story might be or they're playing this other game in their head that is all about them/their character.

This was like sunshine piercing through years of clouds and darkness. 

The System

I created this Frankenstein hybrid of a game using bits and pieces from three different sets of rules and some magical things happened:

It worked.
The players really liked it.
No one read/knew the rules but me and no one freaked out.
No one argued about the rules even once.

You can't imagine how awesome that was. How good I still feel about this. I'm...there's...there's just something in my eye. I'm not crying, you're crying.

Let it out Midoriya. Happy tears.

The rules were smooth and very fast, enabling three superpowered fourteen-year-old PCs and more than a dozen or so NPCs to get to know each other, battle an obstacle course with traps and robots, and interact with the murder mystery plot in just five hours.

It took only half an hour to create the three characters with only myself knowing how. It would have been even less time but I interlaced character creation with setting info for those who were less familiar with the series. 

Which brings me to...

The Setting

You know what the difference is between a good player and a great one? 

It's when you introduce them to a new game and/or a new setting and the first thing they do is say they'll try it, the second thing they do is immerse themselves in it even if its not something they're already familiar with.

My pal Dave is intimately well-versed in the series My Hero Academia. He loves it. He's read all the manga (including volumes not yet translated into English). He's seen all the episodes, including the OVAs (direct to video mini-movies). He's read the spin-off manga (which I am reading now myself. It's pretty darn cool!).

Marcus saw some of the first season, but couldn't get into it. Same as me. He still adapted to the game super quickly, grasped the concepts well, and I think he now wants to see more of the show.

Jeff heard what we were playing, watched about a dozen episodes but not in order or even one after another. He just sampled it across the entire show. He liked what he saw enough to have a frame of reference but [as he is Jeff] focused more on what I was saying as the GM so that he could buy-in to our version of the setting. 

AMAZING! 

It shouldn't be. I mean, isn't this what all gamers do with a new game?

No. No it is not. T_T 

It's what happened here, at this time, with these people. : )

The setting at it's base is classic Superheroes. A Silver/Bronze Age meets Modern Age take on the genre, reinterpreted through Anime/Manga stylings. American Comics perfectly fused with Japanese Comics is something all these players [and I as well] can easily visualize and wrap our heads around. That alone makes it work really well.

The Gamemaster

For the past few years, I have been feeling out of sorts with my Gamemastering.

There was a time, and it lasted many years, where I was the go-to GM for a lot of players. I was thought of by the gamers in my circles as 'the best' or at least one of the best.

I'm not trying to boast and anyone who really knows me knows I have quite the opposite of a big ego but yeah, people from three states would come together to be in my games.

I was good. I was really, really good. 

Somewhere along the line I lost my spark. My power ring lost its charge, my powers waned, and my light faded. The magic went away. 

I've been really excited anticipating my 40th Gaming Anniversary but dreading it as well. I felt, up until last Saturday, that maybe after 40 years you just lose your touch. You get old.

Episode 1 of My Hero Academia: American Ultra has revitalized me. I've still got it. The magic is back baby and its going to run wild across this new campaign. I am so excited to see what happens next.

So many ideas...

Well, that is all for now. Posts may be a bit spotty the rest of the week as I will be going away on a mini-vacation this weekend to visit my girlfriend. 

Have fun everybody and Go Beyond Your Limits!

Plus Ultra!

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Barking Alien

The Land of Gorch - Post-Apocalypse Muppets

Ladies and Gentlemen...the time has come...

Gorched Earth Policy is in effect!

As promised, Muppets Post-Apocalypse is here!

A little back story...

During the 1975-76 first season run of Saturday Night Live, Jim Henson's Muppets were featured in a series of short sketches collectively known as the Land of Gorch. A desolate, swampy landscape of grey rock, heavy shadows and red-orange skies, Gorch looked like an awesome place to adventure in.

At 8 years old I probably shouldn't have been up watching Saturday Night Live but I did and the images of that set and the strange characters that lived there had a major impact.

The Muppets of the Land of Gorch were not your typical Frogs, Dogs, Pigs and Whatevers. OK, close to Whatevers but not typical ones.

The cast: left to right:

Scred, Queen Peuta, Wisss, Vazh and King Ploobis

with Mighty Favog in the front.

Using the same sort of glass eyes taxidermists use and applying various unusual painting and dying techniques, the Saturday Night Live Muppets were alive and disturbing in a way the previous ones had not been. In addition, they were among the most flexible, both structurally and in terms of what they could do and say. These were adult Muppets who could 'Stay Up Late' as it were. Elements of the Land of Gorch sketches included discussions of adultery, alcohol, drugs, endangered species and other 'adult' topics normally taboo in most Muppet productions.

Ploobis and Scred get hammered before going to see the Mighty Favog

The characters themselves were broadly portrayed stereotypes, at least at first but real depth came to them over time, especially when in the second season it was revealed that Saturday Night Live would no longer be having the Muppets on the program.

You see, though created by Henson and company, it was the SNL writers who wrote the stories and skits and the writing staff was not fond of working with the Muppets. Therefore, for the second season Gorch sketches, the Land of Gorch itself was often missing and instead the Muppet characters would interact with the live actors on the show. Many of the gags at that point revolved around the Muppets trying to keep their jobs. The end result, sad though it is, was that the Gorch characters developed real three dimensional personality just as they were being cancelled. I especially miss Scred. That dude was freakin' awesome. Alas, Gorch was dumped and the characters have not been used in any Muppet production since.

It's a damn shame.

I could seriously envision a late night comedy program with these characters on Cartoon Network. Come on, the guys who brought us Venture Brothers, The Mighty Boosh and Robot Chicken couldn't swing a dark comedy Muppet Show?

Where was I...ah yes...Gorch.

Scred tries to get Wisss to stop 'Smoking Craters'.

While some subsequent references to Gorch would seem to indicate it to be an alien planet, I took it to be more like Planet of the Apes or Gamma World when I was a kid. With the ability to be edgier and still very much in character and tone for a Muppet production, a Gorch game would rock. I could see running it with Gamma World or Mutant Future, a somewhat hacked Encounter Critical, Apocalypse World (Good Lord!) or, just throwing this out there, The Muppets RPG.

So that's what you're about to see. A Post-Apocalyptic Muppets RPG campaign set in a cynical, messed up world of horrible and twisted mutations. Won't this be fun!

In the next post, how to turn the wild and wacky game of The Muppets RPG into a boiling cesspool of degenerate filth. Come on in the waters great!

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Barking Alien

Muppet Quotes

"This land is your land, this land is my land.
From the bubbling tar pits, to the sulfurous wasteland.
From the rotting forest, to the stagnant mud flat,
This land was made for you and me."
King Ploobis to Queen Peuta.

Here's A Muppet News Flash!

I used the Land of Gorch as the picture in my mind of a Post-Apocalypse New Jersey in one of my first Gamma World games. The session, the first of several in a short lived campaign (typical of the original Gamma World) featured a tribe of mutant lizard/walrus hybrids whose design was based on the Muppet of King Ploobis.

I saw the Land of Gorch puppets up close and personal at the Lincoln Center Exhibition in 1979. Their eyes, the texture of some of them and their clothing give them a truly eerie appearance. Even more so when on display and unmoving I'd wager.

Scred is one of my all time favorite Muppets, up there with Gonzo, Grover and Uncle Deadly. It is so unfortunate that most people don't even know who the character is.

Storm Before The Calm Before The Storm

So, in about 15 minutes or so I'm going out into New York City's winter wonderland once more. When I return I have a very cool post I want to make. But before that I want to make this somewhat less cool, slightly snarky post. Teasing and humor is involved. If your Wisdom and Constitution do not add up to at least 22 you may want to avoid this post.

I periodically mention various RPGs I've played, run and loved on my blog. These are not quite reviews and not quite retrospectives but they come close to both. Some are obvious discussions of a particular game like Mekton, Teenagers from Outer Space, Star Wars or Star Trek. Some are mentions of lesser known but very cool games and how I'd like to play them more than I have. Examples include Faery's Tale Deluxe, Hunter Planet and Apocalypse World.

When it comes to the comments section of these entries I often see things like...

"I never picked up TFOS as I knew there was no way it would ever get run in my rather hardcore gear-headish group."

"Never played Mekton, but I do remember the ads for it"

"Star Trek is always something I wanted to play. Way back in teh day Dragon ran an article on GMing tips for FASA's Star Trek and I was all inspired. Perhaps someday..."

And its not just here on my site but on other sites as well. People mentioning cool, not-so-obscure games and others going, "I always wanted to check out that game that was really popular 10-20 years ago but I never did."

Now comes the snarky part, purely in jest (if you are an immature dipstick with no sense of humor who thinks I'm somehow mocking you personally, please look away from my blog site now and go read the nutritional information on the side of a cereal box or something equally non-antagonizing)...I have to ask...

What the Hell were you People Playing?!?

Are you seriously telling me you've only ever played one game? Has it been D&D or the highway since 1976? There's a whole wide world out there my friends, just waiting for you to explore it. It won't bite. And if it does that'll be a learning experience. Come out now...don't be shy.

OK. Snark Wave Generator deactivated.

I'm just teasing but seriously, has anyone been playing RPGs for 15 years or more played fewer than 3 games? I'm just curious.

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Barking Alien

Its The End of The World As We Know It

...and I feel fine.

Had another of my gaming epiphanies last night.

I am considering running a Post-Apocalypse campaign for my New Jersey group.

This would represent a serious departure in tone for me and it would be a subject I haven't really covered in depth since running Gamma World in the early-to-mid-80's.

I am considering use a hacked and expanded variant of the free to download RPG COLLAPSE, combined with some ideas from Apocalypse World, Fiasco and the Japanese TRPG Crash World.

The key elements to consider for me will be:

The nature of the Collapse/Apocalypse

When did it occur.

How much time has passed.

Is the end result Gamma World or a more realistic approach.

I have some ideas brewing that may answer these questions but open up a whole boatload of new ones. My favorite!

More to come...

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Barking Alien

OSR SF - Preliminary Scans

At this point its unlikely I'll be finished with my OSR, D&D inspired SF game by Saturday. Sad face.

There are a lot of reasons but the primary ones are quite simple:

Real life is a bit busier and more chaotic than I'd hoped this week.

I find myself distracted by projects I'm more interested in.

Deep down I'm just not an Old School guy and while I thought it might be fun to get this vision of an Old School Sci-Fi game that I've had in my head for 25+ years out of there, I realize that its been tucked away in a forgotten box in my mind for a reason. Its an old idea. Its an idea that I don't play with or use anymore. I keep wanting to add skill mechanics, relationship sub systems or special abilities for Aliens that really don't fit the Old School. I see why the games that have come out already (X-Plorers, Terminal Space, Stars Without Number) are built the way they are. A real D&D OSR SF game would suck. And be full of initials apparently.

So am I giving up? No! Never Give Up, Never Surrender! But I'm not going to finish it this week.

I want to get back to working on my person RPG project.

A friend has asked me to run Star Trek! Home sweet home!

I want to try out more Apocalyse World.

Games without limits! Games that evolve. The past is nice but I'm looking forward to the Future!

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Barking Alien

OSR - Outer Space Redux

First off, I've got to level with you. The last few days have been rough.

The Holiday largely stank, I'm just getting over a cold and I'm feeling those end of the year blues.

Of course, this is the time my mind decides is just picture perfect for a huge spurt of creativity. When I read over my last few posts I find them far to chaotic and unfocused. There are some cool ideas in there, but I'm not really selling them, or getting the point across.

The same thing can be said of some recent comments I made on other game blogs. I stand by what I said, but I wish I had explained myself more eloquently. One specific point I'd like to rectify was my mention of the RPG Stars Without Number.

Some may have gleaned from my post that I didn't think it was a good game. That couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, I think it's an extremely good Science Fiction RPG, and quite well done. It reminds me a bit of my favorite RPG (well, one of my top three), the ICON System version of Star Trek by Last Unicorn Games. And therein lies the problem.

The game is too modern to convince me it is an OSR compatible Science Fiction game inspired by D&D. Its (and I don't mean to be facetious) too well put together. It makes almost too much sense the way they went about it. It needs to feel more clunky, arbitrary and odd. It doesn't need to really be those things, but it needs to generate that kind of vibe.

What I think an OSR Sci-Fi/Space Opera RPG should be like may well be impossible to make. Maybe it shouldn't be done. Honestly, I'm almost looking forward to a game I wouldn't play. Not really of course...but sort of.

To that end I issue myself a challenge! I, Adam Dickstein, will create an Old School, D&D inspired, Science Fiction/Space Opera RPG and save it to PDF by the First of the Year! Yes, racing rocket fans you heard (-pst-read-) er, read correctly. I give my lazy, candy ass 1 week to put my money where my mouth is and make Aliens and Astrobases available to the online viewing public. It'll be a nice practice run before I complete my real RPG project sometime in March. Who knows? Might have a hit and have to do a sellable version. Damn, but that would be funny, no?

Anyway, a few disclaimers...First and foremost, it might be very, very bad. Second, it will be an unplaytested game so it may have numerous flaws I don't even know about. Play it and send my feed back. It will have art but not a lot and not the best. I'll likely be using assorted old sketches from my previous Sci-Fi campaigns. Lastly, it will beg, borrow and steal heavily from Swords & Wizardry, Jeff Rients, SRS Basic* and numerous other places. I said I was going to do it in a week. I didn't say it was going to be super original or mind-blowing. This is more of an excercise in "Can Adam make the Old School feel, Sci-Fi RPG he always imagined TSR should've created but didn't."

It will be free to download but if you decide to use it as a substitute life support system device for intelligent, plant based aliens, I will have to charge you.

Comment, questions, words of encouragement and even the shaking of your heads is welcome.

I better get cracking!

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Barking Alien

*SRS Basic is the Basic version of the 'Standard Roleplaying System', the house engine used by Japanese tabletop RPG company FarEast Amusement Research (F.E.A.R.) for all of their games.

P.S. - Zak S of the forever awesome 'Playing D&D with Pornstars' and I are having a difference of opinion. Nothing hostile. I appreciate where Zak is coming from as I too came from there some 20 something years ago. It is a cool place to be. It rocks. Now I am largely here and here.

P.S.S. And speaking of there, I mean here, I mean...screw it. Look at this. Apocalypse World will change the way so wake up in the morning, go to sleep at night and enjoy spending time with your significant other. And I am understating how *&#^ing cool it is.