Monday, March 18, 2024

Pig Pen - - A Wretched Country By the Red Room & NightOwl Workshop's Gunslinger - Session Report 2

 The PC's wiped out a bunch of Orcs of the Bloody Hand tribe of pig faced Orcs. And the Orcs rooted after two dynamite bundles were pitched into thier midst. We then retreated out of Scorpion Canyon and back to town to restock & resupply. This session picks right up from here.



We began to hear the drummings of more Orcs and local indian scouts put the Bloody Hand's number at at least three hundred. Why?! Why was there a force of over three hundred Orcs moving on the town?! The Indian scouts think that this is merely a scouting & exploratory army moving in. The scouts and our ranger also think that there's at least 6 or more wizards or shamans among the Orcs.
 Bill Tenison Arizona Ranger  & his companions  made their way into the canyon again but didn't see any dimensional door or such. 
 We found two of our farmers and thier drovers pincushioned with hundreds of flint tipped arrows. The Blood Hand tribe of Orcs appears to be quite well adapted to the Old Western desert. Here I used a bunch of suggestions out of the Gunslinger rpg. 

Our posse came face to face with a group of Bloody Hand scouts being led by an Orc  shaman. Things got rather nasty as we got a huge smack down by two local spirits. These came straight out of Wretched Country rpg 

Our own Indian shamans and scouts made short work of the scouting party with little issue by sniping them from within the edges of the town.  The game can best be described as thematic at best. We slaughtered any orcs we saw and our scouts Moonface and Sunface went on the offensive. And found two half Orc assassins sculking around town. We ended here! 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Don't Lose Your Head - Adapting Jospeh Mohr's Redemption Adventure to the Hostile Rpg

 "The Traveler(s) are summoned by messenger to speak with a discrete gentleman on a matter of utmost importance. He would prefer, for reasons which will become apparent later, to speak privately on this matter at the earliest convenience."

"He is Navy Commander Hut’Nur of the Olonsean Naval Intelligence Service. He has a mission of a delicate nature which he needs someone of your unique skills. He needs someone not affiliated with the Olonsean government or military to perform a rescue operation."



"While the Olonseans are not yet currently at war with the Ilsunsi Directorate just about everyone in the Sonora sector can see the handwriting on the wall. Hostilities are imminent. Both sides have been building up naval and land forces with the expectation of an all out shooting war beginning soon."

"Recently an Olonsean Army General disappeared. Whether he has defected, or has been snatched by the Ilsunsi, is not yet known. What is known, however, is that he has extensive knowledge of Olonsean military capabilities and plans. He is a decorated veteran of many previous military campaigns and is believed to be loyal to the Empire. But the Olonsean Government can not afford to take chances. They need this General to be “rescued” and brought back home again....for interrogation...."

So over the last twenty four hours I've been thinking about dealing with Hostile's Colony War  title. Back during the Second Recession there were two successful colonies The Olonseans and the Ilsuni Directorate colonies. These colonies are now at now at each other's throats because of recent events on Tau Ceti. Because of the growing tensions in the Solomons colony interests are heating up. This is where Redemption by Joseph Mohr comes into play.  The Olonseans are backed by Chinese corporate money which is the same as backing it with Chinese military assets. The PC's are going to be an extration team made up of some of the worst scum that the South Asain Orbital Prisons have to offer. The Ilsuni Directorate is of course a puppet colony with Tharis Heavy Industries at the wheel. 




































The prisoner's will be doing the extraction with a nanoneural bomb implanted in thier necks. Failure will result in a head parting company with it's neck if the mission isn't done in seventy two hours. The PC's are of course from  Zaibatsu and in the survivors will be taken into the September group of Russian mercenaries aka the Сентябрьская группа.



According to Redemption; "Olonsean intelligence forces have determined that he is being held on world known as Gumoran which is just beyond the borders of the Sonora sector. This world is a sparsely populated agricultural world off the beaten path. It has always been an independent world but many affluent individuals in the sector own large estates on this world. It generally has been considered sort of a retreat for the rich and famous of the sector who want to get away from it all. The general is believed to be held at an estate of a wealthy corporate officer of the Purgatory Corporation. This estate is believed to be guarded by at least a company of soldiers if not more. The Olonsean government does not wish to start the war just yet. They would prefer someone not linked to them to perform this mission and bring the general home." 
The PC's are going to go into cold storage for the voyage to Gumoran for 6 years. And then the countdown picks up right from when thier thawed out. Gumoran is a corporate retreat world with connections to the Purgatory corporation. The Purgatory corporation is going to be a secondary side quest with them taping and selling information gleaned from the dreams of thier clients and then being sold on. The information is being stored in the cyberspace cloud of Gumoran. Meanwhile the general is being bled by the Purgatory corporation and it's taken it's toil;" The general is no longer in his right state of mind. The torture and abuse at the hands of the Ilsunsi have brought him to the breaking point." 
The 
 Olonsean government wants to brain wipe him and then reprogram him as a double agent before turning him back to  the Ilsuni Directorate. The Olonseans & the Isuni Directorate colonies have been dancing around each other for the past 9 years. 

Monday, March 11, 2024

OSR Review & Application of Supermax By Michael L Straus For The Wretched Rpg & It's Deriative Wretchedverse RPG

 "In this product we introduce the idea of three Supermax prisons that exist in the world of Wretched Darkness, Conspiracies and Vigilantes and how each one is specifically designed to hold these threats. For your agents trying to unravel the mysteries of Wretched Conspiracies, we present the Area 52 Supermax, deep in the Nevada desert. For those investigators of all things Wretched Darkness, we have cells set aside in Area 52 and Alcatraz just for vampires, werewolves and ghosts. And as for the super villains, we have the Alcatraz Supermax and the mysterious off shore location known only as The Deep."




"Since we are exposing secrets, we also at last reveal the master plan of Edge and explain what’s up with all those sightings of Edge. And we get some answers to some other questions as well from Tag. If you do the crime, be ready to do the time at the Wretched Supermax" 

 Supermax By Michael L Straus For The Wretched Rpg covers a wide variety of Wretchedverse rpg's including Wretched Darkness, Wretched Conspiracies, and of course Wretched Vigilantes. Supermax is also available at 
, and coming up. The supplement clocks in at seventy seven pages of really interesting and deep dive plot information the Supermax prisons. The idea here is to prove the players and the DM with engaging adventure plot lines and 'legacy NPC's' to challenge your players. And this is spelled out in the Supermax introduction: "In this product we introduce the idea of three Supermax prisons that exist in the world of Wretched Darkness, Conspiracies and Vigilantes and how each one is specifically designed to hold these threats." We get tons of details on the Supermaxes including day to day operations, security, set up, adventure opportunities and more. And lots and lots of NPC's. We also get the legacy and history of the Supermaxes going back to the super prison's establishment back in the Sixties. That legacy includes the fate of the Supermaxes in present day and the future. 
The layout, fonts, and overall design along with the writing on Supermax is well done and easy on the eyes. 
There's a ton of NPC's that get thier due in this supplement with lots of details, powers, background, and more. This includes lots of details to hook into the Expanded Wretched Rpg coming up. 
































There's lots and lots of links into Agents of  W.R.E.T.C.H. as well giving the DM even more. This means that Supermax slots into Wretched Darkness second edition, Wretched Conspiracy, and Wretched Vigilantes easily. A word of caution the NPC's are far worse then the PC's of your campaigns by a country mile and most pose more then a passing threat to your player's PC's. There's even ins and hooks for Welcome to Saint Cloud a really well done David Lynch inspired campaign setting. Supermax brings lots of 'steak and patatoes' NPC's to the table for your Wretched Rpg games. And this makes Supermax a super useful addition to the Wretchedverse rpg. And yes it's worth the five dollar asking price. A great little game supplement with the potential for years of play in the Wretchedverse campaign worlds.

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Review & Application On Cepheus Journal – Issue #015 - Free Cepheus Engine rpg Resource

 "So, let’s dig into this issue. Once again Jo Jaquinta has given us quite a few articles, which we are always thankful for. First up is an article looking at Generative AI and how to use it in your game, but not in a way you might think.

There is a article on a species called Aquarians and ways you could use them in your game, an article on radio archaeo­astronomy and how you can use it to spice up your game, and finally instalment nine of The Raider’s Lament." 


"Les Hendrix’s article covers adding cultural flavour to make your planetary visits much more interesting, and our own P-­O Bergstedt gives us a look at a character called Mandy that is an NPC in the Adventures of the Starship Notorious. This article is a prologue of that series."

"Finally, from our own Brett, is a couple of articles, a bit of fiction created from a game I ran a few years back, and an article on exotic weather and how to give your players some extra challenges on the worlds they visit."

Cepheus Journal – Issue #015  flew right by my radar over the last couple of weeks. And this is a pretty damn big issue with over forty pages to boot. We dive right into the editor's desk and get a heads up on the state of Cepheus Engine issues with editor Brett Kruger. And all looks good with the contents of this issue.
Jo Jaquinta has a great article about using  'Generative AI In Your Game' which is actually an article about societies using this technology for many aspects of a society. And I can envision using this article for Clement, or Earth sector games. This technology could also have dire consquences for other societies especially those of the corporate controlled Hostile rpg. 
'Into The Night' By Brett Kruger is centered around Cepheus Engine rpg fiction and has a distinctly interstellar voice about it. And it contrasts with Jo Jaquinta's Raider's Lament which is within it's 12th chapter and goes down very smoothly. 
Les Hendrix (amishstarship@gmail.com) has a solid article on 'Adding In Cultural Flavor' and the whole cloth article centers around the cultures of a Cepheus Engine game. This is a solid world building article with really goood advice. The article includes adding in cultural modifiers and more to your game campaigns. 
Jo Jaquinta then brings us the Aqurians an entirely new interstellar species according to the article; "The Aquarians described here are found in a system of your choice, inhabiting the subsurface ocean of an icy satellite of the system’s gas giant. They conform to the general body plan of “Europan Rays” found in many such environments, but it is the referee’s choice if this is from convergent evolution, or species dispersal. This particular species is not found elsewhere, but is prevalent over the subsurface of the world. Estimates are that there are 10,000 to 40,000 individuals." This is a solid article about a whole cloth interstellar race and thier culture, world, etc. all of it is waiting to be dropped into your Cepheus Engine games. 
Brett Kruger dives into 'Exotic Weather' for interstellar bodies  and planets, this is a great article that hits the high notes for extreme weather. This is a great article to drop into a Hostile or Clement Sector game where the unknown planetary bodies are being explored on the high frontier. 
'Radio Archaeo­-Astronomy' by Jo Jaquinta goes into this field of study and career for Cepheus Engine with it's applications for campaigns including a very intriguing example that can be used as an example or dropped right into a campaign. 
Finally we get 'Mandy' By P­O Bergstedt an NPC with a complete background, history, etc. and a difference. This is a great NPC to use to drop into your own Cepheus Engine rpg game.
 
Cepheus Journal – Issue #015  is a great addition to your own Cepheus Engine campaign.And I hope the guys at the Cepheus Journal keep up the fantastic work. 

Friday, March 8, 2024

Pig Roast - A Wretched Country By the Red Room & NightOwl Workshop's Gunslinger - Session Report 1




 Once again our gang of cut throats & bounty hunters were visiting the thematic viberation saturated area of Scorpion Canyon. We're using Nightowl Workshop's Gunslinger and Wretched Country Second Edition by The Red Room together. The last time we ventured into Scorpion Canyon we wound up fighting aliens from Cha'alt. Tonight's game was very different. 

The Bill Praxton gang had recently gone into the canyon and there's been not a peep outta of them  for two months now. We gathered our posse together including Doc Emit and his son the local doctor. We then had Preacher Vorciani join us on this mission. Walking feather our scout along with Bill Tenison Arizona Ranger  made their way into the canyon. 
They found the Praxton gang camp right away or the remains of it. The gang had been ambushed and killed the bodies riddled with stone spears and flint tipped arrows. No known indians of the area used thoses types of weapons. 
And then things started getting weirder?! The posse was attacked by strange pig faced humanoids armed to the teeth. They were dressed in strange armor and armed with wicked flint tipped weapons. The pig faced humanoids had a great bloody hand print on thier wooden shields. And they knew about fires to stay behind rocks for cover against the fire arms. 
We almost lost the Calico Kid to the ravages of four flint based arrows. And the humanoids brought reenforcements! 


Things are not going good against the orcs from the Bloody Hand tribe. And our heroes might be cooked here. 
Our scout and ranger are trying to flank the orcs but to no avail. The orcs seem to know the canyon pretty well. There are other remains on the canyon floor. 
The orcs seem to have the situation well in hand using flint tipped arrows and spears that have a +1 against our PC's. How they got in the cayon is anyone's guess. Are we going to live?! Tune in next week! 

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Review & Application of Milk Run By Joseph Mohr For Cities Without Number, Stars Without Number, & Trey Causey's Strange Stars Rpg

 "While in Starport the travelers are approached by a disheveled looking older gentleman carrying a thick briefcase full of papers and heavy books. He appears to be a college professor of some kind and is in need of help. His name is Brom Abe.

"It seems that Brom is a professor at the Sonoran University. He teaches alien civilizations to the students there and wrote his thesis on the migration of the Kraacien. The Kraacien is a mythological alien species that is believed to have explored and inhabited many of the sectors in this part of the galaxy long before humans even existed. In fact...they may have existed long before any of the known races in this part of the galaxy. At least this is Brom’s belief. His peers think otherwise."


"Recently farmers on Nanilav have recently made a discovery. A strange, humanoid alien, has been dug up out of the ground. It appears to be in some kind of petrified wood. Brom believes that this is the proof that he needs to silence his critics. He believes that this is a petrified specimen of the Kraacien. All he needs is for someone with a ship to go pick it up and bring it back to the Sonoran university so that he can prove his theories are true."

He offers CR 200,000 for the travelers to visit Nanilav and pick up the petrified specimen."

Joseph Mohr turns out tons of adventures for Cepheus Engine and other OSR games through his  Old School Role Playing. Now these adventures can easily be adapted into Stars Without Number and his latest adventure title Milk Run could easily be adapted into our Cities Without Number, Stars Without Number, & Trey Causey's Strange Stars Rpg campaign.  Strange Stars has within it's setting's historical back zero information on the precursor alien races who conquerored the galaxy.



And here's where Milk Run comes into play clocking in at fourteen pages, this adventure has everything a party needs to leap frog into the alien historical background of an interstellar campaign. The formating is standard, the layout is good, but it's the 'pay what you want' price that hits right. And Joseph Mohr gives adventure hooks, complications and more making this an easy adventure to adapt to your own games. 
And in particular Stars Without Number Revised whose interstellar background and history are hazy at best. So Milk Run fits right in and it doesn't hurt that Stars Without Numbers uses the classic 2d6 skill Traveler system. Milk Run does exactly what it says on the tin and then some! This adventure if used correctly could be the start of a campaign. Milk Run does it's job and works very well. 

Sunday, March 3, 2024

Haul & Hunt Begins! - Cities Without Number, Stars Without Number, & Trey Causey's Strange Stars Rpg - Session Report- The Star Mart By Joseph Mohr

 So the party convinced the Starmart executives from last session to move into the Nanohub area of Circus. Starmart then hired the party to take care of pesky shop lifters who had taken four space freighters from backstock. This session picks right up from here on the blog.  And all of this revolves around a new Cepheus Engine adventure Star Mart.



The party tracked the pirates/shoplifters to the next level of Circus and came face to face with a pack of Hellhounds working for the pirates. And found out that the pirates were working for the Slavers who needed 'cargo' moved fast hence the thefts of the freighters. 
The party busted the pirates and returned the frieghters but picked up the job from the slavers. And this cargo is actually a herd of bio clone animals readied for a full senses  hunt by the Djägga  wiith a multi galaxy pay for view. The PC's were way on board with this cargo haul even though there's a time limit on it! The whole job pays 40,000 credits which means space hauler update! The party's cyber operators are actually bigging up the 'Great Hunt' event for sport and betting for the party! 

The party is hoping to make a killing on side bets with the fact that the hunt will actually be from the alien slaver's perspective giving alien and weird perceptions too the audience in VR complete simulation.  This is all being underwritten by the Starmart! The PC's could make a killing on this VR event if all goes right.