Sunday, September 29, 2024

OSR Commentary On CROM THE BARBARIAN By Jothanathan Nolan For The FASERIPopedia! Rpg

 "Taking as its inspiration Saturday morning science fantasy cartoons and the Golden Age comics era character CROM THE BARBARIAN, this sourcebook brings the full fantasy roleplaying experience to FASERIPopedia!"




"CROM features some of the most startling art and monsters, most exciting characters and settings of any FASERIPopedia game!

A full sandbox chart set is provided to generate detailed "hexes" to explore or fight over as well as a generator for the scattered city-states of CROM's world!

The Bestiary lists cosmic horrors and exotic threats quite unlike the normal and a real challenge even for hyper league superheroes!"

Right, so let's pick it right up from here on the blog.   We're talking Sword, Sorcery, and Super Science! 
CROM THE BARBARIAN By Jothanathan Nolan  For The  FASERIPopedia! Rpg is an incredibly diverse sourcebook. Part Sword & Sorcery sourcebook, part low fantasy  setting & partially a campaign book all in one. Crom the Barbarian is set to take the FASERIPopedia! Rpg in slightly different direction. This is not Conan but instead a completely different character

We've used the Crom The Barbarian supplement like a side realm where the PC's have gotten themselves into some real trouble as raiders from Crom's world have given our Marvel Super Heroes rpg & Ascendant rpg players bloody noses. Crom is about as well organized and laidout as other  FASERIPopedia! Rpg (because an editor could go a long way towards getting this material into better shape). That being said there's so much good stuff that gets handed to the players and DM.  FASERIPopedia! Rpg supplements love to cover just about everything about the PC that they can. Crom is no different. 
Here we get a plethora of over arching themings that hit all of the right points for the the FASERIPopedia! Rpg. So for our own campaigns Crom's realm is a realm that is far removed from the normal Earth.
The realm of Crom was last accessed during the Seventies when portals from  Subterraea into Bloodville caused a major rift. This Rift was used by raiders from Crom's world for years in our Ascendant rpg campaign. Villainous goons from Crom's world are much more powerful then the PC's at first thought. And this comes into Crom's scaleable villain and NPC rules.  And then there's Crom's monsters and bad guys whom are designed on the Saturday morning 'Thundarr The Barbarian' model of more power and less brains. 
Crom presents some rather unique challenges to heroes of both Ascendant & FASERIP rpg powered games.
 

Thursday, September 26, 2024

OSR Review & Commentary On Faster Then Light: Nomad Synthoids By Robert Garitta For Cepheus Engine rpg & Faster Than Light: Nomad Rpg

 "Many science-fiction roleplaying campaigns fall into the standard, trading, good-mercs-beat-the-bad-mercs, shady work for credits, or hunt treasure. The addition of AI, whether robots or Synthoids, can change this dramatically. The presence of Synthoids in a campaign pose some underlying, somewhat uncomfortable, questions: What is it to be human or self-aware? How will humanity treat their children?"




"Given our history as a species, the answer to those questions is not encouraging. We’ve enslaved and oppressed other humans. Non-humans should be wary. Dystopian human societies may view them as slaves or even cannon fodder: send the Synthoid out to see how the monster works! Or stick a gun in a Synthoid’s hands and you have a soldier at a lower price than drafting and training a human."

"More enlightened worlds may welcome Synthoids as partners in their glorious progressivism and are proud that Synthoids are designed to survive and thrive while doing jobs that would break a human. Of course, Synthoids will resist oppression, since they are based on a human design. There will be escapes, riots and perhaps revolts. Humans may learn too late that their servants were really their replacements."

Faster Then Light: Nomad Synthoids By Robert Garitta hit the stands a couple of days ago. Meaning that right out the gate I'm behind in my Cepheus Engine & relatives Rpg reviews. 
Mr.Garitta hits the ground running with a discussion on the ethics of androids and cyber entities. That's not bad for a thirty two page set of rules that allows the DM or players to generate thier own android or artificial person PC. These rules cover the basics and slide easily into your Faster Then Light 2d6 rpg campaigns easily. The rules are fast and on point about the capabilities of androids. 
They hit all of the major resources to add in androids and the like to your 2d6 Science Fiction games. These rules and the entire supplement really cover the plight of the artificial worker or slave in a civilization and what that means per say to the culture. 



Faster Then Light: Nomad Synthoids hits the ground running & covers it subject well. It handles the subject with grace & wit. While giving both player & DM everything that they need to add in artificial people and androids to thier games. This is a no brainer purchase. Because if you've got even a passing interest in androids then Faster Then Light: Nomad Synthoids is for you. 


Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Intergang Break Out! -- Ascendant Rpg - Session Report

  This session picks right up after a few days have passed and Lady Elizabeth has healed up in Medical. The cartels have invested in bringing a specialist assassin group in the form of Intergang's Super Human divsion's operatives. Intergang decided to bring in thier latest power armor to do a bit of 'shopping' by robbing several of the local credit unions. 
Bludville isn't as important as Metropolis but it's got a lower finiancial profile then the cutting edge cities such as Metropolis or the waning popularity of New York City's Gothem city within a city profile. There was something being stored in one of the banks that Intergang were knocking over. This is when Silver Sable's Wildpack stepped in. The PC's backed off the Wildpack as this was thier collar. 


Intergang has completely gone off the reservation and came up against Silver Sable's Wildpack in tonight's game session. The PC's were minimizing the collateral damage to thier city as power armored Intergang operatives took out the vault. 
The PC's went full tilt against the Intergang operatives and didn't hold back. They took the fight into an abandoned neighborhood that was due for demolition. The crew took down two buildings on the Intergang operatives. Trapping them for Dreadnaught Security to pick up later on. 
This all echoes off from events from Capital City Casefiles #2: Served Cold


This is when Intergang's hitmen closed in with Apocalpyse precision sniper blasters and almost picked off two of our party! They managed to avoid the blasts and then had the ruins around them dumped on thier heads. Here's were we stopped! 

Sunday, September 22, 2024

OSR Commentary - Marvel Super Heroes Advanced rpg & MX2 The X- Potential By Mark Acres

 "One Hundred Thousand to Attend Mutant Execution," one headline screams. "Senator Hints at Link Between Mutant, Commie Plots!" shouts another. In the Streets, white-shirted men wearing distinctive armband of the Knights of Genetic Purity march in lockstep, treading underfoot any suspected of being soft on mutants. In the public schools, kindergarten children raise their arms in clenched fist salute of the National American Social Improvement Party and chat the party slogan, "One People, One Blood, One Nation!"



"Is this but a super hero's nightmare? No. This is America; home town U.S.A., 25 to 50 years in the future. In this America, constitutional government is all but gone. Real power is held by the sentinels, a group of powerful robots programmed to seek out and capture or destroy all human mutants and all beings with any hint of super poewrs. Sharing power with the sentinels are a handful of political demagogues who keep the population whipped into a constant frenzy about the mutant menace. Any super heroes who survive in this hostile environment do so by constantly facing the full military, political, and technological might of a new totalitarian state in the making."

Marvel Super Heroes rpg Advanced holds a lot of nosolgia especially from the Nineties. We pick right up from where last left off from MX1 Days of Future Past on the blog here.  From Gates of What if we jumped to our home town right into the arms of The Knights of Genetic purity along with representives of  the National American Social Improvement Party. 
Our party hid right away only to be told that we'd have been killed by the Sentinel purges that swept through New England. As 
critic James Wallis noted in his review of MX2 The X- Potential;"a change from most Marvel Super Heroes adventures, the player characters are not fighting crime but fighting for their lives."  And fought we did because this was our hometown were the Sentinels had taken hold. Our own hometown is a repair depot and facility for the Sentinels. There were jobs aplenty as long as you don't mind working for the bad guys. 
The 
representives of  the National American Social Improvement Party run the day to day business of the Sentinels. The rest of the town had two manufacturing plants for parts, weapons, and sensors for the Sentinels. When we gated in the Resistence in our hometown had been crushed. We took thier place almost seemlessly. 
According to the MX2 wiki entry;"
The X-Potential is the first of three adventures set in this bleak future. It adds more details of the world, then describes the events that will happen around a large political demonstration over several days. The players are free to intervene as they see fit. At various times, the gamemaster supplies them with front pages of "The Daily Journal"." 
What MX2 The X Potential does is take what we saw in X1 Nightmares of Future Past adventure/supplement and then adds to it by bringing the nightmare to the PC's home town or campaign city. MX2 adds in too the feel of 'the old town goes to Sentinel Hell' and then some. The face of The X-Potential is your PC's faces as the party becomes embroiled in these nightmare campaign world.What this does is give the player's agency and accessibility within the campaign. The struggle for the PC's lives leads there to being much more at stake. These nightmare campaign worlds were places that we adventured in and affected on a much more base and basic level. 
MX 2 The X- Potential shows that the PC's could and would affect the world on a far more campaign effecting level. The PC's actions have significant effects on the campaign world especially thier own home town. There's a dedication here in MX2 that allows the PC's influence to add an extra layer to the player's actions during play.
All in all MX2 The X-Potential is a classic larger then life adventure that hits the vibrarant notes for classic Marvel Super Hereoes rpg Advanced. There's someting really sastifying about busting the heads of Sentinels & destroying thier plans. We played through MX2 The X-Potential many times and it continued to have a solid play value as both adventure and supplement. 





Saturday, September 21, 2024

Debts of Honor & Cash - - Trey Causey's Strange Stars - Session Report

 One of the pleasures of using Stars Without Number is being able to make the game work for you as a DM to keep the players engaged. The player's PC's are on Phase World's Grand Arena level looking for a Thrax warrior who was a part of thier crew many moons ago and they heard rumors that he's in the Grand Arena fighting, again. This session picks right up from where we left off last time. 

In Darthx The Destroyer's off hours he's been an instructor and gladiator coach within a seedy Gladiatorial school. He's been working at the Blood  Moon School from Citybook III Deadly Nightside. 

There's  got to be a reason because Darthx had gotten free from his old gladiatorial patron. So what's drawn him back?! Our party has been speculating on this as they made thier way to the Blood Moon school. The connection is that half of our party's fighter types was trained there and came up the ranks as gladiators. 
Darthx is on a suicide path because he's been going against mecha. We dodged   Cabilan mercenaries who wanted our hides quite literally. 
A few ambushes and traps took out four mercenaries with little fanfare. 




















Inside the Blood Moon school we made our way to pay our respects to our old coaches & called over Darthx. We found out his old patron had his Thraxu blade  for ransom! Thrax warriors who have such a blade covet them as honor debts for a sum or money.  We pulled our cash and went to the patron. But such a debt was not easy to get out of. Because now we've got to make a cargo run for this guy to get out of the debt. 



Friday, September 20, 2024

Adventures With MA7 'The unofficial canon project' The Marvel Super Hereos rpg Golden Age of Heroes book For Marvel Super Heroes Rpg - Session Report

   MA7 The Marvel Super Heroes Rpg: the Unofficial Canon Projects Marvel Super Hereos rpg Golden Age of Heroes book is the primary resource for my buddy DM Peter's World War II campaign. DM Paul relies on   the Marvel Super Heroes Rpg: the Unofficial Canon Projects

We were hired by the Dark Angel 1935-1950 to recover Percy Von Horton who was brainwashed and coverted over to the Super Axis. Our 1930-1955 team of heroes The Red Line has been tasked with this & the Von Horton family. 



 The Battle Axis's agents fed  Percy Von Horton  a variation of the super soldier formula through agents.  Which has the unintended side effect of lowering the intellect of the user. Percy stopped using his yoga secrets & came too rely on the formula. He also came under the influence of Lady Lotus & she twisted his mind into the Super Axis. 


Currently we're on the track of the Super Axis in the United States out in the South Western United States. We think that Axis are out to damage the resource infrastructure of the US. We've got a safe house out in Arizona and we're flying there now. 


Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Circus Cargo Haul - Trey Causey's Strange Stars - Session Report

 My player's PC's picked up a cargo haul from Circus to Phase World through the hyperspace gateways. The player's PC's have ditched the cannibal Scavenger Fleet that they engaged with two or so sessions ago. We're still in the middle of our Trey Causey Strange Stars Campaign using Stars Wihtout Number Revised. This session picks right up from last session here on the blog. 


 The player's PC's picked up three tons of ore & were to deliver it to thier contacts on Phase World. The Gnomes seemed very nervous around the PC's & they were not up to chit chat with the PC's. The party checked over the cargo twice with scanners to make sure that there weren't extra devices through thier cybersneaks. The party found an extra radiation signature that didn't belong in the ore haul. A low grade radiaoactive isotope had been secreted among the ore. The party suspected Cabilan mercenaries! 


 They began to look into homing & tracking devices on thier space hauler. They found none. Then they found another bit of the isotope that had been secreted onto thier hauler via a cyberspace scan! They had no doubt that the Cabilan mercenaries were laying in wait along thier route to Phase World. And so they took the long way around via the secondary gateway. 



The 
 Cabilan mercenaries want the party's space hauler, the party, and the honor of consuming them. The party has been giving them a merry hunt so far. They've got drone ships now scowering the systems along thier route to Phase World because they aim to get paid. 


Monday, September 16, 2024

Hostile Rpg Campaign & The Edge Of The Galaxy -

 Several months ago, I dropped a hint into our on going Hostile campaign that there were alien artifacts left behind by ancient alien civilations. You can forget the run of the mill stock Science Fiction abandoned cities. 


No instead I started to think about really unusual alien hyperspace  gateways that were scattered throughout the greater area of our own solar system. These gateways connect to the outer arm of our own galaxy from our own solar system. 
What was left behind out on the edge of the galaxy are artifacts that defy explaination. Hyperspacial constructions &  spheres that can blast the sanity of anyone dumb enough to mess with them. HG Giger inspired bio mechanical worlds whose purpose is completely unknown and yet still continues to function & run. 

Artwork by HG Giger used without permission. 

There are worldlets left behind floating in artificial orbits that continue to explore, manufacture,etc. all for unknown purposes. There are lifeforms that are completely immicial to humanity and yet we have no clue as to thier makers or purposes.  Hyperspacial gateways that lead to God knows where and these are coupled with time travel animolies that can dissect a person's personal time spacial line separating the person into multiple timelines that they experience all at once. These are some of the ideas that I've been cooking up in the background of our Hostile campaign. 

Saturday, September 14, 2024

OSR Commentary - FASERIPopedia Lost Empires Rpg Sourcebook By Johnathan Nolan & Ascendant Rpg Campaign update Report

 "CAMILLA!

Deathless Queen of a Lost Empire! Confused "jungle queen" in an Africa that seems scarcely to want her! Explore the extremely weird and at times cringe inducing world of Golden Age comics with this complete sourcebook on the public domain golden age character Camilla, a complete map of her strange world of the Lost Empire, FASERIPopedia statistics for all her friends and foes, rules to create your own Jungle Adventurers and White Devil evil-doers and a whole circus full of weird and wonderful new creatures! Stats for Viking War Galleys, Zebra Chariots, a German U-Boat, items, ancient languages -- this sourcebook has it all!" 
This picks up from here on the blog. 

So over the last twenty four hours, I've been going through some minor issues with one of our PC's. Within our group we've got the Daughter of Fantomah whose a stand in our Ascendant rpg for Wonder Woman. She's got a whole host of skills but her use of divine Egyptian magic comes in really handy. She's a strike first and ask questions later kinda of gal. The Daughter of Fantomah is a lower level Ascendant who makes up for it with divine magic. The Daughter of Fantomah is connected to the Lost Empire realm through the moongates. One of these connects to the Subterraea tunnels below Bludville. 
Linsey Warren was an ordinary 1980's teenager who along with her friends took a ride on the "Lost Empire Jungle Ride Rollercoaster". What happened to her friends is a mystery but Linsey didn't emerge from the tunnels below the ride until 2029! What happened to her friends isn't known. (Yes, this is a homage to the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon of the 1980's). Linsey's biggest question is what happened to her 1970's preducessor the last Daughter of Fantomah?! She's pieced together quite a bit of her origin after finding the Amulet of Horus. And taking the party into Subterraea. Bloodville was the sight of a major battle of the 1970's in the underworld tunnels where many of the heroes parished!
The Lost Empire became a major point of contension because of the pools of immortality. These pools are part of the Lazarus Pits of DC fame and offer far more then at first they seem. These pools are filled with the 'black blood of the Earth' and far rarer elements. 
These pools and others seem to form because of the planar radiations buffering against reality. These are in turn constantly being sought be despoilted and exploited by villainous goons. 
Here's where the FASERIPopedia Lost Empires Rpg Sourcebook shines (even though it's badly organized & such), we get scalable FASERIP rpg villains & goon rules. These are welcome additions because it allows the DM to push out some costumed villains for his campaign quickly and effortlessly. 




Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Enter The Manhunter - Ascendant Rpg - Session Report

 During tonight's Ascendant rpg game things got very complicated as the player's PC's came face to face with 'The Power Company' mercenary outfit. And it was glorious! This is the first time the player's PC's came up against mercenaries and capes with an edge and in this case Manhunter of the 'The Power Company' cleaned thier clocks! The party has been messing around with the gangs and cartels within Bluddville for months. Then they crossed a pretty serious group of NPC's in tonight's session.  


Manhunter doesn't have a reputation persay and so when they came across him & his mercenaries raiding one of the local gang labs. Things got ugly fast in Bludville & then got worse. The PC's made the mistake of attacking Manhunter's men and then wounding Manhunter. That did not go over well with the PC's having two of thier own wounded next melee! The PC's withdrew to lick thier wounds.


One of the wounded was Lady Elizabeth & this took out our Camelot powered knight & melee specialist for tonight's game. She healed quickly but her pride took a hit in tonight's game. Manhunter was saved by Skyrocket. But the PC's were quick to withdrawn and get back to Dreadnaught Security only to find out that they've been assigned to act as liasons with Silver Sable's Wildpack who would be running interference against some of the big guns the cartels have brought into Bludville. This all echoes off from events from Capital City Casefiles #2: Served Cold

The cartels are getting tired of having thier teeth kicked in by Dreadnaught Security operatives. They've been bringing in hired assassins and hitmen to take out the freelance operatives. The build up has been happening for months now. What happens after that is coming up. 


Sunday, September 8, 2024

Hostile Rpg Session - Hide & Seek - Session Report III

  At our next drop zone I started to think about upping the odds when it came to Tau Ceti. The situation with China being pushed out it's own interstellar colony world isn't going to stand. What would China actually do in a corporate controlled universe?! Answer? They'd park two large warships off Tau Ceti and then let nature take it's course. This game session picks right up where we left off here last session. 























Oh if you want to look at panic on a party's face. This was it. The USS Franklin a Harbringer starship was caught out in the open with her pants down. This was a crew with zero weaponry aboard and starring down two warships. The Franklin continued onto her next drop zone & supplied the farm equipment, ammo, and sundries to the next colony drop point. The U.S.S. Franklin had succeeded in her real mission. 


The Chinese wanted to seize control of the planetary colonies and were getting ready to do a full assault accept for the fact that the PC's had delivered nukes to a colony city on Tau Ceti. The Americans were willing to blew thier own city off of the face of the planet if the Chinese didn't back off. And they have a nuclear bomb in one of the Chinese cities. There is a stale mate for the moment. 
The Franklin's crew were unaware of the corporation doing this to them BTW. Is it any wonder the cyborg agent attacked them!? One of our other DM's in this case DM Peter is handling the Chinese and thier interests at the moment. This is where we ended in tonight's game. 

Saturday, September 7, 2024

OSR Commentary - FASERIPopedia Camelot Rpg Sourcebook By Johnathan Nolan & Ascendant Rpg Campaign update Report

 Last night I was messing around with FASERIPopedia Camelot & noticed a very interesting comment by the publisher; "Depending on the original source, there were anywhere from 150 to over 1500 (FIFTEEN HUNDRED) Knights of the Round Table. Going back to the original history of south-west Wales and Maurice / Arthur II (the historical real King Arthur) there were close-knit warrior nobles numbering in the dozens so in a weird way even though the Camelot stuff is all myth, it echoes and resonates with the original genuine history. :)" 



There are over a hundred NPC knights of the round table within Camelot. Bare in mind that these are actually going into our Ascendant Rpg campaign. We've got one PC's whose got a deep and abiding Camelot connection. Our Camelot buts up against the Unofficial Marvel Canon's Otherworld location sourcebook material. 


Let's get back to Camelot and the fact that our player Bretta's PC happened to wander into king Arthur's kingdom right in the middle of the inner city of New York City. Camelot's Whirlwind then took the character and she was made a female knight after a series of adventures that our PC's got sucked into. 
Camelot isn't well organized but the amount of material within it could keep a campaign going for years. Lady Elizabeth has run afoul one of the turn coat 'knights of the Round table'. She unknowingly insulted one of the most violent and terrible knights who keeps sending assassins her way. Lady Elizabeth however was able to find a magic sword after an encounter with a lost Roman era undead. 
Elizabeth was made a knight of the round table after defeating a nasty Saxon assassin in King Arthur's court. She's enjoying her status among the court but has had to devide her time between Camelot and the real world. 
Since we use a lot of FASERIP/Marvel Super Heroes in our Ascendant rpg games I use Alexander Marcus's conversion; "Since someone is bound to ask, to convert from Marvel/FASERIP, do the following: MIG should be equal to lesser of STR or END AGI should be equal to AGIL VAL should be equal to FIGHTING RES should be equal to PSYCHE INS should be equal to REASON CHA should be equal to INTUITION Feeble = 1 SP Poor = 2 SP Typical = 3 SP Good = 4 SP Excellent = 5 SP Remarkable = 7 SP Incredible = 9 SP Amazing = 11 SP Monstrous = 13 SP Unearthly = 15 SP Shift X = 16 SP Shift Y = 17 SP Shift Z = 18 SP Class 1000 = 20 SP Class 3000 = 24 SP Class 5000 = 30 SP So Thor (https://classicmarvelforever.com/cms/thor.html) would be something like: MIG 15, AGI 9, VAL 15, RES 11, INS 3, CHA 5, with Physical Invulnerability 5, Cryogenic Corrosive Electrical Ionizing Thermal Toxic Resistance 15, Immortality 20, Weather Control 15, Boomerang Bludgeoning Strike 16*, Hovering Flight 20*, Protective Deflection 15*; with *Powers being subject to a Deprived of Device Vulnerable State."






Wednesday, September 4, 2024

OSR Review of Modern War: Crisis Creator By Martin Proctor, & Paul Elliott The Modern War Rpg & Cepheus Engine Rpg's.

 "Crisis Creator gives you the tools to create fictional countries set in the modern world, and then helps you plunge them into crisis. These small, fictional nations are the perfect backdrop for a Modern War campaign, free from the complications of Real World horrors and politics. Create your country, give it a security crisis, and then invite your players to form the squad of a Western power, invited in to support one side or another. "



"Caught up in this crisis, your players will have to face difficult choices and great danger as they try to complete the missions which have been set for them." 


 Crisis Creator is the type of supplement for  Modern War that you don't think you'd need as a DM. Then you get a copy & wonder where it's been all your life?! This book is the crisis point generator for Modern War and yet it has so many other uses as well. Clocking in at ninety three pages Crisis Creator can brew up hot spots, blow ups, and well crisises for your Modern War rpg and Cepheus Engine based Rpg campaigns.
Crisis Creator builds on many of the tools laid down in 
 Modern War & because of this Crisis Creator is an excellent tool set for the Hostile rpg. You can create your fictional country & the crisis that it's suffering from. And then map out the mission that your squad can take on. The editing, layout, and over all feel of Crisis Creator is up to the usual Zozer Games standard.
Crisis Creator also has rules for insurgancy counter war rules including aircraft and more. This allows all aspects of the crisises to be played out. There are also solo rules for using Crisis Creator as an abstract solo rpg. These rules can be used with any Modern rpg or supplement for Modern rpg. 
But is Crisis Creator any good and has it as an rpg supplement any ultility?! In a word oh yes! Crisis Creator is a perfect tool box to create your own fictional country, crisis, circumstances surrounding the crisis and missions. 
Crisis Creator is also incredibly useful for Hostile especially Hostile's Dirty Wars mercenary company supplement. Take Crisis Creator create your fictional country/colony, then crisis, followed up with your mercenary company coming in to mop up the colony issue. 

Crisis Creator is another excellent Zozer supplement that can bring the pain and rain to your Modern War or Hostile rpg campaign. The engines and systems within Crisis Creator far out weigh the material in question. 

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Retro Review Rucker-class Merchant By Michael Johnson For The Clement Sector rpg Third Edition

 "Commonly called "Odd Job", the ship is renowned for its reliability and easy customization.  While the Rucker's most common role is being the favored vessel of independent merchants, the ship has been used for everything from a cargo hauler to a music stage to a system defense vessel.  All in a day's work for the "Odd Job"."



'Within these pages, you will find the standard Rucker as well as these popular variants:

Passenger Variant - A Rucker modified with comfort of passengers in mind.  Replacing cargo space with luxury!

Cargo Variant - Used by merchants who would rather sacrifice passenger space for more cargo.  No pesky transiters!

Casino Variant - An opulent modification allowing for a traveling gambling experience for high rollers!

System Defense - For the less wealthy system, the Rucker system defense variant can be the perfect answer.  Modified to be armed with a particle beam barbette, this ship can strike fear into marauders and pirates!

Missile Boat - Modified to hold a missile bay in the bow of the ship, this variant can pack a mighty punch against those who would attack shipping in your system!

The Model 12 - The most recent version of the Rucker updated with the most modern technology.

Rucker-class Merchant comes complete with beautiful views of the ship by expert starship artist, Ian Stead.  The Rucker is presented with full deckplans and statistics to make your use of our product simple, easy, and fun. In addition, the ship comes with a set of adventure hooks to get your characters right into the action as well as fiction written by Bradley Warnes."

 The Odd Job aka the Rucker-class Merchant By Michael Johnson has been updated for third edition Clement Sector Rpg. We get the iconic Rucker class which is a starship seen all over the Clement sector. It's important to keep in mind that the Clement sector has been cut off from Earth for a very long time. In that time the odd job has changed in many ways and has tons of variations & varieties of Ruckers out there. 
We get a very nice spread of these vessels & thier applications within the supplement along with history, background, breakdowns on weapons and more. This book goes into the deep end of the background because believe it or not the Rucker is an adventurer's ship. A spacer can serve his or her way across the Clement sector aboard Rucker's and still not have gotten through all of the roles that this iconic ship plays. The Rucker-class Merchant By Michael Johnson presents a very concisely done and well written supplement, this ship book has excellent deck plans and schematics that really cover this ship. The adventures found within the Rucker are centered around this classic starship. 
And this is an excellent supplement to add to the  Clement Sector Light Rpg & kick off a campaign in full! The Rucker serves so many star systems and so many roles. This puts the Rucker into the role of adventure center, base of opperations, and much more. 


The Rucker fits so many roles in the Clement Sector rpg that it's easy to forget that has been operating for a very long time. However she's gotten a modern upgrade and this also means that the Rucker has been manufactured for so long that there are thousands of models of the iconic ship scattered around. 
This means  that adventurers could theorically buy thier own Ruckers and begin operations in the Frontier. But is the Rucker class supplement worth it?! In a word yes! The Rucker is a starship that supplies dependability, reliability, and weight to Clement sector campaign. 


Monday, September 2, 2024

Commentary On The Fiend Folio For 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons For Your Old School Science Fantasy Campaigns

 When it comes to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition Fiend Folio there's something to remember about the monsters. These monsters have a completely different feel then thier American counterparts. This makes them ideal to use with Science Fantasy rpg's. Now I've talked extensively about the Fiend Folio on this blog. 



This is especially true of the OSR based games such as Stars Without Number where the creatures & monsters can easily be stand in's for alien creatures and monsters. 
Stars Without Numbers the number of systems that have been isolated by the Scream is numerous. We have no idea what or whom has been trapped. 
This makes perfect fodder for having the humanoid tribal  races that are in the Fiend Folio to the forgotten & fallen remains of alien empires. 


This goes back to something I said in my commentary on the Fiend Folio; "The Fiend Folio is the forgotten Monster Manual and the monsters are easily discounted and overlooked. This makes perfect fodder for the DM to use them and reintroduce his or her players to the terrors of them. " Stars Without Numbers has numerous space dungeons & ruins baked right into the campaign background. And this same principle applies to the undead of the Fiend Folio; "This book has some great undead in it and they are so great to add into post apocalyptic games such as Mutant Future and Gamma World as needed for alien planets and ruins. Yeah, there's a bit of science fantasy over flow with Fiend Folio and the gonzo factor is such an appeal here" 

Coming across a Vodyandi on a waterworld someplace in the interstellar back of beyond would cause quite a stir among players. The Fiend Folio has mostly been forgotten by today's fifth edition & Shadowdark crowd. This makes it a perfect suppliment to get a second life as a post apocalpytic or Science Fantasy supplement. 


Let's go back to our friend the Voyanoi here for a second. These alien horrors could have been bred by Interstellar Kua Toa and used as muscle, guardians, etc. The empire dies off and this leaves the ancient guards still going about thier duties. There's plenty of  life in the Fiend Folio as a supplement for OSR Science Fiction games. This brings up the encounter tables in the back of the Fiend Folio; "Fantastic encounter tables in the back of the book make dungeon and wildness setting design and monster placement a snap. This keeps things moving at the table during play. "
And this is doubly so for OSR Science Fiction games where a fast moving encounter can mean the difference between a successful game campaign and the loss of a player. 


Sunday, September 1, 2024

OSR Commentary Marvel Super Heroes Module Rpg MH9 Gates Of What If By Roger E. Moore



 ""You have passed through of the Gates of What If - into a divergent universe, where things are almost the same, with a few changes. VICTOR has plans - and you're invited. GATES OF WHAT IF? is an adventure for use with the MARVEL SUPER HEROES role-playing game. You must have the MARVEL SUPER HEROES role-playing game to play this adventure. This package includes a 40-page adventure book and a full-color map of DOOMSTADT and other areas."" 


"You are in a world where Reed Richards did not live to become Mister Fantastic! Ben Grimm is the Thing, but he's not rocky and orange - he's wearing a power suit! And wait just one minute - you say that Victor Von Doom is a HERO?

Where are you?

You have passed through the Gates of What If - into a divergent universe, where things are almost the same, with a few changes. Victor has plans - and you're invited." 

 Marvel Super Heroes Module Rpg MH9 Gates Of What If By Roger E. Moore was the prelude module for us in 1987 to dive into the MX1 Nightmares of Future Past By Steve Winter. Let me explain why. We had just gotten roped into the lead in events of MH9. The module clocks in at about 40 pages in which the PC's are used by a heroic Victor von Doom to gain revenge against Mephisto. Our group had a blast with this module. 
The world was so very much like our regular Marvel Super Heroes campaign but there was something very 'off'' about it. According to the Gates of What if Wiki entry; "
 As Guide du RĂ´liste Galactique notes, "Much of the interest of the adventure comes from the confrontation between these characters and those of the parallel world. Some [of the superheroes in this parallel world] are dead, others have never been superheroes, or their costume is being used by someone else. The reactions of the public and the heroes of the parallel world therefore risk unsettling the characters.""
My uncle modified MH9 so that the module would work with our Marvel Advanced PC's. According to his notes Mephisto sends us sideways in time to MX1 and our own campaign's possible future! 


Victor is the one who eventually saves our party from the possible future of the events of MX1. Of course we had to go back to MX1 but we'll get to that. Roger E Moore's MH-9 is a tightly written and designed module. According to the Gates of What If wiki entry; "
In Issue 4 of AdventurerIan Marsh called Gates of What-If? "a titanic adventure for Marvel Super Heroes which pits the Fantastic Four and Spidey against a formidable extra-dimensional opponent. Would you be surprised if Doctor Doom appeared too? Nope, nor would I."" And this review captures the feel of MH9. According to Kevin Derby's July 2016 Amazon review; "This is an interesting module for TSR’s classic Marvel RPG from the mid 1980s as the importance of Reed Richards is on display in this adventure. It’s an interesting twist on the Marvel Universe and GMs will have to be pretty well versed on it. This is one of the more comprehensive modules with plenty of character profiles and a few good maps. A solid choice though it does require quite a few heroes to beat it" My uncle's Marvel Super Heroes group had nine players at the time. Recently playing through with six PC's was a bit of a slog. Is MH-9 worth the download? Definitely because it highlights what can be done with the FASERIP Marveil rpg. 
After the events of MH-9 Mephisto became a regular thorn in our party's side. We had some runs ins with him & he cost us the life as well as the soul of one of our PC's but that's a blog entry for another time.