The Future isn't What It Used To Be - - Orbital Decay (MicroRed version) From The Red Room, Red Novanexus, & The New Flesh Rpg Setting - The Trap of the Yara Ma Yha Who Part II

   The party has been on a mission after being called in by the Inquisition by the Warden Foundation. Things have slid down hill after the last session. An expedition went missing in the  Kimberley region in Western Australia where ruins have recently been unearthed due to an earthquake.


 The expedition's party has become victims of a tribal nest of the Yara-ma-yha-who of Australia in the Beyond who had made their home around a series of gates that were positioned around the wild fig trees in the area. Most of the expedition's members have been converted into new members of the monster's tribe. So the adventure has now shifted into an extermination campaign. 
Our party moved in on the colony and began to slaughtering the horrors in Beyond by powers & tooth or claw. The monsters were trying to gate in another demonic horror from the Australian Dreamtime ( a dimension connected deeply with the Beyond). 

The monsters didn't get the chance as our werewolves tore into the vampiric horrors with gusto. With throats torn out and former victims now monsters it was a simple matter of conjuring a gateway from the Beyond back into the 'real world'. However instead of the real world we found ourselves within the Glass City of Aviladad. This didn't sit well with our party of adventurers. Zontec closed in on them and had guns trained on our party of adventurers. And then there's the man among the crowd of onlookers who was covered in red sores and slick strange slime. We ended here. 

OSR Commentary On SURVIVE THIS!! What Shadows Hide: The Roleplaying Game & Nightshift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars rpg - What Shadows Hide Cthulhu Sourcebook Session Report II

 " Created by Eric Bloat & Josh Palmer, SURVIVE THIS!! What Shadows Hide is a standalone roleplaying game and does not require any additional gaming material to play. However, as part of the SURVIVE THIS!! game line, What Shadows Hide is 100% fully compatible with SURVIVE THIS!! ZOMBIES!, DARK PLACES & DEMOGORGONS, VIGILANTE CITY, and SURVIVE THIS!! FANTASY, We Die Young, and can be used to mix and match to create your own custom play experiences."

 The street fair was a bit of a disaster when assassins showed up to ruin the PC's night. This session picks up from the last game session. Some of these assassins weren't human and the supernaturals at the street fair went into panic mode. The PC's started running damage control and still managed to kill off two of the doppelganger assassins.

The PC's then went into 'raid' mode to take out the a cult of Nyarlathotep who was operating out of a bookshop called Wagner's Occult & Esoteric Books. This book shop was actually the front for an entity called  The Book Master. The cult had fled and left a ticking time bomb in their place. The party's gadgeteer had the bomb disarmed in two hours. The rest of the party were outside of the bookshop and were ambushed by cult members armed with machine guns.  We're using Nightshift Veterans of The Supernatural Wars as the base rpg system. Which means that two of the PC's were kidnapped by the cult members as a sacrifice to the Crawling Chaos. 

The rest of the party were busy fighting zombies left behind by the cult's necromancer! We managed to put down the undead but it was too late for our party members. What the cult doesn't know that they've got a werewolf on their hands! We'll pick up next time! 

Ebirah Adapted From "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep " 1966 For Cepheus Atom & Those Old School 2d6 Science Fantasy Role Playing Campaigns Updated

 Used extensively by the Japanese forces during World War II, the Ebirah species of Kaiju were controlled by sonic impulses by super science devices. The Ebirah were not seen again around nexus of Kaiju activity of  Monster Island until 1966. Originally this huge crustacean lived in the vicinity of Letchi Island in the South Pacific.

Ebirah allegedly turned into a monster due to the waste flowing from the arms factory of a secret society called the "Red Bamboo". It used its giant, scissor-like right arm and spear-like left arm to attack ships approaching the island, preventing them from approaching the outer reaches of the coast. Its weakness was identified when people discovered that the monster could be thwarted by a bitter yellow juice made from the seeds of plants growing on the island.

'
Ebirah are found extensively in the Pacific ring area & have been used extensively by the military forces of the Deep Ones or the Atlanteans at various times. The Ebirah are considered some of the most dangerous Kaiju by shipping & cargo companies who offer substantial bounties on these horrors. 
Ebirah

# appearing 1d6

5/10, Move 15m, Swim 60 M, Armor 6, Claw (melee 4d damage), Bite (melee 1D damage), Criss Scissors double damage for one attack,  Turbo Swim double movement for 3 turns , Survival 1,  Combat 2,  Melee 2 . Gigantism. Armor, Regeneration As Troll,

OSR Commentary Thirteen Parsecs: Beyond the Solar Frontier Rpg By Jason Vey & The Arduin Grimoire rpg - Vengeance From Beyond The Grave

 The PC's were aboard the space wreck from last game session with their own space tug. The wreck that they were aboard has power supplied by their own space tug but the fact that they ran into a radioactive ghost has been bothering the party.

They can't seem to communicate with the spirit but several times its been trying to warn the party away from certain areas of the ship. These areas are engineering, medical, & the crew quarters. The adventurers found nothing in these areas. Except for the strange whirling of lights and the odd cracks in the local space time continuum that could be seen out of the corner of one's eye. 
This was when the Phraint space pirates attacked! They went to board the wreck and proceeded to areas that they wanted to raid. 

Phraint (young with two-hand sword) (EMC302)

The raiders were looking for anything useful aboard the wreck from fuel to spare parts from engineering. Nothing was off the table & the had the drop on the party. Here's where the ghost lit up two of the raiders with a radioactive burst of energy.

The ghost kept trying to warn the party about something when the star spider appeared! We ended right here folks! 

Manifestation of the Yellow Stone Horror - A Mini Campaign Idea Using The Victorious Rpg & Wreched Eqoque Part II

 So this weekend I picked up an old Victorious The Steampunk Role Playing Game of Supermankind By Mike Stewart from this campaign.   This campaign goes back to March 2023 and on Friday my notes fell out of an old folder. 

So after a brief recap the PC's settled into the newly renovated & rebuilt hotel overlooking the Yellow Stone state park they began to investigate the disappearances and murders that had been happening in the state park. The year is 1871 & things are hopping at the park! Occult energies are off the chart according to the party's arcanist Dr. Mollery.

The party immediately runs into Dwight Dalley one of two teenagers who found an old spell book in the woods and opened a gateway to the netherworld. The party is immediately attacked by two large infernal trolls covered in warts and sores. The second teen has become infected with the baleful energies of the underworld and a priest for the dark forces that are trapped in Yellow Stone. The party is given the spell book minus two pages. The second teen Brian Holland is now the vessel for some dark force and not in his right mind. He is on the verge of starting a cult.. as the party found out in two night's game. It was he who summoned the infernal trolls. The party used fire and lightning based attacks to destroy and burn the trolls followed dissolving the remains in acid! 

The party found out out that Brian Holland had also found two ancient scrolls that were secreted within a hollowed out tree within the park. 
The dark forces weren't taking any chances with the party as a set of possessed wolves appeared at night right outside of the hotel and stalked down the halls. They were not harmed a sleep bomb created by our Contraptionist put them out. Deep in the woods we followed them back to their den near a sacrificial altar. That's when we were surrounded by cultists

We're using an updated version of  Belle Époque & some of it's resources. Especially some of the demonic creatures. 

OSR Commentary On SURVIVE THIS!! What Shadows Hide: The Roleplaying Game & Nightshift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars rpg - What Shadows Hide Cthulhu Sourcebook Session Report

 " Created by Eric Bloat & Josh Palmer, SURVIVE THIS!! What Shadows Hide is a standalone roleplaying game and does not require any additional gaming material to play. However, as part of the SURVIVE THIS!! game line, What Shadows Hide is 100% fully compatible with SURVIVE THIS!! ZOMBIES!, DARK PLACES & DEMOGORGONS, VIGILANTE CITY, and SURVIVE THIS!! FANTASY, We Die Young, and can be used to mix and match to create your own custom play experiences."

 

 We were on the case of a cult of Nyarlathotep who was operating out of a bookshop called Wagner's Occult & Esoteric Books. This book shop was actually the front for an entity called The Book Master. This entity has been supplying supernatural items & deadly black magic spell books to people corrupting them. This leads to these peoples becoming the heads of cults & expanding the role of the Mythos in the corruption of humanity. 
This session picks right up from here on the blog. The party picked up the from the fact that the urbanmancers that the PC's were dealing with disappeared. This was along with the homeless camp they were staying with. So we're using Nightshift Veterans of The Supernatural Wars as the base rpg system.

The PC's were attacked by cultists looking to gain power from supernaturals through sacrifice and worse. The players were shocked when a van pulled up to them on the street and armed men got out with guns locked. This happened at night at a street fair and our werewolves took these folks out with little problem. 

We took one of the corpses for one of our senior adventurers who happens to be a ghoul and necromancer. He stripped off the juicy bits and got the name of the bookshop. 

Now our party is in the planning stages of a raid on the bookshop. And we decided to go to the Dark End Street Fair. This is a quarterly street fair that moves across the city and sets up for the supernaturals and mundanes. This is where we closed this session. 

The Future isn't What It Used To Be - - Orbital Decay (MicroRed version) From The Red Room, Red Novanexus, & The New Flesh Rpg Setting - The Trap of the Yara Ma Yha Who

 

 The party has been called into a Inquisition situation by the Warden foundation & involved an expedition to the Kimberley region in Western Australia where ruins have recently been unearthed due to an earthquake. The expedition hasn't been seen or been in contact with the head office of the Warden foundation. This takes adventure takes place around the early part era of Orbital Decay and mankind is just starting to explore the solar system. And picks up from here on the blog. 
The player's PC's might be considered monsters within their own right & when we arrived we found the camp completely in ruin. 

We found the head of the expedition on the ground covered in slime, red blisters  and missing most of his body hair. Dr. Johnson was in an induced coma and had certain chemical, philological and biological changes had been made to him. He was remarkably shorter and shaking like a leaf. The rest of the expedition's members were missing & as we were investigating it became apparent that there we slime covered prints on the wild Fig trees. 

The area was loaded with Fig trees and when one of the party members sat down near one. He was jumped by a strange looking creature covered in red fur and slick red skin. It looked like a red slick giant frog like humanoid. He picked the wrong person to try and victimize. Mike Nessmith is a mutant Child of the Night with electrical generation abilities. The little humanoid cried out in pain and shot off of Mike in a hurry and that's when the world view seemed to invert. We were in the Beyond with dozens of the red humanoid frog things staring at us. Our occultist made an emergency spell effect that had been cast a ritual before we started this adventure. Suddenly we shifted back into our  reality & our party threw up after the reality shift. We got outta of there as fast as possible and got back to our ship. Our shaman wants to speak with the local Aboriginal tribal elder.
Alright so what's actually going on is the Warden Foundation's  expedition stumbled upon a tribal nest of the Yara-ma-yha-who of Australia in the Beyond.  The vampire creatures converted the expedition's members into other Yara-ma-yha-who. These horrors then retreated back to the Beyond. 

The PC's need to close the gateway into the Beyond and take down the vampiric horrors. This went from a rescue to a full on extermination mission. More to come. 

OSR Commentary Thirteen Parsecs: Beyond the Solar Frontier Rpg By Jason Vey & The Arduin Grimoire rpg - Not A Ghost Of A Chance

 So I decided to add a few OSR supplements to our on going Thirteen Parsecs campaign. The player's PC's came across an on going distress signal and they decided to answer it. The party had been getting low on cash with all of their recent shenanigans against the Mi Go and they were forced to take on a few minor jobs to pay bills. 

The party needs the cash to do some arcane research on the recent Mi Go artifacts  they picked up last game session.   So they located a derelict space craft on their sensors and came in for a closer look. There was Nexus gate energy surrounding the craft and a ton of ship's systems were damaged or missing from the craft. They carefully brought their grappling crawls to bare on the derelict and they sealed an airlock on and then pumped in atmosphere into the derelict. The party climbed aboard through the air lock and came face to face after several rounds with radioactive ghost! 
The thing only appeared and didn't attack them! 

Instead the spirit seemed to be trying to tell the party something?! This created a cat and mouse situation with the party avoiding the ghost and then the party ended up in the medical bay. There were several burnt corpses lying on the medical beds and the place looked like a bomb went off in it. There was an odd sparkling and weird whirling of space time out of the corner of the party's vision. And then the ghost appeared again?! The party ran down to the reactor room and then found a messy barricaded that had been erected as if someone made a last stand here. What does any of this of this have to do with Arduin or the King in Yellow?! 

Yes, I totally stole this from Wayne's Books but tune in next week when we continue this shocking turn of events! 

Baptism of Fire Rpg By Rpg Pundit From Mad Scribe Games - Elven Chaos Cults & The Deep Rot of Chaos Session Six

 This is where we've gotten a royal cult that's forces almost ambushed our party. We pick up from last time here on the blog. This session picks right up from August sixth and now our party is deep in the middle of the wilderness. And then we had guerrilla fighters with short bows looking to pick off our guys. We sniped several of their bowmen and they had our adventurers in a crossfire. But we managed to get out of the crossfire. Then a Chaos priest and minions! He was up to something! We got the drop on him! 

The problem we had is the fact that they a Chaos priest who unleashed a dark relic of Chaos. This was an opportunity for one of our bowmen to get a great shot on this bastard. And he did a natural twenty and the shot was a head shot! And the chaos relic was out of play. We moved in and captured two of the minions!  Tovic Kurr's name came up immediately and then we got ambushed by the remains of the royal Chaos cult. 

We killed the minions once we got the info that the party needed. The party camped in one of the villages that we helped in the past near the edge of the wilderness. The villagers were sick of the influence of Chaos. And knew that that there's deadly Elven presence nearby. We're not sure what we're dealing with another dungeon, mobile pagan cult, or something worse. We need more investigation until we ran into a group of corrupted pig faced Orcs! We'll pick it up next week! 

OSR Commentary The Free Radioactive Boogaloo 2 For The Barrows & Borderlands Rpg

 "A collection of even more Play-Test, Teaser, and Free rulings, Classes, Items, and more for the Barrows & Borderlands TTRPG! This is a living document that will be added to as time goes on!"

When it comes to Barrows & Borderlands Rpg, this game's author has been supporting the game from the ground up. Mathew Tapp has been very busy with giving his DM & player's of Barrows & Borderlands new Science Fantasy toys such as brand new PC classes, items, equipment, and optional rules. Barrows & Borderlands Radioactive Boogaloo two is that product & it works from a few levels. I looked at the first Radioactive Boogaloo here on the blog. 
And it takes the whole cloth Science Fantasy post apocalyptic  & the post apocalyptic wasteland vibe to the game.

    Radioactive Boogaloo 2  For The Barrows & Borderlands Rpg is a good solid supplement and it plugs right into the Science Fantasy wasteland campaign of the game. There's a ton of material that has been put into the twenty four pages in this supplement. This makes the supplement fit right into the world of the B&B  rpg. Great supplement too add a whole new aspect in your campaign in spades. 

OSR Sword & Sorcery Campaign Commentary On Clark Aston Smith's The Isle of the Torturers

 Isle of the Torturers By Clark Aston Smith is one of those stories that get's under my skin. It's been awhile since I've worked on our Zothique campaign setting. And this afternoon it was time to crack the Clark Aston Smith books & we came to one of his best in my humble opinion. According to the Wiki entry; ""The Isle of the Torturers" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the March 1933 issue of Weird Tales." 
There are couple of questions that hit my mind right off the bat with a rereading of The Isle of the Torturers By Clark Aston Smith. For instance what the Hell is the Silver Death & why is the star Achernar coming so close to Earth's Zothique? The star Achenar is real and according to it's wiki entry; , also known as Alpha Eridani,The system bears the traditional name of  Achernar  (sometimes spelled Achenar), derived from the Arabic khir an-nahr, meaning "The End of the River". Which is interesting because the story almost implies that the universe is contracting enabling this star to appear in the night sky to rain down  the metallic debris known as the Silver Death. Or is it that he star Achenar has become a wanderer in this far future millions of years down the line. 
And what about this magic ring that was prepared by the  sorcerer Vemdeez?! This magic ring protects it's wearer from the effects of the Sliver Death but at what cost? Nothing is explained about the origin of this ring?! According to the text of Isle of the Torturers; "Now Vemdeez had cast the horoscope of Fulbra; and though he found therein certain ambiguities that his science could not resolve, it was nevertheless written plainly that the king would not die in Yoros. Where he would die, and in what manner, were alike doubtful. But Vemdeez, who had served Altath the father of Fulbra, and was no less devoted to the new ruler, had wrought by means of his magical art an enchanted ring that would protect Fulbra from the Silver Death in all times and places. The ring was made of a strange. red metal, darker than ruddy gold or copper, and was set with a black and oblong gem, not known to terrestrial lapidaries, that gave forth eternally a strong aromatic perfume. The sorcerer told Fulbra never to remove the ring from the middle finger on which he wore it — not even in lands afar from Yoros and in days after the passing of the Silver Death: for if once the plague had breathed upon Fulbra, he would bear its subtle contagion always in his flesh; and the contagion would assume its wonted virulence with the ring's removal. But Vemdeez did not tell the origin of the red metal and the dark gem, nor the price at which the protective magic had been purchased." This could be a prime hook for a DM to get the player's PC's to be sent on a series of quests to get the ingredients for what will become the ring of Vemdeez.
And what of the Silver Death it'self?! There seems to be no way to escape it. Yet, the coming of it was foretold in horoscopes, dreams, prophecies, and more. Was there anyway to prepare for this cosmic disaster!? 
What is it with the Isle of Uccastrog?! They have more then a fever for the art of torture and pain. They remind me of Clive Barker's Cenobites from the Hellraiser films in which the people are absolutely insane and the Silver Death is definitely warranted to exterminate them. However how many adventurers and victims had fallen into their twisted hands over the centuries. And could the PC's save some fool from this kingdom's tender mercies?! 
Then there's the fate of the magic ring of Vemdeez?! What happens when and if it surfaces again as relic magic items often seem to? Will the Silver Death follow it's magical trail? Could the adventurers be on a quest doom to failure to save the world from the on coming threat?!
Isle of the Torturers is one of CAS's finest stories but for me it opens many,many, doors for adventures and campaigns set on Zothique itself. 

Designing Martian Adventures In The Warriors of the Red Planet Rpg - Edgar Rice Burroughs The Mastermind of Mars

 So I've been reviewing my notes on Edgar Rice Burrough's The Mastermind of Mars & you can read about my experiences using this ERB classic with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons resources on the blog here. 

The Mastermind of Mars does several interesting things one of which is describing in some detail the country of Thool & deep details on the city-state of Phundahl. Which is interesting because we almost but not quite get a deeper look into some of the underside of this city state. While there isn't anything unseemly about it the citystate is a bit sleazy. Which makes a perfect location for adventurers on Barsoom or Mars. Ras Thavas is an incredible resource or super science for a party of adventurers. 
 Martian royalty are dynastic jerks because of the very system that Barsoom employs. Because of royal commitments, treaties, and dwidling resources warfare and cloak and dagger operations are only a prelude to war. And as we've seen with a Mastermind of Mars assassins are the norm not the exception to the rule of removing royal or mundane problems. The Warriors of the Red Planet Rpg also plugs into this sanctioned assassination and duelist culture that infects Mars. Behind the scenes murders,poisoning, etc have to be rampant throughout Mars. And this probably leads to social instability. Could some of the abandoned cities on Mars actually be a result of cultural madness as citystate resources and issues dry up?! This is something we've seen throughout the series and there are illusions to it throughout the Barsoom books.  
Could there be a more desparate and edgy reason for the dungeon crawling on Barsoom to stop the decline of the planet?! And is the decline artificial in nature. Hear me out here. Are the Therns  responsible for the planetary decline?! If they can keep the races of Mars dependent upon them then their continued control is assured. Or is it? Adventurers are definitely a destabilizing element in the plans of the Therns or at least they are within our games. 

Hostile/Zaibatsu Rpg Hybrid Campaign -The Silent City -

This session picks up from DM Paul's Highwayman campaign from July of 2024. The PC's were called in to test a strange alien gateway device that had been found on Europa. 
 So tonight I was fooling around with my players using the Hostile/Zaibaitsu rpg rules and dropped a group of Blackguard mercenaries into an alien city called The Silent City. This was a one shot adventure in the middle of a campaign  that dropped the PC's right into the thick of it. The party had armor, plenty of ammo, and equipment to find alien artifacts and get out. 

The Silent City is an other dimensional city of eternal night where there are lights and power but zero inhabitants at least those you can see. There are strange energy or spirit creatures. The biggest hazard!?! The other party or gang of adventurers and did I mention that the place was booby trapped with odd alien technology. And ten minutes in we had one of our players die by a strange antimatter artifact. He winked outta of existence failing a skill roll while wanting to activate it. 

The party's psi scout detected life in one of the buildings and almost got her head eaten by an alien bug. Did I mention that the bug was seven foot tall and covered in bio mechanical armor?! 

Two of  the party manage to find a strange weapon or tool and stashed it into one of their bags. The second thing that they found was a metal ring on it which turned out had the cure for cancer on it. 
The party explored two thirds of alien city and then they ran into a matter transmitter that sent them down into an underground location. Things got interesting as they began to explore this location. And then the party was teleported back into the alien city. 

OSR Review & Commentary On The Soldiers of Fortune Red Rpg by Miguel Ribeiro

" In Soldiers of Fortune, player characters are elite ex-soldiers turned mercenaries. They take on dangerous jobs that demand guts and creativity, from storming cartel compounds to slipping through enemy lines to sabotage a weapons cache. The game draws from the spirit of 1980s action shows, especially The A-Team, where a band of fugitives dodges the law while aiding the desperate. Just as in the inspirational show, fights leave bruises and knockouts, blasts toss foes aside, and clever tricks scatter threats without bloodshed. Characters bounce back from hits, ready for the next chase or brawl."

"Player characters have clear roles in Soldiers of Fortune: a leader who comes up with the plan, a pilot who gets them where they need to go, a mechanic who turns scrap into traps, a face who talks past guards and scrounges much-needed gear, a muscle who clears the way, and a scout who spots ambushes first. Missions might take them to small American towns, Mexican pueblos, or the Congo jungles, against varied foes such as corrupt sheriffs, mob enforcers, and guerrilla commanders. This is a full game that runs on MicroRed, a streamlined take on the Red system that strips away clutter for fast play: roll a d20, add skills and modifiers, and hit the target number. Adventures focus on high-stakes action, where a team pulls off the impossible, all while staying one step ahead of pursuit."

Back in the 1970's way before the G.I. Joe figures came out there were a number of World War II and army men figure play sets. For me it was the Marx Guns of Navarro gotten from the Sears Christmas 1976 catalog. What does any of this have to do with Soldiers of Fortune Red by Miguel Ribeiro From the Red Room?! Well, kinda of everything really. Soldiers of Fortune Red is the role playing game equivalent of a Marx playset. What this game does is put out a great Red rpg that simulates playing A Team or Commando style TV style adventures. No one dies per say but does get hurt really badly. This game has the Mirco Red Rpg system down pat which is roll a d20, add skills and modifiers, and hit the target number. That's it. And from here Soldiers of Fortune Red  takes the Micro Red System into a different directions with weapons, equipment, and more all geared around a 1970's & 80's rpg system package. I think a good chunk of this game has it's roots within the Grindhouse Red Rpg. But it's removed the adult bits and leaves a soldier of fortune rpg that has more in common with 'the classic G.I. Joe or A Team television show.

What does this mean for whole cloth play!? It means that for a one shot or extended campaign play is fast, reliable, and well done. Myself and my players tried a fast one shot and we had everything up and running within about 15 minutes from PC generation to getting down to play. And for six dollars you get a complete and ready to go rpg! All in all I'm pretty damn happy to have Soldiers of Fortune Red by Miguel Ribeiro From the Red Room on my shelf.

Baptism of Fire Rpg By Rpg Pundit From Mad Scribe Games - Elven Chaos Cults & The Deep Rot of Chaos Session Five

 We pick up from July fourth with this session of Baptism of Fire which picks right up from  the last one. And now the bastard son of the baron of our little corner of Poland has come out to play after he sought the favor of the Elve's cult of Chaos last game. 

To say that Tovic Kurr was a wee bit sore at us was an understatement. We were ready with our forces and hirelings. But we did feel it was better to shoot an arrow into him then entertain whole cloth discussion. So we ran into the wilderness and our own little lair of a village. We got a line on the fact that Tovic Kurr has a line on another set of Elven ruins and perhaps a gateway into their world. We aim to stop him and put him too the flame. 

We're meeting with another patron for our next leg of the journey into the wilderness. We think that the royal cult's members of which Tovic Kurr is a member are up too something. We knew that the dungeon cult was a royal Chaos cult and this cult was generated by using 101 Sarmatians For Dungeons & Dragons and more By Rpg Pundit.This is another branch of said cult more as we venture deeper into the wilderness next time! 

OSR Review & Commentary On The Crusader Journal #5 For The Castles & Crusades Rpg

" Issue five offers better cover quality and improved interior page quality. We've brough in a new design team and this issue shows it."

"Crusader Journal is one of the few magazines that offers today's role playing gamers articles about the games they play and how to play them. Specifically geared toward Castles & Crusades, it also contains nuggets and tips on the hows, whens, what and wheres of role playing."

Ages ago I began crawling through the roots of Castles & Crusades rpg and sure I could talk to the Troll Lords themselves. Instead I grabbed a copy of The Crusader Journal #5 too get back to basics with Castles & Crusades. This issue is a bit of a look back in time to 2007 and it's interesting back we get a whole cloth look into the DNA of the game in a way. 

 The article of Gary Gygax's  column 'How it All Happened: Older Boys' gives an unique perspective on the roots of the hobby from one of the gentlemen that started role playing games.  We get a great look at the roots of the hobby and it works on a couple of levels. It's amazing how much I miss Gary Gygax's voice and insights into role playing. 'Alea IACTA EST: Going Tarzan' has some great insights, opinions, and more on a different perspective of gaming. Another good article and well written. 

'Hammer & Anvil:Mysterious Places' by Casey Canfield is an exploration of using real world places to inspire adventures for your own game and it's a good article. Solid and well written. 'The Forge King's Malice' is a great fiction piece by Stephen Chenault and could be used as the basis for an old school style adventure. 'New Feature! One Night Stand: The Barrow Mounds, The Crystal Cave, and The Crypt' By Bill Webb presents a great one shot encounter/adventure that works on a couple of levels.  'The Aihrdian Chronicles: Plumes Upon The Blue' is a great piece of fiction from the world of Aihrde by Stephen Chenault. 'Fellowship of Forgers by Finarvyen' is a great little article on adventurers and their place within a campaign. 
Auld Wyrmish: Multiclasses as Classes Part 2 By Mike Stewart' is the meat and potatoes for using multiclasses as fodder for creating classes in Castles & Crusades rpg.  And finally 'The Angry Gamer: The Popcorn Reigns' by Todd Gray is an article with a cinematic bend in your gaming & is a solid article. 

All in all The Crusader Journal #5 is a great addition to the annals of the Castles & Crusades rpg and gives some really usable articles along with some interesting details to the history of this great OSR game! 

OSR Wretched Interbellum Campaign Update - South China Sea

 I've been drawn to Hong Kong, the 1920's, the South China Sea and more from the Interbellum years between the World Wars as a possible campaign setting. Time and again real life gets in the way. I've been going over old campaign notes from 2016 from Dragonring Issue #1 Comicbook by Guang Yap From Aircel Comics As D&D Campaign Fodder Possibly using Wretched Interbellum as the go to system to pull this off. 

The Interbellum years were wild, the spectre of World War I hadn't quite faded. The Orient was wide open, China was a complete mess, and there were plenty of opportunities for both heroes and assholes. The Wretched verse is prime for this; "The shadows of the Great War still loom large in this uneasy interwar period, coloured by the lingering trauma of unprecedented violence that swept the world from 1914 to 1918. Unsettled borders, crumbling empires, and new regimes leave the political landscape fraught with tension. Strange occult forces stirred by wartime bloodshed now threaten the fabric of reality. You take on the role of adventurers in this uncertain era, navigating landscapes scarred by the horrors of trench warfare. Like the roguish sailor Corto Maltese or Steinbeck's wandering souls, you may have no allegiances beyond your own code of honour. Alliances are prerequisites for survival, yet trust is scarce among scheming factions vying for power in the ashes of war. Moral compasses waver like ships in a storm, the lines between heroes and villains obscured in swirling fog." The lines between heroes and villains were non existent and it was all about profit and getting a piece of the pie. Add to this the Pulp elements and you've got the makings of a great campaign setting that could last for years. 

Between the war years in the South China Sea there were huge military upheavals and conflicts. This was a rich time of harvest for the Beyond and the supernatural. These powers took full advantage of these situations of violence and desperation. For our 1920's game, I'm taking full advantage of Jemery Hart's stock artwork with Demon 42 becoming our main demonic antagonist.

Nazzaruth has been spreading it's cult throughout the South China sea and getting humans to worship it. Nazzaruth has been doing this through 'black miracles' healing the sick, the desperate, and feeding the hungry. There are however prices for all of these 'miracles' such as soul exchanges, human sacrifice, murder, and the usual that goes along with the price that demons extract. Enter the PC's who have noticed the number of islands that have fallen to this cult. 

And of course there's a treasure involved because there's always a treasure. The players are already itching to find this. Add in a boat with a desperate crew of adventurers.