Campaign Commentary With Xoth.net publishing & Jason Vey's Amazing Adventures Fifth Edition rpg

 Back about 2011 or so it seemed like the OSR was quite a bit more free. Freedom to choose between OD&D, B/X, & even first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons or the retroclones of those editions. Reading through the Planet Algol blog as I'm want to do I came across this post from 2011 'Doing It Your Own Freaky Way'.  Its a good blog entry & it rings quite true in my ears today esepecially this bit; "Maybe you're unhappy with whatever edition of whatever RPG that your are refereeing or playing? Than let's just ditch whatever's dragging you down and try something else. "But the party hasn't completed the grand quest of saving yee olde fantasy orphanage!" Fuck the orphans, try playing/DMing what you'd like too, and maybe once you've got it out of your system you can return to the old game or even restart the campaign with a new system.

Maybe you're unhappy with a player in your group? Let's kickstart things, have a chat, and than if the chat doesn't resolve things KICK THE LOSER OUT OF THE GROUP. Sure he/she may be a good guy, a good friend, but if you don't enjoying their participation in the game than they need to go!

Maybe you really want to run a one-shot of Call of Cthulhu or Dogs in the Vinyard or something else but you're players are all "But we already known how to play D&D and plus we still have to recover the dwarven crown!" Tough luck, slam that COC rulebook down on the table at the beginning of the session and tell the players to make some damn investigators." 

My point? Sometimes it seems to me lately that the grand ole' hobby has a wee bit of a stick up its own ass. And I've been doing this blogging thing since '08 & there's quality or quantity. There's a game campaign that I've been dying to DM.  Since this is the case I'm planning on running Jason Vey's Amazing Adventures fifth edition but with a Sword & Sorcery twist or two.  

How?! Well Xoth.net publishing puts out a free fifth edition book called 'Player's Guide to the World of Xoth' for fifth edition free here. 

We're not talking about running the PC fifth edition D&D here. Oh no! This is straight up balls to the walls Sword & Sorcery and Pulp action. If your interested then please tune in! We've got more action coming up! 

Review & Commentary on 'Speed Round 5E: A Guide to Streamlining Remote Tabletop Games' from Skirmisher Publishing

 

The folks over at Skirmisher Publishing were contacted me about looking at 'Speed Round 5E:A Guide For Streamlining Remote Table Top Games' . And this is fine because I'm planning on running & DMing fifth edition Amazing Adventures by Jason Vey from Troll Lord Games coming up for Halloween. 

The pdf clocks in at one hundred & fifty eight pages of rules, rolls, adjustments, and side systems for fifth edition. But these should work nicely with  fifth edition Amazing Adventures by Jason Vey because these systems are optional. They do actually seem to work in principle according to the blurb on the back of the book; "Speed Round includes mechanical adjustments to combat, characters, spells and spellcasting, and monsters — to include a mathematically-sound method for creating monster clusters — that are designed to streamline online play and make it quicker, easier, and more enjoyable. It helps to make online gaming smoother, quicker, and more pleasant with tips and guidance on teleconferencing; use of virtual tabletops and features associated with them like windows where maps can be displayed; and preparing for, running, and wrapping up sessions. It is lavishly illustrated and includes more than 100 images by noted fantasy artist Amanda Kahl" 
The systems  within 'Speed Round 5E:A Guide For Streamlining Remote Table Top Games' should work out from what I'm seeing they do present an entirely optional framework within which to run your games. There's a lot of care that went into this book and how I would use these systems is run the player's PC's through a number of gated world or as a part of a time travel campaign. Given Skirmisher Publishing's product history one title immediately springs to mind & that's 'Viking Warriors'. These two products used  together could be used enhance both real time & on line gaming. By speeding up combat rounds & reducing stress at the table top level there's more time for play & for actual role playing at the table. 

Do the systems within 'Speed Round 5E: A Guide to Streamlining Remote Tabletop Games' actually work?! From reading & thumbing through my review pdf it would seem so. My brushes with Fifth edition have been very limited and will continue to be. But this version of the rules of Fifth as it relates to 'Speed Round 5E: A Guide to Streamlining Remote Tabletop Games' seem to be solid & well thought out. They will be put to the test coming up. From all accounts 'Speed Round 5E: A Guide to Streamlining Remote Tabletop Games'  actually seems to be worth your time & your fifth edition dollars. 

'Speed Round 5E: A Guide to Streamlining Remote Tabletop Games' from Skirmisher Publishing  Is Available Right Here. 

Monster, Monster: Vampires By Ed Fedory, Andrew Pavlides, Steve Miller From NUELOW Games

" Few monsters are as popular or versatile as the vampire. It’s popularity and presence in the public mind has grown ever larger in every artistic genre from fiction and poetry, to movies and comics, and to roleplaying games."


"They can be physically hideous, or they can be as beautiful as angels. They can be soulless monsters, or they can victims of a curse they wish to be liberated from. When it comes to vampires, only your imagination limits you, because the genre standards for them are fluid and many. Some might even say there are no standards for how to properly portray a vampire in fiction"

Monster, Monster: Vampires By Ed Fedory, Andrew Pavlides, Steve Miller From  NUELOW Games clocks in at forty pages for Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. But actually Monster, Monster: Vampires has the usual  NUELOW Games Skywald publishing monster comic book story. This is followed by several different types of vampires in monster camps such as this lovely; 
"Feral Vampire Medium undead, Chaotic Evil Armor Class 17 (natural armor, shield) Hit Points 97 (13d8 +39) Speed 30 ft. Str 20 (+5) Dex 16 (+3) Con 16 (+3) Int 12 (+1) Wis 16 (+3) Cha 12 (+1) Saving Throws Strength+8, Wis+6 Skills Intimidation +6, perception+6, stealth+6, survival+6 Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical weapons Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned Senses Darkvision 120’, passive Perception 16 Languages Common Challenge 8 (3900 xp)" 
There are some really well written individual species of undead here that are just waiting to suck the life out of even a modern group of adventurers. This makes this exceptionally perfect for Amazing Adventures fifth edition. 

And while there's vampires actually in AA, these variants allow the DM to present quite a bit of variety & a bit of mystery for example this lovely ripe for creation or conversion into an NPC; "Demonic Vampire Medium undead, Chaotic Evil Armor Class 17 (natural armor, shield) Hit Points 97 (13d8 +39) Speed 30 ft. Str 20 (+5) Dex 16 (+3) Con 16 (+3) Int 12 (+1) Wis 16 (+3) Cha 12 (+1) Saving Throws Strength+8, Wis+6 Skills Intimidation +6, Perception +6, Stealth +6, Survival +6 Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non magical weapons Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned Senses Darkvision 120’, passive Perception 16 Languages Common Challenge 8 (3900 xp)" 

And thus we get even more vampire varieties but its the set up, proper monster ecology, & we even get some NPC's to throw into your fifth edition games. But these are perfectly complicated enough to add into a modernish Pulp game. Take for example Black Anne please! She's perfectly suited for a modern game; "For decades, Black Anne and her cult of witches terrorized remote northern islands. While coven members came and went—claimed by old age, sacrifice to the dark powers they drew power from, or the weapons of righteous adventurers, Anne avoided death’s icy grip. She was a favored servant of a god of ultimate evil, and she maintained her your through evil rites that involved bathing in the blood of children." 
And we get more loveliness as time goes on. Is this new or wholly innovative?! No but that's not the point here.  Monster, Monster: Vampires is perfect for the DM with no time that wants to inject a good dose of vampire blood into their own home campaigns. 
 

Friday Mail Call - Troll Lords & Frog God Games In The House!

 Jason Vey's Amazing Adventures fifth edition has been on my brain now for some days going into a Lovecraftian campaign coming up. Got to say that  its very different then let's say Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. 

Amazing Adventures handles the Pulp & Modern elements better then 5 edition. 

Horror has consequences in this game. 

AA can do D&D adventures without the bad issues of the fifth edition system. 

Thanks to the Frog God Games Humble bundle some months ago there's additional Lovecraftian material available to run with. 

 

And now onwards with the Frog God Games adventures! The gentleman who had to part with these was really upset after his wife approached me about buying them on the cheap! There's months & months of goodness here but its gonna be a question of working this stuff into the on going campaign! 

Quick Kickstarter OSR Update & Beyond Attention Getters

Kickstarter is filled with all kinds of projects possibly worth your attention but two that have caught my eye. The first is a solid DCC Cthulhu Mythos/Horror Western mash up called Dark Trails.

This book has been making waves across the DCC/OSR community & I don't see it going away anytime soon. 

"The largest challenge for my new life on the frontier was building shelter and pulling food from the ground I plowed before winter settled in.

That was before the shadows came to life that fateful night and claimed the lives of those I loved.  I’d heard a rumor of things born of darkness skulking around and the idiots hellbent on ushering more of them into the world, but like most folks eager to carve out a new life braving the western frontier, I chalked it up to tall-tales fueled by whiskey and superstition.

My last sight before being overwhelmed and feeling those needle-sharp teeth pierce my jugular, was watching my youngest take her last terrified breath, as something dragged that kindly woman (whose love kept me on the path of good intentions for so long) kicking and screaming into the shadows.  That was when the soft whisper of Death called to me, wrapping my soul in its dark embrace, preparing me for a different journey.

A distant light set against a starless night pulled at my weightless soul.  A lifetime of memories flashed before me as I sped towards the afterlife.  The power in those memories slowed my final journey.  Unfinished business pulled at my stubborn soul and proved stronger than the promise of that peaceful light.  I returned to my broken, bloody body and willed it back into a mockery of life.

Almost a year has passed now, and the bittersweet memories of my family fuel a never-ending thirst for vengeance.  I returned that night with the strength of the grave coursing through my rotting veins, no longer living, nor dead.  Since the night it took my family, I’ve picked up a posse of folks equally kissed by the supernatural and equally determined to take the fight to the sinister agents of the night.          

 -from the journal of Samuel Mundy"
 "The Dark Trails RPG is a game which pays homage to the popular weird West genre.  It can be used as a standalone game or as the perfect complement to a growing line of products that all utilize the rules found in the Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) RPG.   As a player, you’ll find a wealth of material that allows you to assume the role of one of 11 unique classes, with descriptive names like: the Calavera, the Bedlamite, and the Sin-Eater.   As a Judge, you’ll find over 400 pages of material giving you a wealth of resources for designing and running fantastic adventures set against the haunted landscapes of an unforgiving weird West. "
So this sounds really ace & we need a new Western horror game & this sounds like it has all of the parts & moving pieces of a classic in the making. You can support The Dark Trails Kickstarter here. 


So yeah, the pretty much had me at fully compatible with Dungeon Crawl Classics & I can actually see using Dark Trails with Jason Sholtis Operation Unfathomable to create a Weird West horror come mega dungeon. 

The Second Kickstarter that I think is worth your time in my estimation is the Troll Lord's Amazing Adventures Fifth Edition Kickstarter by Jason Vey. Its made two of its stretch goals & seems to be a vast upgrade to the previous edition. 

I've been watching this project for some months now in the AA! Facebook group but have kept my  distance because of running the Amazing Adventure classic edition campaign that's on going. But I've had any number of people whispering good things in my ear about this project & kickstarter. Take a look for yourself & if your so inclined then by all means support it right over here. 
There's some great campaign  potential here with this Amazing Adventures newest edition. Let's see how far we see these kickstarters go!