OSR Review & Commentary On Play Like A F*cking Boss By Venger Satanis From Kort'thalis Publishing

 "Once you get your slimy tentacles on Play Like A Fucking Boss, roleplaying your character will never be the same...

If the chief aim of RPGs is to create immersion, then taking a handful of numbers and stats from a character sheet into a dungeon isn't going to cut it. Not by a long shot, hoss."

"The PC you've generated (or were handed before the game) is a cardboard stand-in for any actual characterization that might have take place. When it comes to your one job at the table, play like a fucking boss!" 

Venger Satanis ran a new Kickstarter for Play Like A F*cking Boss a month or so ago. And it's now appearing on Drivethrurpg coming up this week.  Play Like A F*cking Boss By Venger Satanis is a DM book right from outta of the gate. Believe it or not the book & advice is solidly done. The book has tons of advice for the DM or players to take agency with their rpg games. This advice goes through a process of walking the DM step by step through how to run their games better, faster, and to get their campaigns to last longer. The advice takes the form of hands on and process for the dungeon master to move their individual adventures and campaigns forward! 

 Play Like A F*cking Boss By Venger Satanis moves the DM into the slot of the  adventure space & the look as well as the feel of a Gonzo campaign. He walks the DM through step by step adventure creation to get the maximum amount of coverage for their setting. There's lots of advice on tons of getting into players deep into the immersion of their games. This is done through examples, walking the players through the campaign steps, and more.  Lots of this advice what we see in Venger Satanis's Cha'alt. 

 Play Like A F*cking Boss By Venger Satanis has solid writing, good layout, and really nice editing. The material here takes the players and DM into the deep end of adventure & campaign creation. I think it's a solidly done supplement & worthy of your attentions as an OSR player or dungeon master.

Cha'alt By Venger Satanis For Crimson Dragon Slayer D20, O5R, & OSR Game Session Report Number One

"Who has the balls to confront this dark psychic force?

Cha'alt is the beast of a book (218 pages) I've been working on for the past year.  It's a ruined world focusing on a couple of introductory dungeons before getting to the main event - the megadungeon known as The Black Pyramid.  

The Black Pyramid is like nothing you've ever seen before.  Unique design, purpose, feel, magic items, NPCs, monsters, factions, motives, agendas, strangeness, the works!"

Well, actually we've got the balls to actually play a bit of Cha'alt  & its pretty massive megadungeon especially if your on the other side of the screen. DM Steve my friend & fellow dungeon master reminded me that I owed him a game today. So he's been prepping his own game of the megadungeon of Cha'alt. This game session goes all of the way back to last year when I got a chance to get down & dirty with DM Steve's Liberation of the Demon Slayer game session.  We died about half way through the module over the course of three 0r f0ur months of play. I would later gain my review on the Islands of Purple Putrescence. 

So I've with drawn my review of Venger Satanis's Cha'alt book from Drivethurpg.  And before anyone even starts with me about how there was any shenanigans between me & Venger. Well, he doesn't even know about me taking down the Cha'alt review. I was playing my wizard Shifty McManner & several of our group of players were using characters that I'd seen a couple of years ago in Revelry in Torth . So we're dealing with masked wearing bandits, warriors, & clerics from some of the most treasonous bastards to walk across the shifting sands. We had a sum total of five players & our PC's were bound together  by a mission to the Black Pyramid. We started out in a local bar & immediately got into a fight with a local map seller. He was a part of some sleazoid thieves guild & things started to go wrong right out of the gate. We used Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea with a mix of Venger's Cha'alt material. So tonight's game had a very heavy mix of Sword & Sorcery coupled with a miasma of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert Howard, & lots of Lovecraft. We had masked displaced royals mixed in with former cultists turned cleric.
This wasn't my usual party of adventurers but a group of masked bastards Hell bent on getting to the Black Pyramid. All of our party were for the most part humans with some Elves scattered in. 

A sword thrust into the map maker made things very complicated for our party right outta of the gate. We fled into the desert as the crossbow bolts made us fleet into the depths of the Incel Cantina. We almost got set up by a crew of skeevers! The plan was to capture our two Amazon warriors & murder us. We got the drop on two of the bastards & my wizard cast a sleep spell on the rest making short work of them.  Then doubling back around we re entered Gamma Incel Cantina. The place is filled with the slime of several universes & we weren't about to let our guard down. We caught up with Yerck: Human; scruffy; stained overalls; tech specialist; has done side-work for sexual performance art and terrorist cell Tangerine Wet Dream. Again not an alien to trust. After a rather lengthy bargaining session we were able to secure passage on a caravan going through the desert. But then our cleric got into a fight with a demonic mercenary just outside the cantina. We got booted outta the place & luckily just managed to survive the bouncer thing that ejected us.
Outside of the cantina we picked up a strange albino wizard as a hireling. He was looking for employment & we could us an extra spell slinger. Chella the Amazing  was stranded on Cha'alt after the events of the Liberation of the Demon Slayer module.


We ended the session taking our place on some lizard thing mounts & a trading caravan we booked passage on as caravan guards. All together the session went very well & Cha'alt plays a lot better then it first read in my estimation. Personally I need to lighten up a bit when it comes to fifth edition games. Over all the Cha'alt setting plays very well & Glynn Seal of Monkey Blood's cartography was rock solid once again.
Overall I'd give Cha'alt a solid five for play, writing, and design after actually playing it. 

Of Space Princess Machinations & Alpha Blue Busts - Venger Satanis's Latest Kickstarter & OSR Space Opera Campaign Stall

So there's seven days to go on Venger Satanis's No One Warps For Free! Kickstarter & I've been quietly making campaign notes. I've been thumbing through  my copy of Machinations of The Space Princess & Alpha Blue. Coming up with ideas, beginning encounters, etc. all as a launch point for this sleazy sci fi campaign. Sounds great right?!



Here's the problem, the real world has caught up with several of my players! Yup the dread specter of work scheduling has prevented me from actually hatching this hybrid of evil & sleaziness on my players.
The heart & soul of this idea was to give the free range ideas of Alpha Blue a bit of an OSR backbone with Machinations of the Space Princess. In the world of the OSR there are two flavors Dungeons & Dragons! So the core of Machinations is the Lamentations of the Flame Princess system done right with a space opera overlay. Not that new Disney Solo flavor but the Eighties 'Space Hunter In The Forbidden Zone' goodness. I had everything aligned with Machinations classes emulating Alpha Blue's space opera bordello vibe.



"Classes cover many of the basics; Experts, Killers, Psions, and Scholars. Each class has their own sub-specialties, HD, Attack Bonus and Skill Points. Psions get Psi Points and Power Points. In what seems reversed to me Psi-Points are your reserve of power to use your psionic powers and Power Points allow you to buy your Psychic Powers."

Many of the ideas that presented in Alpha Blue's Universal Exploits expansion book along with Girls Gone Rogue are already built right into the Machinations of the Space Princess system. So its kinda of a shame that I won't get to run this now. By the by a friend has borrowed my copy of Machinations of the Space Princess & now apparently gone to Florida with my book. I needed a new copy anyway. But seriously much of the Eighties Sci fi action that my players were looking for was covered in spades in Machinations. There is a lot of modifying out of PC elements & sci fi background material for PC's. So its not a big deal for the moment.





Its not as rules heavy as say Stars With Number but it gets the job done in style over space opera substance. Machinations of the Space Princess is closer to Lamentations of the Flame Princess in that regard. But structurally it works on a closer level to the type of O5R system that Alpha Blue thrives on. So my campaign notes, adventure ideas, & some of the conversion notes go up on a shelf for the moment.
So what happens when a campaign stalls out like this due to real world concerns:

1. As the dungeon master don't get pissed off & frustrated! Seriously this sort of thing happens all of the time. Try to be understanding to your players. 
2. Shelve it folks! Yeah I know it was a lot of work to get to this point & it sucks that you've got put it on a shelf but that happens. 
3. Take it on line and look for players. With things like Roll20 & G+ there are a lot of options on line these days. 
4. Now is the perfect opportunity to look for new players locally. Make a flyer & put it in the local hobby shop or comic book shop window. Be sure to interview players and get a good mix. 
5. Re look at the campaign, seriously you can find holes you didn't know were there when you get some distance. 
6. Make sure that the material is going to suit your players!

IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT
The  Alpha Blue supplement Alpha Ass, Hydrogen Gas, or Cosmic Grass... No One Warps For Free Kickstarter! Go Here! 

Of Space Princess Machinations & Alpha Blue Gas - Venger Satanis's Latest Kickstarter & OSR Space Opera Commentary

I've had a serious problem for a long time now, my group of players is OSR & its difficult for them to get into some of the play styles of table top games that have been out now. Enter Venger Satanis's latest Kickstarter Alpha Blue supplement Alpha Ass, Hydrogen Gas, or Cosmic Grass... No One Warps For Free!


Here's the problem no one in my groups of players play Alpha Blue & have zero interest in the game. Is this a kick in the balls to Venger or his new product? Umm no because there's an OSR game system that covers this adventure & all of the Alpha Blue sleaze in space setting. Machinations of the Space Princess has been out for a long while & can cover the same ground with a system based on the Lamentations of the Flame Princess retro clone  but taken in another direction. Clocking in at about two hundred & thirty nine pages this OSR system has pretty much everything I'd need to run with Alpha Blue in a semi class based OSR format.



According to the Kickstarter -
"What is Alpha Blue?  As I look around me, it seems the vast majority of RPG rules/mechanics are being swallowed up by either old standbys or the new hotness.  Well, this particular game is one of the few holdouts that hasn't become a D&D clone, Fate thing, Apocalypse Powered, or Savage World.  And yet, Alpha Blue is vaguely similar to D&D, has a few story-game elements, and wild dice-swinging action.
Alpha Blue has been my most successful RPG line (that includes Crimson Dragon Slayer and The Outer Presence) - numerous supplements have been created over the last 3 years.  It's rules-light (traditional and contemporary hybrid with d6 dice pools), juvenile, and a lot of fun. "
The problem is when the players are used to OSR & actually want a game that's more then vaguely Dungeons & Dragons retroclone space opera based. What my players are looking for is the Big 70s sci-fi film works like Barbarella & the original Star Wars. Not that Disney stuff either we're talking right out the gate down & dirty balls to the walls space opera. The works of Alpha Blue deliver but they're looking for something a bit more Burroughs then space porn here. Yet they want to keep the space porn aspect.



I've said it before you play the players & get the feel for both your audience of players & what they're really wanting to do in the space lanes. The thing about most of the Alpha Blue line is that its both adventure & source book so for my purposes the source book aspect gives me the most utility & bang for the space buck.

Many of Machinations of the Space Princess's PC class ideas fit right into the back & front end of the Alpha Blue Universe with a bit more gaming  substance & glue; "
Classes cover many of the basics; Experts, Killers, Psions, and Scholars. Each class has their own sub-specialties, HD, Attack Bonus and Skill Points. Psions get Psi Points and Power Points."
"
In what seems reversed to me Psi-Points are your reserve of power to use your psionic powers and Power Points allow you to buy your Psychic Powers. I am planning to spend some time with the Psion since it is the closest thing I have seen to a space wizard  character.
"Skills define what a character can do. The skill system is a d6 roll under the skill points you have for a particular skill. There are some common skills that everyone can use, the Psi skills (Psions), Combat skills, Scholastic skills, & General Skills" Yes kids we've seen this system countless times before in OSR but it seems like it actually works here in MoSP'.

Back to Venger Satanis's latest Kickstarter Alpha Blue supplement Alpha Ass, Hydrogen Gas, or Cosmic Grass... No One Warps For Free! for a moment. I see we've got Glynn Seal of Monkey Blood Designs is back for layout, artwork, and graphic monkey work again.

"Here's a look at the interior layout for both the PDF and (CreateSpace / Amazon) softcover by Glynn Seal of MonkeyBlood Design.  He does awesome work and Kort'thalis Publishing is fortunate to have his services at our slimy pink and blue disposal."
Venger is really fortunate to have Glynn's services because he seems like he's been hard at work on his own awesomely tinged green world of Midderlands goodness updated works.

The bottom line with the Kickstarter Alpha Blue supplement Alpha Ass, Hydrogen Gas, or Cosmic Grass... No One Warps For Free! 
is that dungeon masters are going to have to warp it to fit their player's conceits & concerns for their own home campaigns. This however is one of the beauties of the Alpha Blue line of products. There's very little that your going to do to break the products & adventures!
 The bottom line is that the dungeon master is going to fitting & modifying adventures & materials as the campaign calls for.

IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT The  Alpha Blue supplement Alpha Ass, Hydrogen Gas, or Cosmic Grass... No One Warps For Free Kickstarter! Go Here! 

Review & Commentary Player's Handbook like a Fucking Boss By Venger Satanis

Christmas confession time I've been reluctant to do a commentary review Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss By Venger Santanis .Why pray tell? Well, because I'll be honest I'm not a Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons  dungeon master or player. I've tried the system , looked it over, wrapped my head around it, & sorry folks its not for me. Basically I did all of this at the behest of a player of mine & to convert or use some of the Fifth edition stuff if necessary. If you love it then fantastic! Go for it but for me & my players  Fifth edition hasn't made an impact. I'm an OSR & retroclone system dungeon master.
Fortunately Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss By Venger Santanis  is actually almost entirely system neutral.  So what the heck is it?! Well according to the Drivethru add;
"
This is a grab-bag of fantasy goodies for use with O5R roleplaying games.  That means everything from Basic D&D, AD&D, all the various retro-clones, systems similar but not identical (like Crimson Dragon Slayer), and 5th edition." This is more or less what Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss By Venger Santanis is.  This a bunch of PC options that can more or less add punch & power to your player characters. "

But it done in a slim style & with the razor style of Venger. But first let me say that Glynn Seal of Monkeyblood Design must be a God damn genius. The layout is clear crisp but easy on the eyes. The artwork is good and there's a fold out piece battle scene artwork piece that is killer. The philosphy of the book touches on something that I've been finding with folks in the OSR over the last couple of years;
"Though I grew up on Basic D&D in the mid-eighties, my old school tastes have straddled the dark, mistladen past, as well as, the contemporary
conventions of today.
My own fantasy heartbreaker, Crimson Dragon Slayer, had done away with the more cumbersome elements of the game. To me, the old school renaissance is about taking the essence and philosophy of the past and then making innovation after innovation until everything that seemed inordinate, clunky, and weird is made smooth - sanded by decades of theory, practice, common sense, and talking to other gamers with a shared passion for RPGs. But sometimes we can go too far, innovating ourselves right off the map."
This past summer, I decided to re-read the many fantastic posts at Grognardia. That inspired me to go back to basics, or Basic D&D. I kept all the funky stuff that I usually threw out - rolling for initiative, racial access to certain classes and level limits, different tables for saving throws and experience points… pretty much everything except descending
Armor Class, one spell per day magic-users, and worrying about circumstantial modifiers (just used
Advantage/Disadvantage).To my surprise, I really got into it. The minutia which, for many years, I assumed to be awkward relics that stood in the way of progress actually turned out to be absorbing and a whole lot of fun. When every point of experience is counted (fighting monsters, looting treasure, exploring, making the game world
your own, etc.), then every experience (point) counts. It matters if the PCs wait in ambush for the ogre to walk by or if they charge into the next room.
A couple dozen XP might be the difference between going up to level 2 and staying level 1. It's
amazing what simple pleasures you forget about after the game's been streamlined.
In my desire to maximize our enjoyment of the macro-game - the story, overall battles, interacting with NPCs, and exploration - I had neglected the micro-game that takes into account precious resources and their management. Not only arrows, torches, and rations but also gold and kills before
having to rest. Even silver pieces are cherished when they can be spent on training!"
So, even though I'll continue to run and primarily write for Crimson Dragon Slayer, that recent minicampaign reminded me just how awesome old school retro-clones can be. For all of our renaissance, innovation and renovation, there's something about the original iterations of the game that can't be beat… even with a ten-foot pole."

So it seems to be really well written, nicely thought out, from the heart, & then we get chart after chart of system neutral character options for your old school games. From 'fantasy sounding names' to 'dishonor & infamy tables'.
I admit the random 'CRIMSON PHASIC DETH WYZARD VORPAL' table is very METAL & well done. Its basically a metal table for battle wizards to get an extra edge & it would fit quite nicely into Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea second edition  or Dungeon Crawl Classics game. Behold the sort of effect I'm speaking of;  "Invisible fire strikes 2d6 opponents for 3d6 exploding damage, as well as, affixing
them to the floor and walls as if they were caught in a spider's web." Cue guitar or keytar syth riff here!
Then he goes into short essays on bards, clerics, reflecting in battle as an optional rule, cut down swarm rules for play,  a fun list of possible character actions, words,and accomplishments in order to gauge your raw quotient of awesome in a given adventure, awesome point rules & that's it!?!

What the hell did I just read?! At thirty two pages this was way too short of a book. Venger is a solid writer & designer who needs to settle down & do more writing & designing. This is a three & a half or four star book because of the fact that I was expecting more from a book with the title
Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss. This book seems to be a catch all of random tables & PC options for players with a few solid random tables and it seriously needs a lot more expansion before it hits the four or five star territory. Alright Venger so you've been playing since the mid Eighties then I'd love to see more essays & actual options of yours on the subject. Players actually value your wisdom & by the fallen Gods I'd love to see more of it from you as a writer! This book should be about hundred pages with all kinds of bits & bobs about your gaming over the years that pepper your blog & books. Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss feels like a bit of catch all and in that regard I was a bit on the disappointed. But as a player optional reference well that's a bit of a different story. As a book of player options  Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss 

if your DM agrees to using it at the table its a book that works as a quick fill in & fill out for players. There are tons of optional pieces that the player & DM can easily & quickly work into an adventure on as a part of the on fly & seat of your pants style that Venger loves.  So in this regard its a four out of five. Understand exactly what your getting into when you purchase Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss.

GRAB  Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss RIGHT
HERE

Under The Irradiated Skies of The Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport From Kort'thalis Publishing - A Review & Commentary

 So many months ago I agreed to do a review & commentary about Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport from Kort'thalis Publishing  aka Venger As'Nas Satanis. 
Many months ago I supported the kickstarter on this blog & was really excited to see Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport hit the wild. But here's the thing, go into this understanding that this is a parody of Gamma World's Albuquerque Star Port adventure sort of. What Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport really is a post apocalyptic/ sci fi pop culture parody adventure for both Crimson Dragon Slayer & Alpha Blue. 

This is a product with an adult warning on it and it means it. There's sex based factions, horrid tentacle monsters in the background, erotic low humor jokes that are not really necessary, all of the things that you expect to find in a Venger Satanis product.


But despite itself this is a really useful product if your into old school apocalyptic gaming. We'll get into why down below but as Rpg Pundit said a little Venger goes a long way. This isn't anyplace near Gamma World first or second edition levels of quality but this book isn't meant to in any way shape or form do that. Instead this is a third tier OSR product intended for post apocalyptic sci fi & fantasy. It is meant to create a working star port/mini adventure location for any post apocalyptic or sci fi based campaigns. It leans heavily toward those systems but there's enough levy way for a DM to really adapt it to their own needs. The layout is clean, crisp, and up to Monkey Blood Design's standards with lots of well done cartography and weirdness thrown in. Do I think you should get Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport  in a word yes. But now I'm going to tell you why!
This is a South Western flavored star port with lots of interesting NPC's, mutants, random tables, and more. And I think it would make an excellent post apocalyptic domain for your PC's to control aka I think that your PC's should take their star ship or post apocalyptic army and blow the living crap out of it!
Time & again throughout post apocalyptic games you see the PC's struggle to make ends meet, adventure through contaminated ruins, face down mutant horrors that would make H.P. Lovecraft have the dry heaves. All for what another day in the irradiated sun? With Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport 
everything is laid out for the DM to have the PC's carve out their own pound of irradiated & mutated flesh in the desert. There are a ton of random tables of maps, relics, and more all waiting to snare the PC's. Going all the way back to Gamma World first edition there's been a sub game in science fantasy post apocalyptic games of PC's carving out their own empires. There are tons of factions, sex cults, etc all in the hot sweat hog of a space port. But what if the PC's had their own working space port in the wastelands? Could this be done with Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport ?
In a word, yes & yes because going all the way back to Original Dungeons & Dragons when a PC was hit ninth level they were expected to create a domain. For many players this was a giant pain in the ass. But when you start looking at the various adventure locations that the PC's have been too they often looked to start cleaning the monsters out and moving right in themselves. This often gave the DM a perfect excuse to launch another monster or adventure their way from the dungeons below. We can introduce the idea of wasteland domains for a post apocalyptic game. This means that the former ruins or wasteland dungeons become the wizard's tower, fighter's strong hold, etc. By the same token there were various Blackmoor modules that used the trope of  'the city of the gods' concept.

 Here's where Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport   comes in. There are a ton of Lovecraftian encounters and ideas mixed into the backdrop. By taking these and creating a cargo cult situation around the star port it can easily be transported over to a traditional Dungeons & Dragons fantasy style world. It also gives the DM the perfect excuse & opportunity to get the PC's off planet if that's his or their plan.

So why does Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport work? Most of it does but I wanted more of it. More post apocalyptic material, more tools, more background, and deeper NPC's but that's not the point. This is a real rpg tool box that depends on the DM to most of the heavy lifting.  Well the book only clocks in at thirty four pages plus maps meant to be printed used for play. But there are several reasons why Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport  could spark a campaign faster then a used G3 laser pistol.
Here's ten reasons why  Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport is a perfect product of opportunity for your old school post apocalyptic games: 

1. Its really useful with other Kort'thalis Publishing products such as Death Fury Road a free Mad Max style post apocalytic game add on for the Crimson Dragon Slayer game or with No Escape From New York another Crimson Dragon title. This can actually round out a whole post apocalyptic world setting with little effort.  

2. The no holds barred adult content can add a very different vector to an old school post apocalyptic game setting such as Gamma World or have the PC's transported as slaves to the wastelands from their current D&D style fantasy setting via the slave route to Gamma Turquoise. 

3. The wasteland domain level of play adds another dimension to the NPC's of the setting allowing the DM to round them out in any way shape or form as he or she see's fit. This means more as the PC's blow a nice laser precision hole through them. 

4. The city of the gods route allows the technology of the Star Port to be very dangerous within a traditional fantasy setting not to mention its possible uses as things heat up in the wastelands. 

5. Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport  has lots of uses as an adventure location for repeated visits because of its working & unworking facilities within a post apocalyptic setting. Meaning that the PCs can get into all kinds of situations over  & over. 

6. The  Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport  is a perfect target for a protracted war by a wide variety of post apocalyptic factions. The PC's might end up saving the place from utter destruction by the forces of the wasteland. 

7. The contents of the Star Port might become a religious pilgrimage for some poor deluded foolish faction meaning that the PC's are brought in as guards for a caravan for a very different way to get to the place. 

8.Raiders could make the place a target causing interstellar gangsters to take notice of a juicy target planet. The whole place could spark an interstellar war. 

9. Should the original owners of the place awaken the PC's could be in all kinds of trouble! 

10. Mutants of the place may make life very difficult especially given the deep Lovecraftian connections.

The  Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport Is On Sale Here

 

Taking On Venger Satanis With A Review & Commentary For "Save Yourself From Hell" For The Alpha Blue Rpg System & Your Old School Space Opera Rpg Campaign

"This is a scenario for my sleazy space opera RPG Alpha Blue.  It's funny, weird, gonzo scifi that references a number of familiar movies like Event Horizon, Hellraiser, Space Balls, Airplane II, various kung-fu films, and anything with Cthulhu in it. "


Right so I was handed 'Save Yourself From Hell' before Venger Satanis went on his familial vacation with the Satanis clan. The adventure clocks in a about twenty pages & like many of Venger's other 'balls to the walls' adventure this one is for Venger's Alpha Blue sleazy space opera rpg system. The adventure  set up has a lot in common with his 'How to Game Master Like A Fucking Boss' style.


"This is a one-shot Alpha Blue scenario for PCs who like to blaze through encounters. For those who prefer to take their time immersing themselves in this wacky scifi universe, it might take two or even three sessions before reaching the cataclysmic end.
This adventure attempts to blend sleazy space opera with horror while maintaining a sense of humor.
Accentuate those parts that the players respond to. If they like something, give them more. If they seem
bored, quickly shoo away whatever's currently on stage and bring out the next act."
The opening takes place with a douche of an NPC and no I'm kidding read that as you will folks. This is not an adventure for the KIDS OR The EASILY OFFENDED. Lots of blue & dirty humor throughout, 'Save Yourself From Hell'.
The real set up goes more along this line;"The X-III starship is an abyssal-class deep space exploration vessel that has successfully completed numerous missions on the outer edges of the known  universe.
The X-III entered Hell's Cluster, a treacherous region just beyond the Asmodeus sector of Galaxy 5, in order to answer a distress signal coming from a lunar base on the 7th moon."So we basically have Venger Satanis's breazy sleazy style of writing with a pretty good adventure set up that sort of whizzes around its plot and there's a cat. A ship's cat that resembles Jones from Alien but there might be more to him. There's a random table to determine this. Before you can blink the PC's are zipping across the adventure's plot erm universe. There's a truck stop 'Space Trucker's movie  references abound here with unwanted passengers and stowaways. 

One of my favorite bits is the 'Kung Fu Marauders in Hell's Cluster'. Who are the marauders?
'One part treasure-hunters, one part salvage team, one part nefarious martial arts school, and one part murder-hobos in space… the Black Dragon Fighting Society prey upon the weak, the rich, and those without honor. That means the PCs should be ripe for the picking.' Venger it seems like me was a watcher of those endless and endlessly cool 1960s & 70's Kung Fu movies. There's an escape pod because of course there is and Lovecraftian cultists. An 'Event Horizon' adventure plot moment and some really nasty bits when Cthulhu shows up!? There's a good bit of humor here but the over all adventure plot points are really directed toward its own internal Alpha Blue style setting.


Cthulhu from Freakazoid's episode 'Cthulhu Rising'


This is really where my problem is. Alpha Blue with each book that's come out for the gaming system has gone on to become its own thing in my estimation. I have no problems with its content but if I as an OSR dungeon master was to use this adventure I'd be gutting half of it. That's a shame because its a good solid adventure for Alpha Blue but I can't see running this adventure for anything else. Maybe a wacky DCC adventure campaign or one shot. I'm not savaging this adventure but I'm saying that its an animal that belongs to the Alpha Blue setting. Its short and well done but its not something that I would want to be running except as a one shot adventure and that's what Save Yourself From Hell is billed as. But is it good?! Yes if your looking for a humorously sleazy take on a one shot original Traveller game or as a one shot OSR space based adventure with lots of cracked up and sleazy humor. For Alpha Blue though? This is a whole other adventure really. For Alpha Blue this is a mid tier adventure that works as a bridge gap to get the PC's into some real danger and distress. Their going to have to think and keep the blasters on tap when their needed. Players are going to keep on their space scum toes. I'd give 'Save Yourself From Hell' a 3 1/2 for other OSR games and a solid four for the Alpha Blue rpg systems.

Grab The Alpha Blue Adventure
"Save Yourself From Hell'' HERE
for Four Dollars 

But what's really going on with Venger Satanis's Kort'thalis Publishing? For some months now I've been watching him working on and growing more independent from the both the OSR and the fifth edition crowd. Venger has been quietly been working on his own imprint now for many years. The latest Kickstarter for  Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport its basically another nail in the coffin of  table top codependence. Sure we've seen post apocalyptic adventures before but this is a homage to Seventies science fantasy after the big one scenarios.  The adventure plot is straight out of after midnight films on Channel eleven from the late Eighties.



"Gamma Turquoise: Santa Fe Starport emphasizes the American south-west (where I used to live for a little while - mmm... wish I was eating warm sopapillas with honey right now!) in the 25th century.  That area of the USA barely survived, dubbed Gamma Turquoise by the knuckle-dragging, one-eyed and three-breasted natives barely hanging onto the bottom of the evolutionary ladder.  High-tech meets sorcery in survivalist horror mode.  The hills have electronic eyes and traveling the road requires warriors with black leather balls!
There's a faction of shadowy militants led by an enigmatic sorcerer named Yrt'vash Saar (aka skull-face) threatening the safety of everyone in the Santa Fe Starport.  No one has ever seen these terrorists with their own eyes - only the robed cult leader Yrt'vash Saar - but they all live in the fallout shelter below New Albuquerque."
Post apocalyptic  isn't a genre that Venger Satanis has explored that often. I'd love to see this funded and color me curious to see what Glynn Seal does from Monkey Blood Design with this adventure project.

You Can Support This Kickstarter Right Over Here