Review & Commentary On Marvel Supers Heroes rpg Advanced MT2 The Weird, Weird West By Ray Winninger (Author)

 "It was all supposed to be so easy. But after the heroes go through a tour of duty in WWII (not bad for heroes born ing the 1950's!), things once again get complicated."

"It seems that time travel is once again called for, but this time things are kind of strange. In fact, history itself has begun to disappear! All kinds of people are showing up where they shouldn't be - or not showing up where they should!"

"The key seems to fall somewhere in the 1870's, around Dodge City, Kansas. All you've got to do is go there and fix the problems."

"But Dodge is a city under siege - a siege that only Superheroes can break. Ready to attack are the armies of Napoleon, Genghis Khan, and Alexander the Great!"

The Weird, Weird, West is the second in the three-part TIME WARP series of adventures. It is designed for the WEST COAST AVENGERS - but any character can play.

Today's blog post picks right up from the other day on the blog here.   MT2 The Weird, Weird West  By Ray Winninger (Author) is a weird little adventure for The Marvel Super Heroes Advanced rpg. "After travelling to the 1940's, the players must next journey to 1870's Dodge City, Kansas; where the town is under siege by military leaders of different eras (Napoleon, Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great)" according to the MT2 wiki entry. This is a slightly weirdly regarded Marvel Super Heroes advanced rpg adventure. Because the elements here are dependant upon the Dodge City, Kansas being under seige as time breaks down around them! This is another Kang heavy adventure where PC's are at the center of whole cloth weirdness and time travel hijinks. MT2 isn't highly regarded among critics & Mike Jarvis savaged it a bit;" In the September–October 1989 edition of Games International (Issue #9), Mike Jarvis admitted that "I'm not greatly enamoured with this product. It's not that it is a bad scenario as such; merely that it isn't particularly original." Jarvis also found the adventure lacked a "superhero atmosphere", and the pre-generated characters provided were not a good fit for the adventure. Jarvis concluded by giving the adventure a poor rating of 2 out of 5, saying, "This is a lacklustre product [...] As a superhero adventure it didn't inspire me, and probably won't thrill your players either."" 

We used our own heroes for this adventure and subbed in the provided ones such as the original Ghost Rider & others. We also included Hitler's forces among the armies of history to shore up and lengthen this adventure. This might have been a mistake on our part as our PC's almosted died. The time warp was getting bigger in our campaign and included two other minor encounters to pad this adventure into a full on campaign stepping stone. 
We loosely tied in MT2 into the triliogy for Marvel Super Heroes Advanced as we had the other adventures follow in it's way. We added a few minor side quests to add in the World War II flare to this. 

OSR Commentary On The Warriors of the Red Planet Rpg - The Martian Underworld

 So I haven't been writing this blog due to a serious family emergency. It's times like this when I've had to really lean back into OSR games that I find comforting. For myself I find Warriors of the Red Planet rpg very comforting. In the back of the Warriors of the Red Planet rpg it discusses the Martian underworld of Edgar Rice Burroughs, VD Vance, Leigh Brackett and other classic Pulp writers. 

The Martian underworld is an extensive series of tunnels, passages, dungeons, ruins, etc that crisscross into one another. These underworld enviroments are forgotten ancient Martian bunkers, ruins,dungeons,that hold many of the secrets of Mars. These places are also pregnant with ancient artifacts, forgotten cities, and much more. They are highly extensive places where anything might be found. These forgotten tunnels and passages even crisscross under Martian cities, forgotten temples, and more. 

The Mutant Future Wiki has a great overview of the Warriors of the Red Planet rpg rules here. And it brings to mind how the Martian underworld might be shaped by a post apocalpytic theme. According to the Mutant Future wiki entry:"Due to the similar nature between old-school pulp sci-fi and post-apocalypses science-fantasy, Warriors of the Red Planet can be used wholesale to run a Gamma World-styled setting, or maybe picked piecemeal for one's Gamma World or Mutant Future game."

How might this effect the landscape of a Martian underworld?! The alien nature of Mars suggests that a post apocalyptic Mars might well influence the underworld in a very Pulpy direction with the underworld holding the last remaining secrets of Martian culture and civilazation. 

This does not preclude the fact that such an underworld would be extensive and seriously crowded with competing factions going for resources, food, artifacts, and more. This makes such an underworld have extremely colourful Martian races, monsters, mutants, and more. 

This begets the vision of how one incorporates these ideas into a whole cloth vision of the underworld. There could even be possible aliens living in these underworld locations such as cities. The possibilities of such a world bringing adventurers as fresh blood isn't that far fetched. The underworld itself might be alive and very hungrey.

So which side of the narrow tunnel will your PC's be? Fodder for such  ruin or dungeon could be at the heart of such a con or occurance. The living dungeon is a good representive of some of the core concepts of an extensive living and breathing part of such an underworld especially on Mars. 

Review & Commentary On Marvel Supers Heroes rpg Advanced MT1 All this And World II By Ray Winninger (Author), & Chris Mortika (Author)

 "It starts out as a simple enough assignment: Help old friend NICK FURY test out a new military weapon in the New Mexico desert. Then the Nazis attack.

"Nazis !?"

"After that, it gets weird. Do the Nazis have a diabolical plan to change the outcome of World War II by changing history? There's only one way to find out-go back in time, team up with CAPTAIN AMERICA, UNION JACK, and the rest of the INVADERS, and strike a blow for the Allies!"

Right so do to a family emergency I've had to shelve this week's  games. MT1 All this And World II By Ray Winninger (Author), & Chris Mortika (Author) is a Kang heavy module now according to Dr. Kevin M. Derby from his December 2016 Amazon review of MT1;"lmost 30 years after it was first released, "All This and World War II" holds up well enough even if it is not the most memorable of modules for TSR's classic "Marvel Super-Heroes" RPG. There simply isn't that much that makes this module stand out even as it offers a time travel plot bringing in the Invaders and the usual Marvel Nazi villains from the Red Skull, Baron Zemo, Baron Blood and others. There is something a little off about seeing Hitler written up as a RPG NPC. The recommended canon characters for this adventure are the West Coast Avengers of the period (though, admittedly, they did have a few memorable time travel adventures). Not a bad story by any means but "All This and World War II" simply isn't one of the better modules for this RPG." After a read through I've got to concer with this reviewer. This module first appeared in '89. 

There's something slightly off about MT1 & yes this is a time travel Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Rpg. The Wiki entry on MT1 All This and World War II is the first of a triology;" All This and World War II is a scenario for the Advanced rules, first in a trilogy. An alien spaceship crash-lands in Nazi Germany, enabling Hitler and the Red Skull to use its advanced technology to send storm troopers up and down the time stream in search of secret weapons. The heroes discover one of these groups of foraging Nazis" All right so we ran this module with a few twists and turns. Twist one is the fact that we had the Nazis making contact with the modern Hydra agents of 2000. And the second was to follow this up with an extended number of encounters in the Forties. The third twist we did was to use our own Homebrew heroes who were roaster and franchise Avengers. 

MT1 All this And World II By Ray Winninger (Author), & Chris Mortika (Author) works very well if run almost separately from it's triliogy and then having the other modules follow in it's wake. This means that a few small minor sidequest adventures help to break things up. And it pads out MT1 a bit. 

Review & Commentary On FTL Supplement #3: Mecha By Josh Peters For The Faster Than Light Nomad Rpg & Other 2d6 Science Fiction Rpg's

 "Armored infantry trooper robots smashing through walls, autocannons and rockets firing as engines scream, and metal meets metal in combat! Flying through space strapped into a high-tech transformable fighter: an infantryman-meets-tank-meets-starfighter, defending humanity from alien invaders. High mobility powered armor augmenting the talents of ace pilots, kicking up huge dust plumes behind them as they race along a desert floor. Massive multi-storey mecha blasting each other with high-energy particle beams, missiles, beam swords, and battle fists, amidst the ruins of a once great civilization, their fusion engines get ever hotter and hotter. Plucky pilots in giant robots defeating horrible Kaiju attacks."'"

"Sometimes, a good science fiction game just needs some mecha to make it a great game!"

Sometimes a 2d6  Science Fiction rpg just needs mecha and FTL Supplement #3: Mecha By Josh Peters aims to fill that need amply with Mecha rules that make sense in a 2d6 rpg campaign. It's all here in a 2d6 mecha extravagna with rules for transforming mecha, huge kaiju fighting platforms, personal armored suits, and more. 
Josh Peters lays down the mecha rules in a tighly and concisely written format that hits all of the high points. And he does it in a way that makes perfect sense within the confines of a Faster Then Light Nomad rpg format or for a Cepheus Engine rpg campaign setting. There's no muss or fuss here only covering everything that's needed for a mecha heavy campaign. 

The FTL Supplement #3 Mecha rules are layed out in a straight forward fashion, easy read & applied. There's a very cut and drawn way that the rules are presented so that one doesn't have to put up with a ton of background rpg noise. These are rules to create your own mecha and that's what these do.  And these rules do it well. I'm  a mecha fan and have been since I was a kid.The one element of the world's greatest Science Fiction 2d6 rpg that's been missing in my opinion has been mecha. And this set of rules solves that problem in spades. These are a set of no nonsense & common sets rules. These are rules that can be easily applied at the table top level to play your own mecha heavy campaign. 

Review & Commentary On The Mutant Epoch Expansion Rules For The Mutant Epoch Role Playing Game By William McAusland (Author), Danny Seedhouse (Author), Dr. James Butler (Author), Colin Chapman (Author), Brandon Goeringer (Author), & Timothy Berriault (Author)

 "This is the essential companion book to the Hub Rules, and is a must-have, resource rich sourcebook for the Mutant Epoch RPG. Illustrated and written by William McAusland, along with over a dozen imaginative contributing authors, this is our most ambitious project ever!"

"For the Player this book offers 12 new player character types, along with an incredible selection of 35 new bestial humans. Also included are 100 new prime mutations, 42 minor, 36 flaws, and 8 NPC only deviations. Also, the long awaited plantoid ‘veggie-sapien’ character type appears in this book with 71 prime plantoid mutations and 20 flaws all their own. There are two new character outfitting systems, rules for cybernetic purchasing and sales,healing times for broken bones, the effects of radiation on robots and androids, extensive tables, character sheets, and much more"

Alright it's finally hit the stands, The Mutant Epoch Expansion Rules for the Mutant Epoch rpg is out in the wild! This is an expansive addition to the Post Apocalpytic rpg by William McAusland & co clocking in at five hundred thirty pages of both player & DM goodness. This book is extensive as it completely expands upon the foundation of what's been laid out in the Mutant Epoch rpg itself. 
From the DM's side of the screen for the rpg you get a plethora of new material from new robots, artifacts, relics, plus even more rules and guidelines;"Optional rules offer brutal, attack mode based critical strike outcomes, a system for pushing beyond the daily usage limits of mutations, new combat options, and a robust section on dimensional portals, relic gear, and entities. "

What " The Mutant Epoch Expansion Rules " does for the Mutant Epoch is pushes the limits on the campaign setting, rpg system, and more. Proving both players & DM's a stable foundation for Post Apocalytic rpging. There's expansive rules for everything from cybernetics for PC's to brand new plantoid types as PC classes. There's dimensional portal rules& far more all under the roof of the Mutant Epoch. This contributes to the DM having ample opportunities of where & when they want to set thier game adventures. And this is an especially good book for Post Apocalpytic adventure design with rules & a ton of random charts for that purpose. There's a brand new outfitting system for PC's and more PC options then you can shake a stick at. How does the Mutant Epoch Expansion Rules play with the original Mutant Epoch rpg!? 

Quite nicely because of the fact that the designer & authors spent a good deal of time pouring thier souls into it. And it shows. 
The Mutant Epoch Expansion rules slide into the existing game in spades giving a deeper PC experience for the Mutant Epoch rpg. 
Deeper PC backgrounds, tribal rules, and more all cover the extensive rules and guidelines provided within the book. 
The Mutant Epoch Expansion Rules are very extensive covering many new aspects of the game and building on what's come before in the Mutant Epoch rpg rule book. Plus as an added bonus this book works very well with the other Mutant Epoch rpg books. 
This gives a feeling of overall cohesion often times missing from other rpg books. Is the Mutant Epoch Expansion Rules worth the cost of download?! In a word, yes I believe they are because they add several new dimensions to the Post Apocalytic universe of the Mutant Epoch rpg. From new PC design, generation, background, and much more. To a huge over all download of the relics, artifacts, robots, androids, and more to the game. There's something for everyone within the Mutant Epoch Expansion Rules! 

Review & Commentary On Forever War By Paul Elliot For The Hostile Rpg

 Leviticus. Eden. Paradise. Earth’s first interstellar colony, where many nations established hopeful new settlements. It was no paradise… the planet proved to be hostile and unforgiving: plant life interfering with electronics, intelligent carnivorous vines, jungle rot and leechlike ’jellies’.

But the incredible mineral wealth made Leviticus an irresistible lure. The colonized continent was an ancient asteroid impact crater, packed with valuable ores. The corporations rushed to the planet and began turning paradise into hell. Chaos erupted. Colonials fought their governments as well as the corporations. And the wars continue today.
​

Ignored by the media back on Earth, Levitcus is a now a mercenary’s paradise. Opportunities abound for security work, corporate contracts, training rebels or defending the colonial cities. And there are chancers everywhere: diplomats, mercenary brokers, would-be presidents, warlords, smugglers and thousands of mercenaries seeking work. And there is plenty of war to go around ...

"Is it really just a coincidence that this perfect world, this unspoiled paradise is right there, 33 light years from home? Or is it part of a much larger plan? This isn't just a dream for me. It's a calling. - Megan Tanner, one of the first colonists on Leviticus" 

Forever War By Paul Elliot For The Hostile Rpg just dropped. Forever War is a whole craft campaign setting from the ground up with an over arching mercenary slant to it. Levitcus is a world of war and exploitation fought over for it's vast mineral wealth and a continant sized war torn problem just waiting for a group of PC's mercenary PC's. Forvever War is particularly well written with lots of hotspots, points of violence, and opportunities for PC's to be killed. This is a perfect campaign for both beginning or experienced PC's. This is not a campaign to be trifled with. As a world Leviticus is a world on the edge and totally ingnored by the Hostile rpg. This is a world where the horrors of war are visited upon the populations of the colonies. The situation is spiralling out of control because these are failed colonies who are hanging on the edge of the war. 

The situation on Leviticus is a microcosm of what can go completely off the rails within the Hostile universe. Corporate powers at each other's throats through warfare with colonists caught in the middle. This is a situation where the rope of diplomacy has been cut long ago. Everything about Leviticus is dangerous but there is plenty of opportunity for those bold enough to take it.  This is a solid campaign setting and weird interstellar warfare location just waiting for PC's to stumble into the 'low end' of the warfare here.  All artwork within Forever War is done by human artists. 

The world of Leviticus is a place where the plants & animals want to eat and destroy the PC's without mercy from the super leech 'Jellies' to the vines that thread thier way through electronics. Leviticus is a world of contrasts from it's deserts to it's jungle infested plains. This is world that rebels against it's occupants and colonists. This is not an easy place to wage war.

You will be waging war against the colonists, the corporate forces, thier handlers, and encountering every slimeball who comes to this world. All of this in a hundred and thirteen pages of nasty warfare infested Hell. 

OSR Commentary On MA6 The Silver Age Sourcebook by Keith A. Kilburn For The TSR Marvel Super Heroes Rpg

 When it comes to play around with Alternative Histories & worlds of 'What If'.  MA6 The Silver Age Sourcebook by Keith A. Kilburn is an excellent resource book to use as a basis for such an adventure or campaign. This source book marks campaign setting period as the end of World War II up through the exploitive Seventies. The appearance of the Fantastic Four 1961 marks the beginning of the modern 

 We get a boat load of various pre Avenger's Intiative teams & looks into Marvel Plastic era teams like the 'Monster Hunters'. And then we get the mover & shakers of the Marvel comics universe with characters like the original Colonal Nick Fury, The Agents of Atlas, The 70's Avengers, The First Line, & even pre Fantastic Four solo heroes. All of this adds to the fact that this all takes place long before the appearance of the Fantastic Four. 

MA6 The Silver Age Sourcebook by Keith A. Kilburn creates a solid foundation of Marvel Super Heroes rpg & Marvel Super Heroes Advanced rpg campaign setting for the player's PC's to make a mark. 'What if'' it never went away?!  'The Silver Age' is the age of the Blue Marvel and the power houses of the Marvel universe haven't even appeared, yet.

There are millions of 'What if' Marvel universes and the age of the Blue Marvel may have occurred & never went away?! What would this mean for PC's?! A whole new universe to adventure in where things are slightly tilted! 

Back Track on Trade Part I - Trey Causey's Strange Stars - Session Report

 We're picking right up from two week's ago session here on the blog.  After tracking back on the Old Earth blasters & our map. We began investigating several leads on the whereabouts to the system the blaster had come from. Had any more of these been sold on Circus?! 

We learned about the alien trader who'd traded the blasters on Circus. We tracked him to the space station orbiting the hyperspace gate. 

He or it had gotten the blasters off a party of adventurers for cheap. They'd needed fuel for thier space rig badly and were willing to deal in cash or trade goods.
They were in a bad way after catching a senient disease or micro lifeform. 
That meant that they were probably in the  decontamination wing of Circus. We didn't want to go all of the way back to the giant trade venue. 
So we made our own trading with a flock of Wanderers.  Who had crossed paths with the adventurering party after leaving Circus. They provided us with thier route and we provided them with VR 'entertainment' of thier species. 

And then we'd found what we were looking for a United Planet cruiser's wreckage. We didn't want to go in because of the micro life form that was living on the interior of the wreckage. 

We had a few tricks up our sleeves as the UP cruiser was equipped with a reactor that was good for a few hundred years. Thier computer systems were still active. And with our hackers we were able to down load thier data banks. We wanted the cruiser's departure point. After dropping a beacon warning of the micro life form. We departed the wreckage. There was no way we were going near that thing. We dived deeper into a local station to look at the data. 

We did a bit of horse trading at the station unloading some farm animals and animal stock to the local colonists. We made a small profit on that trade but more importantly we had time to translate the data aquired from the wreckage. We ended the session here.