Chapter House Of Doom - Red Room's Darker Rpg Session Report!

 Things turned very dark in tonight's game as the player's PC's were brought into the Legacy House. This foundation is the front for a philophetic foundation that searches the world for archelogical artifacts and historical sites. Not all is as it seems because the PC's are actually battling the occult and supernatural. The problem is that the Dark Forces are winning. 

 The PC's got to the chapter house and almost bought it when they came face to face with a damned soul straight outta of Hell. After the head of the chapter house recieved an ancient talisman from thier far East office in Cairo. The PC's almost didn't make it as the spirit shape shifted into thier greatest fears. Clues were sprinkled throughout the manor to allow the PC's to destroy the talisman and banish the spirit. The PC's then had to call the police and clear the body of the old chapter house head. 
There are however secrets that are hinted about within the chapter house head's diary. The manor holds far more secrets then they know. The player's PC's aren't getting a break as thier thrown into the events of In Wretched Depravity adventure.

 

 The PC's are called into investigate a house that is far more then it seems! The events needed immediate attention and the PC's think that there might be a portal to Hell here! We'll let's talk the Darker Rpg for a moment. This game uses the Red Rpg system and it's quite lethal in combat. I noticed the players trying to avoid confrontation. Also Darker's magick system is far more geared towards ritual magic & that's there's a greater variety of occult casters and such. 

OSR Commentary On The Castles & Crusades Codex Slavorium By Brian Young & Amazing Adventures Rpg 2nd Edition For Castles & Crusades Rpg

 "The Codex Slavorum opens roads into the mythological realms of the ancient Slavs. Born in the shadow of Siberia their myths and magic, their gods, goddesses, monsters, heroes and legends offer an untouched wealth of material for your Castles & Crusades game."

So one of the books that I've been rereading from the Castles  & Crusades Rpg is The  Castles & Crusades Codex Slavorium. Because I'm fascinated by the Russian/Slavic  mythology. Czernobog is the master of Chaotic & evil undead, magick, and more. Down the world tree we go and the world of the Slavic people is devided by the three realms. The three worlds are Parv (or Iriy or Vyrjy), the realms of light, the lands of summer, and the home of the Gods. Lav (or Yav) is the middle realm of men, and Nav the Underworld. 

Nav the Underworld is a twilight world of the damned and undead. The Slavic gods of light and goodness are thier opposite number. The realms of Czernobog fade when the sun's light creeps over the horizon. 'The Codex Slavorum' presents the all too real struggle of light vs darkness with the Slavic shades of blood red & dark mythic gore. 

This book fits into our 'Ancient World' campaign that we played back in 2018. Because of the fact that Castles & Crusades fits squarely into the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons design paradim my players love the game. Because of this they've been eyeing Amazing Adventures 2nd edition. 

  In the past, we had player's PC's crossover into the 'Ancient World' several times to adventure on the Mythic Earth. We also had several PC's from the Mythic Earth crossover into our modern AA game. Because this was a World War II and violence was the norm the Mythic Earth PC's fit right in. 

Mythic Earth was pushed as a Sword & Sorcery destination with Robert E. Howard  & Lovecraftian monsters waiting on the fringes of the lands of men. 

OSR Commentary On The MLA2 Night Moves By Anthony Herring For The Marvel Super Heroes Advanced & Session Report

 "The theft of an obscure diary from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A series of unsolved disappearances in Chinatown. A ghostly apparition in a Chinese restaurant. Are these unrelated incidents, or are they segments of a greater whole?

"Attacks by the Silver Samurai and Si Fan assassins provide some clues to the heroes, who are drawn into the maelstrom of gang activity spreading through Chinatown in New York City. The exotic backdrop of Chinese culture sets the stage for a whirlwind introduction to the underground populated by tongs and ganglords. A search for the Celestial One becomes a matter of life and death for the heroes, who well may not live to see the Imperial Dawn..."

Tonight the PC  flew to San Franciso & the elecalation of the gang wars that started in New York City. MLA2 Night Moves By Anthony Herring picks right up from our last session on the blog here. The Si Fan looks to bring the heat down on the Nightshift and this module brings in Cloak & Dagger. The encounters here are kinda of a bit on the weak side but our DM expanded them with more tong operatives. 

We had the Si Fan playing for keeps and we were engaged by the Maggia. The other powers from (MLA1) After Midnight By Anthony Herring are still running around. These are not above using lethal force on the PC's as we've found out tonight! Add into this the tongs and the other gangs who are already trigger happy. We destroyed gangs, criminals, and others drugs, contraband, and more tonight! 
What's MLA1's adventure plot? Well according to the MLA2 Night Moves wiki entry;"The adventurers see a ghost that sends them by boat to investigate the theft of a crate of statues. The adventurers must also protect Chinatown from gangs, especially the Si Fan assassins and their henchman, the Constrictor, the Beetle and the Blizzard. While shutting down a network of drug dealers, the heroes also have a chance to run into the Silver Samurai." Tonight was one of those nights where we moved the adventure forward 

We ran into henchmen tonight &  it went into a bit of a stalmate tonight. We went into a bit of overtime tonight after dealing with a ton of Si Fan minions tonight. The  MLA2 Night Moves   adventure is an adventure that suffers from sequel syndrome & is not quite as strong as the first one. This adventure concentrates on moving the PC's deeper down into the rabbit hole of the gang war and that's fine. 

OSR Review & Commentary The Jägermeister Adventure By Tim Price, Neil Grant, & Ian Stead For The Cepheus Engine Rpg

 The Jägermeister Adventure By Tim Price Neil & Grant Ian Stead for The Cepheus Engine Rpg is a solid adventure that takes full advantage of the Cepheus Engine rpg. What's the adventure plot of  the Jägermeister Adventure; "The Jägermeister Adventure is a six-episode mini campaign that deals with attempts of a small team of bounty hunters to recover important information that others would prefer to remail hidden and prevent an awful revenge plot."

This a solid adventure that takes aim at bounty hunting around the sector with a solid plot, adventure encounters, twists, & turns with a really good advantage of the Cepheus Engine system. This adventure takes full advantage small team tactics. Moon Toad Publishing does really nice writing, good plotting, and excellent adventures. This one isn't the exception. Players of this adventure should take advantage of  The Catino Class Fast Armed Trader for the Jägermeister Adventure. The adventure calls for the PC's to shuttle around various places across various encounter. 

The Jägermeister Adventure By Tim Price Neil & Grant Ian Stead is an excellent fit for the Space Western frontier of the Clement Sector rpg. The Jägermeister Adventure By Tim Price Neil & Grant Ian Stead is a six episode adventure & numerous encounters for the PC's. The dark between the stars is solid place for the player's PC's to hunt down thier bounties. The Jägermeister Adventure is a perfect adventure to set into the Clement Sector campaign. 

Review & Commentary On The (MLA1) After Midnight By Anthony Herring For The Marvel Super Heroes Rpg Advanced

 "In the best of times, the streets and structures of New York City are full of a mixture of people — some very good, some very bad, most somewhere in between."

"These are not the best of times." 
Gang activity is on the increase; it looks like some kind of war is going on. If that was all that was happening, the super-powered heroes In the Big Apple would have no problem restoring law and order. But when villains such as the Werewolf and the Brothers Grimm — to name only three out of a dastardly couple of dozen — start appearing out of nowhere, the heroes' problem becomes much more complicated than just relieving some punks of their switchblades and baseball bats.
To solve the mystery and defeat their foes in After Midnight, the player characters will have to use their minds as well as their muscles. They'll be tested by forces unlike anything they have ever encountered before. But hey -- that's what being a hero is all about, right?

Right..."

  (MLA1) After Midnight By Anthony Herring is an adventure for the Marvel Super Heroes Rpg Advanced. The MLA1 wiki entry has a break down of the plot;"The player character super heroes are called to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where a tome titled A Mdman's Mutterings has been stolen. While the super heroes' investigation leads to confrontations with supernatural monsters, manifestations such as animated skeletons attack the city at night." This adventure is a combination gang war/supernatural adventure that hits the high notes for an investigative affair. The PC's find a pair of mutants who later on crop up in X-Forces: The Mutant Update.Felicia Bifrost and her brother Johnny,are part of an encounter with the PC's. 

We played  (MLA1) After Midnight as a part of the New York City underworld adventures & as a gateway into the supernatural with the PC's a part  of the Shroud's Nightshaft. 

  The Nightshift are villains who work on the side of the angels in the shadow. They predate DC's Suicide Squad by some years. Working along side the Shroud our heroes get in way over thier heads. The gangs were vicious and our DM really played up (MLA1) After Midnight's crime aspects. 

This module was  a part of a trilogy of adventures that we're just starting out with. The Nightshift seems to really draw down some heat on our heroes! 

 

OSR Commentary On The FTL Supplement #3: Mecha By Josh Peters For The Faster Than Light Nomad Rpg

 "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."'

 Let's pick this up from the review on the blog here. The FTL Supplement #3: Mecha By Josh Peters is a supplement for The Faster Then Light Nomad rpg. These mecha rules are well done and actually feature several mecha heavy settings. This includes a World War II setting where both the Allies and Nazi powers have developed mecha. Then we have a forgotten colony world that's FTL civilizaion has developed mecha. Feudal Mecha Knight is another mecha setting with the mecha and knight genre baked right in;"You are a Mecha Knight, the feudal warriors of a powerful noble to whom you have sworn fealty. Your mecha is a prized family heirloom, passed down through the generations, and the source of your social stature and income." The next setting we have is Mecha racing and sports surrounding these machines. 
We start getting into the deep end with Dynamo Force Epislon which has mecha defending the solar system; "UN ships patrol the space lanes, and when there is trouble, they launch highly maneuverable transformable mecha: Dynamos." 
The final mecha heavy  setting is the 'Armored Infantry Space Troopers'& it hits the high marks for the AIST; " The Armored Infantry want you! Join the military, survive grueling basic training, and then get shoved into cryo-storage as your ship heads to the front." Would like to know more?! 

Faster Than Light: Nomad (FTL: Nomad) is as good as it gets for 2d6 lite Science Fiction rpg's. There's plenty of room for mecha in 2d6 campaign settings. For my own campaign the 'The FTL Supplement #3: Mecha By Josh Peters'  fits the feel of our campaign. 

 FTL is excellent for a beer & pretezel pick up campaign especially with mecha added into the back end. For our own campaign the mecha is a huge part of the whole affair. For our own campaigns the mecha for the PC's are going to be central and we've got other players who wanna be support staff, starship crew, etc. 

The Cube By Joseph Mohr & Trey Causey's Strange Stars - Stars Without Number & Cities Without Number Session Report

 The Nicodemous Corridor was a campaign that I had written ages ago as a deep alien trade zone adventure setting.This came about as a result of our playing around with Trey Causey's Strange Stars campaign dealing directly with thier alien trade partners. So this picks up with our commentary from the other day on SWN M1 Hardlight on the blog.  And this came about as a result of our player's dealing with Circus in Strange Stars. 

Of course there's there's a wrinkle to the Nicodemus Corridor and that's the cube! The Cube by Joseph Mohr is a brand new Cepheus Engine adventure; " Strange sights and occurrences in space are often the norm in the Sonora sector. Both aliens and humans live together in close proximity. Hostilities do arise from time to time. But for the most part these groups manage to live together in relative peace and prosperity."

The nearby border sectors, however, are a different matter entirely. Many of these are virtually unexplored by humans. Alien civilizations live in those sectors and many have never been encountered before. Many human scout vessels that venture into those sectors never return home again. It is a hostile and dangerous environment.

Recently the Frontier Scout Service has reported encountering something alien and deadly in a border sector to the Sonora referred to as Sector XZ-205. More than a dozen scout ships have disappeared in that sector recently during attempts to explore."  The player's PC's are approached on Circus to look into what's happening within Sector XZ-205 aka the Necodemus Corridor within our campaign. 

Santino Cohen is representing the powers of the Necodemous Corridor and offering 300,000 credit. Our space hauler has been reequipped and ready to take on something like this. I want to let the PC's do a bit of wheeling & dealing within the corridor. 

The Necodemus Corridor is filled with extremely modified life forms who have formly a human basis. The party has been dealing with the Blesh from whom they've learned about the Corridor. 

The Cube won't be showing up for a bit of time. This makes the appearance of the Cube very disruptive on the party's jobs. The party's cybersneaks and runners have been probing the Corridor's cyberspace which is as alien as the rest of the trade zone. 
There's also the fact that there's information that came off the United Planet's wreckage that the party's cybersneaks about the Corridor. There's some dark things that the player's found.This includes the fact that the  Slavers have deep investiments within certain worlds within  the Necodemous Corridor itself. 

OSR Commentary On The Sorcerers of Pan Tang For The Stormbringer rpg

 

"Pan Tang is a grim island of lurking evil. Wild jungles to the north resound to the roar of a thousand tigers - the animal sacred to Chardhros the Reaper. The Plain of Glass divides the island, a shining wasteland of ancient volcanic catastrophe The farmland to the south is a living hell to the slaves who worl the great plantations."

"The capital of Pan Tang is Hwamgaarl, the City of Screaming Statues. Tigers walk among men and feed when they please Sorcerers study dark knowledge and summon awesome horrors from other planes to do their bidding. The citizens of Hwamgaarl take their pleasure in the Gardens of Pain, gather their knowledge at the University of Lucid Perversity, and propitiate the Lords of Chaos at the Palace-Temple of the Theocrat."

"Jagreen Lern is the Theocrat of Pan Tang, presiding over this nightmare land. A new age is coming, and his armies are ready. Other nations of the Young Kingdoms already plot against Melnibone, and soon those plots bring war. Pan Tang hovers, vulture-like, awaiting the results of the first violent clash of Young Kingdom armies against the remaining might of Melnibone. Though Melnibone has ruled the world for 10,00( years, in only a small fraction of that time will it be destroyed".

  Sorcerers of Pan Tang for the Stormbringer rpg came out in 1991. Sorcerers of Pan Tang made me a 'fan' of the Pan Tangians and this supplement details the island of Pan Tang. According to the Sorcerers of Pan Tang wiki entry;"Shannon Appelcline noted how after the fourth edition of Stormbringer was published, "the best books to date for the line were produced first by Keith Herber, then by Mark Morrison. They consisted of thick, well-written books of background, such as Sorcerers of Pan Tang (1991) and colourful adventures, such as Rogue Mistress (1991)." This book delivers the Pan Tang island in colourful and dangerous detail. This supplement fits right into the Games Workshop 1991 edition of the  Stormbringer Rpg. Games Workshop also did Eternal Champion line of figures. 

Part of the Eternal Champion line of figures by Games Workshop that appealed to me was Pan Tangian army. They were my go to & still are if I can get my figures out of store 'go to' chaos army. There was something very oddly satisfying about playing & fielding the bad guys. 

  Sorcerers of Pan Tang supplement hits all of the Pan Tangian high points with thier Pan Tangian culture, thier twisted society, adventures & this fits the Stormbringer rpg  so well. I'm not the only one thinks this according to the wiki entry; "Matthew Gabbert reviewed Sorcerers of Pan Tang in White Wolf #31 (May/June, 1992), rating it a 5 out of 5 and stated that "Sorcerers of Pan Tang is well-organized and well-illustrated (thankfully, some of the more graphic descriptions of Pan Tangian recreation are left to the reader's imagination). It successfully presents an atmospheric descrption of Pan Tang and I strongly recommend it for any Stormbringer campaign."" The Pan Tangians could and did appear almost anywhere within the Million Spheres. There were stats for the Pan Tangians within various original Dungeons & Dragons games from Kuntz & Ward's Gods, Demigods, & Heroes. We used the Sorcerers of Pan Tang for original Dungeons & Dragons. 

 Within Stormbringer we crossed  the Theocrat Jagreen Lern having raided a Pan Tangian trade ship. This brought us to the Theocrat's attention and we had to flee the plane just to live to adventure another day. 

OSR Commentary M1 Stars Without Numbers Rpg Hard Light By Kevin Crawford For The Stars Without Numbers Rpg

 ' Hard Light takes a band of young adventurers to a system blazing with the murderous light of a red giant star. The hard-bitten novium miners of the Brightside mining station maintain the only outpost of civilization in a system filled with lethal light and stellar outlaws on the run. Will the players find the riches of the ancient asteroid sky tombs and their alien makers, or will they fall prey to the seething rebellion that boils beneath Brightside Station's steel skin?'

I dug out the Stars Without Number rpg adventure Hard Light because it's been a very long time. Hard Light is a thirty six page lower tier Science Fiction  adventure that for 1-3 level PC's. This adventure has a bit of everything for encounters with Stars Without Numbers adventurers and spacers. Jordan R has a great review on Drivethrurpg from 01-25- 2017 ; "A very solid "adventure hub", perfect to start a campain, but that can also be easily integrated into an ongoing one (especially if the PCs don't have a spaceship). The 3 "sky tombs" are very different (a pirate base, a relatively lightly guarded sunken tomb, and a big one where two groups fight one another). The layout is simple yet highly functionnal : the backstory and key to a 37-rooms sky tomb fits on 4 pages, plus another one for the map; all NPCs are described on a single page (another one gets you all the combat stats) with their important motivations and ties stated (useful in play to help you recall the more in-depth descriptions given before); lots of plot hooks and complications to throw at players while they are on Brightside station; etc. The background provided, both for the tombs and the station, is just long enough to be useful to a DM : the information provided is meaty enough to help playing the NPCs and improvise when needed, but not so much that you lose yourself in details and minutiae."

Bright Station is a great adventure location for the PC's to get thier feet wet within Hard Light. The alien skytombs are great for PC's who want to do some dungeon crawling within these interstellar relics. There's also the pirates who are lurking around the station. Also there's a rebellion brewing under the surface of the adventure. 

Hard Light is a perfect adventure to drop into Trey Causey's Strange Stars OSR campaign setting. The fact that the Hard Light adventure is an rpg tool kit & easily adaptable to the world of Strange Stars  campaign setting. 

There's literally nothing that can't go into the Strange Stars campaign setting. Bright Station is a great little location for a beginning group of PC's. This station has enough weirdness, encounters, etc. to keep a party busy for years. I'd throw the Bright Station right around a hyperspace gateway. 

OSR Review & Commentary of The Red Room's The End of Innocence Rpg By The Red Room Crew

 

'There’s a moment in late summer when the light changes, when the endless days of idleness begin to shorten, and the first yellow leaves appear on maple trees, when childhood stands on the edge of something else, something less magical… This is a game about that moment. About the last great adventures of childhood, the mysteries solved and secrets uncovered before the world becomes too rational. It’s about kids riding their bikes down sun-dappled streets, investigating strange happenings, and discovering that reality has many more layers than adults would have them believe.'

'The End of Innocence draws inspiration from various sources, some widely known, others less familiar. While movies like Stand By Me and The Goonies inform its spirit of adventure and friendship, the game’s soul owes more to Ray Bradbury’s bittersweet tales of childhood in books like Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes. 'The End of Innocence Rpg by The Red Room Crew is definitely a depature from the usual horror and terror of the Wretched and Red rpg systems. This game is all about the childhood adventures and dreams that we're forced to leave behind as we move on to adult hood. This is an rpg about the adventures of childhood and uses a simplified version of the Red Rpg system. The artwork is very well done, the editing is solid, and the layout is certain up to Red Room standards.  Clocking in at over 244 pages of rpg 'The End of Innocence' rpg does not skim on PC set up for your 10-14 year. You get everything here including a stat to show just how tight you are with your circle of friends. The PC creation should take about ten to fifteen minutes of dice rolls and deciding. The system is simple, quick, reliable and highly effective to generate a PC quickly.  The combat rpg system is as I said is a simplified version of the Red Rpg system and PC's can't die per say. That's not to say there are not consquences for your PC's action. "San Cristobal Bay, a Gulf Coast town where summer seems eternal, provides a backdrop for lighter mysteries and sun-soaked adventures. " according to the End of Innocence rpg page. And we also a Ray Bradbury rpg  setting as well;"Oakbrook, inspired by Bradbury’s fictional Green Town, represents autumn’s approach, seasonally and metaphorically" So your getting two campaign settings in one book for your youthful PC's.  What  makes The End of Innocence different is how it pulls off it's rpg system. It allows you as the PC to impact the setting. This rpg should have games set canocially within the 1970's through the 1990's.  But is The End of The Innocence a good game?! In a word yes! This game has the rpg systems pull this off. We get an expanded set of rpg investigative rules, weird meters, and even psi talents that get looked at as 'Childhood Dream' abilities.  You easily pull off a Saturday morning cartoon too a full on Goonies style rpg campaign with The End of Innocence rpg.  Is this a kids on bikes rpg?! Yes and no. Yes it takes it's cues from Seventies through Nineties classic kids & family films, tv shows, and pop culture. End of Innocence takes most of it's cue from literature, film, and even to certain extent the works of Ray Bradbury. There's a sense of a solid rpg here  & it looks like it plays very well.

OSR Commentary OnThe Mall of Doom For The Mutant Epoch Rpg

 "In the twisted, dark future of 24th century America, heroes are needed more than ever. Do you have what it takes? Recruited to investigate the disappearance of missing townsfolk, the heroes soon discover that there is more to these kidnappings than meets the eye, and that these explorations aren’t just a ruin-crawls into the crumbling old mall. Can your characters survive the challenges that await them, or will they meet their end someplace deep below a besieged post-apocalyptic village? The Mall of Doom uses the Outland System™ game mechanic and requires only The Mutant Epoch™ hub rules RPG book to play. Here’s what’s included: • Multi-Path adventure: never plays the same twice. Designed for group gaming or solo play. • Due to some of the suggestive themes, horrific circumstances and descriptions, this adventure is not for the squeamish"

So last night I was reading through Mall of Doom for the Mutant Epoch rpg & looking through the adventure. So I was taking a look through the Mall of Doom adventure & taking notes for a future play through. Mall of Doom keys into the great trope of the missing town folk. One of the things that I do is read through the Amazon reviws of older OSR products such as the  Mutant Epoch Rpg 

Christopher Abraham's May 25th 2018 Amazon review for Mall of Doom and it is as follows; "An fantastic dungeon crawl told in a "choose your own adventure style" that allows you to solo play or an GM to join in on the fun but there are a wealth of maps annotated with page entries that allows GMs go off the suggested path."

"Two things worth noting. 1: this quest contains some dark content that caught some of my players off guard, 2: going in with anything beyond rank 1 characters can quickly turn into an relative walk in the park, so GM's will need to do some modding to up the threat level."

 Mall of Doom never plays the same way twice and it's a very deadly  rank one adventure. Now I've run Mall of Doom numerous times & it's best to have a second PC ready as back up. The reason for this is the random tables that allow encounters & salavage within the Mall of Doom itself.

Mall of Doom has been designed for budding young Mutant Epoch DM's and this adventure ties directly into the Mutant Epoch rpg rules themselves. This is designed on purpose  this way. 

Ian in an October 31, 2024 Amazon review pointed out something very interesting for solo rpging; "Simply one of the most passionately crafted works I've come across. Venture across a gonzo, post apocalyptic world that feels familiar and yet brand new, with surprises and interesting opportunities around every corner for the player and the gamemaster alike.

The unique Outland System is a breath of fresh air in a stuffy room! Slightly crunchy, but just taste those details! Your friends will gustily laugh or recoil in disgust at the immersive world you present!

The incredible number of tables and supporting books and adventures allows for solo-play, where a new gamemaster might hone their skill (and have quite a bit of fun), but is also a huge hit with my group, who had no previous sci fi experience whatsoever."

Mall of Doom piggy backs onto the chassy of Mutant Epoch for solo rpging which goes all of the way back to Jan of 2012. When Mall of Doom was published back in 2012 Solo rpging wasnt' as popular as it is now. Mall of Doom is geared for solo rpging. This allows the DM to learn the ME system from the ground up. 

MHR6 Conan The Barbarian Box Set By The Marvel Super Heroes RPG: The Unofficial Canon Project For the Marvel Super Heroes Rpg & The Ascendant Rpg

 MHR6 Conan The Barbarian Box Set  found it's way into my hands tonight because I want to run this supplement through the Ascendant Rpg. Because of the recent  news of the  upcoming release of Solomon Kane into comic form. Marvel's version of Conan within the box set is straight out of Seventies & Eighties Savage Sword of Conan. You can read my review of this box set right over here. 

Many of the themes of the Ascendent Rpg hint that there is an ancient Ascendant connection. That is to say that in  past ages there were Ascendant supers running around in ancient eras. I'm probably going to end up bringing in the Hyborian Sorcerer Supreme  Kulan Gath to our current  game. 

Kulan Gath has in the past with the backing of a Marvel Elder God transformed the whole of New York City into a Hyboria setting with little issue. In the past he's terrorized Red Sonja. For our own party of Marvel Super Heroes Rpg PC's we were stalked, harrassed, & murdered after aquirring a couple of Hyborian artifact & magic items. We treated the Hyborian Age as another dimension to visit for the Ascendant Rpg. 

Many of the NPC's & characters from the Ascendant Rogues Gallery could be from another age. These NPC's could dovetail into the  MHR6 Conan The Barbarian Box Set . 

 

 

       The Ascendant Rpg has the edge with the weird factor to allow our own party to journey into the Hyboria Age. The box set of Conan has enough material and adventure locations to keep a campaign going for many years to come! 

   

OSR Commentary On (MLBA1) Mutating Mutants Module By Bruce Nesmith Advanced Marvel Super Heroes Rpg

" A mutant role playing game from Marvel Comics. "Being a mutant is tough. Being a New Mutant is even tougher. I think I'll pay those kids a friendly visit. Y'Know. I may be Wolverine, but I don't have many friends who aren't out to use me. These kids haven't gotten hard-bitten and cynical like this old warrior. Yep, time for a drop-in..." "Somebody is after these kids. Trying to hurt them and hurt 'em bad. Somebody just made a big mistake and I intend to see that they find out just how big. Somebody's gonna pay for what they've done to the kids..." Wolverine watches as the New Mutants slither, crawl, and hop toward their goal. He knows they'll never be the same again. What's worse he also knows He'll never be the same again"

 Bruce Nesmith's (MLBA1) Mutating Mutants Module is a solid 1990 module that hits the high mark for the Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Rpg. This book delves right into the deep end of the Marvel's 'mutant menace' issue. We dived into this module in about 1991  & I've resurrected it after our recent brush with Nightmares of Future Past. 
We recently had to go after someone who was targetting Wolverine who was targetting the New Mutants! One thingthat this module brings to the table top is a plethora of Xmen & mutant themes centered around 'The New Mutant'. 

  (MLBA1) Mutating Mutants Module By  Bruce Nesmith fits right into the Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Rpg according  to the September 3, 2007; "A really quite good module for the mutant types, with Sebastian Shaw and his plotting at the heart of it."

"It is well detailed, and thought out, with some definitely useful instruction at various points for the Judge, even some karma award guides." Because Sabastian Shaw is at the heart of this module we combined this module with Days of Future Past's Sentinels. This means there's a mutant enemies link up with the Days of Future Past modules allowing Mutating Mutants to be an alternative timeline. 

(MLBA1) Mutating Mutants Module By  Bruce Nesmith is a solid module and tightly written. It's a great module to run for three reasons. The module is great to run, and it works very well as an adventure to get the player's PC involved in the deep end of the mutant issue. There are some strong encounters in (MLBA1) Mutating Mutants Module & it still works at the table top level. 

Amazing Adventures Old School Multi Genre Campaign Set Up - First Impressions

 One of the games that I recently ordered was Troll Lord Games Amazing Adventures & I think that I've got almost every edition of this game by Jason Vey. The game has evolved from Pulpy fantasy into a multigenre role playing game with the Siege engine at it's heart and soul. 

I'm still trying to get a game together with my friends to get an Amazing Adventures campaign going. There are a number of OSR  resources that I'm considering for an Amazing campaign at the moment. Among these is Skirmisher Publishing's Wisdom of the Wastelands for a post apocalpytic twist on a mini campaign setting that the PC's can visit. 

Now we've already got many of the tools for an AA post apocalpytic campaign alreaady baked into the Amazing Adventures rulebook & DM's Guide. But it's nice to get a bigger scope of the post apocalpytic genre. 

Amazing Adventures takes what was in the original AA game and distills it into a more comprehensive set of rules and rpg systems overview. On the whole the revised AA takes full advantage of the Seige Engine rules. This allows the inclusion of other OSR resources and yes, I'm looking at TSR's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide. 

Because of the DM's Guide & Jeff Gubb's Manual of the Planes which is one of the best takes on the planes that we've seen. This allows me to incorporate some AD&D first edition elements that the players are familiar with. 

Review & Commentary on The Dark Lonesome: The Ariel Sector Sourcebook By John Watts, & Michael Johnson For The Earth & Clement Sector Rpg

"Ariel Sector, located to coreward of Clement Sector, is generally regarded to be an empty wilderness by those in Clement Sector.   However, Ariel Sector has a variety of small settlements scattered throughout the sector which vary from mining colonies to pirate b By ases, from trading posts to scientific research stations.  "

"Meet the waldläufers, independent explorers who feel the call of the wild or, as they say, "The Dark Lonesome" where they go to commune with the untamed nature of the worlds of Ariel Sector and escape the constant connection to other people.  Encounter those on "The Liar's Trail" who are wanted for crimes in Clement Sector who have gone to Ariel Sector to hide from the authorities or start a new life.  Discover the settlers that have left Clement Sector to find fortune in the mineral wealth of Ariel Sector and the scientists who have found evidence of previous alien life in the sector.  Engage with the gunslingers who roam from settlement to settlement showing off how fast they are with a laser pistol."

The Dark Lonesome: The Ariel Sector Sourcebook By John Watts, & Michael Johnson is about the frontier of the Clement sector. This is a book about the Ariel sector one of those outlying areas of the Clement sector. This book covers those areas of the map that aren't filled in per say. We've got evidence of alien life investigations and more. 
The Dark Lonesome ramps up 'the Space Western' vibe in spades and keeps the PC's into the loop of the Ariel sector. The Ariel Sector is magnet for those who want to start a new life & career along the Liar's Trail. Key to this is the huge minerial wealth of the Ariel sector. The waldläufers and gunslingers are another part of the pillar of the Ariel sector 'The Dark Lonesome' and here's where the PC's alternative career path lies. The Ariel sector is the edge of the frontier and the waldlaufers are the leading explorers;"waldläufers are independent and are exploring for their own reasons. For some, this is an economic reason as they will go out and exploit resources found on the various worlds of Ariel Sector and then trade these at settled locations. For others, there is a simply a “wanderlust” that takes them out into the unknown."  These guys are the ultimate in survivalists and they make 'the Dark Lonesome' thier home sector. They're always pushing the boundries of space exploration and survival.  They're always pushing the boundries of the map;" Ariel Sector is an area of space 40 parsecs long by 24 parsecs wide. It is often represented on maps provided by various institutions such as The Captain’s Guild as either a three-dimensional hologram for use in a holotank or interface or by the common two-dimensional hex maps which are provided to members of the Guild."

The Dark Lonesome is the leading edge of the Clement sector and the worlds of the Ariel sector should not be quickly dismissed. These worlds form the backbone of the Ariel sector and are a magnet for the explorers, mavericks, and madmen of the Clement sector. 

There's some great writing, design, world entries, etc. all in a solidly laided out package put out by Independence Games. 

    The Dark Lonesome: The Ariel Sector is a solid sourcebook for the Earth & Clement Sector rpg. There's plenty of material here for the Clement Sector rpg DM to use for thier own game campaigns. 

Using plenty of material from this supplement are perfect for the DM looking to do a massive exploritory campaign. This book will keep your 2d6 campaign going for many years to come! 

OSR Commentary On Castles & Crusades Monsters & Treasure For The Castles & Crusades rpg

 "Beasts of legend and myth, monsters great and small, these are the minstrel’s fare: dragons, giants, orcs, foul-minded fey, the dreaded hydra, the riddling sphynx, the naga, wyverns, griffons and so very much more."

"Monsters & Treasure contains over 400 monsters for your Castles & Crusades game. Each entry consists of an in-depth description of the monster, along with its nature, habits, the territories they occupy, their predilections, and all other relevant material. Each entry contains all the statistical information required to run the monster at any game table."

"Including mountains of treasure, both magical and mundane, as well as how to roleplay monsters, handling combat with monsters, creating monsters and defining and awarding treasures"

Castles & Crusades Monsters & Treasure was on my desk last night. It's been while since I've cracked open this C&C tome. One thing I've noticed is that even though all of the classic monsters are here. The organization of the Monsters & Treasure is done in such a way as to make it advantageous for adventure construction. The thing I started noticing is that Monsters & Treasure is laid out like a tool kit. You have a certain way that the monsters are placed with the right amount of likely treasure & the advantages the monsters have over the PC's. Is Castles & Cruasades Monsters and Treasure classic OSR?! Yes and no, Yes this book certainly fits the asthetic of modern rpg system but uses the trappings of old school gaming. So much so that Gary Gygax endorsed Castles & Crusades when he was alive. 
Castles & Crusades Monsters & Treasure fits the asthetic of the old school by providing the full gamit of horrors and monsters for your C&C adventurers to run into in the dungeon. 

There's enough generic bent to the monsters that they can fit into an any OSR or old school rpg campaign that is using the Castles & Crusades rpg system. For example we ran a Greyhawk C&C campaign. The Monsters & Treasure book was essential to running Greyhawk especially since it was such an unstable time in Greyhawk's history. 
Now we're talking about when there were a ton of raiders and barbarians during this time in Greyhawk's history. Therefore the Monsters and Treasure were essential to this core of this campaign. Why because of the number of treasures that had been looted from the countryside. Every small kingdom & village had a small treasure or artifact that seemed to wind up in the hands of every petty tyrant, king, dictator, and warlord in the region. 

This was a time in Greyhawk's history when monsters were outta of control and they were a part of the dark forces of Greyhawk. Our adventurers  came in as survivors of the purges and raiding from various villages or outlying regions. This again is where Monsters & Treasures came in handy as both reference and guide for our Castles & Crusades campaign back about two years ago. To me Castles & Crusades Monsters & Treasure is one of the C&C essential books and very well done in my humble opinion.