OSR Commentary D100 Minor Magical Items By Shane Ward 'A Pay What You Want' Title From 3 Toadstools Publishing For Your Old School Campaigns

 Magical one use items are a well established within the bounds of fantasy role playing. "Need a quick magical item? Something not to deadly? All of these rather entertaining magical items are one shots.  ie one charge! The table is based on Old School rules and magic and should work for most Old School Systems." 

D100 Minor Magical Items By Shane Ward From 3 Toadstools is a solid alternatives for the dungeon master who wants a minor magic item for their campaign or  adventure. This pay what you want title clocks in at five pages of solid OSR content. Easy to use & throw into the back end of your game.  Have an abandoned wizard's tower or magic user bolt hole then D100 Minor Magical Items By Shane Ward  is perfect to add into the campaign mix. 
Some of these items are far more powerful then they appear & that's a feature not a design flaw in D100 Minor Magical Items. There's enough variety here to keep the mix interesting for the players. 
D100 Minor Magical Items is perfect to add to Greyhawk out in the middle of nowhere as treasure for a ruined wizard's tower or castle. For Adventurer, Conqeuror, King, rpg these minor magic items could be used as change up for a hoard. Or as minor gifts between rulers or kings for the PC's or too them. 
They could be used as minor treasures in Castles & Crusades that have been lost to time when magic was much more common. Or even as Fey treasures where they have come over from the realms of the Fey. 

D100 Minor Magical Items By Shane Ward  'A Pay What You Want'  Title From 3 Toadstools For Your Old School Campaigns

OSR Review & Commentary On 'A Beacon in The Night' by Joseph Mohr a 'pay what you want' adventure For The Cepheus Engine Rpg

 "The planet Sarmahalos III is a non-aligned agricultural world in the Sonora sector. There are no major industries there other than farming. For thousands of years the people of that world have wondered at the strange alien spire atop a mountain that overlooks their primary population center. This spire has a long spiral staircase on the outside of it leading upward. There is no known way to enter the spire other than by ascending to the top and lowering oneself down into it. No person who has ever done this has ever returned." 

'A Beacon in The Night' by Joseph Mohr is a 'pay what you want' adventure & is a mid tier campaign adventure for the Cepheus Engine rpg. And its both alien exploratory & archeological adventure romp  rolled into one. 

'A Beacon in The Night' is a quick thirteen page affair. It could be maybe played out over  four to five sessions at the most of Cepheus Engine action. This adventure can take place on your favorite colony world with very little fuss. 'Beacon in the Night' is plug in and go for an evening's play. The writing is tight, the cartography is well done, & 'Beacon in the Night' is solidly done for a 'pick up & go' group of players.

'A Beacon In The Night' works in a wide variety of Cepheus Engine rpg campaigns. For example, A Beacon in The Night could easily be dropped whole cloth into the Clement Sector or Earth Sector campaigns with little issue. And could act as a 'first contact' situation for the players PC's. 
In the 'Hostile' rpg  the situation of 'A Beacon in The Night' has both dire & daring interstellar implications for the human race. This adventure could completely alter humanity's place in the universe. 
For 'These Stars Are Ours' campaign setting 'A Beacon In the Night' has a completely different set of implications & actually could offer humanity the opportunity to gain both new allies & possible trading partners. 

All in all 'A Beacon In The Night' is a solidly done mini campaign adventure that works on three levels of play. 

'A Beacon in The Night' by Joseph Mohr a 'pay what you want' adventure For The  Cepheus Engine Rpg Is Available Here 

Retooling & Modifying 'Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess' From One Shot RPG 'Pay What You Want' Adventure For Castles & Crusades rpg Campaigns

" In CURSE OF THE AMBER PRINCESS the travel into the Great Desert of Shifting Sands in search of the lost city of Khartopolis. What evil waits for them beneath the dunes? Will they survive?"

In 'Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess' six pages David Dudka creates a nice mid point Egyptian themed or lost city adventure perfect as a roll up for a Castles & Crusades campaign. 'Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess'  is a 'pay what you want' adventure & has a full range of encounters & adventure hooks to get the party of players on board. 

Without giving away too much for 'Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess' the adventure uses two or three traditional adventure introduction hooks. There's some good encounter twists & turns. And just the right amount of suspense. This makes 'Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess'  this an excellent adventure for Castles & Crusades even though its meant for Math erm Pathfinder rpg. Almost six months ago Castles & Crusades Troll Lords  went through a full on Egyptian style campaign push for the Mythos line. 

Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium is a solid campaign setting book perfect for dropping 'Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess' into the mix as a possible campaign starter. 

 'Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess' could be used as a mid level & tier adventure a campaign jump off point. The PC's go exploring 'the tomb lands' of your home campaign setting. 'Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess' is a pay what you want adventure everything here is perfect for beginning level PC's but its gonna require a bit of prep work on the DM's part. And there are simply one eneny NPC here but two that could become party NPC enemies that could dog a party in a game campaign for the better part of a year or more. 
Could 'Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess' be used with say another OSR Sword & Sorcery rpg?! Yes Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea springs to mind immediately. Set 'Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess' within the 'Diamond Desert' & your ready to go! 
Is 'Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess' worth the download & disk space these days?! In a word yes & there are several reasons why: 

1.  Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess'  is only six pages & will require a little bit of attention for the C&C DM. 
2. Short adventures mean solid beginning campaign play again laboring this point. But in six pages you get enough to establish a campaign. 
3. Just enough adventure meat to get started & keep the players coming back to the table. 
4. Easy to use! Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess'  is a good adventure for the experienced DM. 
5. Variety of monsters, there are number of very interesting monsters that can be repurposed for other Sword & Sorcery locations so that the DM takes the NPC's from Mini Quest: Curse of the Amber Princess' & repurposes them for other dungons giving campaign consistency. 

Retooling & Modifying Mini Quest: Madness of the Mouther From One Shot RPG 'Pay What You Want' Adventure For Castles & Crusades rpg Campaigns

" In MADNESS OF THE MOUTHER, an unexpected attack at the market leads the characters beneath the city streets. In the hidden halls of an abandoned thieves guild, they find only death and the whispers of madness. What evil waits for them in the shadows? Will the characters survive?"

David Dudka puts out a number of 'pay what you want' adventure  titles that according to One Shot Rpg their mission statement, "This Mini-Quest contains: Madness, Some awesome art, theives, a lot of gibbering, one tough lock, rats, unexpected allies, betrayal, a wickedly sharp spear, cultists, wisdom saving throws, a merchant trying to sell a sword, a sequel." 

Right so Mini Quest: Madness of the Mouther  is a nine page one shot adventure that has all of the adventure  elements of a couple of night's sessions. Starts off with a quick two step to get the party in the middle of the action & then ramps up. There's some good encounter twists & turns. And just the right amount of suspense. This makes this an excellent adventure for Castles & Crusades even though its meant for Math erm Pathfinder rpg. 

Mini Quest: Madness of the Mouther has just enough adventure start & turn style to have solid couple of sessions of play. Because this is a pay what you want adventure everything here is perfect for beginning level PC's but its gonna require a bit of prep work on the DM's part. The usual stuff, rearrangement of encounters, dust up on monsters to C&C equivalents that sort of DMing prep work. 
But is Mini Quest: Madness of the Mouther worth the download?! In a word?! Yes. There are several reasons why: 

1. Mini Quest: Madness of the Mouther is only nine pages & will require a little bit of attention for the C&C DM. 
2. Short adventures mean solid beginning campaign play. 
3. Just enough adventure meat to get started & keep the players coming back to the table. 
4. Easy to use! Mini Quest: Madness of the Mouther is a good adventure for both 

Review & Commentary On Pay What You Want 'The Thing in the Ice' By Joseph Mohr For The Cepheus Engine Rpg

"It is well known across the Sonora sector that the planet Saresere is a frozen planet with no atmosphere. Despite these harsh conditions the Kon Lo Corporation has a small station on the world mining precious minerals. Of course....this is the story planted by the corporation to keep preying eyes from taking too close a look. Instead of miners there are scientists on this world excavating for alien artifacts and relics. They maintain a small complex of buildings on the surface of the planet. Recently all contact with these scientists has been lost." 


There's something about the 2d6 science fictional goodness of Cepheus Engine rpg  that draws me in like a moth to the flame. Not really nostolgia although there's a far degree of that, no there's something deeper here. And no more is this more primal then in other adaptations of the material. This is more of a 'locked room crime investigation'. And that's great for an old school Traveller or Cepheus Engine adventure. 


Joseph Mohr is the little rpg engine that does, he not unlike Michael Brown & many Cepheus Engine rpg designers quietly churns out adventure after adventure. And 'The Thing in the Ice' is Mr. Mohr's latest adventure  effort & 'The Thing in the Ice' nails it. Yeah its a 'pay what you want' & yes the scenario seems very familiar. And yes its only nineteen pages. But by God this is a neatly little way of handling a John Carpenter style adventure with a few twists of its own. This is a very well done short adventure but I'd run this with experienced players. There more then enough that can go wrong to wipe out an entire Cepheus Engine rpg party. This is quite like John Carpenter's The Thing from Another World but there are some shaded differences. And its with those differences where the party could potentially exploit the situation to actually move this beyond the tradition horror/dungeon adventure that takes place with paranoia aplenty. Or the 'The Thing in the Ice'  could simply be used as a homage to classic novella 'Who Goes There' or the classic John Carpenter film.  And that's fine.. The cartography & layout are solid,especially liked the maps in 'The Thing in the Ice' 

What if 'The Thing in the Ice'  happened to take place in Stella Publishing's setting 'These Stars Are Ours!? Imagine a new freed humanity PC's are called into an ice covered world & things get down right paranoid as the PC's are dealing with both investigation of the alien life form & the dire circumstances. Is the alien life form a left over Reticulan bio weapon or something else?! 

And what about the other Cephues Engine rpg campaign settings such as John Watts 'Clement sector'?! Three things spring to mind here. One the sector isn't fully explored so there's more then enough room for this alien life form. The stars are still isolated, & finally the paranoia is already baked into 'The Clement Sector'. This alien life form is going to be one more alien among the stars to contend with. 

Now let's talk about the fact that the Hostile rpg setting by Zozer Games comes with a similar 'John Carpenter's Thing From Anothr World' scenario baked already in the setting book. This isn't really a problem. Because 'The Thing in the Ice'  is different enough to be run right along this homage & the PC's are still going to be wondering what do with the alien life form. Zozer games system is a perfect rpg contrast to what has come before.And in point of fact Zozer Games 1970s 2D6 RETRO RULES. But are going to be some or more adventure elements in 'The Thing in the Ice'  

I really like  'The Thing in the Ice'  the advenure tone is one that really expands in an original way to an idea that we've seen time & again over the years since the appearance of the alien life form in  John W. Campbell Jr.'s short novella 'Who Goes there' 
Note that  'The Thing in the Ice' is a short adventure but there's room for expansion. And that promise is there within this adventure. 
However  'The Thing in the Ice' does what it sets out to do with a one shot adventure that can be added or subtracted from a campaign. The adventure provides the DM with the tools for running a one shot & does it well with plenty of opportunity for investigation as well as a real danger for even an experienced group of PC's their players.  'The Thing in the Ice' is a nice & dangerous mid tier Cepheus Engine rpg adventure! 

OSR Commentary - Weird Tales Judges Guild Wilderlands of High Fantasy- S3 'Expedition To The Barrier Peaks' By Gary Gygax & 'The Sea Wolf's Daughter'

" I just discovered my spot illo of the Zirconium Suit for the AS&SH 2E adventure The Sea Wolf’s Daughter bears an uncanny resemblance to the Powered Armour in S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks!"
So Glynn Seal of Monkey Blood Designs drops this on social media. And your thinking so what?! Big deal?! Well over the last couple weeks St.Jude's AS&SH Bundle of Holding has players around my area going through a bit of Sword & Sorcery campaign whip around. 

So what its a little 'Easter Egg' for the Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea rpg adventure 'The Sea Wolf's Daughter'. Well don't be so quick,  the Zirconium Suit is one of the highest level artifacts in the AS&SH rpg itself. So is there a connection between S3 'Expedition To The Barrier Peaks' By Gary Gygax  & Judge's Guilds Wilderlands of High Fantasy?! 
                                                                                                                  

Is there far more going on here then meets the eye?! Was the 'Warden' of S3 from an alternative timeline or Earth?! A place where mankind & the Hyperboreans were engaged in exploration & battle with something far more sinister?! Not only do I think so but we get a glimpse of the sort of alien menace in S3. Something went terribly wrong aboard the science vessel in S3. 

But what does any of this have to do with the Wilderlands of High Fantasy?! Well quite a bit one of the advantages of the Wilderlands is the placement of Blackmoor within the Wilderlands. There's a perfect spot within the campaign setting for it. 

That means there's also a perfect spot as well for the module DA3 City of the Gods by Dave Arneson, & David J. Ritchie. Harvard Blackmoor's Blog goes into a deeper dive into the background here.  Could the Lovecraftian horror aboard the 'Warden science vessel' be the real face of evil across the Nexus Gates of the Wilderlands?! And could this be the horror that the 'gods' of DA3 have been preparing for?! 


If these campaign over arching adventures are happening across nexus gates & planar barriers does this menace  tie into some of the revels that we've seen recently within the Hidden Serpent & other B1 In Search of the Unknown sequels?! Did Vespero the Antiquarian  have it right all along?!  For Lamentations of the Flame Princess could this actually tie into a Nexus Gate that we see in World of the Lost?! It's very possible indeed. 

Could Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown stumbled into not only several money making & power climbing situations in B1 but ultimate have stumbled into several world shattering issues at once?! Anything is possible. In the past The Secrets of Acray from Vacant Ritual Assembly issue #2 held some of the secrets for a set up similar to this one. 

'Of Gates & Sequels' OSR Commentary - Weird Tales Judges Guild Wilderlands of High Fantasy- B1 In Search of the Unknown By Mike Carr

" Mike Carr wrote In Search of the Unknown and intended it for use as an instructional adventure for new players. Interior art was by David C. Sutherland III, while Sutherland and David A. Trampier did the cover of the original monochrome edition. The updated 1981 edition featured front and back cover art by Darlene Pekul."
From the B1 In Search of the Unknown D&D Fan Site Wiki entry here. 

Oh no not another recap blog entry into how great B1 'In Search of the Unknown' By Mike Carr  module is tinged with nostalgia. Umm no I'm gonna talk about what a pair of bastards the  two wealthy adventurers, Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown, are for a moment. As you go through the upper levels of Quasqueton something becomes apparent it's two owners were into some shady stuff. Hell even Dyson Logos loves B1.  Because of the module's  customization there's ton of options that the DM can pull out.  Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown, were facing down a very dangerous horde of barbarian raiders. My own experiences with B1 have been interesting with player's PC's claiming Quasqueton as their own to use as base in the past once the dungeons & various levels have been cleared out. Recently we've  been reading through Pacesetter's Games B1 sequel Legacy of the Unknown.  

B1 "Legacy of the Unknown" (2011) by Bill Barsh. 
 Illustration by Chris Letzelte


This was on the recommendation of DM Steve who recommended that we read this blog entry here on squeals to B1 In Search of the Unknown. B1 Legacy of the Unknown is a very well done mini campaign done in seventy two pages. This whole cloth module covers the fates of Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown to an unknown lost city location based on documents found in the caves & caverns of  Quasqueton. The problem is that the module connects up with C1 Circle of Fire. Yeah, I'd rather it connected up with Bo5 Secrets of the Unknown by  Bill Barsh instead which it can if circled back around to B1 In Search of the Unknown. 

In several players minds way to the North of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy is giant piece after giant piece of Sword & Sorcery Atlantean debris sitting in the giant grass fields of the Wilderlands. Over the horizon is a Lovecraftian style. This all plugs into a Nexus gateway that leads near several locations mentioned in Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea's The Sea Wolf's Daughter. 

Where does this place B1 'In Search of the Unknown' By Mike Carr within the Wilderlands of High Fantasy?! I would say it would be near one of the temperate zones of the Wilderlands not necessarily smack in the middle of one the raving hordes of barbarian turf. The Quasqueton complex has to be far enough away from civilization to not have been looted by just any 'Johnny Q' party of adventurers. But where the Hell could a party of lagitmate explorers find information about the complex?! Fight on issue #3 has 'Haghill by James Mishler of Adventure Games Publications, detailing the legendary village near the City-State of the Invincible Overlord and the communities monstrous and mundane that surround it!' This is the perfect cut throat location to bring explorers of the unknown into the fore. 

Would the B1 'In Search of the Unknown' By Mike Carr adventure locations be of interest to any other OSR adventurers?! In the past we've added several rival adventuring groups from Spain & England from Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg as those wanting to gain the 'wisdom' of Zelligar the Unknown. This was after using Vespero the Antiquarian as an NPC from Vacant Ritual Assembly issue #1. 

Vespero the Antiquarian had ties to the court of Spain & several of Zelligar the Unknown occult treasures. So the PC's came fact to face with Spanish guns. The two forces had to join up after a group of incredibly dangerous pig faced orcs & their barbarian allies showed up! 
Could this whole cloth outline tie in with yesterday's blog entry?! Possibly but it would me a whole lot of juggling on the levels of Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown 

OSR Commentary - Weird Tales Judges Guild Wilderlands of High Fantasy - The Hidden Serpent By Jeff Sparks (Pay What You Want) & B1 In Search of the Unknown By Mike Carr

 "Faster Monkey's tribute to a classic dungeon crawl gives you tons of old-school goodness -- rooms and tunnels, wandering monsters, traps and treasures -- in a fast-playing modern form. "The Hidden Serpent" pits low-level Labyrinth Lord™ characters against a secret complex full of varied foes, some working together and some at odds. More than other Faster Monkey products, this dungeon emulates the humor and zaniness of modules from the hobby's golden age, hitting the party with plenty of classic risks and rewards."

There a ton of hidden gems of the OSR scattered about & one of these is Faster Monkey's The Hidden Serpent By Jeff Sparks. A pay what you want love letter to B1 In Search of the Unknown by Mike Carr whose monochrome cover appeared in Basic D&D sets. The Hidden Serpent takes up the material in B1 & expands upon it love letter style to  the so-called dungeon crawl style, where the primary goal of the players is the exploration of a dangerous labyrinth to battle monsters and obtain treasure.

 There are two things happening in The Hidden Serpent  that make the module a perfect add into a Sword & Sorcery campaign that takes place in the Wilderlands of High Fantasy. One is the fact that in the original B1 In Search of the Unknown  Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown are anything but squeaky clean. These are two ruthless bastard adventurers whose exploits in B1 fit the City State of the Invincible Overlord background. The Hidden Serpent  expands upon this & adds in all kinds of campaign wrinkles. 

Perhaps the 'heroes'  Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown fell out of favor & they were killed by assassins. The Caverns of Quasqueton has all kinds of possibilities for use with the Wilderlands. And The Hidden Serpent  really expands upon this idea of building an entire campaign around B1. And it does it very well. The Zenopus Archives website has an entire section devoted to B1 'In Search of the Unknown' 

 The Caverns of Quasqueton should be way out in the middle of nowhere but close enough to civilization to have access to the royals of the Wilderlands. 
How does any of this relate to Hyperborea?! In a word Barbarians or specifically mercenaries. The Wilderlands is made up of barbarian hordes, tribes, etc. And these were used by the 'heroes'  Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar. They didn't plunder the wilderlands but the caravans crossing over from Hyperborea. And so there was a mix of goods & services between the trade crossing between the Nexus gates. This enabled  Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar to get rich fast by plundering & doing guard work for the caravans making the crossing. 

But all good things come to an end! Or do they?! What is to stop a group or several groups of evil humanoids tribes from taking over the Caverns of Quasqueton?! The Hidden Serpent has several answers within it. If we were relating these adventure events  back to Hyperborea then another possibility comes to the campaign fore. Remember that B1 is named after the famous or infamous Robert W. Chambers anthology story  collection. Perhaps one of the reasons that  Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar met their untimely demise is the fact that the wizard was dallying with 'The King In Yellow'. 

Does this dallying with the dark powers of the 'King In Yellow' make the area as not only attractive to the orcs of Hyperborea in the form of the tribe of the yellow hand. But also far worse chaos spawns of the King?! This would be the perfect time to employ Gregorius21778: Beware of the Spirits of the Woods as the tortured spirits of nature that echo around  the Caverns of Quasqueton. Nature itself another victim of the evil of  Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar. Could the caverns themselves be a twisted Nexus gateway to the 13th or 14th century of Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg?! The magicks twisting the whole cloth of time like the broken threads of a loom?! 

The Hidden Serpent & B1 'In Search of the Unknown' could act as the catalyst for an entire campaign in the back parts of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy. Here away from the prying eyes of the authorities the hills ran wild with the blood shed & weirdness of Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar. 

Review & Commentary on Adapting Joseph Mohr's 'Pay What You Want' Cepheus Engine Rpg Adventure 'Hydra' to The Hostile rpg

" The Halek Corporation has genetically modified a flower obtained from a remote world with an exotic atmosphere. This new strain of orchid has psi properties when consumed. The Hydra corporation is willing to pay well for someone to "obtain" a specimen for them to examine. 

The Hydra Corporation has recently discovered that an agricultural ship is being used to grow these plants for the Halek Corporation. They know where this ship will be in port in a few days. Daring travelers might use this opportunity to get aboard the vessel and get a specimen."

So tonight was a night where 'Hydra' ' a pay what you want' Cepheus adventure from Joseph Mohr came unto the dissection table for redesign for a Hostile rpg campaign .  'Hydra' is a perfectly solid Cephues rpg adventure within its own right. But the themes with Hydra are perfectly suited for a space marine or mercenary esponisage campaign. And this goes for quite a few of  Joseph Mohr Cepheus Engine rpg adventures. But modifying  'Hydra' for a Hostile rpg campaign is going to take a bit of DM reworking. But let's start with the background right from the start; " While resting between jobs the travelers are approached by a representative of the Hydra Corporation. Hydra does scientific research in a number of diverse areas. Some of this research is not entirely legal. An Robertson is a scientist and low ranking manager with the Hydra Corporation. He offers CR 30000 for acquisition of a new strain of flower being grown by a competitor. This flower is believed to have hallucinogenic properties when consumed through smoke or by grinding it’s petals into flour. These properties are also believed to have psi enhancing effects." 

 Right off the bat we're going to have to use the psi system from Cepheus Engine Rpg rules for the psi powers. But this isn't a problem at all. There were implications of full blown psi abilities within the original  Dark Horse Alien comic books & the Alien Earth War books as well. The psi powers play a key role within this universe that gets overlooked for the flasher Xenomorph these & story elements. But with such a micro cosm of  Eighties sci fi  goodness focused on the Hostile Rpg an adventure like  'Hydra'. And its the corporate war in space aspect of this adventure that needs to be turned up to 'eleven' to really bring home the stakes of this adventure. 

The most obvious is that  'Hydra' could be used like a Western 'Great Train Robbery' situation in which the  Shamburan is an agricultural ship would be stolen. But the murder of the employee's would be a huge complication within the adventure. But these are PC's so situation 'normal' & there are some folks whom we've talked with yesterday who asked if this could be avoided. 
Well something occurred to our group's dungeon masters & it has to do with the make up of the Shamburan itself; "The Shamburan is an agricultural ship. It has special provisions for growing plants aboard. One of the rooms of this ship is set up to be a green house. Artificial sunlight is provided so that the plants can thrive aboard the craft. Air circulation aboard the ship is tightly controlled so that the spores from the plants aboard will not be breathed in by ship’s crew or agricultural workers residing in other parts of the ship. The vessel has no ship’s weapons. It tends to stay near populated systems so that pirates are not an issue. Generally the Shamburan stays in primary shipping lanes and rarely visits planets except for resupply or repair. The Halek Corporation keeps a close eye on this ship. Industrial espionage is not unknown in this line of business. Armed guards are always aboard the craft even when in port." 
If  'Hydra' is wearing its influences on its sleave & so is the Hostile rpg then we have the option of using the classic Seventies sci fi film 'Silent Running' as an influence. 

The PC's are going to requite a bit more subtle methods such as getting one of their number aboard as a xeno botanist and or ecologist aboard the agru ship when its in port. This is going to require hacking into the  Halek Corporation to forge identities to this or getting one of the party hired by the corp to serve aboard the ship under a fake identity. This is where Zozer Games's Zaibatsu rpg  cyberpunk rpg comes in handy.  We just went ahead to lulu & ordered a copy of Zaibatsu. Why?! Because the  Zaibatsu rpg   takes place in the Hostile rpg universe & its very accessible for creating an Eighties Cyberpunk asthetic so important for a Hostile rpg campaign. 

The Hostile Rpg actually does have hacking rules & their very good but players have already expressed an interest with using  Zaibatsu rpg for PC generation as part of running this game. Now let's get back to  'Hydra'. If the PC's manage to obtain the flower & then get it back to their employers will they become the target of assassins & wetwork men themselves?! This is the Hostile rpg universe so 'yes'
Well this speaks volumes as to the quality of  'Hydra' which lends itself as an adventure to really solid beginning or ending of a campaign. Overall I'd rate  'Hydra' about four stars because it does its job & provides the DM some really solid options for bringing the players to the table top over all. 

Six reasons to bring   'Hydra' to the table top as a campaign starter: 

1.  'Hydra' has a stated goal & background to marry to the Hostile rpg easily & quickly. 
2. The implication that there's more going on in the backdrop of  'Hydra' & it fits the universe of the Hostile Rpg 
3.  'Hydra' may be a far better mid tier adventure for this style of campaign rather then a beginning one because of the adventure plot's complex nature. 
4. If  'Hydra' takes place within a universe similar to 'Outland' then there's a good chance that the law may act as assassins themselves so the PC's may become outlaws the second the theft of the flower is discovered. 
5. PSI abilities may offer a campaign wrinkle that may or may not fit your game campaign especially with a  Hostile Rpg campaign universe of your own design. 
6.  'Hydra' has some solid grounding to expand upon for the   Hostile Rpg campaign universe. Such as where did the flower come from, who were the originators of the flower's species, and what other life forms are there?! 

Review & Commentary On 'Boarding action' by Joseph Mohr A 'Pay What You Want' Adventure For The Cepheus Engine rpg

"The X-434Z prison ship holds some of the most dangerous criminals in the Sonora sector. Recent escapes from prison worlds in the sector have led to authorities placing the worst offenders on a ship that rarely visits port anywhere in the sector. But a small group of rebels have discovered that the ship will be in a certain system at a certain time. They want a political prisoner held aboard the ship to be brought out of the ship alive. They are willing to pay handsomely. "




'Boarding action' by  Joseph Mohr is a 'pay what you want' adventure for The  Cepheus Engine rpg & its the type of adventure that one would find in the annals of Challenge magazine for the Traveller rpg. This is a higher tier rpg adventure with a down & gritty kidnapping or bounty hunter prison break out feel. Everything is keyed into & dialed into the classic Traveller rpg flare. 

'Boarding action' by  Joseph Mohr has all of the Mohr hallmarks, the no nonsense approach to the adventure elements, the bare to wall stat blocks, the plot & cartography very bare bones, etc.. But all of this doesn't take away that this is a damn good prison break with two or three major twists & turns. This has some good bare bones to it for a pay what you want adventure & it does it without tears. This is the exact sort of direct & no hand holding approach that I've come to expect with a direct adventure hook like this;"The worst prisoners in the Sonora sector are held in a maximum security prison ship named the X-434Z. This nondescript ship looks like the average commercial freighter. It stays in well patrolled shipping lanes to avoid piracy and to avoid bringing undue attention to itself. Prisoners kept aboard this ship are the very worst types of offenders along with other “special” prisoners who authorities want to keep secure. Recent breakouts from the prison planets in the sector have made various governmental authorities nervous. Some of the prisoners aboard this craft are of the “political” variety. Should they somehow get released it might bring chaos and rebellion on a number of worlds. " 
Played correctly & this adventure could come off as a combination of Expendables & a Sixties or Seventies prison escape film. Played wrong & this adventure has the potential to bog down fast. And lead to a real campaign slog of a piece. 

 'Boarding action' by  Joseph Mohr is no nonsense & really brings on some very dangerous elements in a science fiction stew of the The  Cepheus Engine rpg. For players this is going to be an upper tier science fiction adventure  'Boarding action' by  Joseph Mohr makes no bones about this & places the hardness on the table. I could see using  'Boarding action' by  Joseph Mohr with the Stars Without Numbers rpg but it would take a Hell of a lot of work on the DM's part. 
Here's what I'd do instead. Take a copy of Cepheus Light, by Omer Golan-Joel and Josh Peters then grab 'Boarding action' by  Joseph Mohr then you & your players are ready to go for an evening's entertainment! 

Boarding action' by  Joseph Mohr  does what it says on the tin & as a prison break adventure there's a ton of good bones here for a solid evening or more sessions play through. All in all I'm glad I've got this one on my hard drive. Boarding action' by  Joseph Mohr hits all of the marks for me to run a one shot or quick several sessions game adventure. For the  Cepheus Light rpg this would make an excellent several session adventure.