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

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



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



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

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





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

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

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

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

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


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



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



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

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

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

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

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

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