Review & Commentary On Warpland Rpg by Gavriel Quiroga For Your 2d6 Science Fantasy or Sword & Sorcery Campaigns

 "An original dark sci-fantasy setting by Gavriel Quiroga, creator of the critically acclaimed Neurocity.

Enter the Land of the Warp at your own risk! A dark world where technology and science are anathema and dark magick is just being discovered!"


Warpland's by Gavriel Quiroga kickstarter came & went ages ago. We moved on or so it was my understanding but Warpland get's under your skin. So about a week or so ago the book arrived & I was stunned. The setting & game system are 2d6, now that's where things get interesting because this is a very   Baroque dark fantasy setting. Imagine 2d6  Sword & Sorcery meets high fantasy weirdness in back alley with lots of Heavy Metal European influences. The book itself is sweet! The production values here are extremely high. 

Now Warpland is both setting, role playing game, & rpg system all wrapped up under a weird AD2000 comics style cover. The system allows the players to really cusomize their PC's; "Characters using this system have Agility, Might, Lore, and Wits as Attributes, &  they start at 5 as a default and you can distribute 8 points among them. To perform an action you roll equal to or lower than your Attribute. If you don’t have the appropriate skill you have -2 modifier. Additionally, the Game Master can apply other modifiers ranging from +1 to -3."

But what makes Warpland is the setting of the game! The original gonzo fantasy world that is part science fiction, part science fantasy, & all originality from the twisted mind of its creator. Dan Davenport of The Hard Boiled Gumshoe blog did a Q&A with  Gavriel Quiroga here & they go into the essence of  a small seething part of Warpland here; "

"[23-Feb-21 07:36 PM] Gavriel#9659
"Great question. Well they are both Science Fantasy I believe. But warpland is oriented more towards Sword & Sorcery, there is advanced technology but it is very rare and considered anathema. In both settings there are mutants, but in Warpland you also got demons and warlocks.

[23-Feb-21 07:36 PM] saintnexan#6715
So is there magic in this setting?

[23-Feb-21 07:37 PM] Henry#3418
Is this game its own system or more its own setting?

[23-Feb-21 07:37 PM] Gavriel#9659
There is Dark Magic. Gifts from the Void, the demonic entities from the other side. Its similar to Michael Moorcock in that sense."

Is Warpland really worth the expense of eight dollars for the PDF?! Well in a word, 'Yes'. Because of three factors, One Warpland is thick with solid gonzo Science Fantasy,Swords & Sorcery,  or Science Fiction campaign potential or as the Warpland author describes it, "I guess it is a science fantasy and sword & sorcery mash up. My friends say it is He-Man on a bad acid trip in the middle of Patagonia." There's another excellent interview of Warpland's rpg over at the Red Room.  Two the Warpland is very well developed unto itself as a rpg & setting. Three the 2d6 Sword & Sorcery aspect is strong within Warpland. 

Now this being said, I don't agree with the following; "GQ: The scene here is big, but it is dull and lacks courage. Most are just content with playing official mainstream RPG products. Brazil has the edge. With Diogo Nogueira as the spearhead. There is zero interest for my work in my own country!

RR: For most people the hobby is still Dungeons & Dragons and then all the rest, isn’t it?

GQ: Is it? I don’t know. I feel so alienated from those products that they feel from another dimension. Everyone I know is into the OSR independent scene. I love it."

There's enough room in my mind for both the independant scene & the OSR to co exist. We see more then enough evidence  of a strong OSR scene with the 2d6 Cepheus Engine rpg makers & players on social media. Especially within the Cepheus Engine rpg facebook & Cepheus Engine rpg Me We group.

We've already seen Warpland combined with Barbaric rpg by the Some Might Be Gazbo's blog here. What would we do with Warpland's by Gavriel Quiroga?! There's a ton of potential with Warpland as a Sword & Sorcery campaign setting. What about Warpland  as a 2d6 Science Fantasy campaign setting? What would happen if Warpland was a planetary sector property?! Well as I said in the beginning of this review the setting is in my mind Warpland is a Baroque very dark fantasy. But a very  Baroque Science Fantasy setting has been published for the Cepheus Engine rpg! Zozer Games Godstar is a perfect contrast to the Barorque dark fantasy of Warpland. 

 


 The fiefdom of Aurelia, but it has many enemies & the dark powers,  mutations, etc.  of Warpland are a perfect contrast to the Dune like political powers of the Godstar rpg. There's the fact Warpland is complete & utterly untamed. And it's an incredibly dangerous world setting. And even force fields & swords are not gonna even the playing field. This is a credit to the  Warpland's by Gavriel Quiroga artwork, design, writing, and art. There is a true setting & campaign vision accredited  to  Warpland's by Gavriel Quiroga. 

'Saucers' or Chariot of the Gods OSR Write Up - Earth Vs The Flying Saucers

  

Chariot Of  The Gods

Armor Class : 5 
Diameter : 

Drive: magnetic drives capable of near light speed velocities
Hit Points: 55 
Internal Systems/Psionic/Super Science Devices :Psi Crystal  Their language translator device resembles a glowing crystal rose which also serves as the input device for their "Infinitely Indexed Memory Bank"

"Infinitely Indexed Memory Bank" Humans captured by the invaders are subjected to scanning for the "Infinitely Indexed Memory Bank" which strips the victims' mind of all knowledge, leaving them mindless zombies. The victim must make a save vs death when their bathed in the rays of the psi crystal. 

It is capable of holding hundreds of thousands of minds Weapons systems: 
 Sonic Cannons 


Weapon               Range                  Variable Damage        Weight                                                         
Sonic Cannon         4 miles                         2d10                     125                

Defense Systems: Electric Screen capable of producing  of 100 hit point force curtain below the ship.



These saucers were mass produced in the millions by the  & there's a very high after market making these saucers very valuable. Within certain specialty black market place locations they are worth 70,000 to 80,000 gold pieces to the right parties & black wizards 

The psi crystal emerges from the roof of the saucer & acts as translating device, mind reading device, & the infinitely indexed memory bank which will steal a human mind unless save verus death is made.
 A formation of five or six chariots will  induce solar flares that disrupt planet's weather and short as well as long range communications.

The chariots may create 1 to 2 hit point spies that may travel any where across the planetary surface . The
 infinitely indexed memory bank may keep track of millions of these spies. They may be strung together to form networks of webs of vast information. 




This is a poster for Earth vs. the Flying Saucers. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, Columbia Pictures, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist. Further details: Theatrical release poster of Earth vs. the Flying Saucers.

Synopsis : Created by the millions by the Atlans these craft have been adapted by a wide variety of races & have seen action during a many theaters of war. These dependable craft are easy to maintain use & considered to very valuable for two reasons. The parts for these craft can be produced by many cultures just making it into their atomic ages. Because the low out put required for the craft many low yielding nuclear fuels may be used for the reactors. The craft themselves can use a ley line supplemented system to skate slight beyond the local space time continuum. This enables the craft to take full advantage of the time delay created by this effect. 

The number of races who have used these craft since their creation by the Altan is countless. The craft still fetch a good price upon the open market & in certain pirate quarters of the universe. 

  The Derro have several variations upon the usual designs & are often seen within certain quarters of Derro terrority. Many mythos races will fire on sight of these craft which has made the derro install magnetic & sonic stealth fields. These will last as long as a slave with super science powers is installed in place. The Derro often have them medically slaved into the mechanisms that run the ship as well as the index. 

Quick Review and Commentary On 'The Pay What You Like ' Issue of Brave the Labyrinth - Issue #2 (PDF) From Small Niche Games

This is a pay what you want download

HERE!

I'm always looking for new and interesting OSR source material to use with science fantasy and space based games. The fill in what you like attitude of the folks over at small niche games is just right for my DYI gaming needs. The latest pay what you want issue #2 of Brave The Labyrinth continues with this creed and expands on it with some awesome material.

This issue features the following : 

Brave the Labyrinth is a quarterly fanzine published by Small Niche Games for the Labyrinth Lord™ roleplaying game community. It consists of fan-created material designed to cover all types of Labyrinth Lord™ and Advanced Edition Companion™ gaming.

In this Issue you get: 

-Five (5) New Magic Spells

-Six (6) New Monsters

-Two (2) Unstocked Village Maps

-One (1) Elite Orc War Party

-Nine (9) New Magic Items

-One (1) New Pantheon

-One (1) "Drop In" Locale (Carnival of the Setting Sun)

-Articles on designing 0-level humans, being a better gamer, a review of the adventure GT2 Come Hell or High Water, and submission guidelines for Issue #3!

Download Brave the Labyrinth - Issue #2 for FREE!

Uses for Space Based or Science Fantasy Gaming

Most of this material is Labyrinth Lord based and easily converted into many of the retroclone systems including 99% of the retroclones on the market. This also further expands its range into Mutant Future with little adjustment on the DM's part. 

The five new spells are very easily adaptable into a wide variety of science fantasy situations. 

The six new monsters are very useful and could be used to stock an alien space wreck or some some nasty corner of an alien world just waiting for adventurers to blunder into them. 

The two unstocked villages are perfect for any science fantasy game where you might need a 'spooky town' set of ruins to throw your PC's in the deep end of things. 

The elite orc party is a down right nasty encounter and simply give them some phaser rifles or blasters & your ready to go! 

The nine new magic items are completely ready for stocking your latest space citiadel or ruin. They might also be the goal of a mini adventure as well. 

The New Pantheon is a nice set of gods for a human or near human society.

The carnival of the Setting Sun is twisted and dangerous for any retroclone gaming system. 

1d6 Random Weird Automatons Encounter Table For Your Old School Campaigns

Deep in the wastelands there are relics and beings of deep enchantment whose functions and intelligence defies conventional thought. These automatons were created in lost eras when humanity was not unlike gods. The ancients were beings of incredible skill and power whose creations still are pieces of marvel and incredible insight. But there is a dark side to these beings, for immortality brings with it a sense of wariness and boredom, sometimes it can even bring insanity. These beings should be treated with respect and caution for they sometimes have their own hidden and weird ageless agendas.



1d6 Random Weird Automatons Encounter Table

1. Mr.  Fanchangluld - Once an alchemist's companion & assistant, this humanoid brass, copper, and occularium being holds the soul of his master within a small brass bottle within himself. He travels the ages helping out where and when he can. His knowledge of alchemy, and the occult is extensive, he also trades in the experiences and souls of his 'friends' for pieces of vital knowledge. He has had extensive dealings with the beings of the higher realms. He often uses his knowledge of dangerous realms to place his 'friends' in dangerous situations as part of games of adventure and chance. 
2. Erturdu was built on the brain scans of the space gods and appears to be part mechanical squid, cuttle fish, and clock work alien mechanism. This being studies religion and science looking for the middle ground of the work of man & god within the confines of dangerous situations. She uses adventurers as the perfect subjects of bizarre occult experiments in salvation of mankind against the godless infinity of a lonely cosmos. 
3. Lananche The Wise - This weird little dwarf like automaton is all that remains of the knowledge of Lananche, a wise man from Alexandra who sold his soul to a minor demon in exchange for breathing life into his creation. This creature uses friends and others to play bizarre games of chance and weird encounters with the occult to prove them worthy of salvation through embracing the truth of the Great Old Ones. Lananche is a dangerous spell caster in his own right and wishes to use the souls of others in his bid for demonic power. 
4. Chathalurgor The Forgotten Son - This mechanism is the creation of two decades of research and black science. The mechanism looks like a golden headed god thing. He is one  who uses his powers to create the perfect being born out of black magic and dark circumstances. Chathalurgor will arrange odd accidents to almost kill these people and force their latent powers and abilities to surface. 
5. Vaulurorobarc is a mechanism that seeks to understand the bits and pieces of the human soul by carving it up with sharp knives and deadly threats. This mechanism takes the form of a giant robotic insect that has a human brain as part of its head. This automaton will capture experimental subjects and give them a tour of the process of rendering down both body and soul.
   
   
   

Revising The Free Comic Book Download - Space Adventures #6 As Inspiration For Your Old School Space Campaign

The boys from Derby cranked out any number of  space and science fiction comics but one of my favorite Charlton Comics series was Space Adventures. Back in the 1980's I came across this title in a friend's attic, the one issue that sticks out in my mind issue six. The title is now in the public domain and it makes a perfect resource for your old school space campaigns.
Grab It Right Here 

To start off with the reason why I chose to revamp this issue is the fact we've got a number of stories that fit perfectly in to the notion of adventure background or one shots allowing the DM to draw on these for a quick background fix for his OSR games. These are especially good for doing convention style one shot adventure encounters for lower level parties without destroying the cohesion of his campaign.
In the first story, Two Worlds we get a complete race of refugees from one of Saturn's moons who have settled on Mars. They come complete with retrofuture technology, a complete background, and motives for an invasion of Earth, and a plight for the DM to exploit for adventures. This is a great story to use as the basis for a jump point into a retro future campaign. The ending is unresolved and needs to be addressed. Commander Gort and co are a really nice bunch to add into an old school campaign as NPC enemies, friends, or whatever the DM needs. Because the story is left unresolved there's plenty of action and milage that can be gotten out of this one.
Invasion From Venus has New York as the center piece of the museum of the future. Can you say mega dungeon raiding area? Yeah there's plenty here to work with for the creative DM. Viceroy Dox and co. are a bunch of colonial terrorists perfect to drop right into the mix as a bunch of NPC's with axes to grind and giant mutant sunflowers to cause havoc with. We've even got the space ranger angle in this one as well. 

The Uncharted Planet has plenty of atomic rocket future action and a bit of twisted space exploration to be had. And perfect trap for PC's to fall into. This one has Robinson Crusoe angle to it with a bit of a twist. Save vs death on this one space adventurers! Black Doom is a quick little tale of alien invasion with a twist of weirdness, here the retro future action of the black ray whose effects can easily be simulated with the Darkness spell from D&D just add in the power sapping effects and your good to go. Roj and company are a typical gang of minor mid level rank and file space criminals whose race have a weakness to sunlight. To make them a bit more of a challenge I'd in some connection to the negative plane and then run this as an evening one shot adventure. They've got a whole alien city floating in space for PC's to get into trouble with.
 There's another quick angle with this adventure in the form of the Earth's space  hero Rex Clive and his atomic rocket guys. They're very well organized and make a nice back drop for any retro future game.
A bit of background on the Space Adventure series from Charlton comics  According to Wiki:
Space Adventures, a science-fiction anthology comic book from the Derby, Connecticut-based Charlton Comics, was initially published for 21 issue (cover-dated July 1952 - Aug. 1956). Issues #9-12 (Winter 1954 - Aug. 1954) were cover-titled Science Fiction Space Adventures. The following two issues were cover-billed Space Adventures Presents The Blue Beetle, and featured reprints of the defunct publisher Fox Comics' superhero, from 1939. Issues 15-18 (March-Sept. 1955) carried the rubric Space Adventures Presents Rocky Jones, and featured that children's television character in licensed TV spin-off stories. These were primarily illustrated by penciler Ted Galindo and inked by, variously, Dick Giordano, Ray Osrin, or Galindo himself. Giordano penciled at least one "Rocky Jones" story, "Gravity-Plus", inked by Jon D'Agostino, in issue 18. Issues 19 and 21 reverted to Space Adventures, interspersed with another licensed tie-in, Space Adventures Presents First Trip to the Moon — a retitled reprint of writer Otto Binder, penciler Dick Rockwell and inker Sam Burlockoff's adaptation of the movie Destination Moon, from Fawcett Comics' 1950 one-shot of that name.

One thing about Charlton comics is that you got a lot of bang for your buck from this series, from the opening story right on through. There was plenty of action to get the reader interested and even now reading through these its easy to see using the stories in this issue for any number of old school science fiction or science fantasy games. The fact that its free and in the public domain is an added plus in my book, not bad for a ten cent book from the Fifties. 

Free OSR Download Class -First Edition Scout By Leonaru For Your Old School Campaigns

Grab It Right
HERE

This is a really nice solid work up of the scout from first edition and its pretty much a straight forward as it gets. The author and designer creates a nice mirror of an old school  class that seldom gets any respect today. Scouts are essential in an outdoor style game and places where wilderness is the rule.
This is pretty much a download, print out and play sort of pdf and contains virtually everything that a players needs from the ground up to play a scout. There are myriad of classes from this author each well done and usible right off the download. The scout isn't an except to this rule and this is a well organized version of the class.
As the write up from lulu states: 

This is the scout character class for the first edition of the world's most popular roleplaying game and all other old-school games compatible with it. The PDF includes the full class description and a custom scout character sheet.

From race to level progression all of the background is presented very concisely and yet with a sense of old school style.

So why is this class on my science fiction and fantasy side of the blog? Well simply put scouts are one of the most useful and easily overlooked classes for use with a post apocalyptic wasteland setting or a sword and planet setting. This is a very useful pdf addition to a DM's arsenal and one that adds a nice dimension to a native planetary guide or even an alien tracker.

Scouts can add an entire other angle to games and can be used in a plethora of time periods to add another dimension of interest and adventure opportunity to your old school games.They can appear in sword and sorcery campaigns, Old West period pieces, Roman based games, etc. The uses here are numerous.

Scouts have always been a handy addition to NPC and hireling ranks as well. They have several abilities that make them essential to bounty hunting parties and any wilderness based adventures. This pdf adds in everything that a first edition game will need right in one free downloadable package. This pdf clocks in at six pages of useful material in one solidly done package. And best of all its free. Over the last three weeks or so I've quietly learned to enjoy and incorporate several of the reworks and redoes that this author has done. Grab this one for a nice addition to your old school campaigns.

The author knows his old school games very well and this class is pretty obviously a labor of love on his part as are other classes that I've downloaded from his Lulu author page. This class can be adapted to a variety of retroclones and systems with a bit of work and this pdf contains everything a DM needs to get started with using scouts in their games right away.

Review of the 'Pay What You Want' OSR Adventure - The EIGHTH Psychedelic Fantasies module For Your Old School Science Fantasy Campaigns

Its always a good night when I come home to a new copy of a Psychedelic Fantasies adventure but its even better when its one from Bjorn Waredal whose work is very familiar to me. Once again this wonderful little line of high weirdness system neutral OSR goodness delivers the goods. Here we have an eleven page adventure location based goodness in an old school mini campaign but one that does its job in style and with a sense of fun that really compliments the adventure in spades. Here's far warning ahead, pick this adventure up! Seriously this is a perfect vehicle as a middle of the campaign flash or bridge gap. There's literally a ton of links to tie this little adventure in with your favorite retroclone OD&D style, science fantasy  or post apocalyptic old school campaign. With little modification this adventure could be used with Lamentations of the Flame Princess's Carcosa. Best of all its on 'Pay what you'd Want'

 Grab It Right
HERE

Proteus Sinking by Bjorn Warmedal

As you can imagine Proteus Sinking is a low level science fantasy campaign adventure that puts the PC's right into the middle of the action. The author has taken the unbridled creativity into a whole other directions then other adventures in this line.
From the Rpgnow blurb: 

This adventure is set on a crashed starship of gelatinous beings. You do not have to wait until the PCs are high-level to get them into crazy sci-fi weirdness, for this module is for character levels 1-3. Start them off right away with the crazy. Don't let the Globo-Zen, Globo-Disco, and hallucinogenic mushrooms fool you into letting your guard down. This dungeon will kill you.

Compatible with every old school version of the original fantasy role-playing game.

Each stand-alone adventure module in the Psychedelic Fantasies line revels in unconstrained imagination. Every monster, every magic power, and every magic spell is a unique and never-before-seen creation of the author. No orcs, fireballs, or +1 swords will be found within. Leave the familiar behind to explore hitherto undreamed of wonders…

Even though this is a low level adventure it does a really nice job with its encounters of keeping events interesting, room descriptions inventive, and monster encounters deadly. This is one of the those adventures that can easily be plugged into a deep post apoclapytic wasteland campaign or a sword & planet location. This entire adventure could take place within one hex upon Carcosa easily and become a mini campaign for a few weeks as the PC's go from room to room dealing with the high weirdness and alien devices. Make no mistake that if the PC's are not wise they will end up dead or worse.
The monsters have a definite tongue & cheek quality to them but this for me part of the appeal of them. That does not make them any less deadly at all. Certain parts of this adventure remind me of the 'Mother Ship Zeta' expansion to the Fall Out Three video game.But this is in a good way, because this adventure is going to keep the PC's  guessing.
And that's really one of the strengths of this adventure the fact that while its well done its going to move the PC's into completely unexpected directions. This is a nice bridge gap adventure to take PC's from a fantasy setting to science fantasy or science fiction setting climate.
 Ten pages isn't a huge module but its a decent change of pace for an old school dungeon romp through this adventure location.  In other words pick this adventure up and get into some really nice old school dungeon crawl with a high room count in an unexpected adventure location. In other words pick this one up as soon as possible.

Yet Another Free Comic Book Download - Cartlon Comics Space Adventures Issue #23

Download It Right
HERE

This is one of Cartlon comics overview stories about Man's First Trip to the Moon. The issue is a great overview of the various theories from the 50's regarding space flight, space suits etc. The whole issue could be used as a great resource for an X plorers quick one shot game or it could be used as alternative Earth back story for a game like say Stars Without Numbers.
This issues retrofuture technology is very well documented and could be used as a guidelines for a post apocalyptic game like Mutant Future. The ideas here are well written and pretty entertaining. 

The back history of 'Space Adventures' according to Wiki : 

Space Adventures (sometimes cover-titled Science Fiction Space Adventures, Space Adventures Presents Rocky Jones and other variations for particular issues) was an American science-fiction anthology comic book series published sporadically by Charlton Comics from 1952 to 1979. Its initial iteration included some of the earliest work of industry notables Steve Ditko, Dick Giordano, and Tony Tallarico, and at least one story by EC Comics mainstayBernard Krigstein.

In 1960, a second iteration introduced the superhero Captain Atom by writer Joe Gill and artist Ditko, shortly prior to Ditko's co-creation of Spider-Man for Marvel Comics.
More over HERE

Free Comic Book Download Commentary - Space Adventures Issue #8 As Fodder For Your Old School Space Opera Campaign

Grab It Right Over
HERE

I've been working my way through the Carlton comics issues of Space Adventures and this issue is pretty good. The writer must have been ticked though the twist ending was given away. 'All for Love' is an interesting twist on the lover is an android trope. The whole problem could have been solved with a new skin job and there are actually several ways that a party of PC's might become involved.  Given the possible illegal status of androids in some retro future campaigns and the nature of this 'forbidden love' there could be room for a whole bunch of black market hi jinks that could result. 
'Pet Hate' has some interesting twists on the usual monster/alien action and could with a little more twisting be used as the basis for a fiendish encounter for x plorers or Stars Without Number. Love the artwork in this one.
 'Cycle of Death' has a nice variation on the planar powers and allien society theme. Its short but would make a very nice mini epic encounter for either SWN or X plorers.
'First Contact' is short and weird, makes a great quick style game interlude.
'Flower From Pharoah' is a good straight up 'after the visit to the alien planet' adventure and this one would work great for a Stars Without Number game encounter.