Review & Commentary On The Liberty Ship Supplement By Omer Golan-Joel and Richard Hazlewood From Stellagama Publishing For The Cepheus Engine RPG & The Classic Traveller Rpg

" Necessity is the mother of invention, and war brings about many necessities. In the 2230's, Humanity fought a war for its liberty and survival against the mighty Reticulan Empire. Faced with a numerically superior, technologically advanced foe, Terran forces required highly efficient logistics to fuel their war effort and turn back the tide. Such logistics necessitated simple, cheap, efficient freighters and troop ships to carry war materials and troops between the stars. Hence, the L’Ouverture-Class Liberty Ship was born – an economic wartime freighter. It lacks any frills or bells and whistles. It comes to work, to carry freight and troops. That's it.

Once the War ended, the Terran Merchant Marine sold many of these ships – no longer required for military logistics due to widespread demobilization – on the civilian markets. Many serve as independent or corporate merchants. However, a few star-pirate gangs acquired such ships for cheap and modified them to serve as their bases of operation.

This booklet details five variants of the Liberty Ship – a 1,000-ton freighter intended for use with the Cepheus Engine rules and other Sci-Fi 2D6 SRD-compatible rules."

There are days when fulfilling the social contract weighs heavy on my mind, the idea of the unspoken agreement between a publisher & a reviewer. Well there are times when putting a game down such as Celpheus Engine allows me push it to the back of the lizard brain. And this is where the Celpheus Engine rpg's These Stars Are Ours campaign setting is for me. The setting is at the back of my lizard brain, why?! Because its something that I've played in a million times especially back in the days of the 90's original Traveller rpg & the star ships like the  TSAO Liberty Ship were our home in the deep darkest cold of space. 
Back when television shows like Space Above & Beyond were on we were playing game campaigns set in some very edge of space backwater where our PC's were party of the military of some small speck in the vastness of the Traveller universe. And products like the  TSAO Liberty Ship were what kept us coming back to the table again & again. But there in lays the problem there were no products like the  TSAO Liberty Ship. 
There weren't any products like this one, this book goes out on a limb to provide an in universe cut of the pirates, scum, and the militaries that hunt them. 
This is a universe that has recently within its history escaped the grasp of the Reticulans. The wounds of that history are still fresh under the scabs of those who serve aboard the Liberty & ships like her. 

If you want a really nice primer for your games of the TSAO universe with a nice slice of its history then I suggest the TSAO: A Primer to These Stars Are Ours!. Its free & it contains everything needed to started down the deep rabbit hole that is the TSAO setting. 

The  TSAO Liberty Ship contains everything that you need to run a complete fleet action style campaign using the infamous Celpheus Engine rpg & the stellar ship. I say infamous because it has it all of the death of PC's that the original Traveller rpg had. We get not one but three variations of the TSAO Liberty Ship. And what is it about the Liberty that I love?! The damn ship looks like a  ‘U.S.S. Saratoga’, from the TV show Space Above & Beyond as well as something that might have dropped outta of the clasic Aliens film. Remember when Traveller seemed totally aligned with the movie Aliens?! This is a retired warship & as such you'll have to buy one from the second hand governmental local bodies, or perhaps even find one floating in space. You get not one but three variants of the class plus access to high definition plans for the TSAO Liberty Ship. 

 I'm in love with these ship class & there are several reasons for this! One these ships are perfect overlaps for the SPACE PATROL from the TSAO universe & as perfect pirate bases capable of moving along the edges of the universe to pray on unsuspecting caravans or fleets of trade ships. 
There's something utterly satisfying about contemplating the kinds of mayhem & weirdness that one can put the TSAO Liberty Ship supplement. And this dear readers is one of the hallmarks of a great supplement. 

Could the TSAO Liberty Ship supplement be used with Cepheus Light rpg system?! In heart beat answer? Yes! That makes the ulility of the the TSAO Liberty Ship supplement worth the four dollar price tag! 

The TSAO Liberty Ship book & materials have all of the hallmarks of a classic! Easily readable, solid production values, nice cartography, good writing, & the damn supplement is incredibly useful! Five outta of five stars! 

Quick OSR Campaign Fodder - Greyhawk Planar Trade War - Campaign Idea OSR Commentary

The idea of competing campaign settings is one that stretches back to some of my earliest gaming with my uncle Jack. The idea that someplace along the lines Greyhawk & the Wilderlands of High Fantasy crossed paths on the campaign field and the planes! Forget SpellJammer here. This is purely AD&D first edition goodness and then mixed with possibly OSR systems to give it the best of all systems. 

 So talking with some friends & fellow old school players  in between work & what not today. We got into a bit of heated discussion about the following. What if Greyhawk & the Wilderlands of High Fantasy were rival trade partner worlds. This is not as far fetched as one might think. If the two world settings were like trade rivals through the ages. This might make sense if both world settings were similar to the Italians trade with East through the Silk road's history.  

Imagine if you will that both worlds are competing with each other for new trade partners, warring across the planes with each other, & forming alliances. All at the same time competing for goods, wares, slaves, etc. We agreed that turning the volume up on the Sword & Sorcery whist lowering it on the high fantasy aspect. 

This is the stuff of both legend & set up here with Greyhawk & The Wilderlands going head to head with warfare & worse. As a campaign this could help to explain the constant excelastion in magic, warfare, & even some of the uneveness of the dragons that we find in orignal Judge's Guild products. 
Familial alliances, royal bloodlines, intrigue, & some of the weirdness of the pirates operating in the waters on various worlds. 

This could also help explain why JG's World Emporor is such a bastard & what's really brewing in the back of his mind. This also could help to explain why the Slavers of Against the Slave Lords fame have been operating as cosairs & privateers across the planes for years. Because secretly Greyhawk's royals may have a had a black budget to help finiance their raids. But after years of operating with impunity these privateers may have more power then some nation states! 

And what about Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea rpg?! Well think about this if the Hyperboreans were a plane spanning power & rivals to the big two for hundreds of years & then suddenly the 'Green Death' takes their legs out from under the empire then?! Now they've faded into myth & legend cut off from the rest of the planes. Gone still feared in legend but now mostly forgotten. 

Maybe the slavers operating with impunity is enough to kickstart the war on again. This reminds me of the Turkish Abductions of Iceland. And this could well be one of the fuses that sets off such a planar war. Alliances, double crosses, & much worse could result. What would I end up running this with?! Probably Castles & Crusades since I've already got a huge chunk of this as a campaign together. 

Review & Commentary On Pegasus #10: Revenge of the Ant God From Judge's Guild 1982

 Tonight I'm gonna dive into Pegasus #10: Revenge of the Ant God adventure by Judge's Guild. Now there are reasons for this. Let's dive into the issue & we'll explain this one. 

So a little while back I got a thumb drive from a DM friend whose moving outta Connecticut & happened to mention this to my current group of players. What's on the thumb drive? The dungeon master's original  Judge's Guild collection including adventures & supplements. Now from time to time there have been murmers on this blog of using some Judge's material. But everyone just loves original JG's material & so even with the current Cacophony of  campaigns going on its been. Can you please slot this material into our current games?! Now bare in mind that since '08 and my first blog that the 'forever DM' has been me. With DM Steven currently down its been up me to once again shoulder the fun.


On MeWe I've got Jon HershbergerWilderlands of High Fantasy group. So for the past couple of months I've been lurking there but there's been something very weird that I noticed. 'Revenge of the Ant God' was written by Bob Bledsaw, Bob Jasper, and Mark Holmer in October of '82.  Whole adventure has the feel of a certain classic Horror/Sci fi film film from 1954. The classic Them from '54 is most obviously the inspiration for this adventure & that's not a bad thing at all. 

The PC's come into this Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure getting into the deep end of it straight off. The lure & hook of the adventure starts off similar to the film but gains speed quickly & picks up with a wizard messing with forces of nature best left alone. The descriptions here place the giant ants within a very dangerous structure of both nest & government. PC's become involved through the machinations of a mercenary who grew up in the region as a young boy. As I said this is a tight adventure. 

The layout is typical Judge's Guild of this era, and the background is laid out similar to the movie Them with vital clues scattered throughout the adventure. But this adventure is both part investigation & part wilderness crawl. There are a few stand out NPC's in 'Revenge of the Ant God' The cartography is stand out, the and premise is new for its eras well. There's a real sense of forboding & this could become a mini campaign with the adventurers up to their neck in this adventure. 

Others have come before the adventurers & there are lots of mutated ants within the nest & or hive. The impression that I've gotten is that this isn't the only hive within the Wilderlands of High Fantasy. There's far more boiling below the surface with 

 'Revenge of the Ant God'. 

The safety of the adventurers is depending upon their actions may have very large reaching consquences especially if the druidic ruler has others of his ilk gain control over  other giant ant nests! This is in my humble opinion one of the most underrated Judge's Guild adventures. There is in  'Revenge of the Ant God' enough for a small campaign with room to expand the plot beyond the bounds of the material within the original play through of this module. 

And its this replay value that adds to the mysque of the module. The cartography adds to old school claustrophobic feel of the  'Revenge of the Ant God'. And this enhances over all play & ultility of the module. 

The craziness of the  'Revenge of the Ant God' gives the module a very solid Sword & Sorcery meets Creature feature over all feel. This is done outta of love for the genre & not as a slight. Even though this is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition module. There's a very well done adaption for Castles & Crusades by James Mishler Games that takes a very back door approach. 'The Chronicles of Mhoriedh: Gods, Demi-Gods, and Cults Vol. 1: Chaos Queen of Ants' 2013 could easily adapt 'Revenge of the Ant God' into a Castles & Crusades conversion. And in point of fact I think is the true purpose of the product. 

None the less this does nothing to take anything away from the original classic of  'Revenge of the Ant God'. Could PC's die in this one? By the score & most likely they will. Would I run this one?! You bet you I would & tracked down my pdf copy on the thumb drive. 

In the end 'Revenge of the Ant God' is both a product of its time & a solid entry into the classic annals of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy. Would I run this one? Yes but not for the unexperienced OSR or old school gamer. This is a very nasty module & death is around every corner & ant hill. This is a solid old school entry into the darker recesses of the Judge's Guild catalog. 'Revenge of the Ant God' is a solid adventure entry for Halloween! 

 

Because Troll Lords is getting ready to launch a new Kickstarter soon I figured that 'Revenge of the Ant God' was a perfect crossover adventure to take a look at. 

Free OSR PC Resources With First Edition Character Classes By Leonaru For First Edition AD&D, OSRIC Or Your Favorite Retroclone

 A couple of years ago I needed a first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Samurai character class for a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese-language film Seven Samurai as an OSRIC one shot adventure. Now I've been a fan of the class since the original NPC class appeared in the pages of  Dragon magazine as a sub-class of the fighter in Dragon #3 (October 1976). Fortunately I was able to not only find that the class had been done for me for zero edition, AD&D 1st edition but second edition as well. It was also done very well and for free. The pdf comes with everything including the samurai's weapons, armor, and equipment.

You Can Grab All of PC Classes of Leonaru
right over here!


Leonaru also did a reworked Monk class, scout, barbarian, knight
& even alchemist for second edition  & even a duelist class for those Romance era types who want a sword swinger from Old Europe.  The classes are well balanced & can be used creatively to fill in a number of holes in a campaign for even NPC classes where necessary. Finally there's the Samaurai's old friend the ninja in zero edition flavor warning the Ninja class is over powered compared to some of the other styles of classes available & the class is done in a very cinematic style. The pdf of the ninja contains everything from equipment, tools, weapons, tactics, and more.

Finally Leonaru did the Full Metal Plate retroclone which has a few twists & turns on the world's most popular fantasy role playing game. You can check it out for free here  or you can buy a copy right over here.
Now these character classes can be added quite easily into the wastelands of your favorite post apocalyptic old school campaign for some extra cheesy weirdness or these classes could be used to represent some twisted version of Old Earth culture. These classes can easily be added into your favorite old school campaign for a twist on the usual PC classes that one finds in the various editions of  Dungeons & Dragons. Many of these classes are perfect for representing memorable NPC's. Anyway you slice it these are another welcome addition in the old school DM's arsenal of tricks to present to players. 
He even did a decent Lovecrafian monster book
with some of the usual Lovecraft alien races.

Tegel Manor Crashes Into Atlantandria Port City Of Accursed Atlantis Session Report Two - Fang & Super Science

  "Above its domes the gulfs accumulate.

Far up, the sea-gales blare their bitter screed:
But here the buried waters take no heed—
Deaf, and with welded lips pressed down by weight
Of the upper ocean. Dim, interminate,
In cities over-webbed with somber weed,
Where galleons crumble and the krakens breed,
The slow tide coils through sunken court and gate.

From out the ocean's phosphor-starry dome,
A ghostly light is dubitably shed
On altars of a goddess garlanded
With blossoms of some weird and hueless vine;
And, wingéd, fleet, through skies beneath the foam,
Like silent birds the sea-things dart and shine."

Atlantis  (1912) 
by Clark Ashton Smith

There is a ton of stuff going in last night's Atlantandria Port City Of Accursed Atlantis  but check out August 30'th session report why?! Because the player's PC's have run into some cultists whilst searching for a cure for one of their own. There's a lot happening so let's dive right into it.  Tegel manor itself is caught between two campaigns right now stretched beyond its limits. 

The party is trying to find a cure for Sir John' vampiric kiss & John has started to dream about his 'lover'. He longs for her but the party's thief has staked him out in the desert & put him under the noon day sun! The other player has been quickly making rolls & making a new PC. The party meanwhile has been going through several back water villages & visiting priests. They had a very nasty parley with general of the forces of chaos. Although they did get to speak with several lesser Brain lasher leaders the general' wasn't around. 

Now the party  started to head back to camp but were attacked by an elite group of human cultists. These cultists were sporting Khepri artifacts & were backed up with some very dangerous giant ants! Shades of Them! Things got weirder 




The party of adventurers were not happy one little bit but they were rescuced by pig faced orcs! The orcs sported long guns & several volleys later on there were some dead cultists. The Orcs sporting black powder weapons wasn't a surprise to the party because they came via front & center from Guns of War. 

The orc chief explained that this alliance was in its words 'temporary' & they could offer a temporary cure for Sir John via the infinite mercy of their mistress. A strange potion of green & jade coloured liquid flowed in a vial could restore Sir John to almost full strength but there would be strings attached. Any interfernce with the liquid via sorcery or magick would nullify its effects. The chief laughed like a squeeling pig knowing he had the party over a barrel. 'Do you accept the deal or not?!' My mistress has little patience pittiful humans?' Squeelll 

The chief of the orcs was Otherworld Miniatures 
HT3n - Pig-faced Orc Sub-chief

The orc warriors looked very nervously around the wastelands & there seemed to be 'calm before the storm' moment. The orcs made piggy squeeling noises that passed for nervous laughter & they withdrew very quickly. Their guns were ready! The party noticed the enchanted shot being pasted out! And that's when the ground erupted! A tanker bug exploded into view from below the ground! And it was barbacued pork time! 

The party ran and didn't look back! They didn't even look back! Just in case your wondering the forces of chaos are in a protracted war with the bugs & I'm going to be pulling from Night Owl Workhop's Colonial Troopers. The Terrans are in an all out protracted war with 'the bugs' as well! 

The party got back to Sir John & gave him the potion. He quickly recovered & all his hit points were restored! He was back into action within a few hours. But there were a lot of questions about whose pulling the strings of the party. There were jokes about Venger from the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon?Umm Hell no folks! 
There's a ton of connections via the Terrans from The Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu setting sourcebook.

The party was followed but their not sure whose following them in the wastelands at present. They have to get re equipped now & get back to Tegel Manor. But the player's general sense is they want to get Sir John straightened around. There was also some sense about whose pulling their strings so for now its time to find a major city which means the port of Atlantandria. 
In the villages they heard rumors about the ancient rulers of the wastelands who might know of a cure. But a very small hireling called 'Herdus' who seemed to be a human/grey hybrid warned them not to seek these ancient kings for they are pure evil. The party hired  'Herdus' for twelve coppers  a day plus meals & medical attention.  Hedrus knows of a powerful healer of his people who might be able to help Sir John.. But that's a game for another time.. 

Alright what's happening is that the player's PC's have met some of the forces & factions of  Atlantandria Port City Of Accursed Atlantis. The big bads behind the bugs & their rulers are the Khepri from the Ack's Lairs & Encounters books. But their not the only ones! 

The Khepri hold the desert & good chunk of the wastelands but their grip isn't as tight as it seems. Why are the Terrans so scarred of what lies out in the desert & whom do the Elves have alliances with? 
There's far more going on bubbling beneath the surface of  Atlantandria Port City Of Accursed Atlantis. 

Random OSR Thoughts & Commentary On The Fiend Folio Tome of Creatures Malevolent & Benign

 

"This tome contains alphabetical listings of monsters designed for use with the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons™ game system. Each creature is described and most are illustrated for easy identification."

Eighty one saw the release of one of the best & imaginative monster books for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition. Without classic Games Workshop & White Dwarf magazine we would never have gotten the Fiend Folio. 'The Fiend Factory' column in White Dwarf lead directly to the creation of the Fiend Folio. 

All of this leads directly into the creation of the critically acclaimed U.K. series of modules. Modules that included some hardcore experiments such as TSR's U.K.1 Beyond The Crystal Cavern by 

Dave J. Browne,

 

Tom Kirby,

 

Graeme Morris

. This module indeed has all of the hallmarks of the innovative U.K. series creating a non violent approach  & using true role playing to get to a resolution of the adventure plot. This sat well with a lot of reviewers of the time including Doug Cowie of Imagine magazine;"Doug Cowie reviewed Beyond the Crystal Cave favorably for Imagine magazine.^[3] He liked the clear layout, lucid descriptions and good maps and found it a module that tries to emphasize diplomacy and intelligence over force and is "more successful than most in achieving this aim". The U.K. series would mark the beginning of the innovation that would later go on to Games Workshop & the Warhammer Fantasy rpg. 

The Fiend Folio itself is the quintessential monster book of the Advance Dungeons & Dragons era. Marking monsters that are still in use on table tops across the world. The these monsters are both iconic & a part of the Dungeons & Dragons table top landscape to this day. 

Looking over the over arching menace of the Fiend Folio we get a sense of the scope & weirdness of the book's monsters & content; 

Aarakocra • Achaierai • Adherer • Aleax • Algoid • Al-mi'raj • Apparition • Assassin bug • Astral searcher • Babbler • Bat, giant • Berbalang • Blindheim • Blood hawk • Bloodworm, giant • Bonesnapper • Booka • Bullywug • Bunyip • Carbuncle • Caryatid column • Caterwaul • Cifal • Clubnek • Coffer corpse • Crabman • Crypt thing • Dakon • Dark creeper • Dark stalker • Death dog • Death knight • Demon • Demon, Lolth • Denzelian • Devil • Devil, styx • Devil dog • Dire corby • Disenchanter • Doombat • Dragon, oriental • Dragon, li lung • Dragon, lung wang • Dragon, pan lung • Dragon, shen lung • Dragon, t'ien lung • Dragon, yu lung • Dragonfish • Dune stalker • Elemental princes of evil • Elemental, Cryonax • Elemental, Imix • Elemental, Ogrémoch • Elemental, Olhydra • Elemental, Yan-C-Bin • Elf, drow • Enveloper • Ettercap • Eye killer • Eye of fear and flame • Firedrake • Firenewt • Fire snake • Fire toad • Flail snail • Flind • Flumph • Forlarren • Frost man • Galltrit • Gambado • Garbug • Giant • Giant, fog • Giant, mountain • Giant strider • Gibberling • Githyanki • Githzerai • Goldbug • Gorbel • Gorilla bear • Grell • Grimlock • Gryph • Guardian daemon • Guardian familiar • Hellcat • Hoar fox • Hook horror • Hornet, giant • Hound of ill omen • Huecuva • Ice lizard • Imorph • Iron cobra • Jaculi • Jermlaine • Kamadan • Kelpie • Kenku • Khargra • Killmoulis • Kuo-toa • Lamia noble • Lava children • Lizard king • Magnesium spirit • Mantari • Meazel • Meenlock • Mephit • Mephit, fire • Mephit, lava • Mephit, smoke • Mephit, steam • Mezzodaemon • Mite • Necrophidius • Needleman • Nilbog • Nonafel • Norker • Nycadaemon • Ogrillon • Osquip • Pĕnanggalan • Pernicon • Phantom stalker • Poltergeist • Protein polymorph • Quaggoth • Quipper • Qullan • Retriever • Revenant • Rothé • Sandman • Scarecrow • Screaming devilkin • Shadow demon • Sheet ghoul • Sheet phantom • Shocker • Skeleton warrior • Skulk • Slaad • Slaad, blue • Slaad, death • Slaad, green • Slaad, grey • Slaad, red • Slaad, Ssendam • Slaad, Ygorl • Snyad • Spawn of Kyuss • Stunjelly • Sussurus • Svirfneblin • Symbiotic jelly • Tabaxi • Tentamort • Terithran • Thoqqua • Thork • Throat leech • Tiger fly • Tirapheg • Trilloch • Troll • Troll, giant • Troll, giant two-headed • Troll, ice • Troll, spirit • Tween • Umpleby • Urchin • Vision • Vodyanoi • Volt • Vortex • Whipweed • Witherstench • Witherweed • Xill • Xvart • Yellow musk creeper • Yellow musk zombie

This is a dungeon master's book & its monsters are the horror & menace that one finds in the dungeons & wilderness of the DM's respective worlds. This isn't a neat book but a nasty & dirty dungeon made all the more so by the iconic art work of Russ Nicholson & many others. 

The Fiend Folio is a monster book & one of the best useful for many game systems such as Gamma World second & forth edition. This ulitity goes  all of the way down to its original intent in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition adventures.  The iconic & very well received Fiend Folio is as innovative as it is today as when it first came out. 

Cha'alt & Breaking The House Campaign Session Prep - PC Death Breeds Opportunity ! Now With More Fiend Folio!

 

'So now you've made a fine mess of it!' this was the conversation at six A.M. from DM Steve. But DM Steve was in 'idiot mode' so we'll let him go for the moment. Let's fade back several months to when the  Godbound/Cha'alt campaign set in Las Vegas was in full force before Corvid 19 hit & hit hard. Back then I was quietly using several original Dungeons & Dragons third party books this included Dragon Tree Press's 'Amazon Mutual Wants You'. So why is this important?! Because this '82 book's premise was simple & very effective its adventure hook;"Amazon Mutual Wants You!: Volume One consists of four adventures in which the player characters are hired by Amazon Mutual Life Insurance to recover bodies of policyholders'. Is it a good book? Its up to many of the books by Dragon Tree press during the Summer of '82. 

Here's the problem? Rick's Godbound paladin had a contract with Amazon Mutual's god division. Or in his case the demi god division. His soul is now part of Hel's underworld or more specifically The Wilderlands of High Fantasy version of Hel.So now his contract is pending & I'm gonna tap Terrence to grab his soul from the Underworld. But how did we get here? Well Rick's PC was made using James Mishler's Demigod PC rules & then ported over to the Godbound rpg. Was he unbeatable or unkillable? Hel no! 

Now was I a complete bastard for killing off his PC?! Well in a way no! The roll of the dice determined the outcome! Is the player complaining? Nope this was in the cards when we started this campaign. But the PC's death breeds adventure opportunity. In this case his patron goddess wants his soul back & Terrence is the hired gun to get it back! 
But now its time to bring up the big bad Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Fiend Folio.  Rick's paladin PC soul is in the delicate han erm claws of  Hel's mezzodemons.

And what's this got to do with Cha'alt?! Well there's a gang of half demons who happen to be a hit squad  working for the Elsyium corporation who want not nothing more then to murder any godbound they come across. There are number of mezzodemons among their ranks. 

The Chaos hit squad of NPC's is taking shape as we speak. This Halloween prepare to get your demon on! The Nalfeshnee-Kin Racial Class for Labyrinth Lord is perfect for the sort of bastards who will be on Terrence's trail coming. I've talked with Terrence's player already & he'll be on the trail soon!