Giblet Blizzard

MUTANT DICE ENGINE: Further Ideas

2012-05-31T22:43:00.001+12:00

So while I've been ridiculously busy with illustrations my thinkmeat has been busy thinking about what to do once this project out of the way. And one of those thinks has been developing the Mutant Dice Engine I came up with a while back.

Have a read of the way it works in that link above; the new idea I've been exploring is different ways of reading the 3d6 roll. Currently it's 3d6, drop highest and lowest, keep the middle, unless you roll doubles or triples, which you add together. Doubles 1's are bad, triple 1's are worse. What happens if you keep the lowest roll, or the highest? Why would you?

Well the why is pretty straight forward, it's a measure of ability, now in three stages. If you're crap, keep the lowest dice; if you're good, keep the middle dice, if you're awesome, keep the highest.

What that does to the results is shown below:

And when you group them together in bands of results (which I was looking at doing in that post linked above) you get this:

Basically no great surprises. If you're crap it shows. If you're good it shows.

What is probably the biggest issue is that no matter what you're rolling you always have the same chance of rolling doubles and getting an extraordinarily high result. Looking at the top table, doesn't matter if you're keeping low, mid or high, you're going to be scoring a result higher than six 22.7% of the time; every fifth roll; you'll roll twelve or more 8.3% of the time, every twelfth roll.

From a simulation point of view this is problematic. The rookie has the same chance of succeeding at a very difficult task as the seasoned pro (though he's likely to stuff it up and result of zero to two 53.7% of the time). Doesn't strike me as very realistic.

From a gameplay point of view it's actually looking pretty fun. Even if you're totally crap, you have as good a chance at the unlikely shot as the awesome guy, and I can see that encouraging players to try things even though they might be crap.

My question is this... would you prefer something more realistic — say by not allowing "keeping the lowest" rolls to add doubles or triples together, which adds exceptions to the standard way of reading the rolls, something I'd rather avoid — or something that is unrealistic but encourages having a go?

The Koronus Expanse

2012-05-17T11:12:00.000+12:00

As much as I love the maps in Rogue Trader, they reveal too much about the Koronus Expanse for starting characters. So I've made up this map to show the general known regions of the Expanse, and the Warp Routes the characters have access to; as they discover/pay through the nose for/stumble across/steal new routes and planets I'll add them in.

Click on the image to enlarge (1000px x 1000px).

It's oh so quiet.. shh... shhhhhh...

2012-04-18T20:44:00.000+12:00

Been crazy busy with all seven shades of hoo-haa

but here's a smattering of the results:

First up, some character illustrations from

Kyrinn S. Eis' upcoming Porphyry supplement:

and an illustration of an eeeevil anteater for

Erik's Arcane Abecediary over at Wampus Country:

and finally some in-game Twiddler scribbles in

Trent B's New Feierland, the most horrible place in the multiverse:

though I think I had Scrap Princess's Flux

in mind for the last one:

THAT IS ALL.

MORE TO COME.

Strikeforce Zero

2012-03-31T19:40:00.000+13:00

Illustration by the awesomeness incarnate that is Guy Davis

My favourite White Wolf setting. Here's the introductory info I'll be giving to my players:

STRIKEFORCE ZERO:

Each player is part of a secret quasi-military team of newly recruited agents, working to defend Japan's interest from... well, you don't quite know what, but it seems SFØ deals with the worst of the worst criminal cases. You'd never heard of the organization until they recruited you; in fact no one but the uppermost echelons of the government is even aware of SFØ, but the organization is apparently government-funded, and serve the interests of the people — preferably without them ever knowing about it.

At some stage in the last two years you we approached by representitives of SFØ, eager to add your "talents" to their pool of resources, and for reasons only you know, the offer was too damn good to refuse. To join SFØ you've had to turn your back on your old life, but that's ok, you were keen to leave it behind, the pay is better than excellent and the job is exciting — well it will be once you get started.

SFØ doesn't just recruit from the ranks of the police or defense force; there's a fair share of ex-crims, geeks, wackos, yakuza and oddballs who just seem to have what SFØ's looking for. Some of your co-workers display what could even be described as "psychic powers". You might even have some yourself. They have also equipped you with some of the most amazing technology around. Cybernetics are real, very real, and virtually all the agents have at least a couple of implants.

The price for all this? Turning your back on your old life. To ensure that cannot be compromised executing your orders, you've had to leave behind all the friends and family you had — an easier task for those with no families or close ties, no so for those with loving kin. SFØ faked your death, spectacularly and convincingly. They gave you entirely new identities, reshaping your face and body with cosmetic surgery, fixing ruined limbs, healing scars and giving you a new life, all of which you gave back to SFØ.

During your year of field training the cases you've covered have included bizarre cults, ritualistic slayings, and truly mad psychopaths; you've dealt with fanatical terrorists, the vast narcotics trade, human slavery and all manner of petty crimes, from the outrageous to the downright disturbing. You've also been learning to use your new implants to the best of your ability, as well as honing your skills.

SFØ Headquarters has been your home for most of this time. They train you in the Tokyo based HQ or at military proving grounds around Japan, but keep you separated from the main operations until you fully graduate. You've come to know few faces around the base, especially your trainers, but none more so than Geichin Okamoto, SFØ's intimidating and driven founder. Everyone answers to him, and in return he makes sure everyone is looked after. Private rooms with all the mod cons, the best gym facilities and pool, sparring room, hypernet facilities, the biggest manga collection and film library, massages, nearly all your needs are catered for. And as for the kitchen? You probably won't be able to eat food from the outside world without comparing it to the exquisite delicacies that are provided for you.

As for life outside SFØ? Well there really isn't much of one. Each agent gets their own plush apartment in the heart of Tokyo, but the job is so demanding that you rarely get to enjoy that six figure salary you're getting. But on the occasional downtime you do get, you tend to go out with a bang. You've had to leave your old life behind, so your friends tend to be the people you work with.

During the last three months SFØ assembled the five of you into a team — one of a six that are in operation — and together you have been doing training runs and conducting minor investigations. They're happy with the way you function — every team has the odd personality clash, even yours — but on the whole SFØ is pleased with your performance, and word is that soon, very soon, they'll be giving your your first major investigation. Bring it on.

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:

Yeah it's a long list of questions, but by the end of it you should have a really good idea of your character. It also helps me, some of the questions have a direct influence on the game.

Your family, who were they? What status did they have, have they risen over the last few generations, or gone down the social ladder? Any history? What did they do in WWII? Anyone (in)famous? Is anyone in your family still alive? if so do you miss them, or have you completely turned your back on them? Are they purely Japanese or is there barbarian blood in your veins? Did you even grow up in Japan?

Who were you before you joined?What did you do for a living? Notable events?

Why did you accept the offer? Money? Important work? Running from something?

What do you believe? Shintoist? Buddhist? Christian? Agnostic? Humanist? Something else? Don't care? Are all those ghost stories just that - stories? Or do you "believe"?

Do you have a Criminal record? Have you done time?

What's the worst thing you've ever done?

What's the best thing you've ever done?

What's the most important thing to you?

Greatest Dream?

Worst Nightmare?

Any pets?

Loves? What are you really into? Guns? Anime? Nature? Music? Coffee? Porn? Drinking? All of the above? Anything really weird?

Favourite items? Any family heirlooms, or just funny old trinkets or mementos or photos?

Hates? Who or what really gets up your nose?

Gambling plays a huge part of Asian culture. Are you addicted? What's your favourite thing to bet on? Sport? Games of skill or chance? Who gets their meal served first? Are you crap and lose all the time, or do the stars favour you - more than they should?

Friends? If you chose Allies as a background, who are they? The guy who serves the best noodles in town? Your best friend from childhood who you still secretly stay in touch with despite SFØ's ban on contact?

Foes? Anyone you wanna get square with? Anyone wanna get square with you? Do you even know what you did to piss them off? How powerful are they?

Rivals?

Scars? How'd you get'em?

Greatest strengths? Anything really unique? Are you a giant? For those who chose paranormal abilities, how'd you find out you had them? Were they always there, or did they manifest at a certain age? Did you tell anyone? Did anyone find out? Are you proud or ashamed?

Greatest weaknesses? What's your achilles heel? Wine? Women? An old wound? Are you heartless or do you have a cruel streak? Are you a runt? Do you think you're cursed? Haunted? Luckless?

How would you decorate your apartment?

Japanese culture - are you a traditionalist, seeking to maintain touch with your heritage, or have you rejected the old ways and embraced flashy plastic techno modern life? Or something else?

World War II - was Japan right to do what it did in the war? Or are you an apologist? Do you even care?

After Japan surrendered, the Japanese Emperor publicly denounced his divine descendence from the gods and became a mere figurehead - do you think that was the right thing to do? Or do you look forward to the day he assumes his rightful place?

Japan has a defense force - is that enough, or should they be allowed to have a standing army? How do you feel about having to rely on America defending your country? Should the US bases stay or go?

Japan cops a lot of heat for its whaling "research" - do you think Japan should do what it wants? Or do you think that whaling is wrong?

The yakuza - did you have any dealings with them before you joined SFØ? Good or bad? Do you think the Yakuza has a place in society, dealing with local issues, or are they all scum who should be wiped off the streets?

What do people think of you? What do YOU think of you? Are you happy with who you are, the choices you've made? Or are you haunted?

What's your exterior personality like? How do you interact with most people? Is it close to who you really are, or does it take a while for the "real you" to come out? What is the "real you"?

Lastly, when you die, what do you want have happen to your body? Your belongings? And what do you believe will happen to your soul - if you have one?

We're Here to Lick Your Toads

2012-03-19T02:38:00.001+13:00

Ah, toadlicking.

Many thanks to all the suggestions on G+ when I thought my players were gonna get some froggy frolicking; didn't happen last week, so I took the crowd-sourced ideas and ran with them.

Each time a character goes for a bit of amphibious tongue action they must Save vs Poison or roll d12:

01. The frog tastes like cupcakes and the licker gains +d4 to one random ability, but loses the same amount from another random ability. The effect lasts for one day. However the effect is completely addictive and the licker must have the frog with them at all times or the random bonus immediately fades and the penalty becomes permanent. Additionally, each lick thereafter the licker must make a Con check; success reduces the effect by one as they build up an immunity to the chemicals, but if the frog is killed the licker is at -2 to all rolls until they procure another frog (of any kind) or 3 months of grieving have past.

02. The frog tastes like rancid dung and the licker immediately begins to suffer acute fears that monsters are out to get them. Just because your paranoid, don't mean they're not after you... the chemicals activate pheromones in the licker's body that lure surrounding monsters like flies to shit. Immediately roll 3 times on wandering monster tables, and d6 for each monster for how many hours before they appear. All attacks will be directed at the licker unless impeded. In the meantime, the licker gains +4 Initiative for being so jumpy, and loses -4 to CHA for being so freaked out. The effect wears off in 2d6 hours; should the licker be on the move roll twice more on any wandering monster tables.

03. The frog tastes like frozen meat and the licker's tongue sticks to toad like a icy lamp post... and cannot be removed without losing the tongue as well. Over the next week chemical reactions from the toad's flesh cause the tongue to dissolve, and be replaced by the frog, which sets up camp inside the licker's gob and melds into the flesh of the mouth. The parasitic frog feeds off any food, and makes french kissing rather bitey, but it's not all bad: the frog looks after its host in what ways it can, swatting away bugs with its tongue and producing adrenalin-sensitive chemicals that grant the user +1 to all combat rolls per round for each round after the first round, up to +d4 per combat. (So 1st round no bonus, second round +1, third round roll d4 to see if the bonus goes over +1, etc).

04. The frog tastes like childhood memories and the licker is overwhelmed for d12 hours by flashbacks and lost thoughts so distracting that the licker suffers -2 to all rolls until the effect wears off. Amnesiacs gain a sudden glimpse into memories that elude them, the insights gained from reexamining formative events are strangely empowering, and the licker emerges from the experience feeling self-confident and assured. If the licker passes a Wisdom check they benefit from the insights to such a degree they receive +2 Charisma, permanently; but if they lick the frog again, the memories are stolen from them leaving them permanently confused: lose the +2 Cha bonus and suffer -2 Wisdom as the licker tries to make sense of who they are.

05. The frog tastes like sex and the licker drops an aphrodisiac straight to the brain. The licker breaks out in a profuse sweat and the overwhelming urge to mate sees them nekkid and randy within seconds. All the licker wants to do is get it on for d12 hours. The only real issue here is that they're attracted to frogs. Go swim in the genepool and see what crawls out.

06. The frog tastes like rubber and the licker's tongue is stuck to the back of the frog while strange chemicals affect the elasticity of the tongue. Pulling the frog away causes the licker's tongue to stretch up to 3d4 feet long where the frog finallypeels off; the licker now has a prehensile tongue much like a frog's and is able to retract it and shoot it out at will. The tongue is coated in a sticky film with a Strength score equal to one third the licker's Strength. The effect appears permanent, but each week the licker must make a Con check vs 15 -1 per week passed; success sees the tongue return to normal. failure means the tongue retains its elastic state.

07. The frog tastes like a nine-volt battery and the licker won't be able to taste anything else for d4 weeks, though throughout this time licker feels a growing kinship with frogs which lasts until their dying days. The licker permanently gains the ability to speak with frogs, and any encounters with frog-like creatures start out on the best possible terms. You are now part of the tribe.

08. The frog tastes like... no wait it tastes like... or it... buh... wut? The licker suffers immediate sensory transference, and the five senses get all crosswired with the wrong sensory organs. Sight, sound, touch, taste and smell are rearranged. The licker can see the aromas, feel flavours, taste noise, hear light, and smell textures, and is generally completely screwed for the next d12 hours while their brain tried to hotwire itself into making sense of it all... -4d4 to all rolls during this time BUT... the next creative endeavour undertaken - performance, crafting, item creation, whatever - is colored by the experience and is so visionary it is an automatic success of the highest possible result and then some. Congratulations, you've just invented a new art form.

09. The frog tastes like sweet mana from heaven and the licker immediately recovers d6 HP/level, feeling incredibly refreshed, rejuvenated, and slightly light headed: the licker must then pass a Fortitude Save or permanently lose one point of Intelligence, which the frog immediately gains.

10. The frog tastes septic and the licker breaks out in a sudden sweat - yellow, putrid mucus with an overwhelming stench. It gouts out of every pore, and within d6 rounds the licker is completely coated in a rapidly congealing shell of pus. Within d6 minutes the mucus forms a cocoon around the licker, with an AC equivalent to full plate. d6 hours later the shell cracks and the licker spills out; their hands, arms and legs are twice as long as before and webbed. The transformation grants +8 to swim and jump checks, and -4 to Cha. Fortunately the change is curable; to reverse the process the licker merely needs to eat the mucus shell.

11. The frog tastes like weak piss and the licker's skin turns completely translucent, revealing the macabre inner workings of their body. The licker is overwhelmed with feelings of exposure and insignificance and bursts into quiet sobbing for d4 hours, compulsively answering all questions as honestly as possible. At the end of the ordeal the licker's skin reverts back to normal, save for one small patch of skin; randomly determine where the 1d4 inch diameter window into the body is found.

12. The frog tastes like armpits and the licker has the ever-so-strange sensation that they are a toad and that the licker's companions are licking them. Unless the companions pass a Willpower save they are irresistibly drawn to lick the licker-toad; roll again on this table to determine the effect on all the companions, ignore results 3,7, and 12. Instead, the licker-toad tastes like hot chip poutaine. Their companions will stop in d4 hours or so.

Putting the Umph in Flumph

2012-03-15T10:59:00.000+13:00

A very quick sketch for Michael Moscrip and Jeff Rients.

Welcome to the Jungle

2012-03-07T00:31:00.003+13:00

Mutant babbeloon action by Jesper Ejsing ©WotC

So following on from my Spider Cult healing table and cosmology combining Lilith, Lolth, Illithids, and Thlaadi, I'm gonna run a fantasy action-adventure cross over with a cold-war berlin style city in the middle of a vietnam war style jungle, filled with quasi-mesoamerican style ruins and dead cults. Erik Jensen over at Wampus Country is to blame. I also have to thank Robert Parker for his thunderous brainstorming on G+ today. Below is a summary of everything so far for the setting.

There are three divine factions: Creation/Weaver/Lilith/Lolth/Spider God/Elves, Transformation/Cthulhu/Squid God/Mind Flayers, and Destruction/nameless devourer that started off by eating its own name/Frog God/Slaad. The Mind Flayers came to the world, bringing their hairless monkey peons and uplifting the local reptilian creatures into servitor races, hence lizardmen, yuan-ti, frog dudes. The Elves came here after them to get some macguffin back off them and wiped most the Mind Flayers out, but the flayers corrupted them in the process, turning Lilith the creator/weaver into the Lolth we know and love. The Mind Flayers are pretty much out of the picture, but their touch is everywhere.

Initial PC races are humans, lizardmen, medusa, maaaaaybe yuan-ti, and some cute little frog dudes, and possibly high elves brought very very low – corrupted and either bloody eyed, sharptoothed albino cannibals (elrics, really), and drow; post some sort of eldritch war tween the elves and the yuan-ti, where the yuan-ti won and now the humans have to deal with them and try really hard not piss them off.

It's low-magic (cthulhu style incantations, no spells, sanity checks for learning magic from forbidden tomes) proto-industrial (pistols and muskets and zeppelins) and divine magic is very rare - the province of secret cults devoted to the spider, the squid, and the toad. initially I want it to be the province of NPCs only, though if any of the players sign up for a bit of arachnotoadsquid worship they get access to divine magic. With suckers and tongues.Mutations abound. Healing accelerants come from alchemical derivations milked from the fleshfarms of jungletoads, and there is always a risk of strange side-effects (there's another random table right there!)

The campaign will start in the Yuan-Ti occupied city of Corbrea, surrounded by vast tracts of nameless jungle. The premise for the berlinesque city was that pre-war it was a human city states' drug haven colony in the midst of the jungle (we're here to lick your frogs!); occupied by yuan-ti during war, still controlled by them post war, but chosen as suitable meeting point tween the yuan-ti empire and the human nations. The yuan-ti remain hidden most of the time, having bred the medusa as human-relations strain to interact better with the hairless monkeys, but there are gigantic orphanages where orphans from the eldritch war are trained by Yuan-Ti their entire lives to play a single part in their "living history", Chinese opera style. Huge parks are dedicated to these continual re-enactments / celebrations of Yuan-Ti domination. Theirs is a bio-genetic surveillance culture. Watching eyes are posted nearly everywhere, with connective nerve tissue leading back to pulsating throne rooms where overseers observe all.

The surrounding jungle is crawling with freakish creatures. Mutant Babbeloons, Horrorsaurs, Sidesplitters, and many other creatures straight out of nightmares... We do not go in the jungle. We do not go in the jungle. We do not go in the jungle.

Should be fun....

Lilith & Lolth & Illith & Thlaadi

2012-03-05T20:12:00.000+13:00

SO... I'm running a game this time next week for a bunch of lads, some who haven't played D&D for 10 or 20 years. I've gotta find a balance between keeping it simple enough that they pick it up real quick, and complex enough to keep the regulars happy. I'm gonna run a hacked version of Castles & Crusades as it's the closest I can find to what I want out of an OSR system; I'm toying with pregens just so we can get gaming quick, but most importantly, if they're gonna make me run an old school dnd game, this is what I feel obliged to give you: Mind Flayers and Yuan-Ti and Drow and Slaad.

A few years back I had a go at a cosmology/world history for a PbP called Tales of the Black Tentacle, finding a way to combine these guys into one unified story. Here's the brainstorming notes, which I'm gonna jury rig as the background to the new campaign; next post, my ideas for the stomping ground and the first adventure.

Random Table : Healing from the Spider God

2012-03-02T21:31:00.001+13:00

When healed by a priest of the spider god the target must pass a Fortitude Save (DC 10+ the number of times healed), or roll d20 on the following table:

1. A swarm of spiders erupt from the healer's hands and scurry into the wound, leaving a thick trail of webbing that they use to pull the torn flesh shut.

2. The wound closes shut and heals miraculously, with no immediate side effects; 3d4 hours later, whenever the target speaks, tiny spiders crawl out of their mouth and find places to hide on their body. Close inspection reveals the small hieroglyphs inscribed on each spider's belly, one for each letter of each word spoken. This unnerving effect lasts d3 days. (Clever players may use this to translate the hieroglyphs into modern speech, a difficult task but one that will unlock ancient texts of the spider god).

3. A fat spider as big as fist slowly crawls out of nowhere and sinks its fangs into the wound. The flesh blisters and boils and rapidly swells, closing the wound, with the spider inside it.

4. The wound closes shut and heals miraculously, with no immediate side effects; however, whenever the target turns around suddenly they have the awful sensation of walking face-first into a thick sticky spiderweb that only they can feel. It is terribly distracting, causing a -2 all rolls during strenuous activity (combat, dancing, chases, etc). After d3 days the effect wears off.

5. Gossamer trails of sticky strands fall from above and land across the injury; whereever they land they suddenly constrict, binding the open flesh.

6. The wound closes shut and heals miraculously, with no immediate side effects; however for the next d4 days, whenever the target, or anyone within d100' of the target, wakes up after a decent sleep their eyes are filled with spiderwebs and take d6 rounds to pull off.

7. Eight long spindly legs erupt out of the gash, grab the surrounding skin with their claws, and pull it shut.

8. The wound closes shut and heals miraculously, with no immediate side effects; within d20 hours the target is overwhelmed by the need to get butt nekkid as their skin begins to itch terribly. With each passing hour their skin gets harder and harder, and after 2d4 hours they are completely immobile, with a hard outer casing (equivalent of full plate armor). They remain in this state for 3d4 hours, until a vertical split appears down their spine. The target begins to molt, shedding their old skin, and emerging renewed and invigorated, with eight eyes in various locations around their skull.

9. Spiders scurry out of the priest's mouth and run across their skin to the injury. The first spider pulls the edge of the wound together, then sinks its fangs in and holds it close with its painful bite. The other spiders do the same, forming a long line of stitches that burrow into the upper dermis. They fall away within d6 days.

10. The wound closes shut and heals miraculously, with no immediate side effects; after an hour the target's throat begins to itch, and within d8 hours they begin coughing up spiderwebs for d4 hours. This effect passes, but leaves the target ravenously hungry for flesh, a hunger that cannot be satiated and lasts for 2d4 days. During this time the target's shit is riddled with spiderhusks that get bigger each time, till towards the end they pass nothing but spiderskins. at the end of this time they are suddenly wracked with abdominal pain, a crippling episode that passes within moments. From then on the target's hunger and digestion returns to normal; only when they are completely still do they have the vaguest sensation that something is crawling around inside them. The next time they receive a major slashing wound, a cat sized spider erupts from the wound to the target's defense, and if it survives treat it as a familiar. If the target already has a familiar, the spider will try to kill it at the first opportune moment.

11. A solitary spider's leg slowly extends out of one end of the wound, digs its claw into the other end, then zips the wound shut as it disappears back inside.

12. The wound closes shut and heals miraculously, with no immediate side effects; within d6 hours the target's flanks become itchy, and a red rash breaks out on the sides of their torso. The rash continues to worsen and irritate, and the target is compelled to scratch away until the flesh is raw, revealing to dark protrusions on each side. From now on every time the target receives healing from a spider priest the protrusions grow d10 inches. This is in addition to rolling on this table as normal. Eventually the protrusions are revealed to be spiders' limbs, and while unable to hold any objects or make extra attacks, the limbs greatly aid in climbing.

13. Thick web begins spooling out of the wound, and in moments it is completely covered over like a cocoon. The web slowly hardens like a scab and falls away in d8 days; during this time, cutting the web open causes the injury to inflict the same damage and thousands of spiders spill out of the gash.

14. The wound closes shut and heals miraculously, with no immediate side effects; within d4 hours the target begins to suffer severe pain in their teeth and jawbone. this pain lasts for d2 days. at the end of this period the pain ceases and there is no noticeable difference, though the first time the target places their lips on warm flesh poisonous fangs shoot out and injects a fearsome venom into the unsuspecting recipient. the venom does d10 CON damage and paralysis that lasts for d20 turns (save for half damage and no paralysis). it takes one day full day for the poison to accumulate in the poison sacs.

15. Two spinnerets appear on the target's tongue, and they begin vomiting spiderwebs until they figure out that the webs are to coat the injury, forming a scab as above. Once this is done the vomiting ceases, though every d12 hours nausea overwhelms the target and they need to coat the wound once again. This passes within d6 days.

16. The wound closes shut and heals miraculously, with no immediate side effects; within d6 hours the target's flanks become itchy, and a red rash breaks out around base of the spine. The rash continues to worsen and irritate, and the target is compelled to scratch away until the flesh is raw, allowing three protrusions roughly the size of a fat thumb to jut out. The target now has spinnerets; they shoot out web whenever the target is surprised, for a distance of up to 60 feet, as long as the spinnerets are exposed (otherwise they make a sticky mess underneath any clothing). This can make the difference to life or death in any sudden falls, and the target can spend XP to gain a skill in Spinnerets and learn how to make more skillful and useful constructions. Treat as a web spell that can be used three times a day.

17. A bloated spider the size of a dog crawls out of the shadows and squats over the injury. It sinks its fangs into the wound, injecting a colagutive poison that stops any bleeding within d3 rounds. The flesh around the wound rapidly hardens and becomes necrotic; the spider hangs around the target feeding on the flesh until it heals within 2d4 days, when the spider leaves. When the wound does heal it does not close, leaving a deep scar and possible permanent reductions to CHA depending on the location of the wound.

18. The wound closes shut and heals miraculously, but whenever the target tries to talk their mouth is filled with webs, making any conversation or somantic spell impossible. Charades is fine though. This lasts for 2d10 hours, during which time the target may freely communicate with any spider.

19. The wound closes shut and heals miraculously, with no immediate side effects; but the spider god takes a sudden interest in the strands of the target's fate. How this plays out is up to the DM. Chance meetings with people from the target's past, sudden escalation in the chain of events surrounding an important confrontation for the target, people important to the target suddenly dying in bizarre accidents... anything to illustrate that something is watching the target and messing with their fate.

20. The spider god has different plans for the target; a vast arachnid bulk reaches out of the shadows and grabs them (treat as a Retriever, p75 Fiend Folio, with a shadow-stepping ability, and replace the transmutation to swarm of spiders). If the target is reduced to 0 HP the black creature snatches up the target and pulls them back into the shadows. the target is lost forever, unless the DM wants to play out the conversation between a spider god and a talking snack bar. If the target is able to defeat the Retriever (reducing it to 10HP or less) the creature surrenders, and will serve as a mount for the target for a year and a day.

Unless otherwise stated above, all wounds healed have the following conditions:

All slashing wounds healed by a spider priest leave a subtle tracery of weblike scars around the edge of the injury, which if toyed with can come loose and reopen the wound, doing d2hp bleed damage/rnd.

Crush damage that is healed by a spider priest leaves an angry patch of boils. Occasionally they swell and burst, spawning hundreds of tiny spiderlings. If caught and killed, the priest's deity is angered, and the spiders attack their host as swarm.

Piercing damage healed by a spider priest does not close up; instead it serves as a home for tunneling spiders shut as trapdoors, and the wound is surrounded by a thin veil of web. If caught and killed, the priest's deity is angered, and the wound begins to bleed doing d4hp/rnd.

Autopsies conducted on people healed by spider priests will reveal the presence of webs and spiders deep inside the cadaver. The more healing they have received, greater the infestation.

All these effects can be completely mitigated and reversed by taking an oath of obedience to the spider priest's deity.

3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars : G+ Game

2012-02-21T19:51:00.001+13:00

©Gregor Hutton

Great game. I ran it on the spur of the moment last week on G+, and it worked well enough that I'm willing to have a crack at running a campaign.

So yeah, if you're keen for something a little different, go here:

3:16 Carnage Among the Stars @ ConstantCon

You are humanity's only hope for survival. Don't fuck up.

Moar Hobo Goblinobo

2012-02-21T09:13:00.000+13:00

The final illustration of Cheroot for Trey.

Hobogoblin!

2012-02-20T10:48:00.000+13:00

For Trey over at From the Sorcerer's Skull, a sketch of Cheroot the Hobogoblin!

Weeklings : Wizard in the Kitchen

2012-02-20T00:55:00.000+13:00

Simon Forster asked for:

"How about an illustration of a halfling chef wizard? He has a chef's hat and a ladle, and is chubby. He's my current PC, and cooks a lovely breakfast :)"

Better really really really really really really fucking late than never.

So yeah. Weeklings. Back in action, taking requests. Hit me.

Backscratcher : Want In?

2012-02-19T20:11:00.000+13:00

So the Backscratcher thing could go one of two ways: either really controlled, with a full on registry, portfolios, website, feedback, etc etc.. or something far more easy going, more just a general notice board offering skills and wot not. Unless someone steps up and says they're willing to organise and maintain the first option (not me sorry) then a simple place where you can let others know you're up for the Backscratcher idea will do just dandy. And that place is right here.

So if you want in, please leave a reply with:

• a name
• a means of contacting you
• what skills you can offer
• what skills you might be looking for
• a link to any samples to let others know you've got the chops
• and anything else you think you need to add

And I'll add any Backscratchers to a comprehensive list at the end of this post.

Bewdy!

FLUX #01 : Island of the Killer Twig-footed Trunkburger

2012-02-16T00:15:00.005+13:00

Sunday night I got to muck about in Scrap Princess' homebrew game, lovely to meet her and her creations. Very nifty. We were joined by Christine all the way from Germany, who'd traveled a hulleva long way to play her first rpg. But she sank her teeth in like a pro; and Scrap's friend John who hadn't played in ten years but was all over it.

We did chargen in half an hour or so using Scrap's mashup rules (a little bit Feng Shui, a little bit Pathfinder) and came up with:

• Hennowar - refugee thief of undecided gender from someplace unimportant (Christine)
• Kalfur - ghul ranger, and his sidekick Kalfur Jr the Vicious Mudgoose (who's the dad, eh John?)
• Durandu - fluxchild wizard spelljunkie inspired by these posts over on rolang.com (me)

and we kicked off as castaways on an island unknown, just up the beach from an upturned and half drowned river barge. Found the dying bargepilot from NewDawnFades in the shade of the the jungle's edge; turns out he was symbiont with the cutest little talking caterpillar hidden on his shoulder (Scrap Princess does a very excellent forlorn caterpillar impression). Said dude was brain dead, heart still going, and grub thing was gonna die with him. omg moral quandary! what do we do? Loot the barge. Well Hennowar does, and keeps all the best stuff for hirself. Fucking thieves. Unwittingly aiding her was Kalfur Jr, going off like a frog in a sock about something in the trees. Suddenly, Stilt-legged Pygmy Elephant!

Now gaming is one of those things where players like to get carried away and add a few details, like "We're on a castaway island! Ergo, we must be starving!" which can cloud their vision and make Stilt-legged Pygmy Elephants look like hamburgers on toothpicks. So Kalfur goes all manhunter and runs off to kill us some dinner. Only dinner kicks his arse all over the beach; the collective might of three 1st Level characters sans spells or decent weapons aided by the unholy screech of the mud goose be no match for a slightly pissed off Twig-footed Trunkburger and we retreated, dragging an unconscious Kalfur Sr. and dumping him along side caterpillar man. Trunkburger rolled a 3 and decided to bugger off.

A brief discussion including the phrase "eat the mud goose" was enough to rouse the ghul, and it was decided that crabsticks are way better than trunkburgers. Campfire stories were had. Come morning and a fresh batch of spellikins for Durandu we sauntered off into the jungle looking for slightly smaller creatures with which to prove our killiness. First said creatures were man-eating crabs; fortunately they'd found three dead men to go to town on and were too busy to give us any claw action. The hombres were uniformed, booted, armoured and one wore a cutlass in a jaunty style through his skull. Divvying up the loot I discovered Durandu was quite the fashionista and that crocodileskin leathers weren't for him. All the good shit went to Kalfur, as is befitting a meatshield, though the poisonous munchrooms that induced rage and frenzy before death ended up in Durandu's pockets.

From there Hennowar climbed the trees: "zer are zez thingz flyink around ze pig in ze diztanz" and a tower. Simple plan: get to the peak, climb the tower and find out where we are. Suddenly, foot-long spikefaced maggot thing! That it went for Hennowar tells me she needs to wash more. Also, maggot-faced wolf thing! One girly scream from Durandu followed by a mouthful of arcantrixical verbulation and the maggot wolf lay slumbering at Durandu's feet, dreaming sweet dreams about how one day, when it grows up, its face was going to be a fly. The heartless bastard that was Kalfur shattered such youthful hopes and ran the beastie through. A lot.

And that's where we had to end it; two random encounters, a moral quandary, and a bit of looting. I know Scrap Princess was holding back on the weird, there was a new roleplayer to consider after all. Didn't matter. Good time had. Return customer fer shure. What happened to the caterpillar man?

Character Sketch: Lurkio

2012-02-08T09:36:00.001+13:00

Moorcock has his Eternal Champion, but I have my Eternal Scumbag. Lurkio turned up in nearly every long-term campaign I played in, but this was his first incarnation as my archgrunge murderhobo, 90s style. Lurk was cool.

Character Sketch: Corbando

2012-02-02T09:14:00.001+13:00

This here is Corbando, my old D&D2E myrmidon, name lifted from an obscure line in Shakespeare which in Spanish means "cut across the gut" apparently. Corbando was cool.

Character Sketch: Spanner

2012-02-01T09:56:00.000+13:00

So I found me a bunch of old character portraits from the last 20 years. This one's from a short lived Jovian Chronicles game waaaay back when. V-something somethingrussian. Techhead obviously. Took shit from no-one. V-thingy was cool.

Backscratcher

2012-01-31T23:48:00.007+13:00

So I've been thinking a lot about the idea I threw out yesterday about Backscratcher, and I'd really like to know what you think about the following:

I think there is real potential in setting up a bartering system for creative services that are focused within the RPG community; where everyone was allowed to request one "Itch" but no more until they had given a "Scratch" and helped fulfill another request, which made them eligible to request another "Itch". And so on.

I'd imagine services would include anything needed to help create completed content. illustration, writing, cartography, layout, editing and proofing etc. Whatever is necessary to get concepts from one person's brainpan and into everyone's hands.

The rewards of such a system? Cheaper production costs for everyone's projects - the only real currency is here is time and a love of what you're creating. Also a stronger community - we're all helping each other out to produce what we will all enjoy. Add to that awareness of each other's projects - by asking for work on your particular project others you're advertising your project.

There are issues that would need to be addressed regarding copyrights and ownership.

So yeah, all you DIY RPGers, as a concept can you see it working, and what are the potential merits and flaws? Is it something that will really galvanise the community, or is it trying to formalise an unspoken system that's already out there - is it superfluous?

And if it really is a decent idea and one worth running with... how the hell would it work?

Lemme know what you think.

UPDATE: If you are interested in being a part of Backscratcher, please leave details over here.

Help Me Help You Help Me

2012-01-31T10:47:00.006+13:00

K so here's the deal. I'm working on MUTANTOR! and it's in need of a cash injection to get it up and running to pay for a few things (namely some decent cover art at the mo). But I'm not from the States, so the go to for RPG start ups Kickstarter is totally not an option, and while there are other startup sites out there out there I have a different idea in mind.

Here's how it's gonna work:

• I'm a graphic designer. Been at it for nearly 20 years. It's a good way to pay the bills. But what I love working on is RPG stuff. So I'm offering my services as a graphic designer to any RPG project out there. If you've got your homebrew system, or setting bible, or character sheets, whatever. I'll take it and make it look all purdy like.

• Here's what I'll charge: what ever you think the job is worth once it's done. Paypal.

• Be reasonable about it; if you're going to send me a 400 page tome it'll probably sit at the bottom of the pile for some time; anything up to 50 pages or so will get a decent look in.

• Art and maps are an entirely separate deal. This is just for design.

So yeah, it's a wacky experiment that I hope will work. I help the RPG community produce classy stuff, the community helps me get MUTANTOR off the ground, and I give the community another game. Win Win Win as far as I can see it.

Any takers?

UPDATE: I've edited this post and taken out references to the Backscratcher idea, which takes this concept a step further and deserves its own post. Over here.

UPADTE II: If you would like to contact me about a project you'd like me to work on, please include answers to the questions below in your email:

• How many pages do you think the document will be?

• What page dimensions would you like?

• Are you after color or black and white?

• Is this for download only or will there be a print version as well?

• Will you be supplying art for me to include in the layout, or will you need illustrations and/or logos?

• Do you have any specific design features or samples you want me to include?

• Are you happy to credit me as the designer in your document?

• When do you need the final layout delivered by?

Thanks!

Field of Skulls

2012-01-31T00:13:00.000+13:00

For a mate's great little RPG called Darkest Hour, of the weird WWII ilk.

MUTANTOR! DICE ENGINE

2012-01-25T03:15:00.001+13:00

Here's the final version of the dice engine I'm gonna go with for MUTANTOR! Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on this. I've tried to strip it down to as simple an explanation as possible. Lemme know what you think. Plus, logo!

ROLL THREE 6-SIDED DICE:

• If each dice is different:

PURE! Drop the highest and lowest dice; the remaining dice is your score.

• If two of the dice are the same:

FREAK! Add those two same dice together. That’s your score.

• If all three dice are the same:

MUTANT! Add those three dice together. That’s your score, plus your dice will start to MUTATE!

• Ones are Bad:

Double ones? HORROR! Don’t add them together, instead your score is 1, plus bad stuff happens.

Triple ones? ABOMINATION! Don’t add them together, instead your score is 0, plus real bad stuff happens.

MUTATING DICE:

Whenever you roll a MUTANT your dice start to MUTATE. That number you rolled three times? Any time you roll that number again you can change it to be any number you want – between 1 and 6 of course.

So when you roll three 6-sided dice that are MUTATING:

• If each dice is different and one is a MUTANT DICE:

You can change your MUTANT DICE to be the same as one of the other two dice; add those two same dice together. FREAK! That’s your score.

• If two of the dice are the same, and one or two is a MUTANT DICE:

You can change your MUTANT DICE to make all three dice the same; add those three dice together. MUTANT! That’s your score.

• If all three dice are MUTANT DICE:

MUTANTOR!!! You can change all your MUTANT DICE to be whatever you want them to be and other super awesome stuff happens.

Star Wars: Planets of the Malicrux III

2012-01-22T20:54:00.000+13:00

The third in the gazeteer of planets from the Malicrux Sector, the setting for my ongoing classic era Star Wars campaign.

PLANETS OF THE MALICRUX

GWEYR KROM is a crystalline world that serves as the corporate capital of the sector. All of the largest sector corporations maintain offices here, in pristine cities nestled between shimmering spires and radiant peaks or along the shores of the sparkling deserts. Great chains of shard mountains cross the planet and pierce the sky, some reaching even into space; the wonder and cold beauty of this world is renowned. The MediCrux Corporation dominates trade. As is fitting the corporate engine of the region, Gweyr Krom is also the financial heart of the Malicrux, with a number of major banking headquarters; Krombank is by far the most widely used by the sectors’ inhabitants. The transition from the Old Republic to Imperial rule was relatively smooth; the citizens value peace and security above all things, and Governor Atterick Krayne has done much to ensure this tranquility is maintained, though at great cost to personal freedoms. Public outcry and dissent is virtually unheard of; the Empire considers Gweyr Krom to be a rolemodel world for the sector and recruits heavily from youth seeking something more adventurous.

GYRE is a barbaric world that orbits the third brightest star in the galaxy. Beneath its brilliant glare, the once shining beacon of civilization collapsed in a civil war that left the planet devastated, where warlords continue to shed blood over petty border disputes, and loyalties and alliances are in constant flux. They fund their campaigns by selling off the remnants of the glass cathedrals that once made Gyre famed throughout the galaxy; a single shard of the luminous light-bending substance is worth a considerable fortune, if the right buyer can be found. Eager to end the conflict, the Republic banned the trade in Gyre-glass, and drove art collectors to the black market; few let the knowledge that each shard is paid for with blood cloud their conscience. All this comes at great heartache to House Nephada, the former rulers of Gyre who until recently lived in exile on Sapphirica. Now, the backing of the Empire, the House has reclaimed the Duchal Palace on Gyre and formed a solid defensive position in the ruins of the surrounding city. War is brewing, and it may be that the threat of the Nephada is the one thing that could unify the warlords of Gyre.

HARASSA is an industrial world dedicated to the production of repulsorlift vehicles and famed for its pod racer designs. A client world of House Arranasis, the passion of Duke Barin for the repulsorsport has seen the desert world rise from corporate ignominy to become one of the leading manufacturers for several sectors. The Duke encourages a healthy rivalry between the domed city-states that rise out of the barren lands; the red sands are home to a number of racing circuits and to a man Harassians follow every event on the yearly calendar. For many, the dream of becoming a pod racer is enough to maintain them through the long hours and fiendishly hot conditions; and while rare, some do achieve this dream, rising to become one of the brash and notoriously short-lived stars. There are two concerns pressing enough to distract the average Harassian from watching the continuous coverage of pod racing events. The first is a localised problem: the primitive indigenous population of desert dwellers known as Shifters pose a constant threat to the security of the domes, commanding huge sand storms to envelop race meets and entire cities should they be angered enough. The second is perhaps far more serious. With the continuing war effort against the Rebel Alliance, the Empire has commandeered a number of repulsorlift factories and conscripted entire workforces to produce military vehicles. With each year another factory is converted, and slowly but surely Harassian racers dwindle in number. While Duke Barin is able to maintain a sensitive balance between keeping the Empire at bay and his people in a state of unease, political pundits wonder at how little it will take to upset this balance.

JASTERKAST is a poisonous world, with acid green skies and toxic bogs smeared across its surface that serves as the homeworld to a slithering amphibianoid people known as the Jast. Rising up out of the quagmires are a number of heavily fortified and independent city-states that have spent hundreds of years recovering from a nuclear war that nearly wiped out all life on the planet. Large swathes of radioactive swamps lie between the cities, and great, mutated creatures swim the black seas. In the wake of their great war, the Jast vowed never again to raise arms against one another, but their vicious and cunning ways saw them take up ever more subtle means to strike at their enemies. Shadowy warfare is the norm, with the Alchemists of Jast ever striving to outdo one another with their poisons and antidotes. A number of these chemical weapons are sold to unscrupulous warlords offworld, and the Jast are happy to use the planet of Fray as a proving ground for their poisons. Visitors find the place to be oppressively humid and sickly, but trips here can be profitable; there are a number of byproducts to the Jastrian experiments, considered failures by the poison masters, but many of which have a wide variety of commercial purposes. Duke Carmus Jasterkastria oversees the development of trade with other worlds from the relative safety of his orbital station low over the green clouds, but ensures a hefty tax to pay for the protection of his household from his rivals.

JYRYX is a pristine wilderness world of mountainous forests and cold seas, formerly under the jurisdiction of the Unisys Corporation and marked for exploitation, but now under the possession of the relocated Sulgoran people. The Sulgorans fled the environmental depredation of their homeworld by Unisys and, eager to avoid a similar reoccurrence, they applied for and received a permanent isolation order from the old Republic that banned any offworlders from landing on the planet without prior permission of the Jyryxi ambassador Tuva Hurkeesi on Sapphirica. However Hurkeesi knows that agreements struck with the old Republic no longer hold much legal weight in the Emperor’s new order, and knows it is only a matter of time before ravenous corporations or the Empire itself comes to claim Jyryx for themselves. The ambassador’s dire warnings have gone unheeded by his people and their clan leaders, who pursue their old ways of hunting and gathering in the tranquility of their new home, maintaining faith in the sanctity of their protective decree and not willing to believe in the ambassador’s stories of atrocity. Hurkeesi, eager to protect his people from the coming storm, is known to be actively seeking out new allies in the galactic arena.

Zak's DM Questionnaire

2012-01-20T01:02:00.002+13:00

From here:

1. If you had to pick a single invention in a game you were most proud of what would it be?

The Hexlock Puzzle that turned up in my Secret Santicore entry. p30 I think. It's nearly 10 years old and I'd made up a decent hardcopy mounted on card and presented it to my players once they'd stormed the wizards tower. Had them stumped, and I'd taken the bastard option and repeated the puzzle on the reverse in a different order. They'd been working hard at it for 10 minutes before someone turned one of the pieces over. Best jaw drop ever. They did solve it too.

2. When was the last time you GMed?

Just before Christmas.

3. When was the last time you played?

Mid 2010; wrapped up a Mutants & Masterminds alt-history supers campaign where Japan didn't hit Pearl Harbour so the Americans didn't get involved in the war... 50 years later, cyber Hitler is lording over the world from his base on the moon. Campaign goal? Kill Hilter. And I got the natural 20 punching him in the face. Icky.

4. Give us a one-sentence pitch for an adventure you haven't run but would like to.

I'm pining for some good ol' dungeon hacks actually... the dungeon bash would be an exploration of a sunken temple-thing, summoned from the deep, inhabited by evilfishmen for centuries, but millenia ago was actually a vast magick artefact designed to grant its creator immortality in a time womb thing - only it didn't work as planned - and there's lots of time/possibility hijinks and side-effectsto screw the players over with, as they try to get the temple-machine operational again, get back to their own time and stop the big bad from emerging from stasis.

5. What do you do while you wait for players to do things?

Engage; usually the fastest way to get them moving.

6. What, if anything, do you eat while you play?

I need brain food; carbs and sugary goodness.

7. Do you find GMing physically exhausting?

Nope. Emotionally sometimes, and mentally draining sure.

8. What was the last interesting (to you, anyway) thing you remember a PC you were running doing?

Same Mutant and Masterminds game as above; I deliberately built a hero that was designed to support others, and with the right point-buy I made a zillionaire who owned a private army stationed on one of the islands of the coast of LA. Just having an army at your beck and call was a totally different (and interesting) style of playing.

9. Do your players take your serious setting and make it unserious? Vice versa? Neither?

Any excuse for a laugh. But that doesn't mean they don't take the campaign seriously. We just have fun while playing.

10. What do you do with goblins?

Pull teeth out of their victims and make little goblin-baby rattles out of them.

11. What was the last non-RPG thing you saw that you converted into game material (background, setting, trap, etc.)?

Pull teeth out of their victims and make little goblin-baby rattles out of them.

12. What's the funniest table moment you can remember right now?

The ongoing paternity issues for our drug-addled ex-secret operative in Star Wars who fell in with a bunch of amphibious cloners. They kept presenting him with man-frog halfbreed children from his DNA as pets. Spur of the moment thing that got a lot of mileage.

13. What was the last game book you looked at--aside from things you referenced in a game--why were you looking at it?

3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars as inspiration for simplicity in game design.

14. Who's your idea of the perfect RPG illustrator?

Me of course :) Russ Nicholson... no, Miles Teeves!

15. Does your game ever make your players genuinely afraid?

Not in a long while, but then I haven't run horror stuff in a long while either. I think Kindred of the East was the last time I got genuine fear, back in Vancouver '05.

16. What was the best time you ever had running an adventure you didn't write? (If ever)

The Witchfire Trilogy for Iron Kingdoms. Great, great series. I added a bit of family background to the players that tied into the adventure as extra motivation, and we stuck with the game from beginning to end (and they failed to stop wassername from unleashing hell). Took about two and a bit years to play out.

17. What would be the ideal physical set up to run a game in?

I keep dreaming of a dedicated game room, well-lit table in a dark space, comfy seats, with a decent soundsystem and a flatscreen teev on the wall for the GM to show pics to the players on. Decent library on the walls; beers tucked away in the mini fridge.

18. If you had to think of the two most disparate games or game products that you like what would they be?

Mouseguard and Kult.

19. If you had to think of the most disparate influences overall on your game, what would they be?

China Meiville is a HUGE influence on my games and creativity in general, so that's right down the geek end of the spectrum.... down the other end would be the vast collection of National Geographic magazines I grew up with as a kid. So much cool stuff out there in the real world...

20. As a GM, what kind of player do you want at your table?

Fun, easygoing, enthusiastic, and can roll with the punches.

21. What's a real life experience you've translated into game terms?

My bad guys are usually motivated by love. They just take that need one step (or three) beyond what's acceptable.

22. Is there an RPG product that you wish existed but doesn't?

MUTANTOR!

23. Is there anyone you know who you talk about RPGs with who doesn't play? How do those conversations go?

A few people, my partner mostly, she's played once or twice but won't anymore; just isn't into it but gets it. When we talk it's usually about the story development or personality issues.

DungeonFu for Google+ : Mark II

2012-01-19T21:15:00.002+13:00

For all you gamers using Google+ Hangouts to run games online, here's the latest version of DungeonFu, a free map making assistant that anyone can view and edit while playing. I've included cavern surfaces and waterways in this version.

Go have fun with it; if you make anything with it send me a JPG so I can chuck it in here, plus any screen grabs of your game mid session would be great. Just make sure that whoever's hosting the game includes the "Hangout with Extras" option so you can share documents with everyone playing.

If there's anything you'd like to see added to the next version, please lemme know.

Also I'll start running demos of how to use DungeonFu starting 9am-ish Monday 23rd NZ time - which is:

LA - midday Sunday 22nd

NY - 3pm Sunday 22nd

London - 8pm

If you're interested just drop a note in the comments.