Monday, December 26, 2011

I have been delightfully "naughty" this season (the less said, the better), so I was deserving of this great gift for Christmas:
People wonder how I sleep at night. Well, quit warmly actually. >=D~ Muhahahahahaha!!!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Is Fantasy Heartbreakers a Form of Art?

I have given much thought about the the old-school movement and all the retro-clones, and near-retros, and such out there. Not just D&D-clones, but also games like Mazes & Minotaurs and Encounter Critical. M&M and EC are both examples of making a modern game that feels vintage and even makes-up a tongue-in-cheek backstory about their creation. The stories are fictional, but in the case of M&M, it was a good parody of real life events.

I see the necessity of games like Labyrinth Lord (Basic and Expert D&D) and OSRIC (1st ed AD&D) to keep the older, unsupported rules in-print. They are doing well because there is a demand for them, as a lot of older gamers are coming back to the hobby (or they what to introduce them to their kids), but they need replacement books, and there is an interest with younger players who have become disenfranchised with the newer D&D or just what to discover the game's roots. On the other hand, a game like Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Role-playing Game: The Grindhouse Edition (damn that is a long-ass title) is basically the older D&D rules - a mix of original, with basic & expert - with a good amount of useful house rules, and artwork tailored to the creator's personal aesthetics. This was not made to appeal to the general gaming market, or to tell people what D&D *should* be, but it was the expression of one man who made a rulebook uniquely his. Folks might write it off as a typical "fantasy heartbreaker" (a published indi-RPG that is based off D&D, that tries to compete with it), but to me it is a work of art.

The D&D rules are universally understood by most gamers, and with the malleable nature of RPG rules, plus the unusual legality that liberates them from copyright regulations (with the OGL as a great redundancy), it is only natural that fantasy heartbreakers become an art medium into itself. I already see RPGs in general as an art medium. Its like poetry, in which you have metrical composition (the rules), themes (the setting or genre), meaning (the scenario), euphemism (mata-stuff), and expression (the adventure). In this case, a fantasy heartbreaker expresses itself through house rules, supplemental material (new classes, spells, monsters, etc.) and artwork. To me, what makes a fantasy heartbreaker work is not just throwing is some house rules and ripped art into a carbon copy of the core rules, but to craft something that is meaningful and feels unique.

Friday, December 9, 2011

My Gaming Swag Has Arrived!

Awhile ago, I won a Mutant Future character design contest. Do to delays IRL (mostly from my end -- long story), I did not get it since yesterday. When the package arrived it was surprisingly heavy, and when I opened it, it was full of books and printouts. Blood Axe did say there was a surprise with the package, but it was more then I was expecting. What I got was:
  • Metamorphosis Alpha Universe (MA 3rd edition)
  • Fight On! Issue 12
  • The Slayer's Guide to Kobolds
  • Dungeon Crawl Classics #12 The Blackguard's Revenge
  • Rotworld (printout)
  • Labyrinth Lord Module: Idol of the Orcs (printout)
  • Labyrinth Lord Module: Shadowbrook Manor (printout)
  • Excavator Monthly Issue 3 (printout)
Before getting this book, I never opened a MA book. I have the 1st edition rules, but its a shabby print-out booklet I put together from a text-only document I found years ago (without page numbers or art, its hard to navigate). The 3rd edition book has added rules that really compliment the classic rules, like how you can boost your Weapon Class with a particular type of weapon after 10 kills using them. I'm still not keen on the alien invasion twist - mostly as an unnecessary element - but it still a great game.

The biggest surprise was Fight On! Issue 12. For a game 'zine, it is THICK! This issue is dedicated to James M. Ward, and has an article about Ward's involvement in the early years at TSR. It is full of fantastic articles, but one of the featured rules I like the most is Treasure Types, by Simon Bull. I seen the original post mouths ago, but I lost the link. I find this method much better then the dry old Treasure Type table.

Rotworld was a neat surprise, as I did not know (or just forgot) that Dan Proctor made a zombie apocalypses/survival horror RPG. It seems to be based on a game Dan required called Timemaster (I never seen this game, but I did know about it). I'm not a fan of table-based systems or attributes that double as a percentile number, but I find a lot of useful stuff in this game.

I already have the Dungeon Crawl Classic module from a box set I found at a book store, and the Kobold book was one of the Slayer's books I do not already have.

I have yet to read the last three books, as I'm pouring through the aforementioned books. I also have to get more plastic sheet sleeves and binders, as the printouts are loose one-sided sheets. This is not a problem, as I already go through a lot of plastic sleeves & binders, do to my artwork and game stuff.

Its going to be a busy week or two for me, as I enjoy reading game books as much an regular literature, so I am happy! =D

Monday, November 21, 2011

Fly Me to the Moon (and Mars)

Awhile ago, I found a site called Wikimapia, and I quite enjoyed it. I noticed that much of the info was from Google. Then I found a program called Google Earth which was full of neat features. All that time I had it, I never noticed a built-in flight-simulator.

This is me playing Terrorist. ;P

When I recently switch computers, I reloaded Google Earth. I took the time to really look through the features, and I found some awesome new stuff. One feature not seen in the old program was underwater mapping. When I was flying over Hawaii (the only vacation I can really afford), I crashed my jet into the water and discovered that I can go underwater!


Another feature was secondary maps of Mars and the Moon - although it always had a consolation map.


I was pleasantly surprised that I can fly on Mars and the Moon! (yes, Mars lack the atmosphere to run an engine, and the Moon has no atmosphere at all, or pull to stall a high-flying aircraft, but this system needs no logic, which only make things even more fun, so enjoy the flight -- although, adding a Lunar Lander game would be really nice)



Both worlds also have "historical" overlays, that makes them look like old astronomy maps. So you can take the bland old gray moon...

...and set it to "Geologic Chart" for something really wild.

And boy, it makes for a really colorful trip!


You can ether fly in a propeller plane - Cirrus SR22 - if you like to take it slowly, or a F-16 Fighting Falcon for those who have a need for speed. There are all sorts of other features to discover, so if you have the time, and a computer that can handle it, I highly recommend downloading Google Earth.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Pirates of Dark Water RPG

Back in the '90s, Hanna-Barbera produced a fantastic cartoon called The Pirates of Dark Water. This was a pirate-themed fantasy adventurers on the alien world of Mer. It had the look of an '80s cartoon, and the budding maturity of a '90s cartoon. If you have never seen this show, you have no idea what you been missing. As neat as the characters and stores were, the real draw to role-players is the setting and all the strange trapping there in.

Awhile back, I found a site with role-playing materials about the game. The funny thing is, it was a real RPG book. SOMEONE ACTUALLY MADE AN OFFICIAL ROLE-PLAYING GAME OF THE CARTOON, AND IT WAS ILLUSTRATED JAMES "FUCKING" HOLLOWAY!!! That is awesome, and yet, its not that well known. Its almost tragic, as it is full of strange and exotic stuff, and a grate diversion from all the bland old Tolkienesque dungeon crawls.

Well, I almost forgot about it after a big move, until I was going through by old backup files (I download and hoard so much shit), and I found the PDF source book. Here is the World Book, a download (no pictures), and the Monster Stats. I have to note that this is not a system I would personally use - if anything, its best to cherry-pick the rules to your own chosen game system.

I'm also going to contribute this added info to the Pirates of Dark Water Wiki.

World Wide Wikis

When I'm not not on old-school gaming forums, reading nerdy "Top-10 Lists", or watching YouTube and classic anime online. I am editing on Wikis. I started on Joepedia, the Star Frontiers Wikia and a few others. I then started the Mutant Future Wiki to help the fans consolidate our ideas and materials. Do to a lack of interest and an inability for some people to learn the basic codes, their have not been much activity beyond my efforts, the efforts of a forgotten few, and nameless editors who are just here to fix my shitty spelling and grammar mistakes. Where I lack in the basic spelling and typing skills (fucking dyslexia!), I have learned how to work the coding system. I like to scout around for unique codes and templates on different Wikis.

Sometime I find a Wiki with few, if any editors, about a show I have seen that no one else gives a shit about, and turn it into my personal sandbox site, where I can fuck with it, without consequence . Yeah, its a little dickish, but I learn a lot, and what I learned helps that site and others. The best example of the is the Zevo-3 Wiki (its basically a team of cartoon superheros, based on sneaker mascots). Its hard to believe that someone who have contributed the most to the site, is not much of a fan of the show.

Wikis are nice, as you can find info beyond what Wikipedia has to offer - as long as they have a good number of dedicated and informed contributors. Gamers can also find a lot of fodder for their own games. Here are some interesting Wikis I have found or contributed to:

I would like to thank editor Marhawkman for showing me the Thundarr the Barbarian Wiki. This has been a two-man effort, and it needs more love.

The Superpower Wiki a great place for folks looking to find more mutations for their Gamma World-like or Superheroes-themed games.

This is a good wiki for those who like to add new creatures and additional fluff to their Monster Manuals: The Monstropedia has lots of info on mythological creatures!

The tutorial section at the Micro-Heroes Wiki has great advice on making and editing Micro-Heroes and game sprite.

For Open D6 fans out there, I recommend the Open D6 Resurrection Wiki, and the D6 Holocron Wiki.

I have made a system-neutral Wiki for Necromunda, with added materials for it's prototype game Confrontation (published in parts, in White Dwarf magazine). For those unaware, Confrontation was more of a role-playing game (akin to Inquisitor or Rogue Trader), then what the final game ended up as.

This is an odd one. I like G.I.Joe, and I love the fluff printed on the filecards. I also like to collect these sorts of figures, so I can modify and display them. I scout for non-Joe figures to full-out my collection, as G.I.Joes are expensive and getting harder to track-down. One day I found some action figures - called S.T.O.P. vs. S.C.U.M. - at the Dollar Tree. As the name of the store suggests, they are really fucking cheap! The figures themselves are really shitty, but I really liked the background info - Mad Max meets Modern Warfare, with a Latin-American vibe. When I was looking for more info, I found that someone made a Wiki of it, with only one page (beyond the front page) made, and the creator's account vanished..! So I not just fulled-out the rest the info, but I also added more (unofficial) stuff to it. (if you cant tell from looking at it, I have a bad case of insomnia! :P) This would make for a grate RPG setting, or the background for a 1:18 (scale) army diorama buff.

I hope there are folks who are interested in editing some Wikis. There are some that really need more lovin'.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

My Battletech Universe

I have never been content with the Clans in Battletech. Hell, I feel the same about Earth's Colonial Expeditionary Forces from Heavy Gear. The Clans was the big build-up from the Stickpole novels, based on the mystery of the Wolf Dragoon, but like the GRELs from HG, the Clans felt like something that was thrown in to shake things up. When I first got into BT, it was the mid-90s, and I was influenced by the non-canon cartoon (dont laugh, I did not know any better), so I assumed they were just an integral part of the fiction - a superior force is taking over the galaxy, and its up to a rag-tag team of heroic Mechwarriors to save the damn day. I did not put much effort to learn the setting (although, I knew about the general background and some key points of history), as I just wanted to blow shit up, so I handed the game like an anime.

Then one day, I found an old mid-80 BT booklet, and it made the whole game look primitive - the art, the layout, the setting, the technology, and everything within - and I liked it! It felt like a whole other take to the fiction: a once great galactic empire that fell to war, and the prolonged conflict knocked the galaxy to the stone-age. All the basic technology and salvage rule made a lot more sense, and the game now feels like Mad Max with mecha!

So now I dont what to have anything to do with the Clans. I never like their retarded sense of honor, their game-braking mecha, and their general intrusion on the setting. It would have made more sense to have one OmniMech to take on a whole lance of basic 'mechs, but their honor would not allow that. Fucking stupid! As much as I hate them, I still like some of the tech, like the Mad Cat & Vulture (the designs, not the stats), Protomechs (not the designs, but the rules) and their second-line 'mechs and vehicles.

So basically, my BT game have no Clans. The Wolf Dragoons are still supported by mysterious outsiders, but they are out-of-the-way worlds that still manufacture Lost Tech. As for Star League 'mechs, I remember seeing them in a 2750 TRO, and they did not live up to the "superior" designs as noted in the old rule books, so I thought:
  • The basic "level 1" 'mechs are just the old scrapped-together machines from the Succession Wars;
  • The "level 2 IS" 'mechs are built using using technology that was reversed-engineered from an old memory core (as in the canon), so they are the most advanced models to be manufactured, and are seen in limited numbers;
  • While the highly advanced "Star League" 'mechs are built useing the same rules as Clan Omnimechs, and are to advanced to be manufactured.
House Warriors would pilot the newer level-2 'mechs, while they provide their loyalists with their old fleet of level-1 models. Protomechs - called "Armored Infantry" - are used for garrison duty, as are seen as nothing more then mechanized infantry. The old Clan designs are just basic level-1 models. The Mad Cat, for example is just armed with some basic lasers, 2 Cluster Missile Pods (see below), 2 light autocannons, and 4 machine guns. I liked the Dark Age IndustrialMechs so much, they are common civilian models. Battle Armor are considered Lost Tech.

Another thing I never cared for, are the blatant historical allusions. Reading the history of the Draconus Combine felt awkward and forced, as the founder was a Otoya Yamaguchi-styled despot, who turned the Combine into galaxy's largest reenactment of Tokugawa dynasty. I dont mind allusions, as long as they are subtle. Forcing a culture to look like a past one dont work, as there are numerous influences that can even supersede even the dreams of a highly charismatic demagogue. I prefer when a setting takes the sprite of what its alluding to, and make something that feels original around it. Plus, after centuries of galactic expansion and cultural developments, there would be whole new civilizations, languages, religions, customs, est. I keep their influences somewhat, but I try to make things feel different and exotic.

OK, so my setting starts out like the old 3025 game, where a prolonged conflict erodes science and technology. Some time in the 3030s, someone found a memory core, which inspired a lot of technological development, but the application was strictly limited. The map changes as usual, but the Federated Commonwealth never formed because the space around the Sol system has been a highly disputed wasteland since the outbreak of the war, and because the Clan invasion never happened, the periphery states are more-or-less still intact.
____________

I have also never been content with the weapon list. It felt like it was held-back from the shortcoming from the original game, so I made some changes (I have made notes, but I cant find them).
  • Light Autocannons are more like Machine Guns, but with better range.
  • Medium Autocannons are like AC/5s, but can fire off-map as artillery, with a range of 12 maps (as Thumper).
  • Heavy Autocannons are like AC/10s, but have the range of LRMs on the map, and as Thumpers off-map.
  • Stubcannons are short-barreled Heavy Autocannons, so they have the range of AC-10s.
  • Medium Artillery Cannons are like Autocannon/20s and Long Toms.
  • Heavy artillery cannons are like the artillery systems from the game, but do more damage (they are like those big-ass guns the Germans like to mount on train cars back in WWII).
  • Rotary Autocannons are Light or Medium Autocannons, but weigh more, and have rapid-fire.
  • Rail-Guns (MRG, HRG) are like Medium and Heavy Autocannons, but they have greater range and velocity (moves across maps faster), but they produce heat like partial cannons.
  • Rail-Cannons (MRC, HRC) are the Rail-Gun equivalents to Medium and Heavy Artillery Cannons.
  • Cluster Missiles (CM-5, 10, 15, 20) are like Short Range Missiles, but come in groups of 5s.
  • Missiles Launchers (ML-x) are single-shot missiles, that can do 5-points each, and have the range of LRMs on the map, and as Arrow-IVs off-map.
  • Melee Weapons comes in all forms: knives, swords, axes, maces, work tools, est.
I also like handheld weapons, so I houseruled that too. The two free item slots on each arm are for arm-mounted weapons, while the 6 free slots below them are limited to handheld items. If you what to mount more or larger weapons on an arm, you have to remove the hand and lower arm actuator respectfully. This makes a lot of sense in context, as it never made sense to remove these actuators when you can pile so much stuff on the 8 free slots. An arm have 1 free handheld slot for every 15 tons of tonnage (minimum 1; maximum 6), and the weight of carried item per hand is 5% tonnage (round-up to nearest half-ton), or 10%, if item is carried with both hands - in this case, torso-mounded items are useless. A mech can only hold one type of item in hand at a time, not counting ammo clips, and they are unprotected by armor. Energy weapons require a .5 ton extra for chargers. They may carry armor in the form of a shield.

Other houserules includes:
  • Piloting and shooting rolls have static target numbers with normal adjustments, while skill levels are added to the roll. The target numbers are: 6 for piloting; 4, 6, 8 for short, medium and long ranges.
  • To-hit penalties from heat build-up now makes a 'mech easier to hit do to increased heat signature.
  • With missiles, half damage (round-down) applies to adjacent sections.
  • Vehicles have one internal structure box for the main body, with front and rear armor sections (no sides). Turrets have their own internal structure based on its size, and they also have front and rear armor. Rotors have no internal structure.
  • Quadmechs have can have turrets. They have 6 slots.
  • LAMs in Air-Mech mode cannot run while on the ground, but have a VTOL speed based on Jump speed, plus a bonus based on the Lift Factor of a VTOL.
  • Battle Armor have fewer armor points.
  • Large cannons impose pilot rolls when fired, to keep the 'mech standing upright.
I have other rules and notes (pages full of them) but that it for now. What can I say, I have played this game for years. My first rulebook looks like shit with rough-use, graffiti and cliff-notes. The spine alone is held together with thread, tape, and a prayer!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Warlords of the Galaxy Has Its Own Blog

I have moved Warlords of the Galaxy to own blog, so it wont get bogged-down by my random crap. Follow it, if you're interested.

And for something random and awesome:

Friday, May 20, 2011

So Much To Do, So Little Time!

So as you all might have heard, the rapture is upon us! God's judgment is set on us, and I have a lot to do. Killing, raping, boozing, and the general sodomizing of God's creations... Anything to get out of going to Heaven! If you dont know, Heaven is about spending an eternity having to hear a chorus soft-vice angelic eunuchs masturbating the ego of "The Lord" over and over, with no booze or bitches! I would take prolong torture with hot-pokers, S&M bondage, and other unsavory acts then that - hell, I have to pay good money to get that sort of service on Earth. And I hear its not that hot in Hell anymore, seeing how Osama Bin Laden was taken out, and Duke Nukem Forever is finally coming out.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Chainmail Bikini Effect

People tend to joke about the level of protection (well, lack there of) offered with chainmail bikinis. In a game where lethal damage gets reduced to flesh wounds or cuts, with level gains, the issue of armor coverage gets moot. So, if a Game Master allows chainmail bikinis to provide full AC protection, then what else can be skimped-down, without deducing defense:

Remember folks, the Armor Class notes are old-school: Like the armor featured, the less the better! ;)

AC 9 -- Furs/Skins (loincloth):





AC 8 -- Leather (battle-harness):

AC 7 -- Studded Leather (battle-harness or bondage-gear w/ metal studs):



AC 7 -- Ring-mail (ring bikini):


AC 6 -- Scale-mail (coin bra):

AC 5 -- Chainmail (chainmail bikini or codpiece):



AC 4 -- Splint Mail (bondage-gear w/ metal strips):




AC 4 -- Breast Plate (metal bra or codpiece):


 AC 3 -- Platemail (larger metal bra or codpiece):

AC (-1) -- Shield (nipple shield):

 
 
Here you go folks! Heroes that look sexy, but don't have to suffer from just base AC. Yes they don't cover much, but the protection is symbolic to a character's archetype... namely, cheeky cheesecake amazon warriors sn beefcake barbarians. There is still an issue of encumbrance... As if anyone takes the time to bother with the bean-counting, so who cares! And of course this post is just for shits n' giggles, so don't get your panties all up in a knot.

I should note that the famous "chainmail bikini" shown on Red Sonja (who is not a character cannon to the world of Robert E. Howard's Conan) has more of a coin-mail suit, which is more appropriate on belly-dancers and harem girls, then on a warrior-woman. When she was first introduced in the Conan comics, she sported a simple (and fictional) mail shirt, but one of the artists shown her in a sexy pin-up spread an a convention and then took off from there. Much like the shirtless barbarian hero of Conan (who actually did use practical armor) and all of his clones, the chainmail bikini became so popular, the fashion became as apart of her image, which in turn, became iconic with the Sword & Sorcery genre as a whole.

Monday, May 2, 2011

I Just Won a Mutant Future Contest

Blood Axe at Goblinoid Games forum held a contest in the Mutant Future sub-forum.

The rules are simple:
  • "Post a cool character for Mutant Future with a picture and I will pick a winner."
  • "Enter as many times as you like, but have a character with all stats & info, along with a picture."
  • "[This] is only open to USA members."
Here is the prize:


Yes, a copy of Metamorphosis Alpha 25th Anniversary Edition.

I posted 6 entries, but this was the one Blood Axe liked:

Lergon, the "Many Hands"
Race: Mutant Human
Level: 6
Hit Points: 54
Armor Class: 6
THAC0: 15
Saves: Eng 13, P/D 10, Stun 12, Rad 11
Alignment: Chaotic

Attacks:
1/round, +0 to attack for melee and +1 to attack for missiles.
Damage: 1d6+1 w/spear or 1d4+1 w/daggers and 1d4 w/sling.

Strength: 11 (+1 level) (+0 to attack and +0 to damage)
Dexterity: 14 (+1 level) (+1 to missile attacks and initiative and -1 to armor class)
Constitution: 16 (+0 on poison saving throws)
Intelligence: 7 (-5% to technology; can write simple Trade words)
Willpower: 9 (+1 level)
Charisma: 7 (+1 level) (+1 to reaction rolls, 3 retainers at morale 6 each)

Mutations: Aberrant From - Extra Parts (8 arms); Bizarre Appearance (stubby arms - 3 baby-like), Control Light Waves; Greater Force Screen; Know Direction; Negative Empathy.

Equipment: Spear, 2 daggers, shield, sling w/20 stones, fur armor, bedroll, flint & steel, grappling hook, lantern, small steel mirror, 5 flasks of oil, 5 weeks of trail rations, 4 small sacks, 2 large sacks, 3 waterskins (2 water, 1 wine), 16 soup mixes, 7 light sticks, motion detector, 4 blood agent grenade launcher shells, 97 gp worth of assorted coins and scrap metal.

Lergon is a many-armed mutant with few friends. From a young age, he was an outcast of his tribe, so he had learned to survive on his own, and for it, he never developed a personality. The impulse that drives other to fight him, also makes him vary paranoid, and for the most part, he keeps quiet and introverted around others. When he do speak, its usually simple, short statements in Trade speak - a form of "Pidgin English". Beyond his emotional distance to others, he strongly desired to be loved. If he finds someone to love, who can tolerate his negative empathy, he would handle the relationship with obsession and petty jealousy. In his travels, he did befriend some adventures, but his impulsive behavior around women tend to cut things short.
________

He told me that "[he] captured that old school Gamma World feeling for me." I glad, as this is how I present characters in my games. I like my mutants to look freakish (Bizarre Appearance is a given in my games). I like them to be somewhat primitive (but not necessarily simpleminded). With PCs or NPCs, I like to make well-rounded characters, with personality traits and interesting character flaws.

By the way, the picture I chosen was from a french animated movie called Gandahar (or Light Years, in the US). This movie has a number of unique looking mutants, that are perfect for any Metamorphosis Alpha, Gamma World, or Mutant Future game. Here are more pics, if anyone is interested.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Mutant Future for Atari

A while back, I made some Atari labels for Mutant Future. I never made any game graphics for them, as I can not ponder that could capture the awesomeness! The best I can think of, is a setup like Adventure or Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Cloudy Mountain (form Intellivision).

I have fond memories of my old Atari 2600 system, as a child, but once the Nintendo came out, there was no turning back. Beyond better graphics, the NES offered the level of challenge that I could not pass up. Many of those games where brutally unfair to gamers, and had problems that forced the players to think outside the box. Years later (around the mid-90s) I replayed them, but the NES made me so skilled and spoiled, that it became more of a novelty, then anything else.

This is the site for the Atari 2600 Label Maker, and these are what I made with it:

Mutant Future Atari Black Label

Mutant Future Atari Black Cover

Mutant Future Atari Silver Label

Mutant Future Atari Silver Cover 1

Mutant Future Atari Silver Cover 2

The only thing missing are fake screen shots for this imaginary game, but this is still good.

I like to thank James Maliszewski (from Grognardia) for showing me the link for Adventure! I have never played it until recently.

In my Atari years, I would have eventually flipped the game, but now, I had that game beat when I discovered the patterns, and flipped it (playing all difficulties, with both handicaps on and off) within a few hours. Its so funny killing the dragons with the bat, while its carrying the lance. In my mind's eye, I picture the hero (a blip on the screen) holding the bat by the wing-tip, while it flaps its other wing profusely, as it aimless waves the lance (the pointy stick) around. LOL

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Warlords of the Galaxy

I have been trying to come up with a multi-world setting that mixes epic fantasy and science fantasy, and styled like an 80s cartoon (He-Man, Thunder Cats, Heavy Metal, est.), but a little more mature.

In this universe, a great galaxy empire fell, and world, after world is falling to the rule of evil warlords and sorcerer kings. Most of the worlds have fallen to barbarism, and its up to the PCs to stage rebellions, plunder ruins, conquer worlds, and so on. Most of these worlds are as small as moons, but they have earth-like environments (gravity, air-pressure, wildlife, est.). Like Star Wars, it would not be unusual to one or two climates or terrain types. Travel between these worlds are possible through large stargates, built before the fall of the empire. These gates are usually found in cities, and are built, so that airships can move through them. I'm still working on a core setting, as a springboard for further sandbox adventures.

As barbaric as this setting is, there are some fantastic pieces of technology still in use. Many of which are styled on A Princess of Mars, with airships, blasters, est. In fact, most of warriors look like the figures from a Boris Vallejo/Frank Frazetta cover - meaty guys with fur/leather loincloths and chainmail bikini-clad amazons, with leather straps around their naked torsos. The keystone of this setting - and as an excuse to show a lot of flesh - are battle harnesses with built-in force field generators (as pictured on the side). They work like the Holtzman generators from the Dune saga, in that they can deflect range attacks, while melee weapons can slip through but without the whole nuclear blast, from hitting it with a laser. You can carry conventional body armor, but if you keep the generator on to long, you will overheat quickly, as the barrier tends to trap in body heat if bundled up. I can list paragraphs of how this magical piece of Applied Phlebotinum works, but this is not a "hard sci-fi," and this is the best excuse to show near-naked warriors in a gun-toting science fantasy I have ever seen, so I'm not going even bother! Just enjoy the parental this setting has at making sexy pinup art, without if feeling like token glamor art! =D

Another problem, it to what system to use. I'm split between Barbarians of Lemuria and Mini-Six. I might use both. Like like both systems, and they both have their good points. I will post updates, as soon as I come up with more ideas. (WOW, this might have regular updates! Hell is going to freeze-over in a hand basket! ;P)

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Make Your Save!

Its time to roll your daylight savings throw, to gain an extra hour. ;P *rolls d20*

Friday, March 11, 2011

Hot Elf Chick Welcomes You to GTFO!

I hate Tolkienesque - more over, dandy little Elves! You what an elf chick, here you are, bitches:

Some of you might say that is not a chick, but I cant tell, but the truth is, that I don't really give a shit! But if you are some wanker who needs his or her Hot Elf Chick fix, then here she is:

Welcome to the world of Elven AIDS, dipshits! Now get the hell out!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Browncoats Rejoice!

W00T!!! Firefly is back on television...

...well, on extended cable. The Science Channel - known for their hard-science programing, narrated by Morgan Freeman, and some middle-aged Japanese professor - has picked-up the long canceled sci-fi western. I could still watch it on Hulu.com, but my vid-quality sucks, and I can't play all the episodes there (one or two of their episodes are damaged or something).

If you can't tell, I really like that show. It was like Joss Whedon read Han Solo at Star's End ten times, with some white-knuckled westerns in between (or something like that). Even if you don't like his other shows - like Buffy or Dollhouse - he is good for dishing out interesting characters, as well as good character developments and interaction. The local environments are colorful, the ship has a nice lived-in feel, lots of moral ambiguity, and it has the sort of western-styled pioneer environment that I like in a good sci-fi.

The FOX network where fools for crushing this show. It was the first meaningful sci-fi program in a long time. They hated it, sabotaged it, and did their damndest to kill it before it could even develop even a small following! It was the sort of "space western" that got me into classic Star Trek and hoped for in Enterprise, and the sort of roguish cast that made Blake's 7 interesting. Star Trek: The Next Generation had a lot of fans - even fans who go as far as to make the show's overarching ideology their personal philosophy - but they can keep their happy-go-lucky future world! It is a universe divorced of our human nature. A culture that enjoys Shakespeare, but could never truly appreciate his works. That is the cheerfully optimistic world I wash my hands of! The FOX network pride themselves for being the "edgy network", but that was a long time ago, and they no longer have the vision or foresight to see 1 inch from them, nor 1 second ahead. Their executives maybe the poster-boys for German-styled eugenics, that ruins anything they touch, but those bastards can't take the sky from me!