NaGa DeMon update03

     Here we are, another weekend over and some more stuff for Alucar. First, lets get a dinosaur out of the way.

Deinonychus (what the velociraptor in Jurassic Park really was)
STR:5(75)     WPR:4(65)
DEX:5(75)     PER:0
AGI:6(85)     PCN:5(75)
STA:4(55)     POW:0
ATT:80%     WND:13
MOV:L80
Notes: Relatively man sized, they are sleek bipeds with sickle shaped talons on their hind feet. Capable of using limited tactics, they typically hunt in small packs.

Clockwork Guardsman
STR:6(85)     WPR:0
DEX:5(75)     PER:0
AGI:5(65)     PCN:4(55)
STA:5(75)     POW:0
ATT:75%     WND:15
MOV:L60
Notes: Resembling a typical policeman, with a porcelain mask and wearing white gloves. It's interior is a mass of gears and mechanisms. If needed, a small wooden club slides out of it's sleeve to be used to attack or defend. They are designed to follow simple instructions, and are typically found guarding the Steam Works (Prof. Atlas' labs) and the city hall.

     As usual, let me know what you think, more to come this next Wednesday. Take care, folks!

NaGa DeMon 2014? Plus Monsters Macabre

     I was mistaken, I thought last year I was working on Alucar but after looking through my blog I discovered it was an adventure for Cryptworld. The Gates of Hell is a scenario where the players are brought together for the reading of a will. A distant relation has passed and his estate calls for all the living relatives. What happens next could mean the end of the world!  
   
       My main issue is how should I present it! I did not put it on my blog last year because I had wanted to run it some more and polish it up. Then there is the desire to surprise people with it when I run it. This is all new territory for me, so if any of you have some ideas then let me know.

     Monsters Macabre was one of several purchases I made at Con on the Cob and it is well worth it. Besides 71 all new "things" to throw at your players, it adds rules for creating your own creatures and allowing your players  to create "monster" characters. Also there is a section on variable weapon damage and one on creating random organizations. Art by Mark Allen and Brian Thomas is amazing and it is topped off by a scenario by Tim "Sniderman" Snider. It is an invaluable resource and I hope they continue to support Cryptworld as well as their other Pacesetter products. Totally worth your time.

NaGa DeMon, November 2015

     Let's try this again. Last year I gave it a go, but it kind of died out. This time I am continuing with that work, developing and expanding it. Should be fun. The main thrust will be Alucar, using the Pacesetter action table rules.

      Lets have a quick idea to start, gasbags.

      Well, it gets dark underground, how do you expect people to see after the ground has swallowed their city. Initially, I thought there could be phosphorescent fungus but now I am thinking there should be floating man o war looking creatures that glow in the "night". More to come, stay tuned.

Con on the Cob 2015 (I'm back)

     Here we are, fresh off Con on the Cob. This year I assisted Tim Snider at the Goblinoid Games booth, arriving Thursday evening and leaving mid afternoon on Sunday. The new digs are pretty cool, though the layout takes a little getting used to.The wifi connection was a bit iffy, so I decided to wait until after the con to post. Also, I once more neglected to take pictures. except for this one lone picture here.

Good old Brian Thomas 

     I picked up a good selection of OSR type stuff which I will now tease with this picture.

Was able to get my DCC zine collection caught up, just need to get Crawl #11. I'll get back to you guys once I have giving these a closer look.

     In other news, I am hoping to get some zine artists and authors together at next year's Con on the Cob. Apparently the show is getting pushed back to the middle of November next year. That means I have a whole year to try and recruit some new blood for the cause. Hehe. Take care folks!

T-Rex stats, Alucar and beyond

     In a cavern adjacent to Alucar is somewhat of a lost world. One of the creatures in there is tyranosaurus rex. Here are the stats I worked up for it. Let me know what you think.

Tyranosaurus Rex
STR:10 (145)    WPR:6 (80)
DEX:1 (15)         PER:0
AGI:3 (45)          PCN:4 (55)
STA:9 (135)       PWR:40
ATT:95%            WND:20
MOV:L 150
UNUSUAL POWERS
Roar: The T-Rex can roar in a way that inspires fear in smaller/lesser creatures. All who are able to hear it must make a fear check on column four. This costs 10 WPR with each use.

Alucar, city of the future

     Polishing my Cryptworld scenario that I began this past November, making necessary corrections/additions. Starting on a new Pacesetter project.....  

Just a little something I came up with while on break at work. What if at the start of the 20th century, a city was built to be a technological marvel. People flock to this city and are amazed by the wonders contained their in. There is a monorail and clockwork "guards" at city hall. The main creator of these things has his laboratory, known as the Steam Works, at the heart of this place.    
   
     Then tragedy strikes, as a massive sinkhole opens and swallows everything. Not everyone survives, but those who do learn to adapt to their new surroundings. It takes a year for city to pull itself together, and now it is up to the players how to proceed. Stay in town and deal with local issues, or strike out and explore the various caverns branching off from Alucar? Go crazy and do both, maybe figure out what caused the catastrophe in the first place?

      I may be running a game tomorrow, if the snow does not scare off my players. Depending on how many show up, I may run my Cryptworld game, Dwimmermount, or a little test run of Alucar. I will let you all know how that shakes out. Later guys, take care!
   

New Blood

     Since the end of last year I have been encouraging some of my co-workers to participate in some role playing games. My first victims were Daniel and Shereea, who I ran through the introductory Cryptworld scenario "Red Eye". It was a lot of fun, though they almost learned the hard way that they should have a plan before you confront the big bad.          
  
     My next test subjects, er players were Jeremiah, Vickie and the venerable Tim Snider. I ran them through part if the first level of Dwimmermount, using Labyrinth Lord rules. It was great helping two new players navigate the start of this amazing mega dungeon. I asked each player to come up with a reason their character wanted to explore; Jeremiah's fighter wanted gold, Tim's cleric wanted to help maintain the balance between law and chaos, and Vickie's elf wanted to find out more about her culture (since Dwimmermount is where elves originated) It was a great start and I hope to get them back to finish exploring, unfortunately I did not get a picture of that group nor the next.

     I ran a playtest of a Cryptworld scenario I have been working on and Shereea, Barbara(newbie), Drew Bergstrom and Tim Snider. Everything went fine despite the two newer players needing to leave early. I am hoping to run a game on the 22nd of February, if I get different players I may test my Cryptworld game on them, either way I will keep you all up to date.

     What this has done is give me additional confidence, especially in regards to running Cryptworld. Also the desire to work on more stuff for secret setting using the Pacesetter rules. More to come!

Tim Snider Interview!

     I have been sitting on this interview for awhile, lost track of it but here it is. Trying to get back on track after all this crazy weather, school closings and people (myself included) getting sick. Here is Tim Snider, co-writer of the Pacesetter book Cryptworld, and author of the blog Savage Afterworld!
 
Alright, what first got you into playing RPG's

I kind of stumbled into them. As a kid, I enjoyed boardgames and reading fantasy/sci fi novels. In junior high, I met some guys who were into D&D -- it was the 80s, after all -- and they invited me to play. Loved the game, and it opened up a whole new hobby for me.

I know you from your blog and as a co-author of Cryptworld, what got you into writing?

I've always been a writer. As a kid, I drew comic books and designed my own games. In high school, I was on the newspaper staff. I majored in journalism, becoming a reporter and, later, an editor. I've been writing as a hobby the entire time as well.

Aside from your blog and Cryptworld, you have just put out One Year in the Savage Afterworld. Can you describe it for the folks who are unfamiliar with your blog?

"One Year..." is a collection of 52 post-apocalyptic mini-modules for the Mutant Future RPG by Goblinoid Games. They're designed for a few quick hours of gonzo end-of-the-world gaming. They can also be used as side treks, or one-shots at conventions, or campaign springboards. They were inspired by the One-Page Dungeon contest as well as the "Side Trek" features that were seen in Dungeon magazine. And with 52 of them, your group can play one each weekend for an entire year, hence the title.

What is your favorite horror movie?

Got a few, actually. Anything by Hammer Horror or starring the Universal Monsters. The Romero zombie trilogy of Night, Dawn, and Day. (I ignore Land, Diary, and Survival.) And for good ol' gore, I love The Deadly Spawn.

Groovy! What is your favorite subject to write on/about?

When hammering out fiction, I like stories of normal, everyday people thrust into bizarre, fantastical situations. There's usually a touch of comedy as well, so let's call it "urban humorous horror-fantasy." It's also how I approach any adventures I write. Normal folks finding themselves in the midst of the abnormal.

As a follow-up, I have two (unpublished) manuscripts that illustrate the mindset of my fiction. "Due to a bureaucratic mix-up, a soul slated for Heaven is instead routed to Hell. While the screw-up is resolved, this angel-should-have-been must toil as a demon-don't-wanna-be." Imagine being stuck in a dead-end job you're pretty bad at. Now imagine your boss is The Devil. (Working title: "I, Demon")
Another manuscript that's in the rough stages takes place from the point-of-view of a 9-year-old kid. He's like any other kid, struggling with his grades, becoming interested in girls, and embarrassed by his parents. The twist: his father is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and they've just been called to duty. The everything is coming to an end just as Billy is starting to get interested in the world around him. Can he stop the End Times? (Working title: "Meet Billy Pestilence")

s/b "Everything is coming to an end...."

Can we expect any Cryptworld stuff from you in the future?

Absolutely! Dan Proctor has mentioned that he has some ideas and irons in the fire as far as future Cryptworld support. I've been posting new "Things" in a running post at the Goblinoid Games forums. And I'm currently writing up a Cryptworld adventure collection that will contain three separate scenarios to torment players with.

Sounds great! Who have been your influences in regards to writing?   

I love the world concepts and style of Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, and Robert Aspin.Are you currently playing/running any games?

I'm between groups right now, so I do most of my gaming at conventions and online. Nothing underway at this time though.

Of all that you have written, what are you most proud of?

Tough question. I've written a lot of non-gaming stuff I'm pretty proud of. Did a lot of investigational reporting in my days as a reporter. I've been blogging for years. I've released a few gaming supplements of my own. Co-wrote Cryptworld with Dan Proctor. Written two unpublished novels. Singling out any one of these as more of an achievement than the others is impossible.

What was it like, working on Cryptworld with Dan?

I was very pleased that Dan brought me onboard to co-write Cryptworld. As a longtime Pacesetter fan, I was already running games at conventions using the Action Table System. When Goblinoid Games acquired the brand and the available RPGs, I was thrilled that it was being resurrected. Then new Pacesetter RPGs like Rotworld and Majus were released, showing the system still had old fans and was gaining new ones. However, there was still a demand for a Pacesetter "general horror" RPG. So Cryptworld was written from the ground up as the new Pacesetter Action Table game. It was incredibly fun to be a part of, and I'm very proud with what we've created.

That is all for me, thank you for your time and take care!