Red Rose: Blue Rose + The Expanse on Mars

 I may have mentioned it already, but I just wrapped up a summer-long Blue Rose game that was an absolute blast. I was playing a version of Larina, who, while not exactly kicked out of Aldis, was strongly suggested she "take a break" due to her abuse of Shadow Sorcery. She left, with new student (and an NPC that grew into someone that I really liked) Esme, to visit other worlds. 

Since then I have been stuck on what her adventures would be next. While I left it open to happen under any system/game/world I was REALLY enjoying playing AGE again. Then it hit me while on my morning run today.

Larina and Esme are going to Mars. 

Well. Not just any Mars, the "Red Land" mini-setting in the Blue Rose core book. Something that grabbed my attention way back when it was published. What clicked for me was re-reviewing the AGE-based Expanse RPG. Green Ronin has a new crowdfunding campaign for the Expanse RPG. This, from what I can tell, is an update and expansion over the current rule book. 

Now, I am a HUGE fan of the Expanse. I was talking with my oldest over the weekend about his Destiny game, and I at first suggested the Expanse rules, or at the very least, he reads them or watches the TV show. He opted to rewatch Star Trek, and I can't blame him for that. So *I* reread the Expanse rules.

Two things.

1. I really love the AGE system. I need to do a LOT more with it.

2. Some art in the book hit me like a lightning bolt because of how much it made me think of some similar art in Blue Rose.

Suddenly, everything clicked into place. Liam can run his Destiny game how he likes. I am going to run a Red Rose game.

I am going to take the Red Land setting from Blue Rose, then I am going (apologies) Expanse it. 

I love Mars. There is just much I'd love to do with it. Maybe when I am done with this I'll port it over to Thirteen Parsecs, but for right now I want to do this in AGE. Besides if I can mix Blue Rose and Horror, I can do it with SciFi. 

So how do I do this?

Cities in Dust

The "Red Land" is just not some other place on Aldea, it is on a different planet. This planet is Mars to Aldea's Earth. So it needs a good name. I was half tempted to call it "Dejahoris" after Dejah Thoris, Princess of Mars, but I think I am going to go with "Minerva" for now. I like the sound of it really.

My influences are going to be The Expanse (naturally), but also ERB's "Barsoom" series, Clark Ashton Smith's stories on Mars, as well as Dune, and (and this is the fun one) Logan's Run.

In this version of the Red Land/Minerva the sacrifice of the old and infirm has become the sacrifice of everyone over a certain age. So elements of Carousel. Naturally, there is an underground rebel movement.

 I don't have all the details worked out, but a small campaign might work. The premise is that Matriarch Gaelana can't hide the failing life-support arcana anymore and is planning an invasion of Aldea. Or something like that. There needs to be a threat of some sort. There are also rebels inside the domes seeking to stop "Carousel" (I'll come up with a better name later).

Given that this idea started with Larina and Esme traveling to the Red Land I might try this. Gaelana has captured Larina and is using her as a battery to power up new Shadowgates back to Aldea for her invasion. She trapped with her magic being drained. Esme, who is not as powerful manages to get back to the characters to enlist their help.

The characters can be Minervan rebels or folks from Aldea. Or a combination. 

I would want to keep some moral ambiguity going on. The people of Minerva are good, just thrown into a very hostile land where unorthodox solutions are needed. Even Matriarch Gaelana feels what she is doing is right. She thinks Aldea is now overrun with the forces of the Sorcerer Kings and their darkfiend minions. She isn't going to believe tales of Aldis as a utopia. Maybe they can find Mara's allies, who was named the next Matriarch. That is until their secret was discovered by Gaelana. 

I want a world that looks perfect under the domes, until you scratch the surface a bit. I want to emphasize these are good people, in very harsh times and they are making the best they can. If the characters are Aldean, then I want them to struggle a bit with the morality. My "Carousel" is deeply embedded in their culture, and it is what is keeping everyone else alive. Something akin to moral quandary from the Star Trek: TNG episode Half a Life.

In any case, there is a ton of potential here. 

#RPGaDAY RPG with great art

 So many, especially today. But one I keep going back to for the art is Green Ronin's Blue Rose, AGE Edition. 

It is one of the many reasons I keep coming back to this game.

--

I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

Converting D&D 5 to Blue Rose 2nd Edition: Character Exploration

 Ever since the Great OGL Debacle of 2022-2023, I have been looking for something to replace D&D on my table and in my development space. I have not always been successful on either front, but I have found many great contenders, including Castles & Crusades, Pathfinder 2nd Edition, and Wasted Lands. I have another one I wish to add to that list. Blue Rose 2nd Edition.

I love Blue Rose. I love the game, the idea, the setting, the mechanics, everything. 

I spent a lot of time reviewing this game when it was released.

• Review, Part 1
• Review, Part 2
• Review, Part 3 
• Fantasy AGE

The game is an absolute joy, and I hope to continue it for a long time.

Unlike the three games I mentioned above, Blue Rose 2nd Edition's AGE system is not d20-based. It does have some d20 DNA via Blue Rose 1st Edition's True20 system. It is fairly trivial to convert D&D material over to Pathfinder, Castles & Crusades, and Wasted Lands. Blue Rose takes a little more work. However, the scaling is very similar with all of these games.

The Characters

For this, I will do conversions of my main witch character, Larina, and two of my Forgotten Realms characters. Why these three? I want to play around with how adepts work. Plus, these are the three characters (well, them and Johan) that are most on my mind right now. Sinéad and Nida are part of my 2nd Ed AD&D Forgotten Realms game, so exploring who they are in this Blue Rose/AGE set-up is useful for both Blue Rose and the Forgotten Realms. And Larina, well, she is never far from my mind. 

Plus, it is the Summer Solstice, one of the pagan celebration days, so witches seem appropriate. 

Also, lately, I have been comparing and contrasting Larina and Sinéad. If Larina is my go-to witch, Sinéad is becoming my go-to sorceress or wild magic wielder. Though I am noticing I am playing Sinéad a bit like Larina so I need to find ways to make her (Sinéad) her own character. 

I have already explored a lot of characters for this game. Especially a lot of adepts and how they can feel different from each other. 

• Duchess and Candella
• Seren
• Nyctasia r'n Edonaris brenn Rhostshyl and Corson brenn Torisk
• Helyg and Brynn
• Bethan Hâf
• Xena and Gabrielle

I have spent quite a bit of time with this over the years and I really love the characters you can make and play with this game.

Sinéad
Female Human/Vata'an Adept, Level 5

Accuracy: 5 (Primary) Focus: Bows
Communication: 3 Focuses: Persuasion, Performance, Deception
Constitution: 3 Focus: Swimming
Dexterity: 3 Focus: Artisan
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: (Primary) 3 Focus: Arcane Lore
Perception: 3 (Primary) 
Strength: 2
Willpower: 2 (Primary)

Speed: 13
Defense: 13
Armor: 3
Penalty: 0

Health: 56
Conviction: 5

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

Starting Talents: Lore (N), Performance (N)

Arcane Talents: Healing (J), Wild Arcane (J)
Skillful Channeling
Arcane Training: Shaping (N)

Specialization: Bard (N)

Arcana

Wild: Fire Shaping, Sense Minds, Visions
Shaping: Psychic Shield, Move Object, Second Sight
Healing: Cure, Sleep

Arms and Armor

Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Leather (Light Armor)

Persona

Calling: The Moon: Discovery and Learning Secrets
Destiny: Queen of Rods, Curious
Fate: Jaded
Corruption: 0 

Goals: To discover the secrets and source of her magic

Relationships

Taryn (3), "She is my adopted sister. We will do anything for each other."
Larina (2), "She is Taryn's mother. I am not sure what their deal is, but I will respect her."
Nida (2), "I have never had a friend like her, and so unlike everyone I have met before."

--

Nida
Female Human Expert, Level 5

Accuracy: 2 (Primary) Focus: Arcane
Communication: 4 (Primary) Focuses: Deception, Disguise
Constitution: 3 Focus: Swimming
Dexterity: 3 (Primary) 
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: 4 Focused: Arcane Lore, Shaping
Perception: 4 (Primary) Focus: Empathy
Strength: 1
Willpower: 2 (Primary) Focus: Courage

Speed: 13
Defense: 13
Armor: 3
Penalty: 0

Health: 58
Conviction: 5

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

Starting Talents: Light Armor Training, Pinpoint Attack

Arcane Potential (N), Thievery (N)
Specialization: Shaper (Fire), (N)

Arcana

Fire Shaping

Arms and Armor

Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Leather (Light Armor)

Persona

Calling: The Sun: Championing the Everyday
Destiny: Eight of Chalices, Daring
Fate: Stubborn
Corruption: 0 

Goals: To find her true path

Relationships

Sinéad (3), "Sinéad is a naive kid with her head in the clouds. And I love her for that. She reminds me of what I was."
Larina (2), "She honestly kind of scares me, but I know she has the answers I seek."

--

Larina Nix
Female Human Adept, Level 20

Accuracy: 2 (Primary) Focus: Arcane
Communication: 5 Focuses: Persuasion, Performance +2, Investigation
Constitution: 3 Focuses: Swimming, Stamina
Dexterity: 3 Focused: Artisan +2, Calligraphy +2
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: (Primary) 5 Focuses: Arcane Lore +2, Research, Sorcerery Lore, Historical Lore, Healing
Perception: 3 (Primary) Focuses: Empathy, Visionary
Strength: 1 Focus: Intimidation
Willpower: 5 (Primary) Focus: Faith

Speed: 11
Defense: 11
Armor: 5
Penalty: 0

Health: 114
Conviction: 11

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

Arcane Talents: Arcane Training (M), Healing (M), Witchcraft (M), Psychic (M)

Linguistics (M), Performance (N), Contacts (J)

Specialization: Seer (M), Shaper (Fire) (M)

Stunts: Skillful Channeling (1), Disrupt Arcana (4), Lasting Aracan
Epic Stunt: Effortless Arcana

Add Willpower to Damage, Familiarity mod -2

Arcana

Fire Shaping
Enhancement, Heart Reading, Light Shaping, Ward, Second Sight
Cure, Sleep, Draw Vitality, Flesh Shaping, Body Control, Psychic Shield
Psychic Weapon, Psychic Contact, Calm, Illusion, Mind Shaping, Mind Reading
Visions, Scrying, Object Reading, Nature Reading

Arms and Armor

Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Persona

Calling: The Priestess: Oneness with Spirit
Destiny: Queen of Rods, Curious
Fate: Jaded
Corruption: 1

Goals: To become a powerful witch

Relationships

Taryn (3), "My daughter. We lost so much time together in my service to Baba Yaga."
Sinéad (2), "Taryn's adopted 'sister.' I have watched this one from afar and subtly guided her on her path."
Nida (3), "It's...complicated."

--

Ok. Three different approaches to magic (arcana) in Blue Rose. The Wild Talent (Sinéad), the dabbler (Nida), and the Witch Queen (Larina).

Frankly, I am pleased with all three. Larina is scary powerful, and that is what I was aiming for. She has some corruption. I was also going to do Larina's daughter and Sinéad's best friend, Taryn, but I want to work some details on her first. 

I like that this world and this system allow me to bring out different aspects of these characters. 

In some ways I like to think of these as "parallel universe" versions. What these characters could be if the world they lived in was less horrible and had more light.  BUT...I don't even play Blue Rose as all "sunshine and kittens." The bright spots in this world are bright because there is still a lot of darkness out there.  I mean, even (especially) Larina has some corruption because she dabbles in Sorcery, or at least "Forbidden Knowledge." 

These characters compare very, very well to their Wasted Lands counterparts (Larina, Nida, Sinéad). They are not 100% the same, nor should they be, but I can see each (D&D, Blue Rose, Wasted Lands) are an aspect of the other. Given this I really should do Johan for Blue Rose. He would fit in rather nicely, really. 

New Releases Tuesday: Adventure Time!

 Normally, Tuesday is a great time to talk about the sort of RPG goodies I got in the mail. But nothing new this week (or last), and I am waiting for the local Games Plus RPG auction before buying anything else.  So, imagine my delight when one of my recent adventures got published over the weekend.  Then, my delight doubled when another adventure I wrote got its own stand-alone treatment!

Frightshow Classics: Golem is published by Yeti Spaghetti & Friends and is for the Chill 1st Edition RPG. It also works with Chill 2nd Edition, Chill 3rd Edition (with some mods), and Cryptworld and can even be used as a rules lite adventure. 

A rabbi and a neo-nazi have been found murdered in Queens, NY. Is there a connection? People have spotted a large figure near the synagogue and a former professional wrestler is being held for questioning. But is something stranger going on?

I really loved writing this one and it made really appreciate all the great things about New York. As a Chicagoan, I don't give New York enough credit. But I approached this with the frame of mind of "write this with the same love as I would if this were Chicago." Cause one thing I know for sure. New Yorkers LOVE their city, and I wanted that to show.

Adventures in Aldea: Witching Weather from Green Ronin is older, but I discovered it while working on my Blue Rose characters last week. This adventure appears in the collection Six of Cups. But here, you can buy it as a stand-alone adventure for Blue Rose AGE 2nd Edition. 

A group of orphans have turned up in Garnet, and now the weather is out of control, and the forces of darkness want them. One believes they are his children, and another wants to eat them to gain even more power. You have to stop them both. 

This one was so much fun to work on. Blue Rose is sometimes described (somewhat unfairly) as a "Fantasy Seattle," but my Garnet here is "Fantasy Alton, IL," a blue-collar river town (now sea town) with a deep history and pride. And maybe a monster or two hiding in the bluffs. In addition to the adventure, there is a gazetteer for the City of Garnet with some history and background on some major NPCs.

Grab both if you can! I already got paid, so I don't get anything more from the publishers, but if the sales are good, they can hire me back! 

Character Exploration with Blue Rose 2nd Edition: Duchess and Candella

 A side-step today. I have been working on my reviews of the Forgotten Realms products, but my next one is not yet ready. I was reading over my material for this week, and I thought maybe I should put my money where my mouth is and explore some more relationships within my own games.  

I don't have that ready yet, either! But I did go through my goto game for all things romance, Blue Rose. Since I have a few characters I currently use for various explorations, I thought I would try starting them up in Blue Rose AGE 2nd Edition.  This is also good since last year I was doing some D&D 5e conversions to other systems as D&D replacements.  Blue Rose 2nd Edition is a wonderful replacement for D&D.  

Duchess and Candella for Blue Rose

My two current fun characters are Duchess and Candella. I wanted to explore some more about their characters, especially since I already had plans to run module B3 Palace of the Silver Princess as a Blue Rose game. Back then I mentioned that they were caria daunen, or lovers, but I am not getting that vibe from them now. I mean, yeah, they could be certainly, but I think for these builds, they are not. Or at least not yet. Let's see where they end up.

Blue Rose only has three classes. Adept, Expert, and Warrior. Fantasy Age 2nd Edition adds a new one, the Envoy, but I am sticking with these three. The great thing, though, is even with only three classes, there are lots of ways to customize characters. In D&D Basic (which only had four human classes) they are thieves and their stats are fairly interchangeable. Here I can start them both out as Experts and then through Backgrounds, Powers, Talents, and Focuses (Foci?) they can become very different. I abuse that in my second batch of characters later on.

Concept-wise, some things came up while doing my research the other day.

Candella is:

• The older one
• The smarter one (but plays dumb)
• More acrobatic / higher dexterity

Duchess is:

• The younger one
• Has a better constitution
• Higher wisdom (so acts older)

Their weapons are more or less the same. They are not averse to using poison. Also an interesting note. While done to save space, they have the exact same treasure, save for a pearl necklace Candella has. What is the implications of this for the game? They steal things, but with each other, they are fair; the treasure is split 50/50. The pearl necklace can be explained by having it be something Candella had before they teamed up.

Blue Rose, in addition to what I consider "class" customization, there is a lot of interpersonal customization as well. This is in the form of Blue Rose's Callings, Destiny, and Fate. The relationship mechanics are also great to use. All of these can be ported over to another game. For the example of D&D 5, anything you do to gain Conviction in Blue Rose can be used to grant Inspiration in D&D.

Duchess
Female Human Expert, Level 3 (Age 19)

Accuracy: 2 (Primary)  Focus: Light Blades
Communication: 3 (Primary) Focus: Deception, Gambling
Constitution: 4 Focus: Drinking
Dexterity: 3 (Primary) Focus: Stealth
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: 2
Perception: 3 (Primary) Focus: Searching
Strength: 1
Willpower: 3 

Speed: 13
Defense: 13
Armor: 3
Penalty: 0

Health: 42
Conviction: 4

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

- Pinpoint Attack (+1d6 damage)
- Light Armor training
- Starting Talents: Thievery (Novice), Carousing (Novice)

Arms and Armor

Sword (Fighting) 2d6
Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1

Crossbow (Accuracy) 2d6 30/60 Major
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Leather (Light Armor)

Persona

Calling: The Wheel, Wealth
Destiny: Knight of Chalices, Charismatic
Fate: Manipulative
Corruption: 0 (but likely to be 1 soon enough)

Relationships

Candella (3), "We are sisters in crime. I am closer to her than my own kin."

Candella
Female Human Expert, Level 3 (Age 21)

Accuracy: 3 (Primary)  Focus: Brawling, Light Blades
Communication: 2 (Primary) Focus: Persuasion
Constitution: 3
Dexterity: 3 (Primary) Focus: Acrobatics, Stealth
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: 3 Focus: Evaluation
Perception: 2 (Primary) 
Strength: 2
Willpower: 2

Speed: 13
Defense: 13
Armor: 3
Penalty: 0

Health: 40
Conviction: 4

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

- Pinpoint Attack (+1d6 damage)
- Light Armor training
- Starting Talents: Thievery (Journeyman)

Arms and Armor

Sword (Fighting) 2d6
Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1

Crossbow (Accuracy) 2d6 30/60 Major
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Leather (Light Armor)

Persona

Calling: The Fool, Adventure and Excitement
Destiny: Eight of Swords, Free Spirit
Fate: Stagnant
Corruption: 0 (but likely to be 1 soon enough)

Relationships

Duchess (3), "We are sisters in crime. I am closer to her than my own kin."

--

Ok, this is fun. It also helps me think about who these characters are a little better. I have always gotten a Harley and Ivy vibe from these two, with Candella being Harly Quinn and Duchess as Poison Ivy. Or maybe even a Fire and Ice (from DC) vibe. Duchess certainly looks more like Fire, but Candella has her personality.  I can see a common tactic where Duchess gets a bunch of adventurers drunk, Candella distracts them with a strip tease, and then Duchess robs them all blind. The two run off laughing with all their ill-gotten gains. 

I made them a year older and a level higher. While they are both 3rd level Experts with a Talent for thievery, they have enough differences to set them apart.

At 4th level, they both will take a Specialization. There are many great ones in the Blue Rose book and more in the new Second Editon Fantasy AGE book. But none feel quite right to me.

I think, and I am not 100% sold on this idea yet, but I might go with Assassin for Duchess, though Hunter might be a better choice. Candella could take the Razor from FAGE2, but in reality, I want something more akin to an Acrobat. 

Still. A lot of things I can still do with these two.

Mail Call: Blue Rose Six of Cups

Getting a new book in the mail is always a joy. Getting one you helped create is even better!

I got my author's copy of Blue Rose Six of Cups.

The PDF has been available for a bit and now the print book can be ordered from Green Ronin's online store.

As I have said in the past I adore Blue Rose. I just love the world, the system, everything about it. It is such a refresher after decades of "grim dark" RPGs.

I am particularly happy with this one. It has a new character I am particularly fond of.  My homage to the Piasa Bird and places I used to frequent. Another distateful member of the less than pleasant Meacham family. But most of all it was a joy and an honor to write something for Aldea. 

The Storm of the Century

The project lead, Joseph D. Carriker, for this book posted in Green Ronin News a little about this book. In particular, he talked about the "Storm of the Century" theme.  This was not something I (or to my knowledge) any of the other authors tried to do. I was pretty much working in my silo just to get this done with my only contact being Joseph. Who, please allow me to add, was great to work with.

Here is what he had to say about the storm.

One of the things I asked of our authors was to send me proposals for their adventures and gazetteers. In short order, it became apparent that (perhaps inspired by the elemental association of Cups with water) no less than three of the stories feature a massive coastal storm. Rather than require some of the authors to change their ideas, I thought I could include them all to highlight one of the interesting ways to use generally unrelated adventures.

Finding a common thread to run between adventures is an awesome way of building a sort of “accidental” campaign. The tumultuous weather plays a role in all three of the stories, and they are not written as being interrelated. An enterprising Narrator might, however, come up with some connecting concepts to help tie them together. Perhaps these are all part of a single, major storm system of some kind, a sort of terrifying storm of the century to strike the southern coast of Aldis? Or, perhaps there is something (or someone…) nefarious at work, hurling storm after storm into the world.

I do love this idea and the thought of a great storm coming to the southern coast of Aldis is too good to pass up. 

Personally, I think this is one of Blue Rose's greatest strengths when compared to D&D.  D&D can do a lot of great things. But it is largely still a game about and centered around combat.  In Blue Rose, you could make an adventure where the central focus was protecting a small coastal town from the coming storm. Not by fighting some demonic force or elemental, but as the Sovereign's Finest playing the role the National Guard does here. Organizing relief efforts, building sandbag walls, and figuring out what to do. Fantastic role-playing opportunity.  

So my darkfiend Dorgogz is not the cause of this massive storm, but rather he is here because of it. 

The adventures are leveled from 1 to 8 (mine for example is level 2-4). A new adventure, say levels 8-10 called "The Storm of the Century" would be this giant coastal storm.  Hmm...I am getting some ideas here.  With this sort of build-up, one could see that there is something connected and nefarious here. 

Can't wait to try out the other adventures in this book. They look great.

#RPGaDAY2022 Day 14 - Suggestion Sunday

So today is Suggestion Sunday.  I am supposed to "Roll 1d8+1, and tag that many friends and suggest a new RPG to try."

But generally speaking, I don't like to tag people like that. I have a few on my friend's list that in fact do not like to be tagged. The alternate is also tagging people. 

So instead I am rolling a 1d8+1 and recommending that number of RPGs in my to-be-read pile.

I rolled a 4 so here are 5 RPG recommendations from my to-be-read and to-be-reviewed piles.

1. The Dark Eye.  The English version of the German Die Schwarze Auge has been sitting here taunting me forever. It just looks like so much fun! Plus it has witches. You know I love that.

2. Coyote & Crow Core Rulebook. Alternate future, Native American RPG. The premise intrigues me and any game that has Cahokia as its central city already moves up several notches in my mind.

3. Hero Kids. I just love the idea of this game.

4. Far Away Land. I am embarrassed by how long this one has been on my TBR piles. It is so good and so much fun.

5. Blue Rose. I know I have reviewed it already and played it. But it is the "+1" part so I can go off of my own script. Seriously check it out it is a wonderful game.

Blue Rose: Who is Admiral Celeste Vorcolio?

Often, very often, the NPCs I will put into a game or adventure will be drawn from either someone I know or a previous character of mine.  St. Johan Werper in the Guidebook to the Duchy of Valnwall Special Edition is/was my first ever D&D character. Nearly every non-player character in my Night Worlds "Generation HEX" and "Ordinary World" in NIGHT SHIFT were characters in my long-running Chill/Buffy/Ghosts of Albion games.  The Editor in "Weirdly World News" in the Night Companion was based on the director for the play "The Front Page" I was in several lifetimes ago. 

But who is  Admiral Celeste Vorcolio of Six of Cups?

The folk hero of Garnet in Aldis, in the World of Aldea, is not based on any real person nor character of my past.

Since I was modeling the City of Garnet after my childhood memories of Alton, Illinois I took it a step further and thought about the stories I was reading then. While the Tall Tales of Paul Bunyan or Pecos Bill wouldn't really be appropriate for what I wanted, there was another one.  I remembered reading, the stories of a giant sailor named Stormalong. 

After reading mythology, I followed up with the American equivalent, the Tall Tale. While I liked the tales of Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan it was A. B. Stormalong that would actually feel like an adventure.  Pecos Bill was essentially a drunk cowboy soon to be upstaged in his antics by his younger, dumb brother "Florida Man." Paul Bunyan was a giant, but all he ever did was cut down trees. Stormalong, well he fought the Kraken! The idea that he boarded a ship and signed his name "Stormalong, A.B.," which would go on to mean "able-bodied sailor," stuck with me decades later.

I knew I wanted an admiral in the Aldean Navy.  I knew I wanted Garnet to be the heart of that Navy. So someone from Garnet needed to be the one that made the Navy into what it is today. 

I started with the idea of Stormalong, someone young and ready for adventure, jumping onto a ship and doing whatever they needed to do to be on that ship and rise up through the ranks.  The idea jelled for me when I thought about Star Trek The Next Generation.  Gene Rodenberry had described the characters of Picard, Riker, and Wesley Crusher as all being different parts of Horatio Hornblower.  Though originally "Wesley Crusher" was going to be "Leslie Crusher." Which gave me the idea of instead of Horatio Hornblower, why not Honor Harrington? 

If her adult form was Honor, then who was she as a (very) precocious child?  I mean, like annoyingly precocious. I saw her jumping on the ship and announcing to the crew that she was "Vorcolio, A.B. the greatest sailor in the world! And you will all be taking orders from me soon!"  Who from my readings would fit this mold? Easy. Pipi Longstalking.  Very soon a picture began to emerge.

Celeste, at age 12 runs away from home and jumps onto a ship to be a sailor. The laws at the time said she had to be 16 to join up, but she lied (her first lesson) to get on board.  She quickly proved that while she was a lot of talk, she was also willing to work hard. She took any and every job on the ship no matter how menial or difficult. She would whistle to herself and tell the crew that she wanted to know how to do everything on a ship so she could be a good captain.  When it was discovered that she lied about her age they were already too far out at sea.  The punishment for this was 10 lashes (it was a while back) she admitted she had lied and submitted herself to her punishment. All her other crewmates moved by her work and her willingness to stick to the rules, offered themselves up instead. In the end, the Captian agreed to not give her the lashes until a later date, but she had to learn the job of every crewman on the ship and be able to do it as good as they could.  She remained on that ship for years and when the time came to give her her punishment the Captain instead made her his first officer claiming that would be punishment enough.

She would later go on to have adventures of her own, find her Rhy-fen companion Jarry the Dolphin,  enroll in the Naval Academy where she would butt heads against other officers, fight giant sea monsters and pirates, battle with other Navies, and generally lived her life on the deck of on ship or another.

I don't know how she died.  I don't know when she started a family. I am inclined to say that in her later years she adopted a child and raised them as her own. I think that like many sailors, before and after, her only true love was the sea. 

There are no character stats for Celeste. When you get to Garnet she will have been dead a hundred years, unless you believe the talk of old sailors and they say she is still on the deck of her ship, The Stormalong, sailing the clouds of the storms.  If you listen close you can hear her shouting orders to her crew and laughing at the thunder and lightning.

Green Ronin currently is taking pre-orders for print of Six of Cups.  Order now and get $5 off AND for just $5 more (so retail price) you also get the PDF right now!  That is a hell of a deal.

https://greenroninstore.com/collections/blue-rose/products/blue-rose-six-of-cups

New Release Tuesday: Blue Rose Six of Cups

I have been waiting a bit to share this one with you all.  I have an adventure in the newest Blue Rose RPG book, Six of Cups!

Yes, that is my name at the bottom. 

I am quite excited about this really. There are a lot of great adventures here from a lot of great authors/designers.  Working with Green Ronin was a joy really. I am honored to have been able to contribute even just a small part to the World of Aldea.

My adventure, appropriately named "Witching Weather" deals with the birth of five children all of who have some sort of magical power and the forces of darkness that are closing in around them.

In addition to the adventure, I was given the privilege to add a bit more detail to the City of Garnet. 

I have seen the world of Blue Rose described as "fantasy Seatle" which may or may not be true, but Garnet as I have written it is "Fantasy Alton, IL."  Alton is a blue-collar riverside town with some great history, some unexpectedly good restaurants, and the shadow of the Piasa Bird everywhere you go.  Vyon Bloodwing, one of the adversaries of the adventure, is my homage to the Piasa Bird.  

So grab this book. It has my adventure in it and a bunch of other great adventures and guides to lesser-traveled places in Aldea.  When you are walking along the "Riverwalk" or "Restaurant Row" in Garnet please don't forget to raise your drink, be it a hearty stout or an equally strong tea, to both the Sovereign and the famous Admiral Celeste Vorcolio. Both the pride and joy of Garnet.  

Blue Rose as an Old-School Setting?

Last month I put up my review of the new Blue Rose Adventurer's Guide, which allows you to play a Blue Rose game using D&D 5th Edition.

Now. I love Blue Rose. I love D&D 5e.  But I also love my old school games.  To be blunt, I am an old gamer and these games fill me with nostalgia.  Can I run a Blue Rose game using the systems I have here?

Short answer? Yes!
Longer Answer? HELL Yes!

Everything I need is right at my fingertips. So how would I do it?  Let's have a look.  Now I have talked about how to take Blue Rose and run the AGE system like an old-school-style game already.   Here I want to talk about how to take your old-school rules and run them like a Blue Rose game.

Setting

Grab the first Seven chapters of the Blue Rose Adventure's Guide and use them as-is. Append with details from AGE or True 20 as needed.  I mention the True 20 since some things will be easier to convert from that.

Classes

Blue Rose True 20 and AGE have only three classes, Adept, Expert, and Warrior.  Blue Rose Adventure's Guide has all the classes from D&D 5.  Older versions of the game don't have all of these. No problems let's see what we do have.

In the Blue Rose Adventure's Guide, we have the following Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Thief, Warlock, and Wizard.

By using the "Advanced" versions of both Old-School Essentials and Labyrinth Lord, plus a couple of my witch classes, we could cover every class.  It pains me to even say it but we might not even need my witches here!

True20 / AGE	D&D 5e	OSR / Basic
Warrior	Barbarian	Barbarian(LL-A)
Expert/Adept	Bard	Bard (OSE-A)
Adept/Warrior	Cleric	Cleric
Adept/Expert	Druid	Druid
Warriror	Fighter	Fighter
Warrior/Adept	Monk	Monk (LL-A)
Warrior/Adept	Paladin	Paladin
Warrior/Expert/Adept	Ranger	Ranger
Adept	Sorcerer	Magic-User
Expert	Thief	Thief
Adept	Warlock	Witch
Adept	Wizard	Magic-user

Ancestry, Culture, and Backgrounds

What old-school games call race we will now break up into Ancestry, Culture, and Backgrounds.

Essentially we can map them like this, rules-wise:

Humans are Humans, Night People use the rules for Half-orcs, and the Vata are essentially Elves rules-wise.  Sea folk are humans with some perks, I'd use the half-elf rules for them.  Small Rhydan can use the rules for halflings and medium Rhydan use the rules for Dwarves. Alter movements and attacks as needed.

Monsters

Every monster in the Blue Rose books has something similar to it in the D20 SRD.  This is an artifact of the Blue Rose True20 days.  If it is in the SRD then there is likely an Old-School version somewhere. I could do a search, but I am pretty confident that every monster in the BR-AGE core can be found somewhere in the Old-School world.

Relationships

Blue Rose pays a lot of attention to how the characters interact with others.  This absolutely should be part of an Old School Blue Rose game too.  Here though mechanics and rules will have to give way to good roleplaying and XP bonuses for characters who play their roles well.  While some old-schoolers may balk at this idea, seeing the characters as only a collection of numbers, the truth is the role-playing aspects that both Blue Rose and D&D5 players love so much today were already all there back in old-school play.  Some of us did it then and didn't need the rules to tell us how or why.

Still, I would offer some XP bonuses for good in-character inter-personal relationships. Especially the bonds.  OR if I REALLY wanted to get old school, XP penalty for not doing it.

I might also replace the Law-Neutral-Chaos alignment with Light-Twilight alignment.  Effectively there is not much difference in terms of how one plays a character, but it would give a different feel. 

Everything Else

In truth what I have above covers nearly everything.  What remains can be handled by the DM/Narrator in their own games.  I have already talked about how to use Blue Rose in conjunction with several old-school adventures.

• Palace of the Vampire Queen
• B1 In Search of the Unknown
• B3 Palace of the Silver Princess
• X1 The Isle of Dread
• X2 Castle Amber

My family really enjoyed playing Blue Rose so I might add some more elements of this game to my old-school games.

Review: Blue Rose Adventurer's Guide

I am on record as being a big fan of Green Ronin's Blue Rose setting, both in its True20 and AGE versions.   There is just something about it that I find very, very compelling and think it makes for a fantastic game and game world.

I am also on record as being a huge fan of D&D 5th Edition.  While it wont replace my beloved Basic D&D it will sit on my shelves and game table very happily right next to it.  

So what happens when Green Ronin decides to take their Blue Rose world and used the D&D 5th edition rule system?  Well, you get the best of both worlds!  Let's look into this RPG chocolate and peanut butter creation and see what we have.  My only fear is that some of the things that made Blue Rose so special might get lost here.  Let's find out.

The Blue Rose Adventurer's Guide (5e)

For this review I am considering the PDF and POD versions I purchased from DriveThruRPG.  Note: As of the date of this writing the POD is no longer available. I suspect this has to do with the change in printing costs for "Premium Color" prints.  There was a successful Kickstarter (that I missed) to fund a traditional print run.  It looks like there will offset printing ready for your FLGS by the end of 2021.  I guess I better hold on to my now collector's item!

The book is 176 pages with full-color art throughout.  Once again the cover art is by the incredible Stephanie Pui-Mun Law who has given us the look and feel I associate with Blue Rose.  All of the art, as far as I can tell, has been used before in the AGE version of Blue Rose.  I do not see this as a problem. The art is so tied to Blue Rose for me that I would have a difficult time seeing anything else.  So this is a positive in my mind.

It is hard to believe that it was four years ago that I reviewed the "new" Blue Rose AGE edition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).  So a lot of what I said there will apply here.  

You do not need the Blue Rose core rules to play this, but you do need the D&D 5th Edition rules.

Introduction

This section from developer Steve Kenson introduces us to Green Ronin and Blue Rose.  It is a nice reminder that Green Ronin's DNA is deeply sequenced with D&D.  Many of the founders and developers at GR can trace their careers back AD&D 2nd Ed, D&D 3.x, and D&D 5.  These are not "johnny come latelys" these are people with a strong and credible background in game design and D&D in particular.   This also covers some naming conventions.  "Sorcery" from the True20 and AGE versions has been renamed "The Occult" here, so as not to confuse with the sorcerer class.  Similar distinctions are made later on with Priests and Clerics when dealing with the various theocracies.

Chapters 1 through 7

These chapters all deal with the history, people, and geography of the World of Aldea.  They are,in order, The World of Aldea, The Kingdom of Aldis, The Theocracy of Jarzon, The Khanate of Rezea, The Thaumocracy of Kern, The Matriarch of Lar'tya, and On the Borders.

While these sections are nearly identical to similar sections in the Blue Rose core rules AGE edition, they are not a copy and paste.  I covered those in Part 2 of my Blue Rose review.  The differences here are now largely one of rules setting.  Details have been edited to better fit the D&D 5e rules.  

This also works well as an overview for anyone wanting to play in Aldea regardless of which rules (True20, AGE, D&D5) they want to use.

Chapter 8: Aldean Ancestries

We are moving away from the old concept of race in D&D and I could not be happier.  This chapter gives us a good example of how this can be done moving forward.  There is a natural familiarity here for anyone coming to this version of BR from the True20 one.  The ancestries of the world of Aldea are here and how they can be played in D&D 5.  If you are thinking ahead then YES, you can now use Rhydan and Sea-folk in your regular D&D game.  

What was "race" is not split off into Ancestries (your "genetics" as it were) and Culture (where you were raised).  This is particularly useful in the cosmopolitan world that is Aldea and in particular Aldis. Sure you might a Night Person, but you were raised in a villa on the Northside of Garnet.  Your best friend is a Sea-folk and you spent more time on the waterways than whatever stereotypical things people think Night Folk do. Sure you might be naturally strong and fierce-looking, but the only battles you have ever been in are the Poetry competitions in Garnet. Which by the way are pretty damn fierce in their own right. In my Blue Rose games, Garnet has annual poetry competitions that have all vibe and energy of an epic Rap-battle.  The top prize is a lot of money, but more importantly, bragging rights.

I would like to say this should be back-ported into D&D, but I am pretty sure we will see this in future versions anyway.  This is an improvement.  Character customization at a new level.

Chapter 9: Aldean Classes

Ah. Here is what I waiting on.  Blue Rose AGE and True20 versions only has three classes.  An while this works remarkably well, D&D has a bit more.  So in the proud tradition of so many D&D 5 books, this book offers new takes on all the standard classes.  I want to focus here on just a couple I really like.  

The Monk gains the Blue Rose Spirit Dancers in the Way of the Spirit Dance and makes it better than the sum of it's parts.  I have never been a big fan of monks, I have only played one in my 40+ years of gaming.  The Blue Rose spirit dancers were a great concept, but again, not something I would play.  This new Way of the Spirit Dancer Monk is better than either and yes I would play one.  Imagine an acrobat with ballet training and grace and mix that in with aikido and karate.  Yes, that is basically Gymkata (Gods of Light help me) but so much better really.

Paladins get the Oath of the Rose and really just become the Knights I was always playing in BR anyway, but nice to see them on paper.

Warlocks.  You knew I was coming here. We get two Patrons here (from the Primordial Gods), the Autumn King and the Winter Queen.  A Winter Queen warlock is indistinguishable from how I like to play witches as to be the exact same thing.  But honestly, I expected nothing less from Steve Kenson and line developer Joseph Carriker. 

Wizards get a little psychic in School of the Psyche.  I would run wizards with a pretty tight hand in Blue Rose 5e. Not because of the lack of magic, just the opposite, there is a ton of magic in this world. 

These all are designed well for the World of Aldea, but I'd be crazy not to play a Queen of Winter Warlock.

We also get some Feats to help round out some of the powers that characters can get in Blue Rose-AGE.  Not a lot, but 5e is not as feat-heavy as 3 was.  

Chapter 10: Aldean Backgrounds

Aldea is a new world so there are some modified and new backgrounds for it.  The best is the Reawakened.  Or the reincarnation background.  You know I am going to use that!

Chapter 11: Aldean Arcana

This covers the magic in Aldea including the Occult (what was called Sorcery).  Some spells from the Player's Handbook/SRD are marked as "Occult" spells.

I would have loved to see some new spells here, but I would need to go through both the Blue Rose book and the PHB to see if there is anything missing.

We get some new magic items including Ancestral and Rhydan ones as well as Occult Artifacts (great for any game).

Chapter 12: Aldean Creatures

This covers the monsters and creatures we find in Aldea not in the Monster Manual/SRD.  There are some important alterations to some creatures such as Griffons, Centaurs, the Fey, and undead, to correspond to the world better.  We also get Clockwork creatures, "upgraded" Fey Lords, and slightly different Fiends. Rhydan also get updated 5e style stats.

Shadow of Tanglewood

This is an included adventure for four to six 1st level Blue Rose heroes. 

There is an Index and the OGL statement.

While I was worried that some of the charms of Blue Rose AGE would be lost here there is more than enough to make up for it.  I mean there are no stunts or any of the other nice features of the AGE rules. There is no conversion matrix for bringing over characters from one game to the other.  But this book plays to the strengths of D&D 5e and still manages to give us an Aldea that feels special. 

What might have been lost from the AGE (or even True20) version is more than made up for with D&D5.  It's not exactly the same, but it is every bit as fun.

Who Should Buy This Book?

If you are a Blue Rose fan and a D&D fan then get this book.  If you are a Blue Rose player/GM/fan and your group is playing D&D 5 then you should get this book.  If you are a D&D 5 player, and you are curious about Blue Rose, Aldea, and the City of Aldis then most certainly get this book.

One of the great strengths of this book is its ability to introduce the concepts of Blue Rose and its world to a bunch of new players.  Honestly, D&D 5 players should be grabbing this book. 

If I were Green Ronin, I'd put a QuickStart adventure using Blue Rose 5e with some very simple concepts from the game.  Don't include character creation, but instead have a set of pre-made characters including a Night Person, a Rhy-Cat (or Rhy-Bear), a Sea Folk, and a Vata.  Show off their strengths and then get a group of YouTubers to play it. I know my youngest's group would eat this up in a heartbeat.  Slap a giant ad in the back for both versions of the game.

Now I just need a set of Blue Rose 5e dice to go with my set of Blue Rose AGE d6s.

Mail Call! Minis, Blue Rose and Old Dragons

I got a bunch in the mail this past weekend so let's have a look!

HeroForge

Up first,  Some new minis from HeroForge.

Graz'zt and my paladin Johan.  His sword, Demonbane, is on fire because it is a demon-hunting sword and Graz'zt is near.

You can get a better look at Graz'zt below.

If you click on the HeroForge link here you can even see he has six fingers on each hand!

I forgot who made this, the post on Facebook is gone, but she did a great job.

He compares well to the official mini that was made for him.

And he looks good next to my HeroForge Iggwilv.

Blue Rose Adventure's Guide

The Blue Rose Adventure's Guide is out as a DriveThruRPG POD and it looks great!

This allows you to play a Blue Rose game using the D&D 5th Edition rules. It is surprisingly complete.

You do not need the Blue Rose core rules to play this, but you do need the D&D 5th Edition rules.

A full review coming soon.

Dragon #20

And last, but not at all least, I finally got a copy of Dragon #20 with the Witch class and demonology guide.

Expect a "This Old Dragon" post on this one soon!