The Acrobatic Flea for NIGHT SHIFT

One of the first blogs I encountered was Tim Knight's Hero Press. He had a lot of the same interests I did and he writes about a lot of cool stuff.  I like to joke that Hero Press is "The Other Side" of England.

Like my Johan, he has a character that has gone with him from game to game, but in particular Villians & Vigilantes.  His character, the Acrobatic Flea, is something of a mascot of Hero Press.  He has built the Flea for many universes, much like I do for my Larina.  

So it stands to reason there is a Flea in NIGHT SHIFT.

The Acrobatic Flea for NIGHT SHIFT

Aspiring reporter Sean Edward Ridire got his dream job at Weirdly World News. Figuring out he would get the big scoop on the truth about UFOs and aliens. But a chance encounter with a vampire and helping a victim out introduced the vigilante known only as the Acrobatic Flea to the world of the supernatural. 

In the worlds of NIGHT SHIFT this Acrobatic Flea patrols the dark streets of Knight City protecting the innocents of the world from the creatures of the night. Donning a protective suit and special night vision goggles he keeps his identity secret. Using his contacts at WWN he hunts down the stories AND the monsters.  

Here he is for Night Shift. NIGHT SHIFT is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).

The Acrobatic Flea
3rd level Survivor (Human)
Archetype: Correspondent

Strength: 12 (0) 
Dexterity: 14 (+1) S
Constitution: 15 (+1) 
Intelligence: 13 (+1) P
Wisdom: 14 (+1)  
Charisma: 15 (+1) S

HP: 16
Alignment: Light
AC: 5 (tactical suit)
Attack: +1

Fate Points: 1d6

Check Bonus (P/S/T): +3/+1/0

Melee bonus: 0 Ranged bonus: +1

Saves: +4 to death saves. +2 to all others.

Survivor Abilities
Stealth skills; Climbing; Danger Sense (1-4); Sneak Attack +4, x2; Read Languages 80%

Survivor Skills

• Open Locks: 35%
• Bypass Traps: 30%
• Sleight of Hand: 40%
• Move Silently: 40%
• Hide in Shadows: 30%
• Climbing 75%
• Perception: 50%

Skills
Research, Insight, Notice (x2)

Gear
Tactical suit, night vision goggles, climbing gear.

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This could be a lot of fun! I like this, I would love to use the Flea as an NPC one time. Hope you approve Tim!

Mail Call: D&D in Miniature

Oh good another Mail Call Tuesday!  They say great things come in small packages, so let's see what these small packages have for me today?

Up first I finally decided to do myself in Mini form from HeroForge.  So here is DM Tim in 25 mm scale. Complete with a laptop, a stack of books, and my always-present giant ass mug of coffee.  The only detail missing is the pencil behind my right ear.

I didn't care for their sneakers options so I am wearing my Gen X-mandated Doc Martens with yellow laces. 

Might need to use this as "The Editor" in my Weirdly World News games.

I also grabbed my next to last 21st Century miniature reprint of the AD&D 1st Edition hardcovers.  And this one is from the personal collection of Heidi Gygax.

Now I am just a Dungeoneers Survival Guide away from completing my set of the mini AD&D hardcover books.  Though I doubt it will have the pedigree of my Dragonlance book.

#AtoZChallenge2022: E is for Extraterrestrials on Earth

The A to Z of Conspiracy Theories: E is for Extraterrestrials on Earth

Getting back to some of the aliens I want to talk about some of the aliens found on Earth and how they can be used in the game.

There are some generally accepted aliens in UFOlogy (yeah that is a word I typed). Let's go over them here and then see what we have.

Nordics

These aliens are called this because they, generally speaking, are tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, human-looking aliens.  Seriously I can't help but think about how many of these ideas are so steeped in racism and these are the Poster Boys.  Though, and to be fair, maybe they are more like the Asgardians of the Marvel Universe? Nah, that is giving them too much credit.  

The Nordics supposedly come from the Pleiades star cluster.  They seem to have a more benign nature that the other aliens. 

Reptilians 

OR Reptoids I have mentioned already this month and they have a much more sinister motive here.  They have infiltrated various levels of government (more on that later this month), but their true purposes are still unknown.  They can shape-shift and appear to be human and are believed to be somewhere from the Alpha Draconis system. 

Greys

These guys are jerks. They visit trailer parks in the middle of the night and abduct people.  Ok that is a bit glib.  These aliens are some of the most seen and are responsible for many of the close encounters. Indeed they were featured in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (one of my favorites), Roswell, Strieber's "Communion," and the various "Alien Autopsy" movies. 

Popularly they are considered to be from Zeta Reticuli.  This is based on a drawing from one of the most famous alien abductees ever, Betty Hill.  

While generally believed to be benign, there is the opinion that they see humans as little better than animals to be experimented on. 

LGMs

The Little Green Men are common in Sci-Fi but have not featured much in conspiracy theories or alien sightings for a while.  They were commonly believed to have been from Mars.  

As their name implies they are shorter than humans, even shorter than greys.  

Insectoids

These aliens are spotted far less frequently than the others.  The Selenites are often depicted as insectoids.  Because of this, I am tempted to give them a temporary base on the moon. It was just set up.

Alien Species Concepts by Deimos-Remus

For NIGHT SHIFT

These five alien species all are active on the Earth of NIGHT SHIFT, in particular Weirdly World News.  Their motivations are pretty simple.  Nordics are observing and helping where they think is best.  Greys and LGMs are abducting humans and trying to figure out what makes them tick.  Insectoids are new to Earth and are rivals with the Reptoids. Their true motivations are still unknown.

That leaves the Reptoids.  They are going to be detailed in more posts here, but basically, they are here to take control of the Earth and its people. There is a lot of speculation on what they want here from human slaves, or they are draining our psychic energy, to needing a new home after their world was destroyed.  

Like the Ophidians I mentioned on Monday, the Reptilians/Reptoids can't use magic. Nordics do use magic, or at least they do something that seems similar to magic.

There are a couple of good game resources that cover all these aliens.  First, there is the DARK PLACES & DEMOGORGONS - The Cryptid Manual (review) a great resource on all sorts of cryptids and aliens.  And secondly an old favorite of mine, The Unexplained (review) a Fudge-based RPG. 

Both are excellent resources.

The NIGHT SHIFT RPG is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).

Mail Call: Night Shift, More Witch Queens and Rat Baby!

Quick one today.  Yesterday's mail brought me some wonderful gifts.

Up first are the new books for the NIGHT SHIFT RPG.  The Night Companion and a new "Night Trip" A Faustian Dilemma.   These are both the babies of my co-author Jason Vey.  You can now get both at the Elf Lair Games store.

I do have a new "Nigth World" in Night Companion.  My "Weirdly World News" where you get to play tabloid reporters try to get that ever-elusive story that proves the supernatural is real, and hope there is a good paycheck in it. 

This book also introduces the world the everyone's favorite cryptid, Rat Baby.

 Kickstarter backers will be getting their books now. I knew I was on the end of the list for my copies.

I also got a new Witch Queen adventure in the mail again from Carlos A.S. Lising and casl Entertainment.

As you can see, this one also features Iggwilv as the titular Witch.

I am going to give this one a review and hope it is as fun as The Witch-Queen's Lament was.  I think I am going to restructure my War of the Witch Queens adventures just a bit.