Kickstart Your Weekend: No One Warps For Free

Venger is back and this time he has some new for the universe of Alpha Blue.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1575519826/no-one-warps-for-free

The newest and now full color Alpha Blue supplement, Alpha Ass, Hydrogen Gas, or Cosmic Grass... No One Warps For Free!  Is being kickstarted today.

I will freely admit.  I love Alpha Blue.  70s Sci-Fi sleaze is almost as much fun as 70s horror sleaze and I love them both.  Alpha Blue is one of my favorite all time RPG books.  Not books Venger has done, but all RPG books.  Why? Because it is so over the top and really in an infinite universe a space station like Alpha Blue would exist.  

Venger always delivers on his kickstarters so this one should be no different.  He is promising a minimum of 30 pages and all full color. 

New classes include Bard, Primitive Screwheads and Space sorcerers.  Hell, it sounds like so much fun I might need to come up with a sect of my own Sisters of the Aquarian Order to play with this.    Oh know!  Before they take their final oaths all prospective Sisters are given 24 hours where they are free to do whatever they want.  Well, a group of near-graduating space witches have chosen to party on Alpha Blue.  

So check this out.  Alpha Blue is Venger's best selling line for a reason.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1575519826/no-one-warps-for-free

This Old Dragon: Issue #99

Setting the controls on the Delorean for July 1995.  Summer of between my Sophomore and Junior years in high school.  I played AD&D every weekday that I wasn't working and on the weekends when I could.  One big screen is Back to the Future, a franchise that will one day head to the magical futuristic year of 2015.  Our cars still don't fly.  Duran Duran get's the first #1 song for Bond Film on the US charts. So let's get into our Delorean's, set the flux capacitor to July 1985 and dance into the fire of Issue #99 of This Old Dragon!

Issue #99 is an often forgotten issue in my mind.  On one side we have issue #90, the Tenth Anniversary issue and on the other #100.  Poor old 99 kinda gets forgotten.  The cover from Clyde Duensing III is fine, but nothing special.

Letters has some questions about the Gorgon from the last Ecology Of article.

Kim Mohan's editorial talks about how Unearthed Arcana will "change the way the AD&D game is played."  Not sure it did that, but it certainly began what would later become the edition wars.

The Forum covers some of these questions, in particular, the new Demi-human level limits.

Stephen Inniss is back this time with The Neutral Point of View. Or how to play those lawful, chaotic, and true neutral characters, monsters and NPCs.  It's a good read and some of the philosophy would later appear in D&D 3.

Tables and Table of Troops by James Yates is actually a little more than just tables.  It does, however, talk a lot about how armies move. I am pretty sure my then DM used these ideas for our world-wide war.  The advantage to this article is it can still be used with every version of the D&D game.

Win $10,000 for playing an RPG?  Can't be true! But that is what Pacesetter says in this ad.

Nigel D. Findley, a name I associate a lot with later 80s D&D, is up with The Ecology of the Will-o-Wisp. I covers what I always felt was ill-defined at best, the relationship between boggarts and Wisps.  I think I prefer the undead version of the Wisp found in D&D 5.

Ah now, this article I do remember.  Kevin Anderson and Kristine Thompson team up to give us That's Life in the Big City.  We came back to this article a lot when we (my then gaming group) were working on our "Urban Survival Guide".  There is not a lot here, but there is a good overview of what a fortified city is like.

Some ads.
Flipping back I see I am missing pages 30 to 39.
Looking at my CD-Rom I see it was History of a game that failed:An essay on mistakes  and how not to make them by David F. Godwin. I wonder why the original owner cut this one out?

The World Gamer's Guide.  Coming Attractions from TSR.  This includes a new RPG, PROTON FIRE by Bruce Nesmith.  Can't wait to play that one!! (more later)

The centerpiece here is the Treasure Trove II but mine is gone.  No surprise there I guess.
It's too bad really.  The article on Swords was good if I recall right.

Merle and Jackie Rasmussen are back with Authentic Agencies, Part III. This time they cover the Communist Bloc including the KGB and SSD, and the Middle East.  It's like a trip down memory lane.

Another ad from our good friend Ramal LaMarr.

After the fiction bit we come to the Ares section.

Let's see.  Alex Curylo gives us some tanks for Star Frontiers in Tanks a Lot!
It's actually kind of a great article and I remember cutting it out and putting it in my KnightHawks boxed set.

Psybots and Battle Mechs gives us a look at the new PROTON FIRE game.  Look closely, because to my knowledge this is all we will ever see of that game.   I have no idea why it never saw the light of day.

Marvel-Phile has some Russian super-heroes.
A Gamma-World article that has been cut out.

Lots of Cons in the Convention Calendar.

Gamer's Guide has the small ads.

Wormy weighs in at 2 pages. Snarf at 3.

All in all not a real memorable issue, minus the magic items and the article on the cities.
Want to know what was going on over the pond at this time?  Check out my review for White Dwarf #67.

Take us home Ramal!

Wayward Sisters for Amazing Adventures

Ah. I have never met a windmill I couldn't joust with.

Anyway it's AMAYzine May AND it is Wayward Wednesday.  So today you can watch your favorite Supernatural episode featuring the Wayward girls on Netflix.

Amazing Adventures is a really awesome game with a lot of character development and customization built right in.  Today I want to just work from the core rulebook and figure out how to add some different quirks to some characters with similar backgrounds.

Jody and Donna are both sheriffs working in the northern part of the Midwest.
Anne/Alex and Clare are both survivors that have turned to less-legal pursuits for hunting monsters.   AA gives me the means to get a little more finesse out of these characters.


Links lead to their pages on the Supernatural Wiki.

Jody Mills
Class: Gumshoe (Police officer)
Level: 7
Lawful Good

hp: 46
AC: 12
BtH: +7

Attributes
STR: 12 (0)
*DEX: 14 (+1)
CON: 15 (+1)
INT: 15 (+1)
WIS: 16 (+2)
CHA: 15 (+1)

Class Abilities
Climb, Cat & Mouse, Hide, Move Silently, Take em Down, Precision Shot, Face in the Crowd
Adversary (Monsters)

Traits
Abrasive, Honest

Background: Law enforcement
Knowledge: Law

Donna Hanscum

Class: Gumshoe (Police officer)
Level: 7
Lawful Good

hp: 46
AC: 12
BtH: +7

Attributes
STR: 13 (+1)
*DEX: 12 (0)
CON: 12 (0)
INT: 14 (+1)
WIS: 17 (+2)
CHA: 16 (+2)

Class Abilities
Climb, Cat & Mouse, Hide, Move Silently, Take em Down, Precision Shot, Face in the Crowd
Adversary (Monsters, mostly Vampires)

Traits
Cautious, Easy going, Honest

Background: Law enforcement
Knowledge: Law

The differences between Jody an Donna are subtle in terms of stats, but they are role-played very differently.  Jody has a longer history of hunters and hunting, but Donna has made up for lost time.

Jody can be a bit abrasive with others and with her family, but that is only becuase she worries about them. Her first family were all killed.

Donnan can act all sunshine and Minnesota good cheer, but never doubt that she has already figured out the monster and knows a couple of different ways to kill it "doncha know".

Alex/Anne Jones
Class: Socialite/Hooligan (Multi-class)
Level: 1 / 3 (3)
Neutral Good

hp: 24
AC: 10
BtH: +1

Attributes
STR: 12 (0)
*DEX: 12 (0)
CON: 15 (+1)
INT: 15 (+1)
WIS: 16 (+2)
*CHA: 15 (+1)

Class Abilities
(s) Charm, Connected (Vampire clans), Exalt (Vampire clans) (no clan)
(h) Back Attack,  Case Target, Climb, Hide, Lingo (Vampire slang), Listen, Move Silently, Open Locks, Pick Pockets, Traps, Medicine (from Nurse's training)

Traits
Passionate, Focused

Background: Mean streets
Knowledge: Vampires

Anne has two classes to cover the time when she was living bait for a clan of vampires (Socialite) and when she was later hunting and acting out (Hooligan) or as Jody put it, she was not a cheerleader but the one smoking pot under the bleachers.

Clare Novak
Class: Hooligan
Level: 4
Chaotic Good

hp: 20
AC: 11
BtH: +1

Attributes
STR: 12 (0)
*DEX: 12 (0)
CON: 15 (+1)
INT: 15 (+1)
WIS: 16 (+2)
CHA: 15 (+1)

Class Abilities
Back Attack,  Case Target, Climb, Hide, Lingo (Hunter slang), Listen, Move Silently, Open Locks, Pick Pockets, Traps, Sneak Attack

Traits
Passionate, Reckless

Background: Mean Streets
Knowledge: Angels and demons

Anne and Clare would normally by the rules appear to be Hooligans.  Anne/Alex starts out as a "Socialite" since that is the closest thing in the rules to "pretty vampire bait". Though she did do all of the things a socialite did for her vampire clan.   After she was freed she became every bit the rebellous teen Hooligan that Clare is.   Using the rules to swap out powers I took out her "Traps" ability and replaced it with "Medicine" to cover her training as a Nurse.  I am thinking that for now she is an LPN, not an RN, so maybe as she gets better I might have to rule of taking out some of her other hooligan abilities that no longer fit.
I also removed her Exalt since she is not running with a vampire clan/nest anymore.

Patience Turner
Class: Mentalist
Level: 1
Lawful Good

hp: 6
AC: 10
BtH: +0

Attributes
STR: 12 (0)
DEX: 14 (+1)
CON: 12 (0)
INT: 18 (+3)
*WIS: 16 (+2)
CHA: 17 (+2)

Class Abilities
Meditation, Psionic Power, Psychic Senses

Traits
Focused

Psionic Powers
Basic: Clairvoyance w/ Pre-cognitive

Background: Student

Knowledge: School topics

Patience is the easiest one.  She is, by any definition I can think of, a 1st level character.  She has some skills (she is top student and athlete) but she only has one trick right now and that is her visions.  So she is a perfect level 1 Mentalist with very, very minimal customization.

Ok. Now, these are builds I can enjoy and get behind.  These would be some kick-ass characters to play.  Everything from Patience discovering what her own powers mean and what she can do, to Clare's unresolved anger issues and the new mother/daughter relationship to Jody (who is basically Clare in few more years).  Even Anne trying to put the horror of her life behind her to do something normal.

It would make for a great game and a great TV show.

Don't forget that Petition!
https://www.change.org/p/the-cw-save-wayward-sisters

Willow and Tara: Amazing Adventures, 2018 update

In many ways I still associate Tuesdays with Buffy.

Hard to believe, but five an half years ago I posted Amazing Adventures stats for Willow and Tara.  The idea then, and now, was to experiment with different types of Arcanists.  Willow is a very typical Intelligence-based spell caster while Tara was always a more Wisdom-based one. I have also done a Charisma-based Aracanist, in the form of Rachel Morgan.

As you can imagine I am trying to replicate my C&C Witch in a modern format.

The Amazing Adventures of Willow & Tara, 2018

Recently I have been using Amazing Adventures as a modern game as opposed to a pulp game.  So instead of thinking about Tommy Guns and the like I am more interested in smart phones, computers and GPS.    The shift has been an interesting one.  Thankfully Amazing Adventures is based on a core of d20 so finding extra material is very easy.

So what have my witches been up to?

Given what I have been doing with the characters for the last few years I would have to say they have been largely retired.  So taking the reunion staged by Entertainment Weekly, I would say something pulled them out of retirement.  Maybe a horrible orange monster threatening to take over the world. Or something.  Of course I do want to figure out an adventure to pull all my favorite supernatural shows together in one mega-episode crossover.

Willow Danielle Rosenberg-Maclay
Arcanist (INT) 12
Human Female, Lawful Good

Age: 37, Ht: 5'3", Hair: Red, Eyes: Green

hp: 45
MEP: 114
AC: 12 (locket of protection)/ 15 (when in physical contact with Tara)
Move: 30'

STR: 9 (0)
DEX: 11 (0)
*CON: 11 (0)
*INT: 18 (+3)
WIS: 16 (+2)
CHA: 17 (+2)

Languages: English, Latin, Hebrew, French* (extra language)
Background: Computers +4 (+2 initial, improved at 5th, 10th level), Science +2
Traits: Spellgifted (offensive), Reckless
Skill: Knowledge (Arcana)

Spells per Level 9/6/6/5/3/2/1
0: Arcane Mark, Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Message, Open/Close, Prestidigitation
1: Arcane Bolt, Burning Hands, Identify, Read Magic, Shocking Grasp, Sleep
2: Bullet Proof, Darkness, Enhance Attribute, Invisibility Scare, Shatter
3: Blink, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Fly, Lightning Bolt, Magic Circle
4: Confusion, Locate Creature, Scrying,
5: Telekinesis, Telepathic Bond
6: Chain Lightning

Willow's class is Arcanist, but her backgrounds are computers and science. She does have increased knowledge skill in Arcana.  It is also likely that Willow has bought off her Reckless by now.  Compared to my earlier version, I have dropped the unneeded Gadgeteer level.

Tara Ann Rosenberg-Maclay
Arcanist (WIS) 11
Human Female, Lawful Good

Age: 38, Ht: 5'5", Hair: Blonde, Eyes: Blue

hp: 42
MEP: 100
AC: 12 (locket of protection)/ 15 (when in physical contact with Willow)
Move: 30'

STR: 12 (0)
DEX: 9 (0)
CON: 12 (0)
INT: 16 (+2)
WIS: 18 (+3)
CHA: 16 (+2)

Languages: English, Latin, Gaelic, Japanese (bonus free language)
Background: Historian +4 (+2 initial, improved at 5th, 10th level), Artist +2
Traits: Spellgifted (defensive), Polite
Skill: Knowledge (myth and legend)

Spells per Level 9/6/6/5/3/2
0: Blinding Flash, Detect Evil, Detect magic, First Aid, Know Direction, Light, Purify Food & Drink, Message, Prestidigitation
1: Animal Friendship, Command, Cure Light Wounds*, Protection from Evil, Remove Fear, Shield of Faith
2: Aid, Darkness, Delay Poison, Hold Person, Lesser Restoration*, Speak with Animals
3: Cure Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic, Magic Circle against Evil, Remove curse, Spiritual Weapon
4: Dismissal, Restoration*, Wall of Force
5: Dispel Evil, Scrying

*Tara still retains her healing touch divine powers from when she was brought back from the dead.
To fit my general idea of Tara more I would like to up her MEP to the maximum amount. She might not have a lot of different spells, but she has a lot of power.

So for me it has been nearly 10 years since I used these characters in these incarnations.

What have they been doing?  Well in the Dragon and the Phoenix/Season of the Witch timeline they moved to Boston, been married for years. Willow owned a software security firm ("RedWitch") that she later sold making millions. Tara has degrees in art history and counseling. She teaches at a school for young magicians and witches (no not Hogwarts). They have two daughters Brianna 12 and Chole 9.

Reading over this I think what I really need to try is to start these characters over again at 1st level and see what it is like to run them under AA.  It makes perfect sense if you think about it.

Buffy = Demon Hunter
Xander = Hooligan
Willow = Arcanist (Int)
Tara = Arcanist (Wis)
Cordelia = Socialite
Giles = Occultist
Oz = Werewolf
Angel, Spike = Vampire

I could be a lot of fun.

Amazing Adventures for AMAYzing May!

Troll Lord games is continuing their AMAYZing May celebration with all sorts of sales but in particular their Amazing Adventures line.

I figured I would give AA another spin, but this time as a Modern, 21st Century game.

I also wanted a game where I could pull in all my favorite urban supernatural, modern horror characters under one system to see how they would all fare with each other.   I have a lot of things I want to try.

For this last week of AMAYzing May I want to link some of my past reviews and some characters that fit in my supernatural world.

• Amazing Adventures (Core Rules)
• Amazing Adventures Companion
• Amazing Adventures Book of Powers

Some characters for this world

• Willow & Tara (Pulp versions)
• Giovanni "John" Zatara & Zatanna
• Universal Monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, The Creature from the Black Lagoon)
• Libby Sawyer
• Rachel Morgan

And for free

• The Demon Hunter Class
• 5th Edition Amazing Adventures Preview

Will have more this week!

No posts today

My oldest son is graduating from high school.  See you all in a bit.

AMAYzing May!

I have been very remiss at posting this, but Troll Lord games is having their AMAYZing May celebration with all sorts of sales but in particular their Amazing Adventures line.

All as a build up to their new 5th Edition version of Amazing Adventures, which you can get a preview of now.

5th Edition Amazing Adventures Preview

I have not read it all yet, but what I have looks like fun AND it still retains the best qualities of both 5e and Amazing Adventures.

Could this be my new modern game?

I am going to have to give it a go.