Monstrous Mondays: The Bluff Creek Woodwose

 Today is the 68th Anniversary of the most famous Bigfoot film footage ever, the Patterson-Gimlin film. As a kid, I devoured anything Bigfoot-related. Of course the odds that a giant hominid still running around out there is really, really slim to none at all. The tales are still fun. 

I am also working on ideas to combine Bigfoot with some witch and occult ideas. Proper nod to the weird shit of the 1970s that still fuel my games.

The Bluff Creek Woodwose (Sasquatch Matron)

Frequency: Very Rare
No. Appearing: 1–4 (1–2 matron guardians, 0–2 juveniles)
Armor Class: 5
Move: 15" (9" in steep brush)
Hit Dice: 6+6 (matron 7+7)
% in Lair: 20%
Treasure Type: Q×2, S (trinkets, river-polished curios)
No. of Attacks: 2 fists or 1 rock
Damage/Attack: 1d6/1d6 or 2d8 rock (range 6")
Special Attacks: Staggering Bellow, Uproot
Special Defenses: Forest Camouflage, Scent Veil
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low to Average
Alignment: Neutral
Size: L (8'–9' tall; matrons up to 600+ lb)
Psionics: Nil
XP Value: 650 (matron 900)

The Bluff Creek Woodwose is a towering, shaggy primate that keeps to old-growth river canyons. Locals swear a particular matron haunts Bluff Creek, wary but fiercely protective of her young. Hunters call her “Patty.” Witches call her “Grandmother of the Green.”

It is believed to be related to the Basajaun, Sasquatch and the Yeti. It's closest relative, at least in terms of behavior is the Woodwose. 

Staggering Bellow: Once per turn, cone of 30'. Creatures of 3 HD or less must save vs. paralyzation or be stunned for 1 round and drop held items. Others save at +2 or suffer −1 to hit for 1 round.

Uproot: On a hit with both fists in a round, the Bluff Creek Woodwose may attempt to shove or topple a target of size M or smaller. Opposed STR check; failure knocks the target prone.

Forest Camouflage: Surprise foes on 1–3 in 6 in dense woods or creek fog. Tracks grant rangers a +2 to follow.

Scent Veil: Wind shifts and wetted fir boughs give the Woodwose a 50% chance to negate tracking by non-rangers unless the pursuers have dogs.

Like the Sasquatch and Woodwose, the Bluff Creek Woodwose prefers to be left alone. 

Review: Alternity Dark•Matter

 Ah. Now, this one is hitting me where I live. By 1999, Alternity was already interesting to me. I had, of course, seen bits of it online and knew about it from the internet and talking to other gamers. But it was 1999's Dark•Matter Campaign Setting that REALLY got me interested. 

Dark•Matter came out at a time when Dark Urban Fantasy was my drug of choice, and I was an addict.  I had played Chill off and on (mostly off) through the 80s and I had picked up a new copy of Chill 2nd Edition. It didn't have enough magic in it for me. Oh the Art and the Evil Way were fun, but I wanted something more.

I will get into what was going for me in 1999 a bit later on and talk about how Dark•Matter almost made the cut, but didn't. But first lets talk about what it is and what was good about it.

Dark•Matter (1999)

by Wolfgange Baur and Monte Cook. Full-color covers and interior art. 288 pages.  Wizards of the Coast logo.

Like all the books in the Alternity line, Dark•Matter is out of print and not available on PDF.

By this time, the Alternity line has given over completely to Wizards of the Coast, with the TSR logo only seen in ads on the back few pages.  Reading through this book, its layout, and its art make me think of the early d20 Modern books and the d20 Call of Cthulhu book Wizards would later do. They share some artists. 

Ok stop me if you have heard this one before, Dark•Matter takes place on Earth, but not the Earth we know. This is an Earth with a hidden history where monsters, aliens, psychic powers and even magic are real. 

Now I freely admit, I love the name. It is sci-fi and yet spooky at the same time. I mean what is not to love really?

Chapter 1: An Introduction to Dark•Matter

Like our previous books, this is an introduction and some fast-play rules with a sample adventure. Nice way to do it. Maybe it is because it is Baur and Cook, but this seems a little more readable to me.

Chapter 2: Welcome to the Hoffmann Institute

Ah, now we get into some in-world background on what is going on. The Hoffmann Institute is our BPRD, our SAVE, our SPC, our Sanctuary, our in world organization to help our character push back against the night. 

Unlike Star*Drive, which didn't grab me, this grabbed ahold of me pretty hard. I remember reading websites on the Internet dedicated to the Hoffmann Institute and thought it was great. Yes, I had read similar things about SAVE back in the days of Chill, that doesn't matter. The fact was this stuff was new and it was out there and I was enjoying it. This fluff, as much as anything else made me want to play this game more.

Chapter 3: Heroes of Dark•Matter

This is our hero creation chapter. The rules for hero creation are still in the Alternity Core rules, this just adds some additional skills, perks, flaws, and careers. As expected most of the high tech or advanced sci-fi stuff is out. No alien heroes, no cybertech (well...limited). But Mindwalking is now a "core" profession. 

Chapter 4: Arcana

Now this is something new! In the Dark•Matter world, magic is real. There new FX rules here that replace the FX rules from Alternity and the FX book (more on that). There is Arcane Magic in the form of Diabolism, Enochian, and Hermeticism. And Faith magic in the form of Monotheism, Shamanism, and Voodoo. Really fun stuff. Magic FX is taken like a broad skill with skill-specific "spells" chosen under each one. The spells are powered by a limited resource of FX points. So, magic-using characters will not be the magical powerhouses seen in D&D, or even Mage or WitchCraft, but they are more powerful than the ones found in games like Chill.  Honestly, this worked GREAT for me since my own home campaign was based on the idea that as we approached, the new Millennium magic was going to increase. 

Chapter 5: History of the World

Dark•Matter was released between two great paranormal TV shows; The X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It manages to capture the zeitgeist of both of them well. This chapter feels like it could have come from the series bible of either show. 

There is a timeline of the world that manages to incorporate some sort of malignant, evil force, the arrival of aliens, and the rise and fall of Atlantis. There is the expected involvement with the Egyptians, and then later the Olmecs, Mayans, Aztecs and Incas. Tesla gets name-dropped, as do the Templars and Masons. Nazis, Roswell, New World Order. It's like we all read the same books! Even the rising "Dark Tide" to the new Millennium. I would say I read it here, but it was something I was doing in Chill 2nd ed. 

There is no "game" information here, but it is a great read.

An aside: I wonder how this timeline tracks with the one from TSR's Masque of the Red Death. I have no expectations they are the same on purpose save that they both are drawing from the same sources of information. It might be fun (yes I said fun) to see how they line up. 

Chapter 6: The Illuminati

With conspiracy theories, the Illuminati will inevitably be brought up. This covers a bunch of topics related to the Dark•Matter world. We get a bunch of groups that are vying for control of knowledge of the world. These include The Free Masons, the Rosicrucians, The Hidden Order of St. Gregory, The Invisible College, the Knights of Malta, The Final Church, The Bilderbergers, and of course the Hoffmann Institute. All of these factions are trying to control and all of them will either try to stop or recruit the heroes. There are also plenty of governments, the UN, and other organizations involved. 

It reads like a who-who of conspiracy theories. 

Chapter 7: Places of Interest

A trip around the globe starting in Africa and giving the Congo, Sahara, and Egypt their due. Lots of locations in America. I was happy to see a local favorite while growing up, the Cahokia Mounds, get some good ink as well as a place more local to me now, Lower Wacker Drive in Chicago. All the expected sites are here. Groom Lake (Area 51), Rosewell, Los Alamos. Moving on to Asia, Australia and Europe. There is even coverage of Atlantis, Earth Orbit, and Mars. 

Chapter 8: Xenoforms

Or our Monster chapter. We get all sorts of creatures here including aliens, demons, trans-dimensional travellers, Elohim, Ghosts, Men in Black, Sasquatches, and Yeti just to name a few. No vampires though. 

Chapter 9: Running a Dark•Matter Campaign

This is all pretty good advice for a lot of modern supernatural/conspiracy style games. Non of this is game specific and would work well for WitchCraft, Chill, Conspiracy X, and yes even NIGHT SHIFT.  There is a huge list of topics on page 240 that is a fantastic starting place for any intrepid Game Master. 

Chapter 10: Campaign Options

This chapter covers various ways to see up a campaign and give the characters (and players) a focus. There are even nots here on playing a Grey, Kinori, Mothman, Sandman or even a Sasquatch hero. 

Chapter 11: Raw Recruits 

This is a sample adventure where the characters are new recruits to the Hoffmann Institute. 

Thoughts: 1999 to Now

1999 was a pivotable year for me and gaming. I wanted a new modern supernatural game. I had flirted with Vampire: The Masquerade off and on for years. I played Chill 1st Ed, and had made the drive out to Mayfair Games (which was now local to me) to buy one of the apparently "hundreds" of Chill 2nd edition books they still had laying around. But neither Vampire nor Chill were giving me what I wanted. 

Enter the Dark Trio.

Around the same time, I discovered Mage: The Ascension (and Dark Ages Mage), C.J. Carella's WitchCraft, and Dark•Matter.

All three of these games can do very similar things. They all draw on a lot of the same history, myths, and legends. In my mind, all were very good games.

I love Mage. But there is a lot going on there. Dark•Matter had nearly everything I wanted, but at the time, I had a new baby on the way and not a lot of readily disposable cash to drop on three hardcovers to play a game. WitchCraft though. Man, that game hit me hard and never stopped. 

You can play the same game with all three rule sets. I think even that each of these has Roscrucians, Hermetics, and stats for the Comte de Saint-Germain.

Dark•Matter is excellent. It really is, but it also suffers from the same Alternity system that bogs it down. Also, I am partial to Roll-Over Mechanics and not Roll-Under. Mage is Dice-Pool. 

A lot of these arguments against Dark•Matter go away when you consider the 2006 d20 Dark•Matter released by Wizards of the Coast. But that is a discussion for next year.

All three are at least thematically compatible with each other. You can move characters between the games with some effort, and as expected, I have done so. 

Let me restate it. Dark•Matter is excellent. It is a wonderful game that, in the end, fell just a little short of perfection. At least for me. In another world, a world where I didn't find the Unisystem WitchCraft, I'd still be blogging about this game today.  I am looking forward to covering the d20 version next year when I take on the 25th Anniversary of the d20 system.

#AtoZChallenge2024: Y is for Yeti (and Other Cryptids)

 It is another Monstrous Monday in the A to Z Blogging Challenge, so let's talk about a Y monster. And really there is only one I am going to need for today. The Yeti.

I have often done the Yeti and other cryptids for my A to Z.

• AtoZChallenge2021: Y is for Yeti, Almas
• AtoZChallenge2022: Y is for Yeti
• AtoZChallenge2023: Doctor Who Yeti (and other Cryptids)

And in regular postings,

• Monstrous Monday: Bionic Bigfoot
• October Horror Movie Challenge: Night of the Demon
• Monstrous Mondays: Illinois Hominids
• Monstrous Monday: Sasquatch (BECMI Special)
• October Horror Movie Challenge: Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigfoot

Pursuing the AD&D Monster Manual back in 1979, I could not help but notice that while most of the monsters were obviously mythological in origin, one stood out.  There are on the next to last entry stood tall and proud, was the Yeti.

Now you have to remember what the late 70s / early 80s were like.  Bigfoot fever was all over the place then; there were no less than a dozen movies about Bigfoot in the '70s alone. Only the 2010s exceed it.  So seeing a Yeti, who I knew was a relative, was very interesting.  At first, I didn't want to use him; it seemed so "off" to me.  But over the years, I have changed my mind, and now I use all sorts of hominid cryptozoological creatures.   

I think that is one of the great things about this game. I can have my Greek Myths monsters right next to my Horror Movie monsters and my urban legend cryptids. 

The monsters do feel different of course, but that is also part of the fun. But D&D doesn't have to be about fighting monsters all the time. A perfectly acceptable adventure would be a group of cryptid hunters that don't hunt the monsters but instead discover these hidden, supposedly legendary creatures. 

This is one of the things I have wanted to do with my own NIGHT SHIFT game; modern-day cryptid hunting. So not just yetis, but sasquatches, skunk-apes, chupacabras, moth men, greys, and lake monsters. All sorts of fun. Bring the grocery store tabloids to life!

--

Tomorrow is the Last Day of the Challenge with Z Day, so I'll discuss the Z-Library of Dungeons & Dragons.

#AtoZChallenge2023: Doctor Who Yeti (and other Cryptids)

The Doctor has battled all sorts of monsters over the years. But some of those monsters (ok, more than some) have had their genesis in the myths and legends of Earth. I already talked about Vampires, but today let's look at a few cryptids, starting with our featured creature, the Yeti.

The Yeti

The Yeti first appeared in the Second Doctor serial, "The Abominable Snowmen" (1967). At first, we are led to think these are actual yeti, but they are, in reality, robots controlled by The Great Intelligence, a disembodied entity trying to take over the Earth, but it needs a physical body first.  The Yetis and the Great Intelligence appear again in 1968's "The Web of Fear." 

This reminds of the various "Bigfoot" episodes of The Six-Million Dollar Man. Here Bigfoot was revealed to be a robot sent by aliens. 

Interestingly enough, when we meet the Great Intelligence again in the new series, it is in an episode called "The Snowmen." This time the GI is using animated snowmen (as in made of snow) to do the same thing. 

Patrick Troughton (the Second doctor) often said he would have liked to come back to Doctor Who and just play a monster like the Yeti. No one would know it was him under all that costume.

Reptoids

Reptoids and reptilian humanoids are an old favorite among cryptid hunters and UFOlogists. I even featured them twice in last years A to Z of Conspiracy Theories under C Cryptoterrestrial Hypothesis and E Extraterrestrials on Earth.  The Silurians and the Sea Devils fit these ideas perfectly. They are reptilians, and they come not from outer space but from the inner Earth.  The Draconians fit the notion of reptile-like humanoids from space.

Loch Ness Monster

The Loch Ness monster might be one of the most famous cryptids ever, and good old Nessie appears in Doctor Who's Season 13 opener "Terror of the Zygons" as well.  In this case, as a creature controlled by the Zygons (more on them tomorrow). The Zygons are using Nessie (in reality a creature from the Zygon homeworld called a "Skarasen") to destroy oil rigs that are digging into their underwater base.

Others

Other cryptids like the Chupacabra and the Australian Yowie has appeared in prose and audio dramas of the Doctor not televises.

Like the creatures mentioned above and the Vampires there is a lot of cryptids in the world now that could be made to fit Doctor Who. Creatures from the past, future or other dimensions or planets are all great choices.

I might have to try my hand at stating a few up for the various Doctor Who RPGs.

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

#AtoZChallenge2022: Y is for Yeti

The A to Z of Conspiracy Theories: Y is for Yeti

Not just yetis, but bigfoot too!  Now Yetis and Bigfoots fall under the heading of cryptids and not so much conspiracy theories.  The conspiracy part comes in later.

Let's be honest here. I love writing about Bigfoot.  Maybe it was growing up in the 1970s when there was a surge in the popularity of Bigfoot sightings.  But in any case, I have talked about them a lot here.  

• Monstrous Monday: Bionic Bigfoot
• October Horror Movie Challenge: Night of the Demon
• Monstrous Mondays: Illinois Hominids
• Monstrous Monday: Sasquatch (BECMI Special)
• October Horror Movie Challenge: Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigfoot
• #AtoZChallenge2021: Y is for Yeti, Almas

My introduction to RPGs was via monsters of myth and legend in the AD&D Monster Manual and while the Sasquatch was not originally there, the Yeti was.  

With all these posts (and these are just the ones on the subject) you would think I have had said everything I can and...that is accurate. But I have not talked about the conspiracies surrounding these cryptids.

Conspiracy #1: The various governments are hiding the evidence of Bigfoot/Yetis for ... reasons.  
I have seen this one in various books and websites and the one thing they all have in common is that there are no good reasons given for why the government would want to go through the efforts to hide it.  The reason given is usually "to protect the population."  But how this is supposed to happen is never very clear.

Conspiracy #2: All the bigfoot sightings are faked by a small group of fakers. This I am likely to believe except that I doubt they are organized in any way.

For NIGHT SHIFT

I do use Sasquatches, Bigfoots, and Yetis in my games.  They might even outnumber regular animals in my games! Well not really. But close.

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

Monstrous Mondays: Illinois Hominids

The weekend before last I drove down to my parent's house to see my dad before his 92nd birthday (his doctor told him he'll likely live to a 100) and my sister for her 51st birthday.  Picked up a few books my sister had for me, mostly older occult books.  But driving through the state and back got me thinking about some more local horrors. I mean there HAS to be something interesting hiding in all those corn and soybean fields.  I also thought about how these creatures would work well in all the occult games I was talking about last week.  

Another thing is I love Bigfoot legends.  I don't believe any of them for a moment, but they are so great for games. Bringing these all together really helps capture the feel of the games I wanted to play in the early 80s. So for that D&D-loving kid in Central Illinois back in the 1980s who loved Bigfoot stories, this is for you. And by "you" I mean "me."

Illinois Hominids

When one hears about Illinois the first thing that comes to mind are cornfields, Chicago, and spectacularly corrupt politicians.  One doesn't typically think of 10 ft. tall hominids.   But for the residents of Illinois, these creatures are not unheard of.  They have been spotted all over the state from the northernmost points to the far south point, nearly 400 miles. 

In nearly all cases these creatures try to avoid humanity.  Their great size and obvious strength would make them a threat to any group of investigators, but thankfully they have so far shown no particular desire to attack.  

Illinois Hominids like all species of sasquatches are large, nocturnal creatures that walk upright like humans.  It appears to be omnivorous but its preference is for vegetables and fruits found in the wild.

For this posting, I am going with "Illinois Hominids" as opposed to "Bigfoots" or "Sasquatches" since both of those terms are more associated with creatures of the Pacific Northwest.  "Skunk Apes" are more commonly referring to creatures in the Southern United States. 

I am also grouping creatures together that may, or may not, be classified as Sasquatches in other Bigfoot lore. Most of these creatures have only been reported once.

Dogmen of McHenry County

These creatures are 7" tall creatures that appear to be some sort of simian/canine/hominid hybrid.  Their defining feature is their dog-like faces.  Similar creatures have been sighted in adjoining Cook County, and as far south as Christian (nearly 250 miles to the south) and Woodford Counties. They are noted for their howls in the night.  Many scholars classify these as separate sorts of creatures. 

Cole Hollow Road Monster

Found in central Illinois this creature has been sighted near Peoria, IL, and might be related to the similar Farmer City Monster found further to the east.  This creature is grayish in color and stands 7"-8" tall.  It is quite reclusive and can hide in natural environments with 95% effectiveness and can never be surprised.  

Swamp Hominids of Southern Illinois

Several creatures occupy the lands at the far end of the state. Unlike the other hominids featured here these usually range to about 10' tall and tend to live near swamps or other wetlands.  They also have a smell that can be detected for a 100 yards, any closer and investigators suffer a -3 (or roll with disadvantage) on any attacks.  They share this feature with the Skunk Ape of the southern part of the country. 

These creatures include the Tuttle Bottoms Monster of Harrisburg, IL which also has an elongated snout.  Nearby Enfield in White County also has The Enfield Horror, a fast-moving hominid. 

The Abominable Swamp Slob, also known as the A.S.S., are found in Jackson County near the Shawnee National forest. It can emmit an ear-shattering shriek.  The most famous of these is the Murphysboro Mud Monster and "Sassy" the Shannee Sasquatch. 

RPG Stat Blocks

Illinois Hominds
Basic Bestiary

Frequency: Very Rare
Number Appearing: 1d4 (1d6)
Alignment: Neutral [True Neutral]
Movement: 180' (60') [18"]
Armor Class: 6 [13]
Hit Dice: 6d8+18* (45 hp)
  Large: 6d10+18* (51 hp)
To Hit AC 0: 8 (+11)
Attacks: 2 fists or rock throw
Damage: 1d6+5 x2 or 2d8+5
Special: Camouflage, Howl (cause fear), Odor
Size: Large
Save: Monster 6
Morale: 8 (10)
Treasure Hoard Class: None 
XP: 650 (OSE) 680 (LL)

Str: 22 (+5) Dex: 18 (+3) Con: 19 (+3) Int: 10 (+0) Wis: 13 (+1) Cha: 8 (-1)

The hominid can attack with two fists or throw boulders, much like a giant.  The hominid can also howl.  This howl causes fear (as per the spell) to all that hear it who fail a saving throw vs. Paralysis.  Those that fail the save are too frightened to attack or move.

Illinois Hominids
DP&D, We Die Young

Armor Class: 15
Hit Dice: 6+6 (27 hp)
Move: On Foot - 18 (ignore rough terrain)
Actions: 2
Morale: 8
Terror: 12
HDE: 7

Attack Damage: Fist (d8), Slam (d8), 
Special: Large creature, 20 STR, Toughness +4, can run x4 Move, scream or howl can cause fear.

Bonuses: +5 to Melee attacks, +5 to Melee damage, +5 to Spot, +6 to Listen, +8 to Stealth, +2 to Initiative, +4 to Track.

Hug Attack: In combat, if he attacks with his fists and both hit, he will deliver a bone-crushing hug attack for an additional 2d6+4 hp damage.  A successful DEX check by the target will grant half-damage.

Don't forget about the SURVIVE THIS!! Dark Places & Demogorgons RPG Hardcover!

Illinois Hominids
NIGHT SHIFT

No. Appearing: 1-3
AC: 6
Move: 40ft.
Hit Dice: 6-8
Special: 2 attacks (fist) Strength, Camouflage, Howl (cause fear), Odor
XP VALUE: 240 (6HD) 480 (7HD)  960 (8 HD)

Camouflage: The hominid can hide with 90% effectiveness.

Howl: The howl of the hominids causes a fear reaction to any that hear it. This is treated like the cause fear spell. This happens only when the hominid is first heard, subsequent encounters with the same creature do not have this fear effect.

Odor: Anyone coming within 10 feet of a hominid must succeed at a Constitution saving throw or be at -3 to all actions due to the overpowering stench.

Illinois Hominids
Dark Street & Darker Secrets

Dogmen of McHenry County  6HD

Cole Hollow Road Monster, Farmer City Monsters 7HD

Tuttle Bottoms Monster, Enfield Terror, Abominable Swamp Slob 8HD

Special Abilities: Howl causes fear. Stench causes disadvantages to attacks. Very strong, +4 to all attacks. 

Illinois Hominids avoid the cities at all costs.  

Links

• Monstrous Monday: Bionic Bigfoot (DP&D)
• Monstrous Monday: Sasquatch (BECMI Special)
  
• #AtoZChallenge2021: Y is for Yeti, Almas
• October Horror Movie Challenge: Night of the Demon (1980)
• October Horror Movie Challenge: Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigfoot (1976)
• Going to Valhalla, Alaska

Review: SURVIVE THIS!! We Die Young RPG Core Rules (2021)

"Son, she said, have I got a little story for you
What you thought was your daddy was nothin' but a...
While you were sittin' home alone at age thirteen
Your real daddy was dyin', sorry you didn't see him,
but I'm glad we talked...

Oh I, oh, I'm still alive
Hey, I, I, oh, I'm still alive
Hey I, oh, I'm still alive."

Pearl Jam, "Alive" (1991)

It's October. There's a chill in the air and there is a feeling in the air. Something that makes me reflective, chilly, and maybe a little melancholy. Sounds like the 90s to me.  There is also a game that captures this feeling perfectly.  Bloat Games' newest offering in the SURVIVE THIS!! series; We Die Young RPG.

I have been waiting to share this with you all and today is that day! 

We Die Young RPG Core Rules

"Tell me do you think it would be alright If I could just crash here tonight?"

We Die Young RPG Core Rules is 372 pages with color covers and black and white interior art.  The book is digest-sized, so the same size as Bloat Games other games.  The game was Eric Bloat & Josh Palmer with art by Phil Stone and additional art by RUNEHAMMER & Diogo Nogueira.

For this review, I am considering the just-released PDF on DriveThruRPG that I got as a Kickstarter backer.  The print book is due out soon.

Comparisons between this game and their first game, Dark Places & Demogorgons are natural and I think needed. I spent a lot of time with DP&D so I am looking forward to seeing how I can use this game with that as well. But first, let's get into the game proper. 

The book begins with two dedications from the authors.  I want to repeat them here since they set the tone not just for the game but also for my review.

Growing up in the 1980s was fun.  Being in my late teens and 20s in the 1990s however, was AMAZING.  January 1990 I was a university undergrad, living in the dorms with a girlfriend that driving me crazy (not in a good way), but a best friend I hung out with all the time.  December 1999 I was married to that best friend, I had a brand new baby son, living in my new house, and was working on my first Ph.D.  That's no small amount of change.  But I never forgot that kid in 1990 with the flannel, goatee, Doc Martins, and long hair. This is the game for that kid.  

BTW "Layne" is Layne Staley, the former lead singer of Alice in Chains who died of a heroin overdose in 2002.  If you can't remember EXACTLY where you were when you heard Layne, Kurt, Shannon, or Chris was dead, then this game is, to turn a quote "not for you."

Introduction

"With the lights out, it's less dangerous. Here we are now, entertain us."

Here we are introduced to the newest SURVIVE THIS!! game. The authors are upfront about their inspirations here; grunge music from the 90s and the games that were popular at the time.  Having already gone through the book a few times it is a thread that weaved in overt and subtle ways, but it never feels overused, hackneyed, or clichéd.  We are given some in-game background for why the Pacific Northwest is so full of supernatural strangeness and it is a fun explanation.  But to quote the late, great Bard of Seatle I prefer it "always been and always be until the end."  But it works well. 

The basics of RPGs are covered and what you need to play.  Next we get into character creation.

Character Creation

"I'll be whatever you want. The bong in this Reggae song." 

Character creation follows the same process as other SURVIVE THIS!! games and by extension most Old-School games. We are told from the word go that we can add material we want from the other SURVIVE THIS!! games. 

Attributes are covered which include the standard six, plus the "Survive" attribute common to all SURVIVE THIS!! games.  My first thought?  My Dark Places and Demogons characters have grown up and moved to Seatle.

Like the other games in this family, Hit Points start with a 2d6 and increase by 1d6 per level regardless of class or race.  Combat can be quite deadly in these games for people used to the hardiness of even Old-School D&D characters.

Saving Throws are different from D&D but the same as DP&D with the edition of the Magic save.   This does make porting over characters and ideas from the other games pretty easy.

Alignment covers Righteous, Law, Neutral, Anarchist, and Evil. 

Races

"All I can say is that my life is pretty plain, You don't like my point of view and I'm insane."

Here we get into the really new material. We have a bunch of new races for this setting.  These include shapeshifting Doppelgangers, undead Ghouls, garden variety Humans, the immortal Imperishables, the ancient undead Jari-Ka, the various Realm-Twisted Fey (my new favorite, and I am sure I dated a Twitter Fey back then), Vampires (sparkles are optional), and Were-beasts of all stripes.  If you played ANY RPG in the 1990s you know what you are getting here, but still, they manage to make it feel both new and old at the same time.  New, because there is new potential here and old because they feel comfortably familiar; like that old flannel in the back of your closet or those beat-up old Doc Martens.

The races are well covered and you could easily drop them into any other SURVIVE THIS!! game or even any other Old-School game. They are really quite fun and I could not help but think of what characters I wanted to make with each one. This covers about 40 pages.

This is followed by a list of occupations with their bonuses. 

Classes

"This place is always such a mess. Sometimes I think I'd like to watch it burn."

We Die Young is a class/level system.  There 16 classes for this game.  Some look like repeats from DP&D but are not really.  They are updated to this setting and older characters.  We are told that classes from the other SURVIVE THIS!! games are welcome here.

Our classes include the Mystic (tattoos mages), Naturalists (potheads, I mean druids), Papal Pursuant (soldiers of God), Psions (Carrie), Revenant (Eric Draven the Crow), Riot Grrl (what it says on the tin), Rock Star, Serial Killer, Shaman (oh here are the potheads), Sickmen (homeless, as seen by Sound Garden), Street Bard, Street Fighters, Thralls (Vampire servants), Tremor Christs (psionically powered religious prophets), Warlock (steal power for otherworlds), and what I can only assume is an attempt to get a good review from me (just kidding!) the Witch. 

The witch here is slightly different than the ones we find in DP&D.  So there can be no end to the witchy goodness you can have by combining games. 

That covers a healthy 50 pages.  

Skills

"And so I wake in the morning and I step outside, And I take a deep breath and I get real high.
And I scream from the top of my lungs. 'What's going on?'"

The skill system for We Die Young is the same as DP&D.  Though without checking it feels a bit expanded.  You get points to put into skills and there are DCs to check.  Very 3e.  Or more like 3e IF it had been written in 1995.  So, yeah, another solid point for this game. 

Magic (& Psionics)

"Show me the power child, I'd like to say. That I'm down on my knees today."

Here is one of my favorite things in a game.  There is a mythos added to the system here that is rather fun (see Spellcasters & Salt) as well as rules for Rune-Tattoos.  Yeah, this is the 90s alright! 

Now I have to say this.  If adding a witch class is trying to get me to do a good review, then these spell names are outright flirting with me.  Spells called "All Apologies", "Heaven Beside You", "Black Days", "Wargasm", "Super Unknown", and "Far Behind"?  Yeah. That is hitting me where I live.  And that is only the very tip of the iceberg.

Magic, Spells and Psionics cover a little over 60 pages and I feel they could have kept going.

Equipment

"What did you expect to find? Was there something you left behind?"

No old-school flavored game is complete without a list of equipment. This includes common items, weapons, and even magical items.  Don't fret, it's not like there is a Magic Shop there. A "Health Locker" costs $50k and that is if you can find one. 

The list of drugs is really interesting and fun.  Look. It was the 90s. Everybody was taking drugs. 

New to this setting are the Zapatral Stones.  These are the remains of a meteorite that fell to Earth and hit the Pacific Northwest and Mount Rainer in particular.  They have strange power and effects depending on the size of the stone and the color.   

Playing the Game

"Whatsoever I've feared has come to life. Whatsoever I've fought off became my life."

Here we get our rules for playing the We Die Young game.   We get an overview of game terms, which is nice really. New rules for Curses, Exorcisms, and Madness are covered. It looks like to me they could be backported to DP&D rather easily. 

There is a fair number of combat rules.  Likely this has come about from the authors' experiences with their other game Vigilante City. 

We also get rules for XP & Leveling Up and Critical tables.

The World of We Die Young

"I'm the Man in the Box. Buried in my shit."

This is great stuff. This is the built-in campaign setting for We Die Young set place in a mythical and magical Pacific Northwest.  the TL;DR? Grunge woke supernatural creatures.  Ok, I can do that.  I mean it is not all that different than ShadowRun right?

The setting of the PNW/Seatle on the 90s is covered well.  I had many college friends that made the trek out to Seatle after our graduations (91 to 93 mostly), so I have some idea of what was happening on the ground level.  Twenty-somethings like me seemed drawn to the place by some mystic siren song.  A siren song with a Boss DS-2 distortion pedal. 

Various associations/groups are covered, like Jari-Ka circles, Ghoul Legacies, Vampire Lineages, were-kin groups.  Like I said, if you played RPGs in the 90s you know the drill. But again they are still both "new" and "old" at the same time. Kudos to the authors for giving me something new AND invoking nostalgia at the same time. 

We also get some great locations of note and some adventure seeds which include some creatures. 

Bestiary

"She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak. I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks."

This covers all the creatures you can run into.  The stat blocks are similar enough to Basic-era D&D to be roughly compatible.  They are 100% compatible with other SURVIVE THIS!! games, so the excellent DARK PLACES & DEMOGORGONS - The Cryptid Manual will work well with this. In fact, I highly recommend it for this. 

There is a good variety of creatures.  Angels, Demons, BIGFOOT! and more. 

We get about 47 pages or so of monsters with stat blocks and an additional 10 pages of templates to add to monsters such as "Vampire" and "Radioactive."

Radioactive Bigfoot.  I don't need a plot. I have that!

We get Adventure Hooks next.  Roll a d100 and go!

The Appendix includes some Grung songs to get you into the mood.  Some Seattle Grunge bands, some not-Seatle Grunge Bands, and some late 80's and 90's Alternative bands.

There is a list of movies about the era. A list of books.  And finally the index and OGL.

Thoughts

"I don't mind the sun sometimes, the images it shows. I can taste you on my lips and smell you in my clothes."

Wow. What a really damn fun game!

If Dark Places & Demogorgons gave a "Stranger Things" 80s, this gives me a strange supernatural 90s.

It is exactly what I would have expected from the fine folks at Bloat Games.

My ONLY question about this setting is "Where are the UFOs and Aliens?"  I mean NOTHING was bigger in the 90s than "The X-Files."  I get that it is hard to cleave 90s Aliens to 90s supernatural (ask anyone that has tried to play WitchCraft AND Conspiracy X), but maybe a supplement is due out later?  I would suggest grabbing DARK PLACES & DEMOGORGONS - The UFO Investigator's Handbook to add some X-Files flavored goodness to We Die Young. 

Back in the early 2000s I had a game I was running, Vacation in Vancouver. It took place in the 90s and in Vancouver (naturally).  These rules make me want to revive that game and see where I could take it now. 

The bottom line for me is that SURVIVE THIS!! We Die Young RPG is a great game.  The pdf is fantastic and I can't wait for my Kickstarter books.

#AtoZChallenge2021: Y is for Yeti, Almas

Pursuing the AD&D Monster Manual back in 1979 I could not help to notice that while most of the monsters were obviously mythology in origin, one stood out.  There are on the next to last entry stood tall and proud, the Yeti.

Now you have to remember what the late 70s were like.  Bigfoot fever was all over the place then, there were no less than a dozen movies about Bigfoot in the 70s alone. Only the 2010s exceed it.  So seeing a Yeti, who I knew was a relative, was very interesting.  At first I didn't want to use him, it seemed so "off" to me.  But over the years I have changed my mind and now I use all sorts of hominid cryptozoological creatures.   But one of my favorites might just be the Almas.

The Almas featured in my first Ghosts of Albion adventure, Almasti, found in the Ghosts RPG core rule book.  I spent a lot of time with them and decided I needed to port them over to D&D.   This version is different than the Ghosts version, but still compatible.

Yeti, Almas
Medium Humanoid (Cold)

Frequency: Very Rare
Number Appearing: 1d4 (1d8)
Alignment: Neutral [True Neutral]
Movement: 120' (40') [12"]
  Fly: 240' (80') [24"]
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 3d8+6** (20 hp)
THAC0: 11 (+8)
Attacks: 2 fists or by weapon
Damage: 1d6+2 x2 or by weapon type +2
Special: Fly, immune to cold, spells
Save: Monster 3
Morale: 8 (10)
Treasure Hoard Class:  None
XP: 100 (OSE) 135 (LL)

Str: 16 (+2) Dex: 14 (+1) Con: 16 (+2) Int: 13 (+1) Wis: 15 (+1) Cha: 11 (0)

Almas are the smaller, more intelligent cousins of the Yeti. Due to their smaller size, they do not have the yeti’s hug attack.  For every group of six Almas, one will be a shaman who has the spellcasting ability of a 2nd level winter witch.

With the aid of the shaman, an Almas can fly on the boreal winds, but only after the sun has gone down.

They are immune to normal and magical cold.  Almas speak their own language and that of giants.

Almas are usually found in lower parts of the same mountain ranges one will find the yeti.  The two groups will avoid each other, mostly due to the fact that interactions between them have caught the attention of humans and that is a far worse out for them.

--

Simple monster with plenty of role-playing power.  Plus they are fun to pull out when the players are expecting a yeti and these guys just fly away.

Monstrous Monday: Monsters of the Basque

“El sueño de la razon produce monstruos” - Francisco Goya

The sleep of reason produces monsters. Or in my case right now the lack of sleep produces monsters.

Yesterday I watched The Baztán Trilogy and it featured, or least talked about, three monsters from the Basque region of Spain. 

While I have seen variations of these creatures from other myths and regions, this was the first time I had seen them under these names. So let's give them a bit love.

Basajaun
Large Monstrous Humanoid
Frequency: Very Rare
Number Appearing: 1 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral [Neutral Good]
Movement: 120' (40') [12"]
Armor Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 5d8+10* (32 hp)
Attacks: 2 fist slam
Damage: 1d6+3, 1d6+3
Special: Stay hidden 95%.
Size: Large
Save: Monster 5
Morale: 6 (6)
Treasure Hoard Class: None
XP: 525

The Basajaun is a type of large wild man of the forests similar in many respects to the Sasquatch and Yeti.  It also has commonalities with the Wood Wose due to it's more benign and protective nature. They are tall (9') humanoids covered in course black and brown hair. 

The name Basajaun means "Lord of the Woods". The plural is basajaunak and the female of the species is a basander.  They are suspected of building megaliths with their immense strength and keep flocks of sheep.  They are a shy and reclusive species, speaking only their own language, although a few know the local languages.  They are averse to fighting but will protect their lands if necessary. 

They can avoid being spotted 95% of the time. Often they are just confused for a large bear.  They can be recognized though by the whistling they do to communicate with others of it's kind.

By Luistxo eta Marije
originally posted to Flickr as
Izenaduba-Olentzeroren etxea
CC BY-SA 2.0

Tartalo
Large Fiendish Humanoid
Frequency: Very Rare
Number Appearing: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic [Chaotic Evil]
Movement: 120' (40') [12"]
Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 6d8+12* (32 hp)
Attacks: 2 fist slam or by weapon
Damage: 1d6+4, 1d6+4 or 1d10
Special: Magic required to hit, evil eye
Size: Large
Save: Monster 6
Morale: 6 (6)
Treasure Hoard Class: See below
XP: 660

The tartalo is another large creature found in the Basque region of Northern Spain. It appears as a cyclops or as a one-eyed ogre. It has a fiendish glint in it's one large eye.  Many scholars of the occult believe they are connected to demons, either by birth or by actions.

The tartalo lives alone in caves. They are 10' tall and only speak in simple grunts. They do seem to be intelligent, it is just speech is beyond them. Only males have ever been spotted leading scholars to conclude they seek out young maidens as their "wives."  

Anyone wandering into the cave of the tartalo runs the danger of becoming the monster's next meal.  They prefer the taste of young men and women, especially ones that have not been baptized (or dedicated to a god).  Their tactic is to use their "evil eye" to stun (treat as a Hold Person spell) their victims. They will kill and eat any young men and anyone over marriage age.  They will keep the young unmarried women to birth their monstrous sons.  These women when then also be killed and eaten.

The only treasure a tartalo has is a fine wrought golden ring.  The ring is a curse and anyone wearing it will be known to any other tartalo in the region and they will seek the wearer out to kill them. 

Inguma
Small Fiend (Demon)
Frequency: Unique
Number Appearing: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic [Chaotic Evil]
Movement: 180' (60') [18"]
Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 12d8+12* (66 hp)
Attacks: 2 claws, nightmares
Damage: 1d4, 1d4 or 1d10
Special: Magic or +2 weapons required to hit, cause fear, nightmares, ability drain
Size: Small*
Save: Monster 12
Morale: 10
Treasure Hoard Class: See below
XP: 1,900

Inguma is a demonic lord of sleep and dreams. He is believed to create incubi and can give his followers riches if they give him his preferred sacrifices, that of baby girls before two years of age.  He commands a small sect of Mara Witches.

Though small, he is a powerful demonic lord.  He can cast Fear and Nightmare three times per night. His physical attacks are weak, but he can gain entrance into the minds of sleepers, save vs. death to avoid. Once there he will invade the dreams and learn all the victim's secrets. Their sleep is disrupted so they can't heal normally nor will spellcaster regain their spells. By the third night of the invasion, the victim begins to lose Constitution points at the rate of 1 per night.  Only an exorcism (cleric) or cleanse (witch) spell will remove the influence of Inguma.  Often Inguma forces his victims into suicide long before they succumb to his draining effects. Each night the victim must make a save vs. death. A failed save means they will kill themselves.

Inguma rarely takes physical form. When he does magic is required to attack him. When he does manifest it is always as what the viewer fears the most.

It is believed that Inguma is the father, or at least the ancestor and patron, of the Tartalo and possibly the Imps of the Perverse. Some incubi revere him as their lord. 

Basque Mara witches see him as their lord and patron and will offer sacrifices to him. He rewards them with riches.

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Manitou (1978)

Watching Bigfoot this morning made me think of this oldie and how much it freaked me out as a kid.

This movie typifies the later 70s, post Exorcist, mood of American Horror.  Lots of psychic phenomena, some satanism, and if you can work in Native American or Eastern mysticism all the better.

Tony Curtis is great as a fake psychic and tarot card reader that gets pulled into the drama around a tumor growing on his ex-girlfriend's, Susan Strasberg's, back.  X-rays show the tumor to look like a rapidly growing fetus.

Karen (Strasberg) goes to see Harry (Curtis) the day before her surgery (and they drink a lot of wine before hand).  Harry does a tarot card reading for her and they all come up the same (the tower, the moon, the devil, and death).

That night Karen mutters something in her sleep in a language that Harry doesn't understand (he thinks it is Swahili).

Karen goes into surgery but the doctors are prevented from cutting into the tumor.   At the same time, Harry's psychic ability becomes real.  They take part in a séance and learn about the Manitou. They go and see Dr. Snow (Burgess Meredith in a surprise role) and learn more.

The contact a Native American Shaman played by the always amazing Michael Ansara (Kang of Star Trek and Kane of Buck Rogers) and learn that this tumor is really the ancient Shaman Misquamacus.
At one point Misquamacus tells John Singing Rock (Ansara) not to help them.  I was half-hoping he would stand up and tell them "you are on your own white people."

Misquamacus is born (I seem to recall it being scarier in 78) but is held in place at first by John's circle. 

The "demons" summoned by Misquamacus are quite cool.  They have a sort of Lovecraft/August Derleth quality to them. They are even called "the great old ones."  In the end, the evil spirits are destroyed by computers, manifesting as laser blasts from a naked Karen.   Lest we forget this was the 70s.

This really is a cut above my normal fare in terms of acting ability even if the story is a little silly. 

Watched: 11
New: 9

Night Shift Content

A couple of thoughts here. 

First, there is a wealth of material in Native American folklore that I just have not explored and honestly, I am just not even remotely familiar or even qualified to write about them despite all the stories I have read or watched over the years. 

I'd love to get more of this sort of thing for my Valhalla, AK game.  While the Bigfoot stuff from earlier today went on the silly side, this would be more of the horror side of things. 

October Horror Movie Challenge: Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigfoot (1976)

I talked about this movie back in June. So I added it to my Amazon watchlist.  And then I forgot about it.  I decided to pull it up for today.

This one can only be described as Previously Watched.  I think I might have watched it a few dozen times back when my family got Showtime back when it was new to our town.  Not a bad choice though for my first re-watch of the season.

The movie is a pseudo-documentary about the "North American Wildlife Research" group taking a group into British Columbia. It had the same feel of a lot of pseudo-documentaries on various "alternative science" that were popular in the late 70s. 

Watching it then, when I was about 10 or so, it seemed like the real deal.  Watching it now? Yeah, I am a little embarrassed I was taken in.

The movie is not great, or even good, but it was a good distraction.  And for a G-rated movie it has some scares in it.  I still remember that howl of the Bigfoots.

The ending is still surprisingly scary.

Watched: 10
New: 9

Night Shift Content

It is not a stretch of the imagination at all to consider this movie the "Event Zero" of what became my Valhalla, AK game.  Of course, the sasquatch in Valhalla is a bit different than this one.  

In a normal NIGHT SHIFT game, the Sasquatch would be more of a threat, like this movie.  In my Valhalla, AK game...well the sasquatch was more of a nuisance.  

Every night the townspeople of Valhalla would be awoken by the sounds of moose braying in the night followed by the unholy sound of something else. I would play the sasquatch sounds at this point.  The old locals of course know this is a sasquatch.  So the PCs investigate, expecting to find dead moose. They don't find any at all.  Quite the opposite really, they find all these female moose just hanging about this one strange clearing.  Turns out that there is a young male sasquatch, a teen really, and has been having sex with the female moose (mooses, moosen, miice?) after the sun goes down.  The townsfolk have been hearing his amorous escapades.  The adventure resolves when they can lure the sasquatch back to his own people.

A bit silly? Yes.  A bit ribald? Sure. But that is exactly the sort of thing I want to happen in Valhalla, AK.

Monstrous Monday: Sasquatch (BECMI Special)

I am continuing my BECMI posting all month.
Saturday was the first day of Summer for 2020 and Summer and June usually meant one thing in my house back in 1983.  The local Public Library's Summer Reading program!

When I was younger I devoured books on monsters, aliens and all sorts of strange creatures.
I have detailed my interactions with some of these books that I was able to find more recent as an adult elsewhere here on my blog.

But today is special.  Today is the confluence of a number of topics in a perfect way.  Today I will post my review of the BECMI Master's set.  It is summer. It is a Monster Monday.  What better monster for today than the one that is really at the root of my monster love.

Bigfoot, or the Sasquatch.

Around the same time I was getting into D&D we also subscribed to Showtime, one of the first cable channels out.  The film Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigfoot was on heavy rotation on the channel then (that and Smokey and the Bandit). It was a pseudo-documentary, but it really set the stage for some of the games I would later play; the monster naturalist.

Here is a sasquatch I developed originally in 1986-87.  I used these stats later to develop the Almasti for Ghosts of Albion later on.

Sasquatch
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 6*
Move: 180' (60')
Attacks: 2 fists or rock throw
Damage: 6-11 (1d6+5) / 6-11 (1d6+5) or 7-21 (2d8+5)
No. Appearing: 0 (1-10)
Save As: Fighter: 5
Morale: 7
Treasure Type: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 500

The sasquatch, also known as the "Bigfoot", is a large humanoid creature.  It is neither human, orc or even an ogre.  The creature is elusive and extremely shy. Very little is known about the creatures and most urban scholars doubt they even exist.

What is known is this. The sasquatch ranges from 7' to 9' tall, and weighing between 650lbs to 1,000lbs.  They have long torsos, long arms with massive hands, shorter legs but large feet which gives them their name.  They are strong, 22 Strength, have dark brown, reddish or black fur like that of an ape.  What is often most remarked about them is their strong odor which gives them their other common name, the "skunk ape." 

The sasquatch can blend into surroundings making them difficult to spot. They can only be seen on a roll of "1" on a d20.  Their odor makes it difficult for them to completely surprise. They can only surprise on a roll of 5 or 6 on a d6.

They are normally non-aggressive, preferring to hide, and stay away from all others save their own family units.  If pressed they will attack, or if they feel their family unit is in danger.

The sasquatch can attack with two fists or throw boulders, much like a giant.  The sasquatch can also howl.  This howl causes fear (as per the spell) to all that hear it who fail a saving throw vs. Paralysis.  Those that fail the save are too frightened to attack or move.

--

I mentioned here before that my "first monster manual" was by Daniel Cohen and not Gary Gygax.

This plus my Moldvay set keep me going for a very long time.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Night of the Demon (1980)

Last year I started with a bunch of movies from the early 80s but due to various reasons I was not able to complete my challenge.  Well, this year I plan too and I am picking up where I left off.
But if the rest of the movies are as bad as this...I might not make it.

Let's do it.

Night of the Demon (1980)
I am not sure what to say about this one.  The movie is a flashback with other flashbacks inside.  It's like a shitty Inception.  Professor Bill Nugent wakes up in a hospital bed and tells the most boring story ever about Bigfoot. Sorta.
He does wake up and tells the story of how he and his anthropology class go out to search for rumors of bigfoot. They have heard some stories, all told in gory flashbacks - even from the people that died and could not tell their stories, of people attacked and killed by a bigfoot.
There is a lot to do around Crazy Wanda and her father who was burned alive and a cult of bigfoot worshipers who treat him as some sort of rapey demon.
Anyway, Crazy Wanda had been raped by Bigfoot when she was 15 and her father later killed the half-bigfoot baby.  She burned him alive and while telling us all this under a hypnotic flashback Bigfoot comes back and kills the anthropology class.

The film is only notable because it was originally banned in the UK and they had to shave a minute or so off of it to be released.

The music is early 80s porn soundtrack and the acting is not much better.  While I liked the demon-worshipping/pagan aspects to the Bigfoot myths, it was sloppily done.

Oh well.  Better luck with the next one.

Watched: 1
New: 1