NuTSR Continues its Downward Spiral

NuTSR's Not Star Frontiers

Honestly, I have been trying to avoid the latest RPG Drama du jour.  Yeah, it gets me hits, but I'd rather get them for my game-related content and not my stance on whatever shit storm is going on.

But some things can't be left unsaid.

So last year I talked a bit about the NuTSR. I wanted to call them NotTSR or !TSR, but NuTSR won out.  

A quick recap they are suing Wizards of the Coast so they (NuTSR) can keep the name they stole, the game they stole (Star Frontiers), and get WotC to remove the content disclaimers on DrivThruRPG. All of which have a snowball's chance in Hell of getting accomplished. All of this is online in places (waves vaguely) and you should have no trouble finding it.

Frankly, I was happy just to wait around and watch WotC/Hasbro wipe them off the face of the gaming world forever. 

That was until the reported Playtest Version of their Not Star Frontiers was leaked.

And man, if you thought FATAL or MYFAROG was bad. The playtest was leaked by Tenkar at his eponymous Tavern and YouTube channel. You can see the rules in his video.

Look, I have NO IDEA if this is a legit set of rules. Many people with solid industry inside knowledge and contacts claim that it is. It is a truly horrifying document. Let's ignore the atrocious grammar and spelling. Let's move past the extremely terrible game design. I mean what I have seen so far screams "fantasy heartbreaker written by high school loner." let's get right into the racist bullshit.

Actually, no I am not going to give them the bandwidth and sully these pages with their madness.  Instead go to the "There's No Place For Hate in Gaming" website and read it all their with the rest of Dave Johnson's hate-spewing nonsense. 

Here is a bit from their Twitter feed (read the whole thread):

Dave Johnson & NuTSR's "Star Frontiers" playtest has been leaked, and it's insanely racist.

It literally has a "Negro" race listed as a subspecies of the superior "Nordic" race. Dave's "Negro" race is "thick bodied," strong, and low intelligence.

NuTSR is straight-up KKK trash. pic.twitter.com/zkIkTx4AAr

— NoHateInGaming (@NoHateInGaming) July 19, 2022

That's pretty damning really.

I am not going to try and insult you all by saying shit like "well this matches with things Johnson has posted in the past" or "the style here matches things Justin has written before."  No. Just read this all for yourself.  

Do I trust that Tenkar has good information? I trust that he trusts it. We don't see eye to eye on, well a whole lot really (it's a Chicago vs New York thing), but I do trust him that he is covering his bases. 

Right now Justin et al are in full DARVO mode saying that it is others attacking them and and "photoshopping" the screen-shots.

Seriously, all NuTSR has to do is issue a statement denying this was their writing, unequivocally denounce it as racist garbage, and pledge that nothing of this sort is in their game or ever will be.

It's what a real publisher would do. It's what a real writer would do.

But to date, they have not that. Nothing at all from Dave Johnson or Justin LaNasa on this. 

This is all developing. So far The Gamer website has picked up on the story, and rumor has it that WotC had an "emergency meeting about it." (that one has yet to be confirmed and I remain skeptical but hopeful.)

Lots of people are covering this and lots of people are talking about it. I am sure we are just at the beginning of all this. So why am I talking about here?

Simple. This sort of behavior needs to be called out.

It is not ok, funny, or edgy to print this shit in 2022. It wasn't right even in 1974, but less so now.  Nazis, racists, sexists, and any sort of bigots need to feel unwelcome in this hobby. More to the point they need feel like outsiders, like uninvited guests that are about to get the boot out the door. There is no room for them here, now, or in the future.

People will bitch and moan with "oh you are just gatekeeping!" No dumb ass. We are keeping hateful rhetoric out of our spaces. If you don't like that then you kindly fuck off and keep fucking off until you are gone.

For anyone that wants to play Star Frontiers, there is a vibrant community out there for it. You can use the original rules or the newer retro-clone.

Star Frontiers

• Star Frontiers: Alpha Dawn (WotC)
• Star Frontiers: Knight Hawks (WotC)
• FrontierSpace Player's Handbook (DwD Studios)
• FrontierSpace Referee's Handbook (DwD Studios)
• Frontier Explorer (DwD Studios)

I had this to say about the whole thing:

Hey @Wizards I think you should release a new version of Star Frontiers using the D&D 5e system. Then release a portion of it as an OGL SRD so others can join in on the fun. Why now? Oh. No reason. #starfrontiers

— Timothy S. Brannan (@timsbrannan) July 20, 2022

Links

• https://www.nohateingaming.com/
• https://www.tenkarstavern.com/2022/07/wait-star-frontiers-new-genesis-is-for.html
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD9evesvAos
• https://www.thegamer.com/tsr-dave-johnson-star-frontiers-playtest-racist/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/w3txdt/star_frontiers_new_genesis_leaks_reveals_overt/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKPn7fM1YwA
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFr_-EhjM_0
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkPURc5cqTU
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtlHA2O3GYs
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeKYty0JyTg *NEW*

DriveThruRPG Christmas in July Sales

If you are good the Christmas witch will bring you D&D books.

It's that time of year again! Christmas in July and DriveThruRPG has a bunch of great sales going on.  I am taking this time to get print versions of some games on my wish list and you can pick up some of my books on sale!

Here are items on sale from my Other Side Publishing,

• Sisters of the Aquarian Order for White Star
• The Beast Within - Basic Werewolves for any Basic-era game
• Daughters of Darkness: The Mara Witch for Basic Era Games
• The Basic Witch: The Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition
• The Children of the Gods: The Classical Witch for Basic Era Games
• The Craft of the Wise: The Pagan Witch Tradition
• The Warlock for Old-School Essentials
• The Green Witch for Swords & Wizardry
• The Warlock for Swords & Wizardry
• The Winter Witch for Swords & Wizardry
• The Witch for Swords & Wizardry Continual Light
• The Witch for Swords & Wizardry White Box
• The Witch: Hedgewitch for the Hero's Journey RPG

And from other publishers,

• Ghosts of Albion, from Eden Studios
• Night Shift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars, from Elf Lair Games
• Guidebook to the Duchy of Valnwall Special Edition, from Small Niche Games
• And the Strange Brew line from Misfit Studios
• Strange Brew: Skills and Feats
• Strange Brew: Warlock
• Strange Brew: Book of Shadows
• Strange Brew: Covencraft
• Strange Brew: Magic Items
• Strange Brew: Mystical Paths & Prestige Classes

Wow that is quite a bit. Grab these while you can!

Old School Essentials: Eddie and Chrissy

Stranger Things is still making news and dominating all sorts of geeky-related culture and I think that is great.  While I do agree that Saddie Sink, aka Max, got absolutely robbed of an Emmy nomination this year, I am enjoying all the love that Joseph Quinn and Grace Van Dien, the ill-fated Eddie Munson and Chrissy Cunningham are getting online.

Spoilers for Stranger Things Season 4 follow.

Eddie is the metal-loving, D&D playing, "super-senior" and head of the Hellfire Club.  Chrissy is the popular cheerleader who goes to Eddie to look for drugs to help stop the visions she is getting.  Their few moment of screen-time have prompted the Duffer Brothers to come out and say they regret killing both characters because their chemistry was so good. This has led to the Internet's newest "ship" of Eddie/Chrissy, known online as #eddissy or #hellcheer.

Grace Van Dien has been on her Twitter account and is a huge #eddissy fan. 

It's cute. The metal head and the cheerleader find common ground and even become close. Hell back in, oh about the exact same time, I remember talking to a classmate when we were both outside of our high school social structures and I was very surprised and very pleased that this cheerleader I barely knew had such excellent taste in music (from my point of view).  Certainly opened my young eyes.

So yeah. I am not much of a shipper these days, but this is fun.  Then I got to see this artwork.

The Bard and the Dancer🤍 #StrangerThings pic.twitter.com/K2I0PFVwvC

— JC (@jaeon009) July 17, 2022

Well. Eddie and Chrissy might have fallen to Vecna/#1/Henry in Hawkins, but that doesn't mean a D&D version of them didn't survive somewhere!  So here they are for Old School Essentials - Advanced Fantasy.  And since I just got back from the Bristol Ren Faire I have some ideas. 

Chrissy Cunningham
2nd level Human Acrobat
Chaotic Good

STR: 12
INT: 16
WIS: 12
DEX: 17
CON: 11
CHA: 16

HP: 6
AC: 7
THAC0: 19 [0]

Saving Throws
D: 13 W: 14 P: 13 B: 16: S: 15

Acrobat Skills
CS: 88 FA: 25 HS: 15 MS: 25 TW: 65

Eddie Munson
3rd level human Arcane Bard*
Chaotic Good

STR: 14
INT: 14
WIS: 13
DEX: 15
CON: 13
CHA: 17

HP: 13
AC: 7
THAC0: 19 [0]

Saving Throws
D: 13 W: 14 P: 13 B: 16: S: 15

Powers
Bard skills, Lore, Spell Casting*

*Druid spells don't really fit Eddie, so he is getting Magic-User spells instead. The Arcane Bard from Carcass Crawler 0 is a better fit.

Bard Skills
CS: 79 HN: 1-3 PP: 30 RL: 60

First Level: Charm Person, Shield

--

Based on the wonderful art from JC above, this version of Eddie and Chrissy are street performers by day and thieves by night. I imagine they come into a town Eddie plays while Chrissy dances for tips all the while scoping out the locals.  They try to steal only from the very rich and corrupt. It usually doesn't take them long to figure out who their mark will be.  

They are not evil, so they steal what they can and give most of it away to the needy, keeping a couple of choice items for themselves. They also keep enough from their take and tips to live a comfortable, if nomadic lifestyle.

Since these characters are in OSE-Advanced, I might make them "blink and you will miss them" NPCs in my War of the Witch Queens campaign. I am going to say they have a small apartment above the tavern they perform at in the town of West Haven.  Here they just perform, no theft.

Monstrous Mondays: The D&D 4e Monster Vaults

When 2010 rolled around it was becoming obvious that 4e was not going to sell as well as previous versions of D&D. It still sold well, but it was not hitting the number that WotC and Hasbro wanted.  Since the old adage was "Core Books sell better" the 4e team reintroduced the D&D 4th edition game with the 4e Essentials line.  While no a new edition really, it was designed to make the 4e game a bit easier to play and run and make it more like old editions of the game.  

It was not quite successful but it did re-interest me in the game after playing 4e for a bit and then drifting off to Pathfinder.  

One of the "interesting" changes in 4e Essentials was the shift of the "Monster Manual" to the "Monster Vault."

They were called these since the first Essentials Monster book was a boxed set with the digest-sized book and monster tokens for all the creatures in the book.  Nice touch for a mini-focused game.

So for today's Monstrous Mondays I am going to look at the two Monster Vault books, both PDF and physical, and talk about what they added to the game and the depiction of monsters.

Dungeons & Dragons Essentials: Monster Vault (4e)

PDF (and softcover). 320 pages, full color. No PoD option on DriveThruRPG at this time. $8.99 for PDF.

Released in the later part of 2010 this book was part of the Essentials transition line to help "save" D&D 4e. 

The monster book of the D&D 4e Essentials line covered a number of monsters already present in the D&D 4e Monster Manuals.  I'll get to that part in a bit.

The product came in a box, much like the Essentials DM's kit. Along with the digest-sized book, there were a bunch of tokens for all the creatures, a fold-out map of a dungeon/wilderness area (for the  "Cairn of the Winter King" included adventure), and even some NPC/PC tokens.  The tokens also featured rings to make a monster go up a size. So a large creature could be upgraded to huge for example. The PDF of this book includes the maps and tokens to print out.

The book format largely followed that of the previous monster books but presented in the Essentials style.  Of course, you could use 4e and Essentials material interchangeably and the monster books are the best example of this.  An effort was made not just to repeat monsters and stat blocks from the previous books. For example, the Monster Manual has an Orc entry and features the Orc Drudge (L4), Orc Warrior (L9), Orc Raider (L3), Orc Berserker (L4), Orc Eye of Gruumsh (L5), Orc Bloodrager (L7) and Orc Chieftan (L8). The Monster Vault has Battletest Orc (L3), Orc Savage (L4), Orc Archer (L4), Orc Reaver (L5), Orc Rampager (L6), Orc Pummeler (L6) and Orc Storm Shaman (L6).  The art in the book is replicated on the tokens. Each token is also used as an "icon" in each entry.

There are 64 major monster entries, including Animals, here with anywhere from 1 or 2 to as many as 8 sub entries under each. Orcs have 7, demons have 7 and even displacer beasts have 3.  This gives us just over 300 monsters.

I don't personally feel that the Monster Vault was designed to replace the Monster Manuals. After all the "named" demons like Orcus, Demogorgon and Lolth never appear in the Essentials Monster books. Though there is naturally some overlap, but it is nowhere near what you saw in the Monster Manuals for 3.0 to 3.5 or even the Monstrous Compendiums of 2e to the Monstrous Manual.  I felt they were designed to be more complimentary. 

Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale

PDF (and softcover). 128 pages, full color. $14.99 for PDF, $32.99 for PoD or $47.98 for both.

If the first Monster Vault was designed to replace or complement the D&D 4 Monster Manuals then a case could be made that Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale could be considered the D&D 4e Monster Manual 4.  Indeed, with the updated MV monsters in the fist book, combined with this book a hard cover Monster Manual 4 could have been created. While the cover features a cool looking black dragon, the hard cover could have been Graz'zt to continue with the demon-focused covers.

This originally came as a softcover book in a shrink-wrapped paper slip-case with card-stock tokens like that of the Monster Vault. These included all the monsters for this book.  The book though in this case is not digest-sized but letter sized. 

There are 40 grouping of monsters here, with some named unique creatures and threats to the Nentir Vale. So the book feels like a campaign-setting monster book. There are about 200 monsters here in total. Since there are unique creatures and Nentir Vale-focused ones, there are monsters here that have never appeared in any D&D monster book before or since. Some are old favorites with new ideas. For example, there are Gnolls, but they are the Black Fang Gnolls here and are a little more vicious.  There are new creatures, like the Frost Witches, that have not reappeared anywhere else as far as I know.  Others of course are new and have appeared in other books after this.

Personally, I would love to see all of these creatures, along with the rest of the Nentir Vale, translated into D&D 5th edition.

The Essentials Line

Back when it was new in 2010 I spent some time talking about the D&D Essentials line and how it was what 4e should have been from the start. 

I talked about the start of the essentials line here and here. I also discussed using the Essentials Monster Vault to make adjustments to various D&D 5e monsters. 

I feel there is still a good game in here. I might need to delve a bit deeper and even get an Essentials game going sometime.  There is still a lot of fun to be had here I think.

Kickstart Your Weekend: MONSTERS!

It's a monstrous weekend for Kickstarters! So let's get to it.

Twilight Fables

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1693797308/twilight-fables?ref=theotherside

Really looking forward to this one. It is for 5e and it looks AMAZING.  Rod was the mastermind behind Chromatic Dungeons, so you know the quality is good, but he has upped his game to the next level on this one. In addition to a Print on Demand version, there will be the ubiquitous PDF and Print friendly PDF, there will also be an accessible RTF file.  There is also an option a glossy offset print if the stretch goal is made.

Additionally you get a zip file containing tokens and markdown files of every creature, as well as dozens of printable images of the monsters. To be used at your table or virtual table. 

The book has a ton of monsters from myth and legend and more to the point the book is already done. That's correct, there might be some minor edits here and there, but the book is done, art is in place, and you will get your digital rewards (PDF, RTF, tokens) as soon as the funding is done.

That's the way to do it honestly.

It's not live just yet, but that link will get you there. 

A Folklore Bestiary for 5E and OSE

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/896102915/a-folklore-bestiary?ref=theotherside

This one also looks great and I love I can get it for my two current favorite systems. We are getting some folklore monsters but I am expecting them to be different than what I have seen so far. In any case, more monsters are always better. 

The value add here for me of course is getting a 5e and an OSE version of each book. One for me, one for my kids to use. Everyone is happy.

FRIGHT NIGHT CLASSICS

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1866071445/fright-night-classics?ref=theotherside

And adventure module for "Percentile-based horror RPGs" or CryptWorld and Chill.  This one really captures the feel of old horror comics and Tales from the Crypt in particular. 

It looks like an absolute ton of fun and I hope it gets the backing it needs.

Exclusive Vampirella Giant 4” Enamel Pin

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hollyg/exclusive-vampirella-giant-4-enamel-pin?ref=theotherside

Holly G and husband Jim Balent are good friends of The Other Side and I love sharing their Kickstarters.  Today is Holly's turn with her take on her all-time favorite character, Vampirella.  

The vampy pin is fun and would look great on my gamer bag, but I am here for the add-ons and the stretch goals. If you get a chance to check out her comic VampFire then please do.  She was doing vampire slayers long before any chick named Buffy came around.

Trailer: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

I am a huge "Lord of the Rings" fan.  

I reread the trilogy and the hobbit every couple of years, and I always find new enjoyment. I have read and re-read The Silmarillion a couple of times now and I think it gets better each and every time.  I have enjoyed his unfinished tales, I loved The Children of Húrin, and I have been dying to start The Fall of Gondolin.

I have all the Lord of the Rings movies and yes I did rebuy them each and every time they were released on a new medium, DVD, Blu-Ray, and Ultra HD Blu-Ray.

So I am a fan.

And I am REALLY looking forward to seeing Amazon's new The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

I cannot adequately describe what it is like to see the Two Trees after only seeing them forever in my thoughts. Reminds me of the line from Stairway to Heaven. "In my thoughts, I have seen, rings of smoke through the trees, and the voices of those who stand looking."

I love the Harfoots as proto-ish-Hobbits. I think Morfydd Clark will make a FANTASTIC Galadriel.  People complaining about Galadriel wearing armor and fighting obviously know nothing of her history. Before she turns into Cate Blanchet she was a warrior, a rebel and who was the "only woman to stand tall in those days" according to the Unfinished Tales and Silmarillion. She has a dark past full of murder and war.  

We have Pharazôn, before he becomes the last King of Númenor. No word yet on whether or not Annatar will appear, but I am betting he will. In fact. I am sure of it.  No word on Fëanor though. 

Yes, there are certain liberties being taken.  But that is the nature of storytelling and I am fine with it.

But yes. I am really looking forward to this.

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