I'm betting you didn't know, I have a brand spanking new wordpress blog over here.  My newer rpg projects will be hosted over there, this is just for fun ...yay!

New favorite band, definately Amon Amarth

Boy, finding out you have Diabetes sucks.  But suddenly everything does make sense as to why I felt so rotten.  Anyway it's under control now, so hopefully I'll have more time for the blog.

New projects await!

I don't know what to say, a piece of my childhood died this morning.

Fudgeoneer has been updated to version 1.2







Bugfixes for Players:
1. Fixed bulleted lists.
2. Fixed error on Magic-User levels pg 12.  Thanks Paul!
3. Changed references to Mage from Magic-User.
4. Updated table of contents.

Bugfixes for Judges:
1. Fixed bulleted lists.
2. Broke out Melans "On Dungeon Mapping" article to Appendix A.
3. Broke out "5 room" article from roleplaying tips 156 to Appendix B.
4. Broke out Cinematic Damage Alternative by John Ughrin to Appendix C.
5. Added Sample Quickstart section to Appendix D.
6. Updated table of contents.

There remains much to be done on this, so  I'm off to polish some prose.

Picture four DND playing females and one male DM, then they act out their dungeon crawling exploits in front of a green screen.

You must check this out.

Youtube channel

 

Like I said before I have a few projects in the works and this one is furthest along, mainly because it's not my work! ;)

A while back Paul Tarussov created an Old School Fantasy workout based on FUDGE.  This got me real excited, so excited in fact that I reworked Pauls content  into two pdfs.  One pdf is for Players and one for Judges.  Let me repeat, this is not my content, I just did the layout on the files and named it Fudgeoneer.

You can find the files over on the left sidebar or you can get them here:
Judges
Players

I assembled this project , because I really like FUDGE and old school DND, I'm just not crazy about a lookup table for every little thing in 1st edition DND.  I think Pauls work retains much of the flavor I like, while giving  me FUDGE on top. :)

Anyway I think it's neat, and of course it's a work in progress, so keep an eye out for updates.

Well it only took a little over twenty years for Tom G. Warrior and crew to be proud of their earliest noise.  Yeah I'm talking about Hellhammer, dammit if they didn't lay the foundation for so many other bands.  OK the production tends to suck and yeah they really couldn't play their instruments yet, but WOW what anger and attitude.

I was thrilled when Celtic Frost came out with Monotheist, now it looks like I'm gonna have to pickup Demon Entrails as well \m/

I'd like to study up on paper and pencil rpgs that emphasize surrealism
and or weirdness as part of game play.

Study candidates to follow.

Over the Edge
Don't Rest Your Head
Heaven & Earth
Noumenon
Lacuna Part 1

Hah...I knew it was around here somewhere, I just rediscovered my teens.
Check it.

Now where are my old white high tops and acid wash jeans?

Idea for a new roleplaying game.

Please keep in mind that I haven't read half as much New Weird fiction as I should like, and I like less than half as much New Weird fiction as it deserves. ;)

"New Weird" Setting. The idea is to try to simulate the feeling and spirit of worlds created by writers working in the "New Weird" fiction movement. Writers such as Jeff VanderMeer, China Mieville, Jeffrey Ford and M. John Harrison among others are examples.

The game would be gritty, yet surreal. Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror would be combined. H.P. Lovecraft is a huge influence on many New Weird writers, but in an unusual way. In order to suggest truly alien places and creatures and because HPL was writing horror Fiction, he usually ran right up to the edge of describing a slithering horror from beyond the stars but refrained from too detail description. Also anything new seemed to be threatening to HPL, notoriously the racism and xenophobia of his times comes through with shocking clarity in many stories. Most all of the writers associated with New Weird use transgressive horror in the way HPL would, but HPL would never have sympathetic monsters. In the works of China Mieville, for example, humans interact with various creatures that HPL would no doubt find repugnant. But Mieville and other New Weird writers cast many of their non-human characters with as much familiarity as alienness, leading to an odd sympathy from the reader.

Also as Jeff and Ann VanderMeer have pointed out, there is a lack of Ironic Distance in New Weird fiction. Arguably this is at odds with the foundations of traditional rpgs, i.e. D&D. By E. Gary Gygax own admission he was and is a huge fan of Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories. Vance regards his characters and their experiences with a cool ironic distance, and this is not what New Weird fiction does at all. Put it this way, I don't know about you, but I find Frankensteins monster infinitely more interesting than the mad doctor himself. I sympathize with him, and I empathize with him. I would really like to read a story about a world where he and his kind rule. Combine this empathy with the previously mentioned "transgressive horror" and clear delineation of complex real world models for set setting and character, and you have something approaching New Weird.

New weird fiction tends to be extremely aware of the modern world, it has an urban rather than rural feel. There seems to be no room for idyllic shires in New Weird fiction, it goes against what New Weird stands for. New Weird fiction does not long for a former pastoral Golden Age, nor does it seek to glorify death in romanticism. New Weird fiction looks to an inclusive, yet surreal future where some things are as they always have been, but many things are radically different. Keeping this in mind a New Weird rpg might very well be looked at as a Literary Pulp rpg.

So what would the game actually be like? As I said before, gritty yet surreal, more urban than rural. Elements of Fantasy, Horror and SciFi, probably on the level of Steampunk and Psionics. Also bits of Conspiracy and Alternate History where advantageous. Possibly a setting inside a republic with mayors senators and a head of state, no kings, princesses or divine right etc. Religion could play a role in a characters outlook, but more in the way that it was in Classical times. No mandated state morality, a character might have a set of personal ethics and strives to live up to them or not, as the case may be. Clerical and wizardly magic come from the same source, which is namely the universe, through yourself. The psyche functions as a prism to channel power that flows throughout the universe and within yourself. Again, this should feel more like Psionics rather than overt casting of fireballs of the mind.

This does not mean that gods cannot exist. Gods could be discarnate alien intelligences, travelers from other dimensions, ancient and powerful beings from other star systems, possibly even a supreme unknowable being that created the universe, but is now detached from it. Worship of such beings might even be an opportunity to evoke transgressive horror, as a gods worshipers take on more and more of its appearance or attitude, corruption can come in many forms. Actually the theme of alienation and abandonment of the divine sounds like a nifty starter for a game. Whats left is human interaction with aliens etc. and these could easily be seen as demons and devils by some folk with a xenophobic bent.

Some influences that suggest themselves from before even HPL are Notes from the Underground by Dostoevsky and The Golden Ass by Lucius Apuleius.

The game mechanics would be handled by an appropriate rules light game engine. My personal thoughts are that this would be perfect for FATE by Fred Hicks, Rob Donoghue and Leonard Balsera. I wouldn't want to go entirely diceless and D20 just kind of leaves me cold.

Well, these army thoughts so far, sorry for the rambling. It was all kinda stream of consciousness.

Another idea, everytime you fail at a task by just one, get an OP and place a check next to the skill.  Raising a skill takes 10OP. Skills go up at the end of a session and take effect the next time.

I've got some stuff written up in a notebook, but it will be a bit before I post it.

For now I'd like to think about a game mechanic that would probably fit nicely into FUDGE.  These are much like Keys from Clinton R. Nixons The Shadow of Yesterday.  I'd like to call my version Grooves, you can groove on many things in the game, but typically they are things to focus on and earn OP (Omega Points).  A Groove has three components light effect, heavy effect and the lockup.  A Grooves light effect gives you
1OP, the heavy effect gives you 2OP and the lockup is the price you pay to get rid of a Groove and acquire a new one, typically 5OP.   Omega Points allow the player to modify  die rolls either one up or one down as desired and can be applied to either GM or PC roles.

Gonna have to think about this one a bit. 

OK, I'm going to write this out just so I won't forget or misplace it.

The Ouranian Age takes place somewhere around the year 2500, of course.

Much of this is inspired by Kamandi by Jack Kirby.

Azya

Intelligent Ursinex control much of Russia, they have a truce with the Lion communes of the former Peoples Republic.

And both the Ursinex and Leonex must keep a careful watch on the ever expanding Tigrex hordes of far north Tiberia.

Malzia

To the south amongst numerous islands new and old a civilization of giant hairy surfing warriors only fear death by shark attack.

Aztrala

And on an island continent further south koala-men have repopulated the outback of long dead civilizations. Unfortunately they are extremely unfriendly and xenophobic , refusing to believe anyone or thing survived the Time of Great Fire.

Land of the Seekers

To the east of the koala-men are the remnants of a large broken continent. The Land of the Seekers is a high tech refuge where the last remnants of advanced human race exist. The Seekers are not concerned with the world around them, they are served by mechanoids and all their wants and desires met. Consequently they are very selfish, some are great troublemakers.

Ugezi

To the north are savage tribes of Jaguarex, they rule their own island realm, since they are isolated, they leave others around them alone.

Wasteland of Hybrasil

To the east is a vast continental wasteland, a comet looks to have struck here.

Exus

On the North coast of the wasteland continent live large mutated vampire bat creatures, they are intelligent, but only have stone age tools.

United Apes of Merkha

Much of the Southern part of the continent to the north is taken up by a feral Umanex refuge. This was setup by their northern neighbors of the ape nation. The ape nation is a young republic which believes in the rule of law (their own). And the equality of all animals in the eyes of Gaia, though apes are obviously a little more equal than those barbaric Umanex.

Realm of the Remainders

To the east of the ape nation stir many small feudal kingdoms, Umanex who have banded together to resist the heavy hand of the apes. They serve individual lords and each lord swears allegiance to the eastern emperor. They are spread wide over the easter portion of the continent. The apes will only pursue them so far, as social taboos keep them out of many of the ruined areas that the umanex call home.

Old Yok and surroundings

Along the remnants of the eastern seaboard rat-men make their home. Networks of tunnels crisscross ancient ruins of broken cities and only the rat-men dare to delve deeper than any others. It is said that specifically beneath the ruins of Old Yok a mutant king rat guides his followers in vile and dark rites.

Urbasa

There are no rat-men or their kin on the west coast. The Cougarex commonwealth would hunt them down and probably eat them. The Cougarex are content to remain behind their own borders with occasional raids into ape and umanex territory, truthfully the Cougarex regard them as nearly the same.

Lake Eeree,

In the northern middle of the continent are a group of five large interconnected lakes collectively known as Lake Eeree. The areas just to the south and along the coast of the lakes is considered a no-mans land by neighboring peoples. Stories of fierce mutants tribes stalking the unwary and the dead lakes have circulated for many decades now, and the Lepex living in the area would have it no other way. The Lepex are large mutant intelligent rabbit folk, they have a tough time protecting themselves. Deception is the Lepex main defense against Cougarex and even Umanex raiders, the Ape Nation peoples have treaties with them and try to keep their existence a secret.

Kantan Wall

Farther to the north there is a great wall, all that is known about it is that it was built in ancient times and any that pass beyond it are never seen again. The defenses of the wall are automated, creaking rusted robots inhabit guard stations placed at mile markers along the wall. There are rumors of a great insect nation beyond the wall. A hive mind biding it's time and waiting patiently for the day on which it will show all of the other creatures who their trumaster is.

Unknown Lands

Of the furthest north their is next to nothing known, only ancient stories of what once was a paradise of wild game and fresh water, towering mountains and deep forests. Only the memory banks of the Seekers have information of what truly lies in the furthest northern territory, and it's not pretty a devastated rocky wasteland. Good for the Seekers, they care for nothing outside their domes.

Mare Dextralis

On the east coast near where the great wall meets the sea live Mermanex and intelligent dolphins. Typically they are hunters and migrate chasing game. Normally they are skittish and shy, with everyone except the Pardex Pirates whom they attack on site. Good thing for the Pardex they only tend to run into Mermanex in the southern oceans during their winter migration.

Borealis

What few know about is the new mountainous continent at the top of the world in Oceanus Australis. by the few who are in the know, they believe it to be uninhabited. The extraterrestrial bases and their inhabitants in this area would like to keep it that way.

Just south of Borealis is another newly formed structure, a land bridge that emerges below the great wall and extends across the Dextralis to the next continent. Due to its being so far north the land bridge.

 

To be continued

I've got a few projects in the works, we'll see how they come out.

The first is a Fudge version of D&D.  No not my original work, but I'm tidying it up a bit.  Need to work on the magic system mostly.  I have a spell list with spells from "Wall of Flatulence" to "Heavenly Sorcery of the Body Candle" to Razor Frond.  Now I just need to come up with what these spells actually do in game terms and write it up.

The second is a Gamma World knock off using the FATE engine from SotC, can you tell I'm feeling nostalgic?  I think the second one has further to go.  I'd like it to be more story oriented than the original GW, more Forge-like maybe.

Thats it for now.

Actually post something this year.