The fortunes of the Empire have always ebbed and flowed with rebellion and repression and restoration. An Imperial Governor deciding to throw off the shackles of Imperial control and declaring independence, only for his rebellion to be crushed and he be replaced by a political opponent. Always on the Periphery of the Empire and always following this pattern until a cascade of rebellions began The Session Wars. The Imperials had industrial and economic might manifested in superior training and technology, the Periphery had numbers and zeal. The August Throne also had time and it picked and pecked at the alliances between the rebellious new states, defeating each in turn until years later, the last free Kingdom of the West, Orinost, stood alone, the engineering geniuses at the Engineering school at the University of Alsdolan, the so-called Circle of Iron, used their advances in technology, especially Cog Science, to withstand the Imperial assault. This, combined with the efforts of the Clever Folk of the Far West and the Grand Masters and Legends of the Dust Road, to harry and undermine the efforts of the Imperial forces, enabled Orinost to hold out for three more years and so create its own legend along those of many of its great defenders. Ultimately, the two sides would clash at the battle of Ash Ford which would see men and women capable of shattering mountainsides with their bare hands battle each other, thousands killed, and Orinost defeated, yet the Emperor, in his wisdom, came to terms. The rebels were allowed to enter exile on the condition that they never took up arms against the Emperor again. So they fled West as far as they could from the Empire back East. They took the Dust Road over the border beyond the Periphery and the Last Horizon, and so into the Far West.

Yet the Far West is not quite as wild and barbarous as Imperial propaganda might say it is. The trains of the Chartered Houses, each led by a great Steam Baron, run far to fortified towns within territory, bringing goods and people to the new land; the people value their honour and courteous to a fault lest they insult one another; and the Marshals, empowered by the Chartered Houses to bring Imperial Law and ‘justice’, are known for the masks they wear which keep their faces hidden as much as for hunting down and executing the bandits which infest the region, though their reputation for ruthlessness has made them equally as feared. Then there is ‘The Dust Road’, a path rather than a road, walked by the Clever Folk, those whose knowledge and skill, whether in the arts, engineering, or sciences, and especially in the martial arts of kung-fu, transcend that of ordinary men. They can manipulate ink to blind their opponents, stand upon one spot unmoving no matter how much force is brought upon them for they will shatter first, make any object as sharp as a sword or as strong as steel to withstand a blow from a sword, target the humours of an opponent and so upset his equilibrium, shoot opposing bullets out of the air, and so on. Heroes or villains, they upset the natural order of things and so are not to be trusted, as thirty years since the battle of Ash Ford, the Empire eyes the lands beyond the Periphery with greed, the Chartered Houses plot to expand their economic grasp, and bandit armies strike fear into settlements large and small in the Far West.

This is the set-up for Far West: Western Wuxia Mash Up Adventure Game. Published by Adamant Entertainment, it is undeniably one of the most notorious roleplaying games of the modern age. Not because it is bad or its subject matter is contentious or its designer has expressed himself or done anything that could be regarded as inappropriate. No, it is notorious because it is late—and not just late, very late. In fact, to fair, very, very late. A decade late. In the past this would not have been an issue, but Far West was among the first roleplaying games to be funded via Kickstarter and to raise what was then a lot of money in doing so. In other words, its supporters put their money into the project and did not receive the much-promised book—until now, that is. Funded via Kickstarter on August 25th, 2011, it has taken almost thirteen years to bring the book to fruition. In that time, the designer, Gareth-Michael Skarka, has suffered illness and difficulties, least of which is the damage to his reputation, the roleplaying game has undergone a drastic redesign, and there have been numerous delays. Finally, with the assistance of Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Far West has seen print. To say all of this is not to attack the designer, but rather to give context and an understanding of the history of Far West. Yet the author barely addresses the issue in the book and certainly does not go so far as to apologise or offer a mea culpa for those delays, though his introduction to Far West would certainly have been the place to put that on record.

If anyone has had the patience to wait the thirteen years for the book, then they certainly owe Pinnacle Entertainment a debt of gratitude for helping the designer get Far West into the hands of the remaining Kickstarter backers and to T.S. Luikart, for working with the designer to complete the roleplaying game. Then with the book now out, the designer can at least put the project behind him, and those who waited for it, discover whether that wait has been worth the final product.

As the title suggests, Far West: Western Wuxia Mash Up Adventure Game combines two genres. One is the Old West of the post-Civil War United States, the other the Jianghu, the world of martial artists and the Wuxia genre of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Warring States period of Chinese history. More specifically for the first genre, it draws upon the Spaghetti Western rather than the Wild West, with stories set along the border between Mexico and the United States of America. This brings what is called a Castalan—in other words, a Hispanic—aspect to the setting. The combination of the Spaghetti Western and Wuxia genres also means that the traditional displaced native peoples typically found in the latter do not appear in Far West. In some ways Far West feels tonally very much like the television series Firefly, although without the Science Fiction elements. However, with the addition of Cog Science, Far West is also a Steampunk roleplaying game.

A Hero or Player Character, one of the Clever Folk, in Far West is defined by his Rank, Attributes, Background, Occupation, Skills, Spirit and Aspects, Edges and Flaws, and Allegiance. Rank, from Novice to Legend determines how many dice a player has to assign to Attributes and Skills, the number of Kung Fu Forms he knows and how much Spirit he can have. The seven Attributes are Reflexes, Strength, Wits, Toughness, Presence, Knack, and Kung Fu. Of these, Knack is a measure of aptitude with tools and technology, whilst Kung Fu represents how good he is in the special forms of martial arts. Background, such as ‘Back East—The Empire’ or ‘The Rolling Steppes’, and Occupations like ‘Artist’, ‘Gambler’, ‘Hired Gun’, ‘Lotus Girl/Willing Lad’, and ‘Wrangler’ all provide bonuses to skills.
Aspects are descriptive elements of a character. They can include relationships, beliefs, descriptions, catchphrases, distinctive possessions, tied to Advantages and Disadvantages. In play, a player can spend Spirit to Tag an Aspect, bring it into play and gain two bonus Wild Dice to a roll, whereas the Narrator can compel an Aspect, bring it into play, forcing the Player Character to act against his best interests or simply earn a penalty to roll. In return, the Player Character is rewarded with Spirit. It is possible for one Player Character to Tag another and so gain the Wild Dice bonus. One advantage of tagging an Aspect is if the roll is successful. If so, the Spirit spent to Tag the Aspect is refunded, but if the roll is a failure, the Spirit is lost. A player can refuse an attempt to Compel an Aspect, but this will cost Spirit to do so. Aspects can also be built into scenes to be Tagged or Compelled. An Aspect can also be Tagged after a roll, but this does not gain the two extra Wild Dice, instead allowing a reroll.

Spirit is a Hero’s inner power or life force. It is based on the value of his Attributes and Kung Fu dice. Divided into Permanent Spirit and Temporary Spirit. Permanent Spirit is reduced to learn Kung Fu styles, whilst Temporary Spirit is used to add dice to rolls, Tag Aspects, and so on. A Hero has an Aspect each from his Background, Occupation, highest and lowest Attributes, and Rank. The Background and Occupation Aspects must be selected from virtues of the Dust Road. These are altruism, justice, individualism, loyalty, courage, truthfulness, disregard for wealth, and desire for glory, and one must be negative and one positive. Edges, such as ‘Blinding Speed’, ‘Deadly Aim’, and ‘Fortune Of The Celestial Monkey’, are purchased by spending Skill dice, whilst a Hero can add to his Skill dice by choosing Flaws like ‘Addlepated’, ‘Debt’, and ‘Thick As A Stump’.

Kung Fu is different in that its four skills are determined by the Kung Fu Attribute. The four Skills are External Kung Fu, which focuses on physical power and agility with direct, explosive attacks; Gateways Kung Fu is about the flow of Spirit along meridians within the human body to the points where they intersect at gateways or pressure points, which can be disrupted to cause paralysis or even death; Internal Kung Fu is about the flow of Spirit within the practitioner’s own body to harden the flesh against attacks, expel Spirit as attacks, and master balance and leverage; and Lightness Kung Fu is about the manipulation of the practitioner’s own body weight to be able to walk along walls, leap over roofs, and move swiftly and lightly.

Allegiance can be to an organisation, a belief system, nation, or a philosophy, and in play, mechanically, it can be Tagged or Compelled like any other Aspect. The default Allegiance is to a Clan, but a Hero can also be a Drifter in which case he suffers interaction penalties when dealing with any Clan. Some Clans are secret like the ‘lotus girls’ and ‘willing boys’ of the Foxglove Society, a clan of assassins, or secretive, such as the ‘Brotherhood of Steel and Song’, the solitary Mariachi. Others are more obvious, such as the Iron Dragons, which work the rails back and forth across the Far West, whilst the Jade Family are nomadic con artists, beggars, thieves, entertainers, and fortune-tellers who take ‘Jade’ as their surname to indicate membership. Every Clan is described in some detail, including its background, philosophy, fighting styles used, organisation, symbol, and benefits.

The actual process of creating a Hero is a matter of assigning dice to both Attributes and Skills, and making choices. It is not a difficult process, but it is a daunting one because of the array of choices possible and the lack of advice when it comes to those choices. There are templates at the back of the book, but they are bare bones and there is no complete example of the Hero creation process—there are lots of little examples—and then the player has the problem of tying his Hero into the setting. This is compounded by the sheer number of Kung Fu styles to choose from—there are over eighty! The question is, which Kung Fu style goes with what concept or background? Which Kung Fu styles can be used with melee weapons or firearms? Perhaps it would have been helpful if some archetypes had been given, complete with Aspects, Kung Fu styles, and origins to tie them to the roleplaying game’s setting, both to illustrate and sell the setting?

Name: Mathias Pouke
Rank: Initiate
Background: Back East—The Empire
Occupation: Artist (Journalist)
Allegiance: The Wandering Stars
Spirit: 16 Permanent, 9 Temporary
Aspects: Individualism (Not From Around These Parts), Desire For Glory (Something to Prove), Fingers & Thumbs, A Way With Words, The Cat’s With Me
Edges & Flaws: Animal Ally (Cat, her name is Fence), Famous (Chronicler of the Far West), Debt
Kung Fu Styles: Brushless Sight Stroke, Fluttering Fist, Quivering Palm)
Reflexes 4D (Dodge 1D)
Strength 2D (Running 1D)
Wits 4D+2 (Artist 2D+2, Bureaucracy 1D, Gambling 1D, Investigation 2D, Scholar 1D+1, Streetwise 1D)
Toughness 3D
Presence 4D+2 (Animal Handling 1D+1, Bargain 1D+1, Charm 1D+1, Persuasion 1D)
Knack 2D (Lockpicking 1D)
Kung Fu 4D (External 1D, Gateway 1D, Internal 2D)

In terms of rules, Far West: Western Wuxia Mash Up Adventure Game is also a combination of two mechanics. The core rules are the D6Plus system, which uses pools of six-sided dice and which is a development of the mechanics first seen in Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, published by West End Games in 1987. The other is the storytelling or narrative Tagging and Compelling of Aspects as seen in FATE. The D6Plus system measures everything in terms of how many six-sided dice it has, primarily attributes and skills. It can have a bonus of +1 or +2, but never +3 or more. If an attribute or skill has a bonus increased to +3, it is instead increased by a whole extra die. A player will be typically rolling a number of dice equal to the rating of the attribute or skill, adding the results of all the dice, aiming to beat a Difficulty Number. An Easy Difficulty Number is roughly five or more, Easy ten, Moderate fifteen, Difficult twenty, and so on. Bonuses and penalties can apply from the situation, equipment used, or other factors.

When the dice are rolled, one die must be of a different colour. This is the Wild Die. If the result on the Wild Die is a one, it indicates a Critical Failure, whilst a roll of six on the Wild Die is a Critical Success and the player can roll the Wild Die again and keep adding as long as the Wild Die result is a six. If a Critical Success is rolled and a roll of one occurs, it does not mean that a Critical Failure has been rolled. A Critical Failure either negates the result of the highest die rolled or a complication occurs, the severity of which is determined by the Narrator, the suggestion being to make it lean into comic relief rather than necessarily being deadly. There are some suggestions for complications for the Narrator to use, such as “One of the characters kills a bandit. Unfortunately, the bandit was preparing to throw a stick of dynamite. The characters have only a few seconds to act before the dynamite explodes...” and it is suggested that the Narrator also write possible Complications into scenes and encounters in her scenarios. Additional Wild Dice can be added to a dice pool by spending Spirit.

An optional rule allows for ‘Joss’ or extra luck in a dice roll, but after the roll has been made. This counts doubles in the roll. If the doubles are low, the Hero suffers ‘Bad Joss’ and the situation does not turn out in his favour, whilst if they are high, the Hero has ‘Good Joss’ and the situation does turn out in favour. Where the ‘Joss’ rule is interesting is that it is possible to fail a roll and still have ‘Good Joss’ or a roll to succeed and suffer ‘Bad Joss’. This is the equivalent narratively of ‘Yes, but’ and ‘No, but…’.

If a roll is a success, the amount by which the roll succeeded is called ‘Result Points’. These are used to add bonuses to future rolls, like damage and defensive rolls, sets the length of time for an effect or the complexity of later tasks. In some cases, the whole value of the Result Points is not used. For example, it is halved as a bonus for the Hero’s next roll and divided by five for the damage bonus.

For all the simplicity of the D6Plus system, combat in Far West is comparatively complex. Ranged combat is straightforward enough, a simple skill roll versus range, but close combat is not. Skills rolls are made against the difficulty of wielding the weapon used, brawling attacks are always very easy, whilst each Kung Fu style has its own Difficulty value. However, all of these Difficulty values can be replaced if a defendant decides to use the Dodge skill to avoid the blow, the Melee or Brawling skill to parry, or a Kung Fu style with a defensive element. This turns combats into a series of opposed rolls. Modifiers adjust the number dice to be rolled due to range, cover, protection, the type of manoeuvre, and hit location. There are also penalties for multiple actions, these being very likely if a defendant wants to avoid or stop an attack. Add into this the some eighty of so Kung Fu styles and that is a lot to take into consideration. Obviously, not all eighty Kung Fu styles are going to be used in single combat, but with four Heroes, which is twelve that the Narrator needs to be aware of before she even considers those for the NPCs.

Duels—which work for both the Western and the Wuxia side of Far West—are actually neatly done with ‘The Showdown’ rules. This is divided into two phases. In the ‘Stare-Down’ phase, in which the participants make opposed Intimidation (or Prescence) rolls. The ‘Stare-Down’ can last multiple rounds during which the participants attempt to roll higher than the other. The loser always chooses when the ‘Stare-Down’ ends and the winner then uses the Result Points from his total rolls to modify his initiative roll in the ‘Quickdraw’ phase. This gives the winner an advantage as otherwise he would have to use dice from his weapon skill to modify his initiative.

Damage comes the weapon used, plus the Strength Attribute if a melee weapon, and Kung Fu style if appropriate. This is opposed by the defending combatant’s Toughness, with Result Points determining the effect of the damage done. A stunned combatant suffers a die penalty to all actions, a wounded one is knocked to the floor, and if the Result Points are sufficient, the defender can be killed. Damage options include substituting severe injuries instead of outright killing someone and there are descriptions given for narrative damage. Combat is surprisingly deadly, and a player may want to spend Spirit Points to temporarily increase his Hero’s Toughness or he can reduce damage on a one-for-one basis.

The setting itself is supported with a solid section of arms, equipment, goods, and services, and it is here that the Cog Science is covered. Each device has a Scale ranging from Character to Huge, plus the various dice bonuses it provides, bonuses and limitations, skill required for its use, and so on. This can include adding Aspects to the Cog device. The Cog Science skill is required to build any device and a player works with the Narrator to determine what it does and what its total value is. The value indicates how many days the device will take to complete, whilst the Narrator works out how much it will cost based on the cost of other devices given in the book. To compare, a Pocket Tracker has a value of twenty-three versus the fifty-one of a Repeating Rifle. Numerous example devices are given, but the few pages here—just eight—barely scratches the surface of this aspect of Far West. The guidelines are serviceable, but not spectacular. Arguably, Cog Science could have done with a chapter all of its very own.

A fifth of the book is dedicated to the setting of Far West, its history, geography, culture, common means of travel and communication, and more. This includes how the peace is kept, how business is done, what entertainments and medicines are available, what faiths are followed, festivals celebrated, and so on. There is quite a lot here and it also includes a Far West lexicon. It is, however, all quite broad in its detail, as there is a lot to cover. The Narrator is given a chapter of her own which really introduces the two genres of the roleplaying game properly and gives some pointers as to the elements of both. The advice highlights the parallels between the Wuxia and the Spaghetti Western genres and it is these parallels which bring the two genres together. There is decent advice on what types of adventures can be run in the setting as well as campaign ideas, and some suggestions on legendary weapons and Kung Fu manuals—the latter being one of the primary ways in which to learn more Kung Fu styles, the creation of other Clans, and a random adventure generator as well as some hooks throughout the Narrator section. Add in the random settlement generator and the Narrator is given the tools to create the bare bones of her own scenarios. That said, a starting adventure would not have gone amiss.

Overall, the rules for Far West are at best serviceable, rather than exciting. The D6Plus system is generic and leaves the Tagging and Compelling of Aspects to do a lot of work in terms of bringing the setting to life mechanically. In fact, the combination of a nearly forty-year-old game system with a more modern one—and even that is a decade old—feels creaky. It does not help that Critical Successes are undeveloped, doing no more than allowing extra dice rolls, in comparison to the attention paid to Critical Failures. The Hero creation process is hindered by a lack of a fuller example and archetypes which could have showcased what was possible in terms of character types. Similarly, whilst there are lots of little examples of the rules and combat, there is no one big example of play or combat which would have showcased everything in action, which in the case of the latter would have helped the Narrator understand the complexities of the combat system.

Physically, Far West is, in general, well presented, being vibrant and exciting in terms of much of its art. Yet the editing could have been tighter and the artwork is not without its problems. Notably, one of the pieces that illustrates Cog Science is directly inspired by Lego Technic. Then there is the issue of representation, of which Far West is a victim of its own Kickstarter campaign. One of the pledges, ‘Grand Master of the Dust Road’, enabled backers to submit a photograph which would be turned into a portrait in the setting and book. Consequently, the resulting artwork reflects the backers and reflects the gaming hobby as it was in 2011, so there are a lot of Caucasian faces and there are a lot of stocky, bespectacled male faces* within the book. This does not mean that Persons of Colour, whether Black or Chinese, or as well as women, are not represented in the artwork. They are. However, whether they are represented enough is another matter. What is clear is that a lot of the better artwork—and there is a marked divide in quality—does depict male Caucasian faces. Again, this is not intentional, but rather the consequences of the Kickstarter campaign.
* To be fair, I am one of them.

Ultimately, it is great to have Far West: Western Wuxia Mash Up Adventure Game in the backers’ hands. They have waited a long time. Has the wait been worth it? With regard to what they may have pledged for on the Kickstarter campaign, probably not, since the book itself does not feel very special. Mechanically, arguably not, since Far West underwhelms and simply does not do enough in terms of its rules to bring the setting and game to life, and against that, there are a lot of little aspects of the game, primarily the many styles of Kung Fu, which complicate play and make it just a bit more fiddly. In terms of look, debatable, but then to be fair, there are mitigating circumstances. In terms of setting, arguably, yes. The concept of a Western/Wuxia mash-up is still an intriguing, even enthralling combination, a great vehicle for action and storytelling even thirteen years on. That is perhaps where Far West: Western Wuxia Mash Up Adventure Game shines, in its core concepts and parallel genres rather than its execution. Overall, Far West: Western Wuxia Mash Up Adventure Game is not a disaster ten years in the making and it is playable with some effort upon the part of both the Narrator and her players, but it does show its age in very many ways.

The Religious Crimes Task Force is a shitshow, a dead end for any federal agent with ambitions or hopes of a better career. Established by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate and prosecute fraud and abuse in tax-exempt religious institutions, in effect it does no such thing. Instead, it alerts religious organisations that they are running foul of the law and might be in danger of having charges brought against them by the Federal authorities. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the head of the taskforce would not have it any other way as it prevents the government’s ‘persecution’ of white Evangelical Christians. For its investigators, it means rolling into small towns across the USA, investigating some small church and its congregation, and discovering that yet one more fringe, possibly cult-like organisation is effectively harmless. The Religious Crimes Task Force is effectively a smokescreen, but it is a smokescreen that Delta Green can take advantage of. It can flag up reports that suggest a religious organisation might be breaking the tax laws, but which to its analysts’ eyes might be connected to an Unnatural threat, and then have Federal agents wholly unconnected to the Delta Green program investigate, and if they uncover anything worthy of Delta Green’s attention, then it can send in its own experienced agents to deal with the issue. If the investigating agents survive the experience and are judicious in their reporting of it, then they may be suitable for recruitment. It is thus a smokescreen not once, but twice.

This is the set-up for Meridian, a scenario published by Arc Dream Publishing for Delta Green: The Role-Playing Game. This is the modern roleplaying game of conspiratorial and Lovecraftian investigative horror with its conspiratorial agencies within the United States government investigating, confronting, and covering up the Unnatural. It is ideally used as an introductory investigation with perhaps two or three Player Characters. To that end it includes three pre-generated Player Characters—two Agents and an optional character. The Two Agents consist of an FBI agent and an IRS investigator, whilst the optional character is a local social worker, who can either be a Player Character or an NPC. All three are possible recruits to Delta Green, the social worker as a Delta Green friendly. This set-up is not dissimilar to Control Group, the anthology of scenarios designed to create a pool of diverse Delta Green agents with varied origins and introductions to the Unnatural who can then go on to conduct investigations in secret for the conspiratorial organisation. So, Meridian can be used as an addition to that supplement or as a means to explain the addition of new agents to a campaign. To that end, the Unnatural element to the scenario is surprisingly low key.
The scenario is nominally set in the summer of 2018 as the Agents roll into Joplin, Missouri where the Kansas-Missouri-Oklahoma borders meet. They have been assigned to investigate Holy Light Ministries, which files taxes as both a church and shelter for troubled youth, but does not own any property, has just the one officer, the church leader, Daniel Boone Keeler, and uses a mailing address that is actually that of Keeler’s mother. Keeler himself has a criminal record of petty offences going back years, but that halted in 2011. The question is, is Keeler just some small-time preacher and hustler on the make or is there actual legitimacy to his church. The answer to that is yes, there is actual legitimacy to his church, but this being a scenario for Delta Green: The Roleplaying Game, not in any way that you would think was anything other than Unnatural.
Just as the three states of Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma seem to overlap, so do the jurisdictions that the Agents have to work. So not just Federal law enforcement, but also local and possibly state, and then Missouri Department of Social Services, because not only does Keeler have a long record with both, but his Holy Light Ministries seems to be primarily concerned with ‘troubled’ youths—teenagers and young adults. A malaise lingers over Joplin, a miasma of economic deprivation, hopelessness, improvidence, and drug addiction which the Agents must navigate in the course of their investigation, but as they make progress, they discover that Holy Light Ministries does offer something. Possibly hope, possibly respite, and a sense of joy in god that transcends earthly, pharmaceutical addiction. Not necessarily though a Christian joy in god, since Keeler does not proselytise in the traditional fashion. Even the run down and dilapidated church he operates out of is more a refuge than a place of worship. As the Agents conduct interview after interview, what also comes up is the mention of the ‘Ghostlight’, a local legend which dates back to the 1940s, red-orange ball of light that appears in the skies at night over the woods on the Oklahoma-Missouri border. Is this what Delta Green wanted investigating? Is the ‘light’ of Holy Light Ministries one and the same as the ‘light’ of ‘Ghostlight’?
The underplayed nature of the investigation in Meridian also means that there is a passivity which runs throughout the scenario. In part, this includes the authorities, but it definitely includes Keeler and the Holy Light Ministries as well as the nature of the Unnatural in Meridian. Unlike in other scenarios for Delta Green: The Roleplaying Game, the Unnatural in Meridian is not an active force, but rather one that welcomes you to it and embraces you in hope. This makes it no less dangerous and frightening.
Physically, Meridian is well done. The artwork is excellent, though unfortunately the maps, done on aerial photographs with swathes of green forest are difficult to read.
Meridian is an easy scenario to run, though more so as an introduction to the conspiratorial world of Delta Green: The Roleplaying Game rather than as a campaign addition. It is run through with a meek malleability and horrific hopelessness, both in the Agents’ current assignment and the teenagers of Joplin, that will ultimately lead the Agents coming to realise that any sense of hope is hideously tied to the Unnatural.

How do you like your GM Screen?

The GM Screen is a essentially a reference sheet, comprised of several card sheets that fold out and can be stood up to serve another purpose, that is, to hide the GM's notes and dice rolls. On the inside, the side facing the GM are listed all of the tables that the GM might want or need at a glance without the need to have to leaf quickly through the core rulebook. On the outside, facing the players, can be found either more tables for their benefit or representative artwork for the game itself. This is both the basic function and the basic format of the screen, neither of which has changed all that much over the years. Beyond the basic format, much has changed though.

To begin with the general format has split, between portrait and landscape formats. The result of the landscape format is a lower screen, and if not a sturdier screen, than at least one that is less prone to being knocked over. Another change has been in the weight of card used to construct the screen. Exile Studios pioneered a new sturdier and durable screen when its printers took two covers from the Hollow Earth Expedition core rule book and literally turned them into the game’s screen. This marked a change from the earlier and flimsier screens that had been done in too light a cardstock, and several publishers have followed suit.

Once you have decided upon your screen format, the next question is what you have put with it. Do you include a poster or poster map, such as Chaosium, Inc.’s last screen for Call of Cthulhu, Sixth Edition or Margaret Weis Productions’ Serenity and BattleStar Galactica Roleplaying Games? Or a reference work like that included with Chessex Games’ Sholari Reference Pack for SkyRealms of Jorune or the GM Resource Book for Pelgrane Press’ Trail of Cthulhu? Perhaps scenarios such as ‘Blackwater Creek’ and ‘Missed Dues’ from the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Screen for use with Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition? Or even better, a book of background and scenarios as well as the screen, maps, and forms, like that of the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack also published by Chaosium, Inc. In the past, the heavier and sturdier the screen, the more likely it is that the screen will be sold unaccompanied, such as those published by Cubicle Seven Entertainment for the Starblazer Adventures: The Rock & Roll Space Opera Adventure Game and Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space RPG. That though is no longer the case and stronger and sturdier GM Screens are the norm today.

So how do I like my GM Screen?

I like my Screen to come with something. Not a poster or poster map, but a scenario, which is one reason why I like ‘Descent into Darkness’ from the Game Master’s Screen and Adventure for Legends of the Five Rings Fourth Edition and ‘A Bann Too Many’, the scenario that comes in the Dragon Age Game Master's Kit for Green Ronin Publishing’s Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5. I also like my screen to come with some reference material, something that adds to the game. Which is why I am fond of both the Sholari Reference Pack for SkyRealms of Jorune as well as the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack. It is also why I like the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Screen + Toolkit published by by Modiphius Entertainment for use with Achtung! Cthulhu, the roleplaying game of fast-paced pulp action and Mythos magic in a secret war against the Nazis in World War 2.
Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Screen + Toolkit—heralded as ‘Issue No. 3’ in a series on the cover—comes with a four-panel screen and a Gamemaster’s Toolkit booklet that contains tools and advice on running a campaign that enables the Game Master to prepare a scenario or create elements as play proceeds. The Gamemaster’s Screen itself is a handsome four panel affair, sturdy as is standard for the hobby today, but in portrait format rather than landscape. This is not as easy a format to use, plus it does have a much imposing presence at the table. One part of the front replicates the cover to the  Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide, but expands left and right to depict the signature characters from Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 escaping from a German schloss as Lovecraftian nasties attempt to impede their progress! It is an exciting, action-packed illustration.

On the inside, working from left to right, tables summarise task Difficulty, Enemy Level, Attribute Bonuses, Complication Range, and Weapon Range. This is followed by narrative-related tables for the Conventional German Forces, Nazi Occult Forces, Ahhorrent Creatures and Monstrosities, Mythos Gods, and Elite Nemeses in the middle. On the right-hand side the tables for both Weapon Effects and Weapon Qualities are listed, followed by Conflict Momentum Spends and Item Restrictions. It is all clearly laid out and easy to read and use. However, none of the tables have page references to either the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide or the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Player’s Guide, which have made things just a little easier for the Game Master. Then there is the issue of the narrative-related tables for the Conventional German Forces, Nazi Occult Forces, Ahhorrent Creatures and Monstrosities, Mythos Gods, and Elite Nemeses in the middle. Was this the best use of the one-and-a-half panels that these tables take up? Well, no and more so because these tables are reprinted from the Gamemaster’s Toolkit. So no tables for the ‘Challenge Dice Result’, weapons tables, ‘ Spell Complication Range’, ‘Bonus Power’, and ‘Magical Momentum Spends’ from the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Player’s Guide or the ‘Secret Weapons of the Secret War’ and ‘Guide to Hazard Stress & Threat Costs’ tables from the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide. Although there is probably not the space for all of these tables on the screen, the inclusion of some of them would have been more use than the ones actually included.
On the inside, working from left to right, tables sumarise task Difficulty, Enemy Level, Attribute Bonuses, Complication Range, and Weapon Range. This is followed by narrative-related tables for the Conventional German Forces, Nazi Occult Forces, Ahhorrent Creatures and Monstrosities, Mythos Gods, and Elite Nemeses in the middle. On the right-hand side the tables for both Weapon Effects and Weapon Qualities are listed, followed by Conflict Momentum Spends and Item Restrictions. It is all clearly laid out and easy to read and use. However, none of the tables have page references to either the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide or the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Player’s Guide, which have made things just a little easier for the Game Master. Then there is the issue of the narrative-related tables for the Conventional German Forces, Nazi Occult Forces, Ahhorrent Creatures and Monstrosities, Mythos Gods, and Elite Nemeses in the middle. Was this the best use of the one-and-a-half panels that these tables take up? Well, no and morse so because these tables are reprinted from the Gamemaster’s Toolkit. So no tables for the ‘Challenge Dice Result’, weapons tables, ‘ Spell Complication Range’, ‘Bonus Power’, and ‘Magical Momentum Spends’ from the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Player’s Guide or the ‘Secret Weapons of the Secret War’ and ‘Guide to Hazard Stress & Threat Costs’ tables from the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide. Any one of these tables could have been more useful than the ones included.
The Gamemaster’s Toolkit builds on the advice given in the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide, focusing on the creation of scenarios and campaigns. This begins with possible inspirations, suggestions being as diverse as Band of Brothers and ’Allo! ’Allo!, before looking at possible titles for the Game Master’s scenario and giving prompts aplenty in terms of background, battles, starting parameters and overarching plot concepts, and then options in terms of antagonists and other NPCs. So the rolls begin with a ‘Story Frame’ and an ‘Overarching Plot Concept’. So the Plot Hook and the Draw might be ‘A passing acquaintance’ who ‘Sends a threat’ and the Plot Concept is to ‘Recover or destroy a long lost tome’ to ‘Save the world’. To this, the Game Master can add requirements to fulfil the plot and location, detail NPCs, before setting up the opening scene and developing the plot with further scenes. The ‘Classified’ section goes goals and aims to draw the Player Characters in and then the tables for villains and heroes, and more. There are tables too for Spells and Manuscripts, Rituals, Book and Tomes, and Artefacts. All of this is drawn from the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide, which the Game Master will need to refer to in order flesh with further details. The tables throughout are accompanied by advice on how to use them, all of decent, if basic advice.
Physically, the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Screen + Toolkit is well presented. The screen itself is sturdy and easy to use, whilst the Gamemaster’s Toolkit is clean and tidy and easy to read. If there is an issue, it is that the Game Master will need a bag in which to store its various parts and not lose them!
The Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Screen + Toolkit is useful, but it simply is not as useful as it could be. The advice and the tables in the Gamemaster’s Toolkit are undeniably useful, but what makes the supplement as a whole less useful is the inclusion of the tables from the Gamemaster’s Toolkit book on the screen. They can be used in play to add narrative, but there are mechanical and rules tables which could have been included and the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Screen + Toolkit would have been far more useful.

One of the richest silver mines in the known world stands dormant, its workers having downed tools and gone on strike. The miners refuse to work because they say that the mine turned on them after they dug a shaft too deep, killing several of their number, and trapping others. The owner of the mine has ordered the guards to force the miners back to work, and may even hire outside muscle—that is, the Player Characters—to assist. This, though, is only one of the reasons why the Player Characters might want to visit one of the richest silver mines in the known world. Others might be that they simply want to take advantage of the standoff to mine some silver for themselves, a child needs rescuing from the mine, the local justice of the peace has posted a bounty on outlaws said to hiding in the mine, a rival to the mine owner wants the mine shut down, going into find the trapped miners, and so on. All of these can be combined, mixed, or matched to motivate the Player Characters into investigating the mine at the heart of Meanderings of the Mine Mind. This is an introductory scenario for Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplaying published by Lamentations of the Flame Princess. Designed for low Level Player Characters, it is not as necessarily lethal as other titles from the publisher, but it is no less weird.

Meanderings of the Mine Mind is, like other releases for Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplaying, set in the roleplaying game’s default period of the seventeenth century, the early modern era. This makes it easy to adapt Meanderings of the Mine Mind to other retroclones, but there are historical elements in the scenario—the appearance of Neanderthals, Romans, and Nazis—which are unlikely to fit every Game Master’s campaign world. Once past the standoff between the guards and the striking miners, the mine itself is actually quite small, just eight caves and tunnels. Each is decently described with the details of any NPCs and particular points within each area, either an item or particular location. Where there is a particular location in a cave or tunnel, they are not marked on the map, despite the organisation of cave and tunnel suggesting that they should be. This is not helpful, especially given that the scenario is designed to be an introduction to Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplaying. Plus, it means that the maps feel empty and bland.

In exploring the mine, the Player Characters will discover the missing miners often in strange situations and also a series of strange tableaus, one from the deep past, one from the more recent past, and one from the point of view of the Player Characters, the future. These consist of a band of Neanderthal hunters trapped by a cave bear, a surprisingly mundane Roman orgy, and a band of World War 2 German soldiers led by a member of the SS. What connects them are location of mine itself and its caves, and its true nature as well as the source of rich seams of silver that run through it. The shafts that have been dug into the bedrock of the mine and rich seams of silver that have been mined from that rock turn out to be tunnels bored into the fossilised remains of a great ancient spawn from the stars and the silver the highly conductive nerves that thread through the creature’s brain in its last dying moments. Moments that last aeons… As the miners smashed their picks into the sliver nerve-seams, their blows reverberated up and down their length, triggering synapses, and causing the alien star mind to pulsate and in its death throes bring memories past and future into their weird realities.

As an adventure, Meanderings of the Mine Mind is quite small, consisting of just eight locations, so whilst it is a very rich mine, it is also a small one. There is mention of a second level to the mine, but this left up to the Game Master to develop. One issue with there being a second level is how it is possible for the upper level to flood as the text suggests. It may well be better that there is a chance of the Player Characters being swept by the waters towards the lower level or simply the whole adventure being shifted to the lower level. One big feature of the adventure is the ‘What Happens When A Silver Vein Is Tapped?’ table, which provides numerous random and weird effects such as a Player Character becoming irrevocably attracted to another alien god after an erotic vision or losing a spell or e memory. Another feature is more traditional to Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplaying, and that is, ‘meddle at your peril’. The Player Characters are likely to blunder into situations, attempt to resolve them, and discover that their meddling has only made them worse… There is the chance that this will happen more than once and potentially shorten the scenario. Similarly, blundering about is not necessarily going to resolve the whole situation in the mine, though it is likely to be more entertaining.

Apart from the issue with the maps, where Meanderings of the Mine Mind has a problem is in addressing one of the motivations for exploring the mine—mining for silver. There is no suggested value for the amount of silver that the Player Characters could dig out and no suggested value for how much they might raise from selling it. This is compounded by the inclusion of a ‘diamond encrusted pickaxe’ which enables a miner to dig out ore without triggering the weird effects that would otherwise happen if using normal mining tools. It serves an obvious purpose in terms of the Player Characters’ exploration of the mine, that is, countering the effects of mining the silver with ordinary tools, but otherwise it sticks out in truly anomalous fashion.

Physically, Meanderings of the Mine Mind is cleanly and tidily laid out on notably silver, grey paper. Even the illustrations have an eerie metallic quality to them. That said, the book does need another edit.

Meanderings of the Mine Mind is an interesting twist upon the ‘giant body as dungeon’ adventure in which the Player Characters penetrate and explore the body of some gigantic beast or even a god. The twist being the brain being explored rather than the body and the brain still twitching and convulsing with sufficient life to make its memories a reality. Which all fits the tone and style of a Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplaying, but whilst there is some inventiveness to the adventure, in places Meanderings of the Mine Mind is underdeveloped and not as fully realised as it could have been. Which means that the Game Master will definitely want to make some adjustments before running it.

—oOo—
DISCLAIMER: The author of this review is an editor who has edited titles for Lamentations of the Flame Princess on a freelance basis. He was not involved in the production of this book and his connection to both publisher and thus the author has no bearing on the resulting review.

The gaming magazine is dead. After all, when was the last time that you were able to purchase a gaming magazine at your nearest newsagent? Games Workshop’s White Dwarf is of course the exception, but it has been over a decade since Dragon appeared in print. However, in more recent times, the hobby has found other means to bring the magazine format to the market. Digitally, of course, but publishers have also created their own in-house titles and sold them direct or through distribution. Another vehicle has been Kickststarter.com, which has allowed amateurs to write, create, fund, and publish titles of their own, much like the fanzines of Kickstarter’s ZineQuest. The resulting titles are not fanzines though, being longer, tackling broader subject matters, and more professional in terms of their layout and design.

—oOo—
Senet—named for the Ancient Egyptian board game, Senet—is a print magazine about the craft, creativity, and community of board gaming. Bearing the tagline of “Board games are beautiful”, it is about the play and the experience of board games, it is about the creative thoughts and processes which go into each and every board game, and it is about board games as both artistry and art form. Published by Senet Magazine Limited, each issue promises previews of forthcoming, interesting titles, features which explore how and why we play, interviews with those involved in the process of creating a game, and reviews of the latest and most interesting releases.

Senet Issue 10 was published in the spring of 2023. Where the Senet Issue 9 diverged from the magazine’s usual coverage of board and card games to touch a little upon the roleplaying hobby—and by doing so, leave the reader wishing that the roleplaying hobby had a magazine as good as Senet, this issue is definite return to the fold. Nary a mention of the roleplaying hobby in sight! Instead it is all board games with the usual mix of previews, reviews, articles, interviews, and regular departments. For the most part, it is another clean, tidy, and easy to read issue.

Aside from the mention in the editorial that the magazine’s co-founder, James Hunter, was named Art Director of the Year at the British Society of Magazine Editor’s Awards, Senet Issue 10 quickly gets down to business with ‘Behold’. This is the regular preview of some of the then-forthcoming board game titles. The most intriguing entry here is Cosmoctopus, a tentacle-gathering game from Paper Fort Games about attempting to summon ‘The Great Inky One’ that seems slightly tongue-in-cheek in its treatment of the cultists controlled by the players. ‘Points’, the regular column of readers’ letters contains some feedback on previous issues as well as the growing interest in the hobby. There is scope here for expansion of this letters page to give space to more voices and readers of Senet. One way of doing that is perhaps to expand it when ‘For Love of the Game’ comes to end. This regular column continues the journey of the designer Tristian Hall towards the completion and publication of his Gloom of Kilforth. In this entry in the series, he looks at the next step in the process in bringing the game to market by showing it off at conventions and encountering some of the advantages and pitfalls. As a regular convention attendee, this is an interesting look at attending conventions from the other side.

Senet follows a standard format of articles and article types and Senet Issue 10 is no exception. One explores a theme found in board games, its history, and the games that showcase it to best effect, whilst another looks at a particular mechanic. In addition, there are two interviews, one with a designer, the other with an artist. In this issue, the thematic article is ‘Roll and Movie’, an exploration of the relationship between films and board games by Alexandra Sonechkina. In the 2020s, we are spoiled by the number of board games based on films that strongly adhere to their themes through their mechanics. It goes back to one of the earliest of major filmic board game adaptations, Escape from the Death Star from 1977, pointing out that games of the period were based on tried and tested mechanics, before coming up to date with the output of design teams like that of Prospero Hall with games like Jaws and Rear Window, which are highly thematic and whose mechanics model the film sources. It notes how some films are difficult to adapt, like Rear Window, due to the age and the lack of familiarity for a younger audience and themes of the source material, but also how such adaptations can appeal to a wider audience and even to board game players who have not seen the source material. Having explored how board games have drawn from films for their source material and themes, the article switches around to look at some board games that have inspired films, such as Clue and Battleships. The author also looks at the theme of film making in board games and the challenges of adapting the look of a film and its cast to a board game. Here Alexandra Sonechkina runs out of space, as effectively, this is really three articles in one—one on film adaptations, one on board games about filmmaking, and one about the physical adaptation. Ideally, Senet will revisit these subjects—and they are multiple subjects—in future articles. One last issue with ‘Roll and Movie’ is that the images used are presented in too small a fashion so that the detail and look of these games is lost.

Dan Thurot’s ‘Tricks and Treats’ looks at the mechanic of the trick-taking game and its history, grounded as it is in the origins of the ordinary deck of playing cards and the games played with it, associating the mechanic with gambling! An interesting history in hand, the article comes to the contemporary era to look at obvious trick-taking card games like the well-received Scout and then moves onto designs where the track-taking mechanic is less obvious and more readily themed. Examples like this include the Kennerspiel des Jahres-winning The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine in which the players work together to keep their spaceship functioning, whilst Brian Boru: High King of Ireland which almost hides its trick-taking mechanics, combining the mechanic with an action per card. It also looks at designs to come, Cat in the Box: Deluxe Edition which adds the element of guessing, which thematically, has the players wondering if their Schrödinger’s cats are alive or dead. It is a good overview of the mechanic and a more rounded piece when compared to the preceding ‘Roll and Movie’.

The first of the issue’s two interviews is with the designer of one the influential board games of the last two decades—Matt Leacock. In ‘Legacy Builder’, he looks back to the origins of Pandemic and how it became success, driving the popularity of the co-operative game and how it became a cultural touchstone during the COVID-19 pandemic, before coming up to date with his latest design, Daybreak, recently nominated for the 2024 Kennerspiel des Jahres. It is an informative and engaging interview and Daybreak sounds a fascinating design dealing as it does with climate change and the attempts to ameliorate its effects. The second interview is with Naïade, illustrator of Tokaido and Namiji. In ‘Eastern Promise’, he guides us through some of his artistic highlights, starting with Tokaido and including the weirdness of One Key—Gandalf facing a toast demon, anyone?—alongside other titles. The artwork is excellent and once again, Senet does a good job of showcasing it.

The film adaptation theme of ‘Roll and Movie’ continues in the ‘Unboxed’, Senet’s reviews section with a review of Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side, plus there is some nostalgia with a review of Return to The Dark Tower. It does feel as if there are fewer reviews in this issue, but alongside the issue’s ‘Senet’s Top Choice’ of Undaunted: Stalingrad, there are interesting titles reviewed such as Spire’s End: Hildegard, a storytelling game and prequel to Spire’s End with fantastic artwork that is card driven rather than paragraph driven. It is rounded out with ‘The Best of 2022’, the magazine’s top ten from the previous year, of which Return to The Dark Tower and Undaunted: Stalingrad make the list.

Bringing Senet Issue 10 to a close are the regular end columns, ‘How to Play’ and ‘Shelf of Shame’. For ‘How to Play’, Andrew Brassleay explains ‘How being diagnosed as autistic helped me embrace my love of board games’, putting behind him the supposed adult aim of outgrowing them, and enabling him to navigate social situations because the the rules to games are more obvious and adhered to all of the players. It nicely paints a picture of board games being a force for good and a social enabling tool. Lastly, Black Orchestra is the board game taken off their ‘Shelf of Shame’ by Rachel Kremer and Heinze Havinga of Semi Co-op, a webcomic about games. The couple make it clear from the start that the game, with its theme of conspirators attempting to kill Hitler is not their taste, as they prefer games that are relaxing, but their version has a bit history, having been previously owned and amended by an older, avid gamer. Despite the theme, neither player had ‘fun’, but they learn more about the plots to assassinate Hitler and what it took to do that, so the experience is more interesting they would otherwise have thought. It shows the value of trying new things even if they have been stuck on a shelf for a while.

Physically, Senet Issue 10 is very professionally presented. It looks and feels as good as previous issues of the magazine.

Senet Issue 10 does feel slightly lighter in terms of the number of games covered, the number of smaller games previewed or reviewed having been severely reduced. However, that does not mean that the issue does not offer a good mix of articles, interviews, and reviews—it does. The only real disappointment is ‘Roll and Movie’ and only then in the fact that it could have been much, much longer, a series of its own. After the aberration of the content devoted to roleplaying in the previous issue, Senet Issue 10 returns to the fold with a solid set of reviews, previews, and discussions of board games.

Witch by T Leish with minor edits

 I swear. People are losing their damn minds.

I mentioned this all briefly in my Satanic Panic post back in April about how there are a bunch of Right Wing Evangelicals making the claim that Taylor Swift is a witch, or satanic, or both. Some have even gone as far as to "conclude" she must be a clone of Zeena Schreck, daughter of Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey.  Ignoring the fact that cloning tech is nowhere near this good now, let alone when Taylor was born.  I think they watched the movie "The Boys from Brazil" and thought it was a documentary. No. I don't give them the benefit of the doubt for having read the book instead.

I mean, I could go on and on; there is so much stupid shit out there. Just Google "Taylor Swift Witch" and read in horror how gullible (and stupid) some people are. 

Honestly, it boils down to three things.

• She is a successful woman.
• She says what she wants, when, and how she wants.
• They can't control her, and they find that galling.

Plus, she is smart (as evidenced by her taking control of her own record deals) and knows how to have fun with her public persona (see "No, Its Becky").

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift)

It's Me. I'm Witches.

So what do they do? They take a page from their favorite playbook, and I honestly think this is Page 1, and they try to demonize her—somewhat literally. 

Parents, know what your kids are listening to!! Here are a few samples of the lyrics from Taylor Swift's new...

Posted by Caring Love Foundation Uganda - CLFUG on Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Though some do have fun with it. 

so proud of taylor swift for finally admitting that she’s the devil pic.twitter.com/Tba4K0YgZ4

— regina george (@meanlore) May 27, 2023

And of course, if someone mentions witches online, it has my attention.

from Imgflip Meme Generator

It has been decided. 

She is a witch in my games, specifically a Pumpkin Spice Witch. But since no PSL is complete without a dash of cinnamon, she has a dash of Mara Witch in her, too. Why? Because she thinks it is funny. 

Sailor Taylor by Delaney ShultzTaylor Quick
Human Female, Chaotic Good
19th Level Witch, Pumpkin Spice Witch Tradition.

Strength 10
Intelligence 17
Wisdom 15
Dexterity 14
Constitution 12
Charisma 19

Saving Throws (Base)
Death Ray/Poison 7
Magic Wands 8
Paralysis, Polymorph 7
Dragon Breath 10
Rods, Staffs, Spells 9 

Hit Points: 34
AC: 1 (Bracers of Defence) 
Base THAC0: 14
(I know, THAC0 was not used in Basic D&D. You know what this means)

Occult Powers

1st level: Familiar, three cats
6th level: Things Man Was Not Meant To Know Are Fine for Women
13th level: Resting Witch Face
19th level: I Want to See Your Boss

Spells (new spells in italics)

1st Level: Allure, Bad Luck, Call Out, Delicate, Glamour, Greenery Light, Oh My God Becky!, Veritas (Truth Spell), BFFs (Ritual)

2nd Level: Bad Blood, Change Appearance, Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board, Invisible Strings, Sister to the Dark Ones, Witch Slap, You Can't Sit With Us

3rd Level: Bewitch III, Enchanted, Live Laugh Love, Love Attraction Candle, Lover’s Vengeance, Witch Fire, Shake it Off

4th Level: Dream Shield, Ethereal Projection, Intangible Cloak of Shadows, Rain of Spite, Starlight, Bring on the Night (Ritual) 

5th Level: Better than Revenge, Cardigan of Comfort, Overlook, Tripping the Light Fantastic (Ritual)

6th Level: Banshee Blast, Cloak of Dreams, True Seeing

7th Level: Breath of the Goddess, Peace Aura, Hell Hath No Fury (Ritual)

8th Level: Bewitch VIII, Frightful Aspect

New Spells

Like any witch worth her cauldron, Taylor has written many spells herself. She also altered versions of classic witch spells, which she refers to as "Taylor's Versions."

Bad Blood
Level: Witch 2
Duration: Permanent
Range: All targets within 60'

This spell is like a friendship spell, only in reverse. Once cast, humanoids and intelligent creatures (INT greater than 7) who had previously had good relations will begin to dislike each other and begin to fight amongst each other. 

A successful saving throw redirects these feelings of ill-will back to the witch who cast it. 

Better than Revenge
Level: Witch 5
Duration: Instantaneous 
Range: One target

This spell can only be targeted by someone who has personally hurt the witch. When triggered, usually by damage or some other hurt, the damage is returned back double. So, double damage or other effect.  How that damage or effect is delivered to the victim is up to the witch herself. 
There is no saving throw for this spell. 

Cardigan of Comfort
Level: Witch 3
Duration: One hour
Range: One willing creature

This spell weaves magic like the threads of a well-worn cardigan, granting a sense of security and comfort to the target. Choose a creature you touch. The target gains resistance to cold damage and fey charm effects for the duration. Additionally, if the target falls unconscious while the spell is active, they regain consciousness with 1d8 bonus hit point.

Material Components: Verbal (soothing whispers), Somatic (knitting needles and yarn that vanish at the end of the spell), Material (a small token imbued with a memory of comfort, worth at least 25 gp).

Delicate
Level: Witch 1
Duration: 10 min
Range: Within 15 feet

The witch casts a subtle charm that makes the target more receptive to her words. The witch is treated as having as having a +4 to her Charisma score. This spell can't be used in combat.

Enchanted
Level: Witch 3
Duration: 1 hour
Range: 60 feet

With this spell the witch sings a haunting melody that enchants creatures of her choice within range. Each affected creature must succeed on a saving throw or be charmed by her for the duration. While charmed, the creature regards you as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected.

The witch can use this spell again on the same creature. Once enchanted any future use of this spell is at a -2 penalty for saves.

Invisible Strings
Level: Witch 2
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Range: Self

The witch can create invisible magical strings they can manipulate with her will. These strings can lift and manipulate objects weighing up to 10 pounds within 30 feet of of the witch. She can use these strings to perform simple tasks or remotely interact with objects.

Shake it Off
Level: Witch 3
Duration: Instantaneous 
Range: All within hearing range

This spell, once uttered, will remove any one condition affecting those listening. This can include a Bewitch, Charm, Hold, Paralyze, Petrified, or Poisoned. Those hearing can also choose to regain half of their lost hit points instead of losing some condition. The only thing that is not affected is Sleep.

Starlight
Level: Witch 4
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Range: 120 feet

The witch calls down shimmering starlight in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point within range. Each creature in the area must make a saving throw, taking 4d8 holy or radiant damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. In addition, any area affected by this spell is brightly lit as per the daylight spell for the duration.

Material Components: A small crystal or gemstone.

--

Taylor is a lover, not a fighter. But still, don't piss her off. Or break-up with her. 

Selected Links of Insanity

• The Witchcraft of Taylor Swift Exposed (YouTube)
• Taylor Swift’s Dangerous Descent into Witchcraft Sorcery & Casting Spells
• Taylor Swift, Satan's Witch (Twitter/X) 
• Taylor Swift is a full blown witch… pure evil and demonic (Facebook)
• Why Taylor Swift practices Witchcraft? (Medium)
• Taylor Swift is 'attracting demonic forces' to her concerts, warns exorcist. (The Economic Times)
• Taylor Swift Promotes Witchcraft On Tour In ‘Willow’ Performance (Movieguide)
• Taylor Swift’s ‘witchy’ new album fuels speculation about her interest in the craft (Religion News)

Other, more important links

• Taylor Swift's site.

I love monsters. Monsters and mythology is what got me into Dungeons & Dragons to start with. Well, that and the fact that everyone in my school seemed to be playing it all at once. So, today's Enchanted World volume, 1985's Magical Beasts, is a rather nice treat for me. In a way, it was a major publisher that paid tribute to my hobby's roots.  While I have no concrete evidence that the Enchanted World series came about due to D&D's popularity, I am not ruling it out either. 

Magical Beasts

by Editors of Time-LIFE Books, 1985 (144 pages)
ISBN 0809452294, 0809452308 (US Editions)

This book is divided into the standard three sections, as with Wizards and Witches it is divided into larger chronological sections. 

Chapter One: Vestiges of the Elder Days

We begin back 40 centuries ago when humans were still primitive hunter-gatherers and how the monsters of our lives, the cave bear, the wolf, the large cat, were just animals that we were barely equal to. Monsters, it seems, go back as least as far as magic. This is not the first or last parallel this volume will have with the W&W book.

This chapter largely covers the creatures of ancient Greece and their mythology. We begin with the minotaur, though its conception is glossed over. The greek myths have quite a number of animal-human hybrids like the minotaur. Also discussed are the centaurs, both noble and savage, satyrs, and stranger creatures like the chimera. Thrown in are the maenads, who look human (are human), but can be as savage as any other monster. From Greece, we head to Egypt to discuss Set, Hours, Tawret, and other animal-hybrid gods. From here, we go on to Ireland and the Fomorians, described as animal-like, though they interact and inter-marry with the more noble Tuatha Dé Danann. The Tuatha defeat the Fomorians and their great ruler Balor of the Evil Eye. 

We make quick stops to talk about various dog headed humans, like the inhabitants of the islands of Andaman and Macumeran, whose locations are lost to time. 

In the sub-section, The Tale of the Monkey-God, we go to India and recount the tale of Hanuman, the Monkey King, and Ravana, the many-headed king of demons (Rakshasa). Humans and Monkeys joined forces to defeat the evil king.

Chapter Two: Riders of the Wind

Humankind has always looked to the sky and marveled at the flight of birds. So it is natural that there are so many flying creatures. From the legendary Pegasus, to China's Feng-huang, Japan's tengu, to the Roc, Griffins,  and the Harpies. This chapter hops (flys?) around the globe to give us tales and creatures from all over. Even the hubris of man is discussed in the tale of Daedalus and Icarus. 

An Enchanted Bestiary gives us a brief overview of some "lesser-known" creatures—lesser known if you weren't playing fantasy games in 1985, that is. 

Chapter Three: Paragon of Purity

Lastly, we get to the unicorn. Following the format of the other books in this series, they equate the death of the last unicorn with the death of magic in the world. But before we get to that the unicorn is discussed at great length. We even get coverage of related creatures like the Yale and the Japanese Ki-rin. And more distantly related creatures like the Mi'raj and Shadhavar.

A Peerless Mount for World-Conquering Alexander ends our talk on unicorns with a tale of the Macedonian King and his quest for a unicorn mount.

Reading this, I think they maybe could have made a book of Unicorns like they did for Dragons. 

This particular volume feels like an extended "Ecology Of..." article. Indeed, of all the ones I covered so far, this one might have the most actionable content for your Fantasy RPG. Especially if you want to add more details to some tried and true monsters.

There are only a few monsters here that will be new to anyone who has ever played D&D; this is still a great resource.  I *do* have more than a few of these new ones ready to go for Basic Bestiary, but I was still happy to see one or two that were still new to me.

 Getting back to my Realms reviews I am still in that strange liminal times of 1988-1989 when both AD&D 1st Edition and 2nd Edition were still being supported. I have two books today from the "FR" series that ride that line. 

Both books have very similar trade dress, if not identical. I am reviewing the PoD and PDFs from DriveThruRPG. 

FR6 Dreams of the Red Wizards (1e)

By Steve Perrin (1988)
64 pages. Full-color covers and maps, monochrome interior.

Even with my comparative lack of Realms knowledge I knew about the Red Wizards of Thay. I guess I didn't realize how quickly they had been introduced as the big bads. 

This book reminds me a lot of the old D&D BECMI Gazeteer series in that we we get some history and geography of the lands with some NPCs.

The book teases that it is compatible with the BATTLESYSTEM  rules, but you have to build all of those armies on your own. Too bad, I wanted to do a big battle with the armies of the undead from Thay. Though I still might do that.

The Introduction tells us what this book is about and who and what the Red Wizards of Thay are.

History of Thay. This section gives us a brief overview of Thay's foundation. There is a brief timeline, but it works well here. Some of this information is also found in the later Spellbound boxed set, but that is a way off yet. 

We cover the People and Society of Thay next. Perrin does give us a good explanation of how a whole country can, in fact, be evil, from the Zulkirs to the middle class to the masses of slaves. Honestly, the place sounds like a powder keg waiting to explode, and it is the will and fear of the Zulkirs that keeps everything in check.

Geography of Thay is next and it is good read, though I think it could have been combined with the History of Thay chapter since much of Thay's history has been shaped by its neighbors. This is also a good chapter for me, the newbie, to have a map handy.  I think I am going to need a big wall map of the Forgotten Realms like I do for Victorian London. 

We get get two chapters that cover the Current Economy and Politics of Thay, respectively. This includes a helpful glossary and a player's guide to Thay.

Magic in Thay, as expected, is one of the larger sections. It has what seems to be a Realms staple; lots of new spells. 

Religions in Thay, is actually an interesting chapter. The Red Wizards themselves seem to be areligious, but not atheists. They acknowledge the gods and do their best not to piss them off. I imagine there are big "media circuses" for when a Zulkir visits a local temple to Mystra for example. 

This has given me an idea. So, according to this book, the slaves of Thay mostly worship Ilmater, who we know from Ed Greenwood's "Down to Earth Divinity," that Ilmater is derived from Issek of the Jug. What if there were some events like "Lean Times in Lankhmar" where Ilmater, via a new follower, took on a role like that Fafhrd did for Issek, but instead of a religious conversion/resurgence, it became the basis for a full-scale slave revolt. Now that is a BATTLESYSTEM game I'd enjoy running. 

Personalities of Thay cover the expected cast of neer-do-wells. OF note here The Simbul does not have a personal name here, yet.

Adventures in Thay give the reader some ideas of things to do in and around Thay. But let us be honest. It is an evil filled with Nazi-like evil wizards who keep slaves. The ideas abound already. 

FR7 Hall of Heroes (1e/2e)

Many authors (1989)
128 pages. Full-color covers, monochrome interior.

This book looks like a 2nd Ed book on the cover, but 1st Ed inside. 

This is a "robust" rogues gallery of early Realms characters, and frankly, I am happy to have it since so many of these names are new to me. The stats are an odd mix of AD&D 2nd Ed and 1st Ed, but mostly 1st Edition. So yeah, there are Neutral Good Druids and lots of classes from Unearthed Arcana and Oriental Adventures. 

It also has something that is not entirely a Realms-specific problem, but one I associated most often with the Realms. There are lot of characters here that straight up break the AD&D rules. Yes I get that some (many) are here because of the Forgotten Realms novels. So people like Shandril Shessair is a "Spellfire Wielder," and Dragonbait is a Lizardfolk Paladin. This used to bother me. Not anymore. I am more irritated by the fact that most of the women NPCs all have Charisma 16 or 17 (11 out of 15). Where are my hags? 

There are some personal spells and again The Simbul makes an appearance sans proper name. 

Still, this is a good resource for me to have. I like to have it on hand as I am going through other books to double-check who I am reading about. 

The POD versions are nice. The text has a bit of fuzziness, but far less than other PODs I have seen. They are not perfect for, say, collectors but perfect for what I need them for, and that is used at my game table. 

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—
Name: One for One – Bathory’s ChildrenPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author Sean Liddle

Setting: Eighties BerlinProduct: Scenario
What You Get: Four-page page, 291.07 KB PDFElevator Pitch: A battle of the bands isn’t a battle when you’re playing against a bastard Plot Hook: A band on the skids looks for way back and discovers this isn’t it
Plot Support: Staging advice and one Mythos monster.Production Values: Plain
Pros# Inexpensive# Short, easy to prepare scenario# Grungy heavy metal madness# Easy to adapt to other musical genres# Potential convention scenario# Rokkuphobia# Dendrophobia# Proditiophobia
Cons# Needs an edit# Whither part 4?# No cultist stats# No pre-generated Investigators
Conclusion# Heavy metal mayhem turns to madness# Cheap

It's June! As an academic there is still something not wholly tangible in me when June hits; it is just something I feel. Starting in the 1980s, June also meant days at the library, riding my bike, rolling skating (yes, I used to be really, really good), and nights playing D&D. For seven years straight that meant Basic and Advanced D&D.  So these days I try to focus on Basic D&D in June, but this year is different. 

I am celebrating 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons AND I am also doing my deep dive into the Forgotten Realmsthe Forgotten Realms. Plus in addition to the weekly 5e games, my oldest son and I are starting a new 2nd edition AD&D game set in the Forgotten Realms. This works very well for me since I am already shifting my Realms focus to AD&D 2nd Edition.  

To this end I have been buying a lot of Forgotten Realms PDFs from DriveThruRPG. This has also given me many new monsters from the AD&D 2nd ed era in "ready to print" Monstrous Compendium format. 

Forgotten Realms Monstrous Compendiums

I have talked about the AD&D 2nd Monstrous Compendiums at length before. I have even talked about the Forgotten Realms ones in detail.  So when I began printing out the various Monstrous Compendium sheets from the various PDFs I have bought it became very obvious to me I would need a binder just for them.

This was sealed for me when I remembered that the Forgotten Realms MC Appendix had been labeled "Vol. 3" on the cover. My choice had been made for me. Turns out is was a good choice, because there are TONS of Forgotten Realms Monsters.

I grabbed some alphabetical tabs and began loading this up. I concentrated on monsters from the MCs I already had that were Realm-Specific. Then, I went through the pages of monsters I rescued from my This Old Dragon copies, unless they were too far gone due to water or mold. In these cases, I printed them out from my Dragon Magazine CD-ROM. But my "rule" was I had to have had a physical copy first. There is some 1st Ed monster material here, but that is fine, really.

Then, every time I bought a Forgotten Realms PDF, I printed the monsters.

Campaign Setting boxed set

Dragon Mountain
Oh, look at that. Lawful Good orcs from 1995.

In the cases where I had loose Forgotten Realms pages, like from the AD&D 2nd Ed Campaign Setting boxed set, I made copies to keep the set intact. 

It has been a great experience to discover all the unique creatures I have found in the Realms versus Greyhawk or other worlds.

Currently, I do not have monsters for I, J, and Y. I could mine my other compendium for these, but I am also waiting to see what creatures I might find in other PDFs of Realms material. I still have a few I bought before I started this project, and they might have a few treasures for me. There are also more monsters in my Dragon magazines. Ones written by Ed Greenwood go to the top of the list. 

Right now my Forgotten Realms campaign has no focus. This is on purpose. I have so many campaigns with Big IdeasTM and Lofty GoalsTM. I don't need another one. Maybe I'll just do an old-fashioned monster hunt to mirror my real-life monster hunt.

This has, though, given me another realization. I had planned to get through all of my Realms books this year, but that was before I started buying more. Now, I think this year will just be about AD&D 2nd Edition. Who knows, really? 

BUT I will say this. I am having a lot of fun with this.

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—
Name: Signal to Noise – A 1980s Analog Horror ScenarioPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author Colin Richards

Setting: Eighties PennsylvaniaProduct: Scenario
What You Get: Eighty-page page, 45.46 MB PDFElevator Pitch: Who watches the watchers?Plot Hook: A hijacked signal has consequences political, horrific, and televisual
Plot Support: Staging advice, seven pre-generated Investigators, thirteen handouts, four maps, thirteen NPCs, and five Mythos monsters.Production Values: Engagingly analogue and televisual
Pros# Television is reality. Reality is television.# Highly thematic one-shot which plays on the fears of television# Eighties sense of unreality# Includes QR code for the video handouts# Potential convention scenario# Technophobia# Mazeophobia# Televisiophobia
Cons# Needs a slight edit# Aethir Institute plot strand underdeveloped
Conclusion# Videodrome meets Ring in highly thematic eighties horror
# Possesses pleasingly developed televisual sense of unreality# Reviews from R’lyeh Recommends

It seems surprising to realise that The Walking Dead is over two decades old. The comic by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore first appeared in 2003 and the resulting television series from AMC first aired in 2010 and has been followed with numerous spin-off series since. Both revitalised the zombie horror subgenre and the television series in particular, made zombies and horror acceptable to mainstream broadcasting like never before. Both comic book and television series tell the story of Rick Grimes, a sheriff’s deputy from Cynthiana, Kentucky, who after being wounded in the line of duty, awakes to find his wife and family missing and the world very much changed. Society has collapsed, the dead walk and hunger after our flesh, a virus means that everyone will rise as a walker after death, and the survivors huddle together, co-operate and scavenge for supplies, and somehow make choices that will keep them alive. The walkers are everywhere, a menace that cannot be vanquished, but they are not the only threat. Some survivors are prepared to kill and steal from other survivors—and worse. It is into this post-apocalyptic world where the dead walk—there are no such things as zombies—that the Player Characters are thrust in The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Core Rules and The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set.
The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set is published by Free League Publishing and provides an introduction to roleplaying in The Walking Dead Universe, with a simplified version of the rules, a complete scenario in the Survival Mode, and everything necessary to play that scenario. This includes two sets of dice, four maps, ten pre-generated Player Characters, and the Threat Meter. Everything is presented in full colour, though no photographs are used from The Walking Dead television series, so fans may be disappointed. That said, the artwork, done in the house style for Free Publishing is very good and fits the world very well.

So opening up the box, the first things to be found in the box are the dice and the Threat Meter. The dice consist of two different sets. The black Base Dice are marked with a ‘target’ symbol on their six faces to indicate a Success when rolled, as are the red Stress Dice. However, Stress Dice also have a ‘hand’ symbol on their one faces. When these are rolled after a Pushed dice check, they indicate that the Player Character has ‘messed up’ and attracted the attention of the Walkers. This, of course, is a bad thing. The Threat Meter is a simple dial that goes from one to six—it should actually go from zero to six—that is used to indicate how active the Walkers are and how many are present. The higher the number on the Threat Meter and the greater the number of Walkers and the more active they are. Below this are the pre-generated Player Characters. Six of these are standard Player Characters as you would create using The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Core Rules. Each has full stats, skills, a Talent, an Issue and a Secret which could get them into trouble, as well as some background. These six—plus one for an NPC—are designed to be used with ‘The Wolves’ Den’, the scenario in The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set, and are given both male and female names to give the players the choice. The other four are characters from the television show, and they consist of Carol Peletier, Glenn Rhee, Michonne, and Gabriel Stokes. These four are done in full colour as opposed to tan tones of the other six. The four maps are done in full colour on very sturdy paper. One is double-sided and depicts north-east Georgia on one side and south-west Virginia on the other. The other three depict locations for ‘The Wolves’ Den’ scenario.

The ’Rules’ booklet explains everything about characters, combat, and Walkers. Anyone who played a year Zero Engine roleplaying game will be familiar with most of its contents. A Player Character has four attributes—Strength, Agility, Wits, and Empathy—rated between one and five, and each attribute has three associated skills, for a total of twelve in the game. These are rated between one and six. In addition, a Player Character has a Talent, such as ‘Eye on the Ball’ which enables a Player Character to relieve a point of Stress when a threat or enemy is defeated or overcome or Scavenger, which enables the Player Character to find more rations or food when scavenging. Health Points represent a Player Character’s physical health and cannot be higher then three. A Player Character also has an Anchor, an Issue, and a Drive. An Anchor is another person—Player Character or NPC—that the Player Character cares about and who is used narratively to ‘Handle Your Fear’ and when attempting to relieve Stress. The Issue is a roleplaying hook, such as ‘You think you are better than them’ or ‘Unable to sit down and shut up’ that the Game Master can use to create interesting, typically challenging situations. Drive is what pushes a Player Character to grit his teeth and withstand the pain, like ‘You love your mother’ and ‘God put me here to save their souls’. Once a session, a Drive can be invoked to gain extra dice on a test.

Mechanically, as with other Year Zero Engine roleplaying games, whenever a Player Character wants to undertake an action in The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Core Rules, his player roles a number of Base Dice equal to the attribute plus skill plus any modifiers from gear, Talents, help, or the situation. If a single six, a Success, is rolled on the Base Dice, the Player Character succeeds, although extra Success will add bonus effects. However, if no Successes are rolled and the action is failed, or he wants to roll more Successes, the player has the choice to Push the roll. In which case, the Player Character suffers a point of Stress and gains a Stress Die. The player must also explain what the character is doing differently in order to Push the roll. For the pushed roll, the player will roll all of the Base Dice which did not roll success and the Stress Die. In fact, until the Player Character finds a way to reduce his Stress points, his player will continue to add Stress Dice equal to his character’s Stress Points on every roll. Only one pushed roll can be made per action, but the danger of having Stress Dice is if their results should be a one or ‘Walker’ symbol. It means two things. First, if the player has not yet pushed the roll, he cannot do so. Second, whether or not he has pushed the roll, it means that the Player Character has ‘Messed Up’. Typically, this means that he increased the numbers of Walkers nearby and attracted their attention, turning up the dial on the Threat Meter. In other situations, a ‘Messed Up’ might mean the Player Character has got lost, lost his footing, said the wrong thing in a tense standoff, and so on. Other sources of Stress include being short on food and water, getting shot at, seeing someone in the group get bitten by a Walker, killing someone in cold blood, and so on.

There are several means of getting rid of Stress. Primarily, these consist of a Player Character connecting and interacting with his Anchor, and at the end of the day, simply getting a good night’s sleep and plenty of rest. Whilst interacting with an Anchor can be during play, at the end of each session, a Player Character has to deal with the dreadful things that he has seen and done that session. This is done via the ‘Handle Your Fear’ mechanic and is triggered if the Player Character has suffered a Breaking Point like his Anchor being killed or disappearing, brutally killing or beating someone who is defenceless, is Broken by damage, suffers five Stress Points, and so on. At this point, the player rolls Base Dice equal to either his character’s Wits or Empathy, with a bonus for any Anchors who are still alive. This roll cannot be pushed, needs only one Success to succeed, but if failed, causes the Player Character to become Overwhelmed, meaning that he loses his Drive, becomes mentally Shattered, or his Issue is changed or added to.

Combat scales in The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Core Rules and The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set depending upon who or what the Player Characters are facing. Duels are one-on-one attacks handled via opposed rolls, each combatant hoping to gain more Successes than the other. Brawls handle combat between multiple participants in which the Leadership skill can be used to hand out bonuses to allies in the fight. Combat is deadly though, a Player Character only possessing three points of Health and once they are lost, the Player Character is Broken, gains a point of Stress, and his player must roll on the Critical Injuries table. The lack of Health in comparison to other roleplaying games is compounded by the limited access to medical care. Make no mistake, The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Core Rules and The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set is deadly.

A setting which is already deadly due to low health and lack of healing, is compounded by the presence of the Walkers. They are a constant, lurking presence in The Walking Dead Universe, in game terms that presence is typically written into a scenario at a particular location or encounter, as you would expect, but also brought into play randomly whenever a player rolls a ‘Walker’ symbol on a Stress Die. Narratively, this could be as simple as the Player Characters opening a door to discover a room full of Walkers or a Walker bursting out of a bush to attack the Player Characters. The presence of the Walkers is tracked by the Threat Meter, which ranges from zero and ‘You are in a cleared area and safe. For now.’ to six and ‘The dead are in your face, surrounding you.’ The Threat Level is raised by rolling a ‘Walker’ on a Stress Die, failing a skill roll to avoid Walkers, doing something in the game to attract their attention, and so on. Ideally, the Player Characters will sneak around them as they scavenge buildings and search locations, but of course, that is unlikely. At low levels on the Threat Meter, it is possible for the Player Characters to go quiet and wait it out until the Walkers have either wandered off or gone quiet themselves. At higher levels, the Player Characters will need to find a way to distract the Walkers and make them go elsewhere or fight them. Encounters with a few Walkers are possible and these can be engaged in ‘Single Walker Attacks’, but Walkers congregate and then they fight as Swarms. Fights against Swarms are group endeavours, the aim being to roll more Successes than a Swarm to first reduce its size and then escape it. If a Player Character or Player Characters lose against a Walker attack, there is a table of very nasty and brutal ‘Walker Attack’ effects which will have the players wincing when they hear the results. The rules cover sacrificing another, brawling amidst a Swarm, clearing out an area, and lastly, amputation, the latter the last desperate result to resolve after a Walker bite…

There is good advice for the Game Master including how to make it scary and how to include the characters from the television series as NPCs, and to not cheapen the lives of the Player Characters and the NPCs. All this complements the Principles of the Game given at the start for both players and the Game Master. These are to do whatever it takes to survive; death is inescapable, the Player Characters are never truly safe or alone, and that in terms of game play, everyone is telling a story and fiction comes first. There is advice too on running the game mode for the scenario in The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set. This is Survival Mode, typically a scenario with pre-written events and locations which can be played in a session or two, as opposed to Campaign Mode, played in multiple sessions with a more open storyline.

The scenario in The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set is ‘The Wolves’ Den’. This is written around two other aspects of The Walking Dead Universe—that the stories are not about the Walkers, but about the survivors and often, other survivors are more of a danger than the Walkers. It is written around the six pre-generated Player Characters included in The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set and opens with them searching for two of their number who have eloped, breaking up a relationship in the process and taking some valuable equipment, including a vehicle and weapons, with them in the process. The scenario gets nastier and nastier as it progresses, building from creepy to in-your-face horror, culminating in a confrontation with a band of The Wolves, the violent group of survivors encountered in the fifth and sixth seasons of The Walking Dead television series.

Physically, The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set is very well presented. Everything is of a very high quality, especially the maps which can be used beyond the play of ‘The Wolves’ Den’, as can the Threat Meter. However, the books need a slight edit in places and not everything is quite as clearly explained as it should, such as handling NPC skills.

If there is a problem with The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set, it is that it only has the one scenario, ‘The Wolves’ Den’. Essentially, once the scenario has been played through, the obvious value and utility of The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set is not as great as it should be. However, look at The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set instead as a toolkit and it is actually more useful than it first appears. It has official dice for The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Core Rules and the Threat Meter is a useful tool to have sat on the table, the maps are great, and the pre-generated Player Characters are useful for when running The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Core Rules. It is disappointing that there is only one scenario in The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set, but there is a lot that is useful too.

The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Starter Set is a very good introduction to The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Core Rules and roleplaying in the brutal world of The Walking Dead.

As its title suggests, Going Underground – A Case File for Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game is a scenario for the roleplaying game based on the Rivers of London novels by Ben Aaronovitch. In this roleplaying game, as magic returns to the world, there is the need to deal with the mysteries, oddness, and secrets of the ‘demi-monde’, as well as investigate crimes committed by those within it and those associated with it. In this urban fantasy game, this need is fulfilled by the London Metropolitan Police Service’s special magic branch, also known as ‘the Folly’, and the Player Characters are its newly recruited members. Magic plays a big role in Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game and thus in Going Underground, and some of the Player Characters are practitioners—Apprentice Newtonian Wizards—who will need their magic to best solve the mystery at the heart of the scenario. It is a short affair, a group capable of playing through it in a single session, two at best. It is also an introductory scenario, suitable for as a beginning scenario, but also easily played after the solo case file, ‘The Domestic’, and the full scenario, ‘The Bookshop’ in the core rulebook, or simply inserted into an ongoing campaign.

Going Underground – A Case File for Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game can be played through with two, three, or four players, and there are suggestions as to which pre-generated Player Characters from the core rulebook are suitable as well as what spells will be useful. Werelight is definitely one of them. There are two issues with the scenario, one of which is that it is short, the other that it is set in 2016 rather than the present day. This is because the London Underground began running late-night services after that and so made accessing its tracks very much more difficult and dangerous. That said, there are notes if the Game Master wants to shift Going Underground out of London and set in another city with an underground mass transport network, such as New York’s Subway, the Paris Métro, or indeed Glasgow’s Clockwork Orange.

The scenario opens with a telephone call in the middle of night. This is from Sergeant Jaget Kumar, the Falcon Liaison Officer for the British Transport Police. He reports that an engineer conducting a patrol on the London Underground at the British Museum station got the fright of his life and Sergeant Kumar wants to determine if the incident is Falcon-related—which of course, it is. The Player Characters get to walk from the Folly to nearby Holborn tube station, through the city’s nightlife, to first interview the engineer. They do have a little time to conduct some preliminary research, which should turn up one interesting fact—there is no British Museum London Underground station. Or rather, there is no longer a working British Museum London Underground station. It was closed in 1933 and is no longer part of the running network, but was used as an air raid shelter in World War 2 and later a Cold War emergency command post. It is now used for storage. The British Museum London Underground station is what is known as a ‘ghost station’—and it is this conflation of ‘ghost’ and ‘station’ which the author takes advantage of and should arouse the interest of the players and their characters. That, of course, and the fact that the nearby British Museum is also reputed to have been haunted by its very own ‘Unlucky Mummy’.

After the Player Characters have interviewed the very jittery Underground engineer, they get to descend into the network and work their way to the British Museum Underground station. This is preceded by a very stern safety briefing and Sergeant Kumar’s confession that he is really looking forward to visiting the British Museum Underground station as it is a ghost station he has never visited or had reason to visit. The bulk of the scenario’s investigation and possible action takes place here. There is not a great deal to the investigation itself, but it is nicely detailed with numerous options and suggestions given and explored to deal with the handful of problems that the Player Characters find in the remains of the old station. Notably, one of these is combat, but there is certain reluctance to its inclusion here, as if not only is it not the ideal solution to the mystery, it is not one that the author really wanted to include. There is a wealth of background and historical detail to back up the scenario’s plot that showcases the research that has gone into the scenario. This includes a history of the London Underground, the British Museum station in particular, and the ‘Unlucky Mummy’. Throughout is also staging advice and suggestions for the Game Master as well as a plot progression diagram at the beginning.

Physically, Going Underground – A Case File for Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game is very nicely produced. It is well written, the illustrations excellent, the cartography good, and the handouts decent.

If there is an issue with Going Underground – A Case File for Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game, it is that it is disappointingly short, but then it does cover just a few hours’ worth of investigation. However, it is detailed in terms of plot and background, as well as the resolution to its mystery, with some fun NPCs for the Game Master to portray and the Player Characters to interact with. Ultimately, Going Underground – A Case File for Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game is a very nicely done scenario that really does feel as if Ben Aaronovitch could have written it. No fan of the Rivers of London series would be surprised to see this turn up as a short story or graphic novel.

The end is nigh and there is no denying it. The seas rise. The forests spread. Crops fail. Wars continue without reason. The dead walk the land. Peasants suffer taxes, plague, and worse. As the world takes one more breath closer to dying, the arch-priestess Josilfa stands in the pulpit in the great cathedral to the god Nechrubel in the city of Galgenbeck in the land of Tveland, preaching that prophecies of the Two-Headed Basilisk are coming true. The apocalypse is pending and the inquisition of the Two-Headed Basilisks will see to it that no apostate or heretic turn their face away from the end or find salvation in other gods. Yet there are some who would deny all the signs around them and even say that there is another way. That the masses need heed to the pontification of arch-priestess Josilfa in her doom mongering prophecies of the Two-Headed Basilisk, that the darkness can be held back. Vriprix the Mad Wizard is one such voice. He believes that the Forbidden Psalm, a nameless scripture, contains the necessary knowledge to do so, and is located deep in the ruins of the city of Kergüs. He will not emerge from behind the doors of his castle home, but his pockets run deep, and he has gold aplenty to hire mercenaries and freebooters to undertake tasks for him. This is the set-up for Forbidden Psalm: The Times Edition.
Forbidden Psalm: End Times Edition is a miniatures game published by Space Penguin Ink. It is notable for a number of things. First—as the background suggests—it is compatible with Mörk Borg, the Swedish pre-apocalypse Old School Renaissance style roleplaying game designed by Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell and published by Free League Publishing. That means that Player Characters can be converted to use with Forbidden Psalm and with a bit of effort, the campaign that comes in Forbidden Psalm, could be adapted to Mörk Borg if a more physical, combative game is desired. Like Mörk Borg, a set of polyhedral dice is required to play Forbidden Psalm.

Second, it is a 28 mm skirmish level miniatures game playable with just five miniatures per warband per player and as a systems-agnostic setting, those miniatures can be from any range and publisher, meaning that a player can easily tailor his band to his choice. It is played on two-foot square board and Forbidden Psalm does include rules for the co-operative play, solo play, versus mode, and multiplayer play with three or four participants. The scale and numbers of Forbidden Psalm puts it roughly on a par with a Frostgrave: Fantasy Wargames in the Frozen City and Mordheim.

Third, Forbidden Psalm: End Times Edition is not one book, but two. It compiles two volumes. The core rules, Forbidden Psalm, and the campaign, Footsteps of the Mad Wizard. This is a twenty-six-part campaign and if Footsteps of the Mad Wizard is run using Mörk Borg, it would actually make it the first campaign for Mörk Borg.

A warband in Forbidden Psalm consists of five miniatures. Each has four stats—Agility, Presence, Strength, and Toughness, Hit Points based on his Toughness, a randomly determined Flaw and Feat, and then some equipment. The latter comes out of a starting budget of fifty gold for all of the Warband. If a player wants his warband to include a Spellcaster, this must be paid for, who is then generated as a standard figure complete with stats, Feat and Flaw, and so on, plus two scrolls—one clean and one unclean—that he will begin play with. Pets—including a pet rock, which is good throwing—and a Slug Wizard can also be purchased and mercenaries be hired. These are more expensive options than hiring the spellcaster. Forbidden Psalm provides examples of both pets and mercenaries.

Råtta Strejkbrytare
Agility +3 Presence +1 Strength -3 Toughness +0
Hit Points: 8
Flaw: Loner (-1 to tests within two inches of an ally)
Feat: Rat Catcher (free Bag o’ Rats)
Equipment: Short sword, light armour, backpack, lantern, bandages

Set-up and game play in Forbidden Psalm is simple. Pick a scenario to play and set up the board, determine weather and conditions, roll for initiative, and deploy according to the scenario. Then from one round to the next, the participants determine initiative, take it in turns to activate a figure, then monsters, and that is it. Play proceeds like this until the objective for the scenario has either been achieved or it proves impossible to do so. Movement is based on a figure’s Agility stat, and each figure can act and move once when activated. An action can be to make an attack, use an item of equipment or a feat, read a scroll, interact with treasure or scenario objects, drag a down figure a short distance, and so on. If a Test has to be made, it is rolled on a twenty-sided die, the aim being to roll twelve or more. A roll of one is a fumble and a roll of twenty is a critical. Combat is equally as simple, though in melee combat, the defender has a chance to strike back, though with a penalty. A figure reduced to zero Hit Points is ‘Downed’, but is killed if reduced to negative Hit Points. A ‘Downed’ can still die at the end of the scenario or he might simply have a wound or even a wound and a new Feat he has learned!

Both players begin a scenario with each possessing access to six Omens. These grant fantastic, one-off benefits such as dealing maximum damage, forcing the reroll of any dice, cancelling out one critical or fumble.

Magic takes the form of reading scrolls. This simply requires a test versus the figure’s Presence stat. This does not consume the scroll and the figure can read a scroll again and again over the course of a scenario. On a failure or a Critical, the figure gains a Tragedy. Tragedies are accrued and carried over from one game to the next. They are then used and expunged as modifiers to rolls on the Calamity Table, such as when a player rolls a Fumble when reading a scroll. A Calamity, such as everything feeling fine, but on roll of seven on the twenty-sided die whenever the figure is activated, his head explodes and he dies, or the figure’s arm becomes permanently hostile to the figure and punches him every round until the limb is amputated, lasts for a whole scenario.

The rules for Forbidden Psalm run to some forty pages, but that covers everything—warband creation, magic, movement, action, combat, and so on. They are clear and easy to read and grasp, and anyone who has played another set of miniatures wargame rules will be able to adjust with ease, as to be fair, will anyone who has played Forbidden Psalm. The remainder of Forbidden Psalm is divided between some twenty-five or so monsters and the campaign. The monsters include ‘The Blind Spider Queen’, ‘Blood Rage Vampire’, the ‘Corpse Collector’ of the front cover to Forbidden Psalm, both ‘Dismembered Ghouls’ and ‘Faecal Ghouls’, the ‘Mutant Chicken of Kalkoroth’ (complete with laser eyes), and lastly, the scythe-armed ‘The Editors’ which stuff the mouths of Downed figures with paper covered in mad ramblings and so kill them, rising the next round as Disciples of the Editors! If a monster is killed, its organs can be harvested as ‘Sweet Meats’ and sold. However, this requires a successful Presence Test otherwise the figure realises that his actions are so disgusting he must make a Morale Test! Overall, this is a solid selection of suitably vile monsters and it would be easy to add more from Mörk Borg.

The campaign in Forbidden Psalm: End Times Edition combines the shorter campaign from the original rulebook for Forbidden Psalm and In the Footsteps of the Mad Wizard, and together they take up half of the book. In this, the extremely reclusive Vriprix the Mad Wizard hires the Player Characters to undertake various tasks, such as exploring a nearby house for Black-Spotted Fungus, killing a rival wizard, finding the culprit who has stolen his socks(!), and more… Each clearly states the goal for the Player Characters, rewards, set-up and deployment, threats, and then how to run it in solo and co-operative play, plus some colour text to read out, especially if it is being run as part of a Mörk Borg game. After Vriprix disappears at the end of the part of the campaign, the rest concerns the Player Characters’ attempts to track him down in the city of Dawnblight in the Kergüs region. Here they will find one of their number imprisoned and have to rescue him from Ice Prisons, scavenge for food to keep the Hogs Head Inn running, kill the innkeeper’s ex-lover-now Faecal Ghoul and return with proof, hunt ravenous monsters and try to survive when they turn on them, and so on. It is a fun campaign in whatever format it is being run. There are notes too on what the Player Characters can do between missions and improve themselves. In general, the scenarios are sufficiently complex for Forbidden Psalm, but they may need a little fleshing out here and there to work as anything other than very straightforward scenarios.

Physically, Forbidden Psalm: End Times Edition is decently done and keeps everything clear and simple, and so it is very easy to read. In terms of art style, Forbidden Psalm: End Times Edition avoids the illegibility of the Artpunk style of the standard Mörk Borg title.

Although not written as one, Forbidden Psalm: End Times Edition has the simplicity and ease of use of an introductory wargame, made all the easier by its low demands in terms of miniatures and terrain pieces required. The compatibility between Forbidden Psalm: End Times Edition and Mörk Borg also highlights the simplicity and adaptability of the Old School Renaissance-style roleplaying game, not just to another setting or genre, but an entirely different type of game—the miniatures wargame—and then back again. All of which is supported by over twenty scenarios which can be played in solo, co-operative, and player-versus mode or run as straightforward roleplaying scenarios. Forbidden Psalm: End Times Edition is a solid set of skirmish miniatures combat rules, perfect for the Mörk Borg devotee, suitable for the wargames enthusiastic wanting a straightforward set of rules, and good for the Game Master who wants an undemanding campaign.

On the edge of the pit, stands a great iron pole from chains hang, some broken, some not. This is the sacrificial bluff at which the great tentacular pit-beast would rise from roiling mists that filled the one hundred feet wide and some say a thousand-foot-deep pit to drag away the young and unfortunate virgins offered as sacrifices to dissuade it from attacking the surrounding countryside as it had done for thousands of years. Thus, it has been centuries, the local villages offering up their young as sacrifices once a decade, the widespread devouring of the countryside prevented following the intervention of a warrior-priest and the agreement he reached with the creature, an agreement that resulted in his being dishonoured. More recently, with the practice having fallen by the wayside and it being a decade since the last set of sacrifices, the tentacles of the pit-beast have been reaching up out of the ravine in search of offerings capable of sating its hunger. Worse, the tentacles have been accompanied by strange, grey-robed men with no faces and long, sinewy arms. So far, the predations of both have been avoided by the local peasantry banding together and driving them off, mob-fashion. That though cannot last, for the tentacles and the faceless grey men are certain to return—and in greater numbers. Thus, brave adventurers have set out to investigate the pit, find out who or what is behind the marauding pit-beast and the people of the pit, and put a stop to them, and of course, go in search of mystery, adventure, riches, and fame.

Dungeon Crawl Classics #68: The People of the Pit is second scenario to be published by Goodman Games for use with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. Designed for a group of eight to ten First Level Player Characters, it is an important scenario for two reasons. One is that it is written by the publisher, Joseph Goodman, and the other is that it is the second scenario to be written for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game and the first to be written for Player Characters who are not Zero level. The previous adventure, Dungeon Crawl Classics #67: Sailors on the Starless Sea was not only the first, but it was a Character Funnel, the signature set-up and play style of the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game in which players control not one, but several Zero Level characters, each a serf or peasant looking beyond a life tied to the fields and the seasons or the forge and the hammer to prove themselves and perhaps progress enough to become a skilled adventurer and eventually make a name for themselves. In other words, to advance from Zero Level to First Level. Of course, the Player Characters at the start of Dungeon Crawl Classics #68: The People of the Pit are presumed to have done that or the Judge could actually run Dungeon Crawl Classics #67: Sailors on the Starless Sea before this scenario and its survivors, having reached First Level, now play it as a standard Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure.

The adventure is not so much a descent into the pit—although ultimately, the Player Characters will reach its bottom—but a descent through the caves and tunnels carved into the walls of the pit by the great tentacular beast and its faceless, blubbery, grey cultists. Here what the Player Characters discover is a working, living dungeon complex, a temple dedicated to the blind idiot god whose name they will learn is Palimdybis, its cultists conduct ceremonies to their master, make sacrifices to him, and prepare the strange powders and concoctions, made from the suckers, eyeballs, and skin scoured off their master’s tentacles, that they use to transform initiates into the inhuman state of full cultist. Even the descent to this complex is dangerous enough with its cracked and slippery stone steps which wind their way around the side of the pit, the possibility being that the Player Characters lose their footing and plummet to their deaths. Once inside the complex, Palimdybis’ influence can be found everywhere. His tentacles seem to reach everywhere, most notably in a ravine where they can reach up to attack intruders or pull down a drawbridge that will allow people to cross, the Octo-masses which burst out of the bellies of cultists once they are slain, and in the tentacle transport which can be ridden up and down the complex by clutching the rope ladder and rigging the cultists have attached to it. This only hints at the ability of the cultists to command and control the tentacles, each of them learning to summon and direct the tentacles once initiated. This is a group endeavour and requires at least three cultists. It is also possible for Player Characters to learn the spell Control Tentacle and so gain the same abilities—at least within the temple and the pit. This tentacle transport is not the only means of traversing the complex. For example, mazes serve as mediative puzzles—almost like the Pattern from Roger Zelazny’s Nine Princes in Amber—that the crimson-robed middle-ranking cultists, yellow-robed senior cultists, and blue-robed cult leader—use to transport themselves between the levels of the temple. These mazes are given as actual handouts that the players must solve using pen and paper in order to proceed further into the temple!

Dungeon Crawl Classics #68: The People of the Pit is a dangerous affair, especially once the cultists begin summoning tentacles. There are also many features which work like traps, like the meditative mazes, but are not traps in the classic sense, plus, the processes necessary for the initiates to become full-blown cultists are dangerous as well. The monsters are nasty too, like the mineral-horned mountain basilisk, a variant of the traditional basilisk whose gaze takes longer to turn its victims to stone, but whose solid gold horn is bound to attract the attention of the greedy Player Character. Lastly, the final confrontation and climax of the dungeon is a nasty fight that the players will feel lucky to have their characters survive.

One aspect of Dungeon Crawl Classics #68: The People of the Pit to note is that it is low in terms of reward or treasure. There is no real discussion of what happens beyond the adventure itself and little in terms of monetary reward to be found. There are three magical items of note to be found. One is a very fragile wand that enhances and grants detection spells, another is a short sword that can be thrown at goblins with unerring accuracy and cripples those who interfere, whilst a third is a simple +1 Mace. Of course, after reading the descriptions of the first two, why is the mace so very, very plain?

Originally, Dungeon Crawl Classics #68: The People of the Pit consisted of just the four levels of the temple complex, but later printings include ‘Assassins of the Pit’, an additional area that can be added to the pit. There are suggestions as to where this could be, one being that the Player Characters follow an Octo-Mass, not yet killed, as it flees down the side of the pit to this new area. The twelve-room complex nicely expands upon the original dungeon, providing the means for the Player Characters to learn more about the cult and its history that cannot be found elsewhere in the temple, and it also sort of puts a face to the cultists found here. Or rather multiple faces, since these purple or black robe-wearing cultists are not so much cultists or transformed humans, but Octo-Masses that have escaped their former hosts and become assassins with the ability to take on the faces of others. Nicely creepy and in true weird fantasy style, they are led by a ‘Grandfather of Assassins’.

Physically, Dungeon Crawl Classics #68: The People of the Pit is as solidly produced as you would expect for a scenario for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. The maps for the core scenario are appropriately tight and twisty for the tentacular nature of the scenario, though those for ‘Assassins of the Pit’ are plainer and not as interesting.

Dungeon Crawl Classics #68: The People of the Pit set the tone for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game scenarios that were to follow—grim and weird and challenging. Its weirdness comes from the Lovecraftian tentacular theme threading, quite literally, through its dungeon halls, its grimness comes from the fate of both cultists and victims, and the challenge from it just simply being a tough dungeon crawl. If their characters survive Dungeon Crawl Classics #68: The People of the Pit then your players are really going to feel they achieved something and their characters are truly worthy of getting to Second Level.

Thirteen Parsecs

http://tinyurl.com/13psignuptim

We want this game to be your sci-fi RPG of choice, so help us make that happen.

This uses the same O.G.R.E.S. as NIGHT SHIFT and Wasted Lands. 

Much like NIGHT SHIFT, there are core rules for playing in all sorts of Sci-Fi genres; Space Opera, Action, Comedy, Horror (of course!), and more.

There will be "Solar Frontiers," mini-settings you can use to start your game (much like the Night Worlds for NIGHT SHIFT). My Solar Frontiers will be "Space Truckers" and the currently titled "Dark Stars," my "aliens and horror in space" setting.

Jason will provide the bulk of the core rules and his two Solar Frontiers, and our long-time collaborator (and demo game GM extraordinaire) Derek Stoelting will also add his Solar Frontiers. We are all working on adding rules and expanding what worked best in NIGHT SHIFT and Wasted Lands. We have over 75 years of game design experience for a couple dozen different companies/publishers.

Speaking of our other games, Thirteen Parsecs is 100% compatible with NIGHT SHIFT and Wasted Lands.  Do you want to play deeper, dark sci-fi horror? NIGHT SHIFT + 13P has you covered. Want to pilot your Time Ship back to after the KT extinction and find a world populated by the proto-human experiments of the Great Old Ones? Wasted Lands + 13P! Or combine all three.

I am planning an epoch-sweeping adventure that takes you from Wasted Lands to NIGHT SHIFT to Thirteen Parsecs, in the vein of one of my favorite books and movies, 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's not exactly the same, of course (I do not liken myself to a Clark or a Kubrick), but it's an echo of a time when I read both 2001 and Lord of the Rings one summer.

Help us make this a reality! We are going strong out of the gate but let's hit those stretch goals.

We are exactly the type of publisher these crowdfunding sites are really for: small professionals with grand ideas and the desire and skills to get it done; we just lack the capital for some art and printing costs upfront.

All of our and Jason's crowdfunding has met our goals, and more importantly, we have delivered on time. We are even offering some nice perks for early backers.

So please check us out!

http://tinyurl.com/13psignuptim

THESE ARE THE FINAL HOURS!

 

The set-up for Cryptozoology for Beginners is quite simple. The school’s photography class has been given a new assignment and raced off aboard the big yellow school bus on a mysterious field trip. This is out into the wilds to photograph and record the local wildlife. This is no ordinary wildlife though, but cryptids—Nessie, the Chupacabra, Sasquatch, and the Mothman—and if the players can take the right photographs and complete their assignments, they will be rewarded with stars, and get to go home top of the class. Cryptozoology for Beginners is published by Cryptozoic Entertainment and is part of the second trilogy of games based on the art of Steven Rhodes, noted for its sly, subversive dig at the social attitudes and fears of the seventies and eighties. Published following a successful Kickstarter campaign, it is designed to be played by between two and four players, aged fourteen and up. The game is played over the course of three rounds in which players will draft cards—both Assignment Cards and Cryptid cards, and then play the Cryptid Cards to both activate their abilities and fulfil the requirements of the Assignment cards. A game can be played in twenty minutes or more, depending on the number of players.

Cryptozoology for Beginners consists of a twelve-page rules booklet, a deck of ninety-six Cryptid Cards, forty Assignment Cards, forty Scoring Tokens, and a Bus Standee. The rules booklet is short, easy to read, and includes a few clarifications and some optional rules. The latter are for a beginner game and a two-player game. The rules for a beginner game do feel superfluous given the simple nature of game and its play, especially given its suggested age limit. Much younger players will have no problems learning and playing Cryptozoology for Beginners. The Scoring Tokens are worth between three and six points and are kept face down throughout play, including when a player draws one and keeps it, and the Bus Standee is used to indicate the first player in each round.

The two card types are the Cryptid Cards and the Assignment Cards. These come in four colours—red, green, blue, and yellow—and are marked with one of seven icons—either Nessie, Sasquatch Footprint, Chupacabra, Mothman, Eldritch Tome, Target, and Horror. There are some cards which combine two icons, whilst the cards with the Horror icon—the Jersey Devil, Siren, and Jackalope—are colourless. Where link between the icons and the cryptids are obvious, the Target icon refers to Monster Hunters. Each of the Cryptid Cards has a special ability. For example, the ‘Nessie’ card requires a player to activate it and another two cards with the Nessie icon so that he can draw another card, whilst the Chupacabra card needs to be activated plus another four cards with the Chupacabra icon and then lets a player discard any card in play, even that of another player, and in return let the owner draw a new card.

The different types of Cryptid Card are also themed mechanically. Thus, the Cryptid Cards with the Nessie icon enable a player to draw more cards; the Cryptid Cards with the Sasquatch Footprint grant a player more Victory Tokens; the Cryptid Cards with the Chupacabra icon let a player steal cards from another player; and the Cryptid Cards with the Mothman icon grant a player with the most Mothman icons extra Victory Points. Of the other Cryptid Cards, those with the Eldritch Tome icon reward a player with Victory Token and those with Target icons can activated to draw and keep another Assignment card. The colourless cards give a variety of unique effects.

The Assignment Cards each provide an objective and a reward to be gained in return for completing it. For example, Assignment #1 requires a player to accrue four red cards and grants him three Victory Points, whilst Assignment #16 gives a player two points if he can accrue two points and at the end of the round, can either give the player another Victory Point or lets him keep a card with a Chupacabra icon.

Cryptozoology for Beginners is played in three rounds each of which consists of four phases. The first phase is the ‘Assignment’ phase. Each player draws two Assignment Cards, keeps one and hidden, whilst the other is placed face-up where everyone can see it and work to achieving it. In the second phase, the ‘Draft Cryptid’ phase, each player receives eight Cryptid Cards. He keeps a single card and passes the remainder to the next player. This is done until each player has drafted a hand of eight Cryptid Cards. The third phase is ‘Player Turns’. Each player takes it in turn to play a single Cryptid Card in front of him, activate its ability, and if he manages to complete an Assignment Card, either one face up on the table or the one he has secret, he gets to place it in front of him. It will add to his total score at the end of the game. Cards can only be activated once per phase. Play continues until no-one has any Cryptid Cards in their hand. This ends the round, players keep their completed Assignments and points scored, whilst all Cryptid Cards are discarded—unless a card says otherwise. A new round begins and repeats these steps, and then again for a third and final round. The Bus Standee is used to indicate the player who has the lowest score that is not hidden and lets him begin first in the next round. At the end of the game, the player with highest score wins the game.

In this way, the play of Cryptozoology for Beginners is simple and straightforward. In fact, too simple and straightforward. The problem with Cryptozoology for Beginners is that once play begins, there is very interaction between the players, only through a number of limited Cryptid Cards and then through the draft in the second phase of each round. This draft is the most important stage of play, since it sets up much of what a player will play and do in the ‘Player Turns’ phase. To go further, the ‘Draft Phase’ is not so much a ‘draft’ phase, but a ‘planning’ phase, a player trying work out whether to aim to complete Assignment Cards, focus on Cryptid Cards that give more points, and so on. The benefit of the draft means that each player will also have some idea of what his opponents are planning because of the cards they draft—in secret of course, but they are no longer there as the hands are passed around the table. Also, with just a few Assignment Cards in play, the competition between players can be fierce and made all the worse if a player grabs one that another player has been working towards completing, leaving him little time to adjust or really catch up.
Physically, Cryptozoology for Beginners is nicely done. The rules booklet is easy to read and the rules to understand, whilst the Victory Tokens and the School Bus are done on the thick, bright cardboard. The Assignment Cards are clear and simple, if bland, but really all of the game’s flavour comes from Steve Rhodes’ artwork on the Cryptid Cards which is highly entertaining, such as the Sasquatch on the ‘Seclusion of Sasquatch’ Cryptid Card making filming another Sasquatch whilst a third looks on laughing!

Ultimately, what sells Cryptozoology for Beginners is its artwork—and it really is good artwork. Otherwise, game play focuses too much on its draft mechanic—get it right and a player will sail through his turns, get it wrong and he will have slog to catch up. There is also little interaction beyond the draft. Younger players are more likely to like this more than older ones, the latter including the minimum suggested age group for Cryptozoology for Beginners. It is too simple a game for them. Ultimately, Cryptozoology for Beginners feels as if it should offer more than it does.

 The new cover for the 2025 Monster Manual has been revealed.

That is Minsc and Boo on the front and a character I do recognize but can't name at the moment.

A beholder makes perfect sense really. 

I know some people out there won't like it call it a "crash grab" but the truth is anyone that cares about that isn't buying this anyway and anyone buying it doesn't care.

Me? I like it! Lots of monsters, a call back to some classic characters. Yeah, this looks great.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." 

 - Clarke's Third Law

 Come on. You knew I was going to go here.

Before I start I will say this, there is no "witch" class in the core Thirteen Parsecs book. But that doesn't mean you can add one yourself. As I mentioned yesterday, Thirteen Parsecs is 100% compatible with NIGHT SHIFT and Wasted Lands, and those games have witches and sorcerers, respectively.  Rules-wise, there is nothing at all stopping you from adding either to your sci-fi game of Thirteen Parsecs. 

The only thing that remains is "How?"

Well. I have you covered.

While there are not a lot of witches in science fiction, they are there and they have made quite an impact. 

Bene Gesserit

The easiest one to talk about, and the one we should really talk about first, is the Bene Gesserit Order from Frank Herbert's Dune Series.  This order of Sisters practice extreme mental control, have psychic abilities, and have secret, occult even ways. They often even play the role as witches when being set up against the "Holy Order" that Paul is trying to create. I don't pretend to be an expert on Dune at all, but it is my wife's favorite series, and she can go on and on about much in the same way I can about Dracula or Lord of the Rings. So, I trust her assessment of this. Note that we both ignore the Brian Herbert books. Me out of no desire to read them and her for "dancing on the corpse of his dead father to make a buck with high school English class level writing." 

The Nightsisters, the Witches of Dathomir

Ok. What is not to love about the force using, Dark Side, magic (or even magick) Nightsisters, aka the Witches of Dathomir? Nothing. That's what.  There is even a great meme out there for them. 

I learned about these witches, and really, that is what they are, via the Star Wars RPG. I don't recall if it was a later book in the d20 line or if it was from the Saga system. But my very first experience was getting a box of Star Wars minis from Wizards of the Coast and there was a "Dathomir Witch" in the pack. Well, you can imagine my surprise.

We finally saw some on screen in the Ahsoka series. We even got Claudia Black to play one! 

Bellerians

Ok...I am not really serious here, but hey, if I can have a Pumpkin Spice Witch, then certainly, space is large enough for the Bene Gesserit, the Dathomir Witches, and the Bellerians. BUT if we take the equally not-so-serious idea that Space Mutiny exists in the same universe as the original Battlestar Galactica, well, they already had Space Angels and Devils. Witches don't seem to be that much of a stretch. 

Plus Bellerian sounds enough like Raëlian for me to have some fun with. 

Occult Themes in Doctor Who

I talked at length about this in a full post. Based on a recent line dropped by the Head of U.N.I.T. Kate Lethbridge-Stewart in the recent "73 Yards," supernatural elements seem to be going to become more common. 

And these are only a few easily accessible ones. I have not even gotten into books, like the Morgaine Saga by C.J. Cherryh, that have witches or witch-like characters. While Trek is notoriously light on witches, there was mention of the Wiccan religion in Season 2 of Discovery. Even Babylon 5 had "techno-mages." So yes, there is room in a large universe for witches. 

Witches in Darker Stars

While I have had witch-like characters in my play-tests of Darker Stars, there are no witches. The two starships I have been using in my games, The Protector and The Imbolc Mage, have their roots in my Witchcraft/Buffy games. But even the "witch" characters only have psychic abilities, and none to any great extent. I like to play-test with normal characters to start with, to get a feel for the game.

I do acknowledge that my own Sisters of the Aquarian Order would fit right into my Darker Stars setting and maybe even other "Solar Frontiers."  While overtly designed for the White Star system, they do work with NIGHT SHIFT and Thirteen Parsecs. But my habit is to make a new Tradition for different games. If I had the inclination to update the Aquarian Order, I might instead come up with something new for Thirteen Parsecs.  

My idea at this point? Something like the Aquarian Order, but maybe not so "light." An order of witches that began in the Dreaming Age of the Wasted Lands, part of the supernatural underground of NIGHT SHIFT, and then to the stars in Thirteen Parsecs.  An ancient, primordial witch cult that spans æons and light years. 

I certainly have my work cut out for me. 

 June is the month I usually dedicate to Basic-era (B/X, BECMI) D&D, but not always. I have D&D-related plans for June, but I am not entirely done with science fiction yet. 

I have been doing a feature most nights, largely without pomp or circumstance, called Dracula, The Hunters' Journals, where I post the entries from the novel Dracula on the day they were recorded.  It has been a odd thing to post all this Dracula and Victorian content in the midst of all the sci-fi material I have been talking about all month.  But it is not unprecedented. 

Vampires in Space

What do Buck Rogers, Doctor Who, Vampirella, and Colin Wilson all have in common? They are all different science fiction media properties that have featured stories of vampires in space.

One of the strong selling points I think of our new Thirteen Parsecs RPG is it's 100% compatibility with NIGHT SHIFT.  Creatures, characters, classes, and more can be lifted whole from NIGHT SHIT and dropped right into Thirteen Parsecs.  You just need to figure out why they are there.

The vampire in NIGHT SHIFT is based on the Gothic vampire of old, which, of course, has roots in mythology, but mostly in Dracula, Ruthven, and Carmilla. It is also flexible enough to allow for various modern re-interpretations against the Gothic archetype. There is no reason why this can't be extended beyond that to space.  And like I said before, I kinda owe it to my 10-year-old self to at least try a Space Vampire. 

So, how have Space Vampires been done already?

Buck Rogers TV Series: "The Space Vampire"

In this episode from the 1979 TV series "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," Buck Rogers faces a creature known as a Vorvon, a space vampire that drains the life energy from its victims. The episode blends science fiction with classic vampire mythology and powers, as the Vorvon can possess and control other beings. Buck must find a way to stop this menace before it can spread its evil influence throughout the space station. As expected, the Vorvon goes after Col. Wilma Dearing (though it does give Erin Gray a bit more to do). The vampire here can only be destroyed by flying it into a sun.

Doctor Who: "State of Decay"

This 1980 serial from "Doctor Who" features the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker. The Doctor and Romana II and unknown to them, Adric, land on a planet where a trio of ancient vampire lords. These human explorers encountered the last of a race known as the Great Vampires, and have enslaved the local population. The story explores the conflict between the advanced Time Lords and the primitive yet powerful vampires, mixing gothic horror with futuristic elements.  Here the Great Vampires are depicted as an ancient race, as old as the Time Lords themselves, and their wars with the Time Lords. Again, like the Buck Rogers episode, many Vampire mythological elements are re-translated here.

Of note, well at least to me, is a line dropped by the Doctor that every inhabited planet has myths about vampires. We will later see other types of vampires in future episodes. The Haemovores in the 7th Doctor's "The Curse of Fenric," the Plasmavore in the 10th Doctor's "Smith and Jones," and the Saturnyn, another type of vampire (sexy fish vampires, according to the 11th Doctor) in "Vampires of Venice."

I discuss both of these episodes here and more about vampires in Doctor Who specifically here. 

Lifeforce (1985)

"Lifeforce" is a fairly notorious sci-fi horror film directed by Tobe Hooper. The plot centers on a space mission that discovers an alien spacecraft hidden in the tail of Halley's Comet. Inside, the crew finds three humanoid creatures in suspended animation. When brought back to Earth, these beings awaken and reveal themselves to be energy vampires, draining life force from humans to survive. 

The film was a minor hit in 1985, maybe not so much for the plot or story, but because it featured then-newcomer Mathilda May, who appeared completely nude throughout most of the film. It also included Steve Railsback, who would later give a strong and memorable performance as the abductee Duane Barry in the "X-Files" and Patrick Stewart who would the following year go on to star in "Star Trek the Next Generation."

This movie is, in theory anyway, based on the 1976 book by Colin Wilson, "The Space Vampires." I read the book after seeing the movie, and they have a few connections, like some vampires and character names. They are so different. I'll talk about the book separately.

Vampirella

Ah, Vampy. Vampirella is a character from the eponymous comic book series created by Forrest J. Ackerman and artist Trina Robbins, first appearing in 1969. She is an alien vampire from the planet Drakulon, where blood flows like water. After her planet is doomed, she travels to Earth. Blending science fiction and horror, Vampirella fights evil supernatural beings while struggling with her vampiric nature. The character has become iconic, appearing in various comic series, novels, and a 1996 film adaptation. of late she is often paired with Red Sonja in a number of reality spanning adventures. The strangest, and oddly the most fun one? "Red Sonja & Vampirella meet Betty & Veronica." On paper it should never work, yet it does.  Part of this, I think, also is due to the amazing art of Maria Sanapo.

Clark Ashton Smith's Works

Clark Ashton Smith, a long-time favorite here at The Other Side, incorporated vampiric themes into his science fiction and fantasy stories. In "The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis" (1932), explorers on Mars encounter a parasitic creature that drains their life force, functioning similarly to a vampire. His works often feature otherworldly landscapes and cosmic horrors, blending the supernatural with speculative elements.

The Space Vampires by Colin Wilson

This 1976 novel is the basis for the movie "Lifeforce." It follows the story of alien vampires who travel to Earth and attempt to drain the life energy of humans. The novel delves into themes of sexuality, existentialism, and the survival instinct, blending sci-fi with classic vampire lore. 

The vampires, the almost Lovecraftian "Ubbo-Sathla," here, are more like Sex-Vampires. So that much tracks with the movie. The novel takes place in the late 21st century, not the 20th, and the discovery of the alien ship is in the Asteroid belt. 

Shambleau by C.L. Moore

"Shambleau" is a science fiction short story written by C.L. Moore, first published in the November 1933 issue of "Weird Tales" magazine. It is the debut story of her character Northwest Smith, a space-faring adventurer often compared to figures like Han Solo or Conan the Barbarian. "Shambleau" is noted for its innovative blend of science fiction and horror, as well as for its exploration of erotic and psychological themes.

The creature, Shambleau, is an exotic alien beauty with snakes for hair like Medusa. She has a hypnotic effect on those around her and, like Wilson's vampires, drains life energy. In many ways, she is a vampire, much in the same way that the Leanan sídhe is. There is also a scene in the Lifeforce movie where the female vampire (Mathilda May) is created out of the blood of two victims and she bears a passing resemblance to the description of Shambleau. 

Vampires in Thirteen Parsecs

How you do vampires will largely be up to your Thirteen Parsecs campaign. For example, I will likely not have them in my "Space Truckers" games except as a gag. But "Darker Stars" is a different story. 

I would have them as an ancient but dying race. Their homeworld orbits a "Black Sun," a Brown Dwarf star. Their planet would be the last dying remains of a great feudal empire where Vampires were all the nobility. They took to the stars to find new planets to drain, but encountering humanity from Earth, they met their first real resistance in their 10,000-year reign. Part of the Darker Stars camping mode would be this first contact.

I once saw a meme that said you can turn a Gothic cathedral on its side to make a gothic-looking spaceship. That's what the ships of the vampires look like. Something that should look ancient and like it was built as an act of worship to their Vampire masters. 

To give you an idea of what I am doing in Darker Stars, I don't even consider the Vampires to be the biggest threat. 

I can't wait to get this all to you.