Manuel Orazi - Illustration for Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," 1893

Original Roleplaying Concepts
The Dragon and the Beasts Cast into Hell
The Beast Wages War against the Saints
Saint Michael Defeating the Beasts
The Opening of the Fourth Seal, Pestilence
An Image of the Beast of the Sea Fashioned
The Beast of the Sea and the Dragon Worshiped
The Worshipers of the Beast Receive His Mark
The Fifth Trumpet Sounded, The First Woe
A Storm; The Woman and the Dragon
"The Apocalypse, or Book of Revelation, was, according to European medieval tradition, written by John the Evangelist during his exile on the Greek island of Patmos. The opening chapters recount God’s instructions to the bishops of the seven churches in Asia Minor. The following chapters describe John’s extraordinary account of events to come at the end of time. The colorful illustrations of this manuscript bring these dream-like prophecies to life."
Art and quotation taken from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Astrological & lunar chart / Sorciere
Intro / Witch Within Magic Circle
Solar system / January 1896 - Sabbat
Once upon a time, I was promised a beautiful / June
Transmutation, the Alchemist / July
The Harvest of Herbs / September?
The Sorcerer / October; Evocation
Judgment of Sorcerers / December; End of Wizards
All things good or bad for each day
O You who leafed through these pages / MDCCCXC
"An occultist calendar illustrated by Manuel Orazi and printed in an symbolic edition of 777 copies to commemorate magic for the coming year of 1896. Each double page emulates the Christian calendar (name days, iconography). The document presents itself as a type of pagan-style almanac to chart the year of magic. The illustrations by Manuel Orazi combine nouveau art imagery with references to occult ceremonies, horoscopes, and tarot. The accompanying text is by Austin de Croze, a French food writer, who was also fascinated by esotericism." - quote source
Artworks found at the Cornell University Library.
Death Ziggurat in Zero-G is designed an introductory scenario and campaign starter for players new to Metamorphosis Alpha and the Starship Warden. Ideally this is with the tribe of Mutants and Humans based at Super Shop Mart, but the scenario includes some notes on how to use it in an existing campaign. It consists of three parts. In the first, the Player Characters go about their daily lives as members of the Super Shop Mart Tribe. Sometimes standing guard duty or examining newly brought in technological artefacts of the Ancients, but at others being sent out to find food, water, or other artefacts, raid or see off a raid by another tribe, and so on. In the middle section, the Player Characters discover the remains of a cryostasis facility and a strange artefact—the detached, but preserved head of the very crotchety Professor Cardunkle. Initially, all he wants is a new body for his head—any body will do, which can result in some hilarity because of the incongruity of the head of an old man being attached to something totally ridiculous. Eventually though, he will want his own body back and knowing where it is, Professor Cardunkle both directs the Player Characters and promises great treasure. This third and last part of the scenario consists of exploring the ruins of another facility whose internal structure has more or less been turned upside, which represents a challenge in itself.
All of this, and thus, Death Ziggurat in Zero-G, takes place in a closed environment, a great dustbowl known as the Silver Waste, a desert of polished, silver dunes whipped up and scoured by daily endless sandstorms and nightly freezing temperatures, where several tribes eke out a desperate existence. There is lack of permanence to the region due to the constant sandstorms and no one knows what lies beyond the Silver Waste, though in one direction stands ‘The Great Mirror’, a gigantic, flat, reflective wall which stretches as far as the eye can see left and right, and then from the ground high into the sky. The scenario only describes the Player Characters’ Super Shop Mart base of operations and the scenario’s endpoint, the ‘Death Ziggurat’ of the title in full detail, but several other locations are also described and these, when combined with the table of missions for the Player Characters’ tribe and table of random encounters, should actually provide a playing group with several sessions’ worth of play before it moves on to the scenario’s main plot. The sandbox element of the scenario also means that the Game Master could develop and add her own plots and content if she so desired. This would add depth to the scenario as well.
The plot to the scenario is by no means new, but it is nicely dressed up and layered with its post-apocalyptic future and rough environment. It does provide the Game Master with a fun NPC to portray whilst leaving scope for to develop and portray the other NPCs in the region. There is a not a great deal of treasure or artefacts to be found in the Silver Waste, and in many cases, finding what there is involves a lot of work, but to be fair, the point of Death Ziggurat in Zero-G is not on finding goodies, but discovering its secrets and finding a way out. There is promise of powerful artefact though—no less an artefact than an entirely new colour band with the blessing of James M. Ward, designer of Metamorphosis Alpha—the incredible capabilities of which will have factions beyond the Silver Waste fighting with both each other and the Player Characters to possess!
For the Game Master, there is some staging advice on running Death Ziggurat in Zero-G, but in general, this is an easy scenario to run. Perhaps the oddest aspect of running the scenario is that to get the most out of Death Ziggurat in Zero-G, it is suggested that the Game Master be multi-lingual or even use coded speech such as Pig Latin. This is to roleplay another aspect of the scenario rather than Professor Cardunkle, and intended to confound the technologically illiterate Player Characters rather than the players. This may prove to be a challenge for the Game Master, so another option might be record some phrases, perhaps done by a computer voice, as part of her preparation. If the Game Master is multi-lingual, then she can have some further roleplaying that aspect of the scenario.
One issue with Death Ziggurat in Zero-G is that beyond the limits set by ‘The Great Mirror’ and the inclusion of the new Colour Ring, it does not necessarily feel like a scenario for Metamorphosis Alpha. This is because its inclusion of base names such as ‘Super Shop Mart’ and ‘Me Depo’ feel more grounded, better suited to a planetside apocalypse like that of Gamma World or Mutant Crawl Classics, rather then being set aboard a giant generational colony spaceship like the Starship Warden. That said, the Player Characters of the Super Shop Mart tribe will have no idea that they are aboard a spaceship at all, so that is not necessarily an issue for them. Plus of course, the Game Master could just run Death Ziggurat in Zero-G as an Earth-bound starting scenario for Gamma World or Mutant Crawl Classics and no-one would be any the wiser.
Physically, Death Ziggurat in Zero-G is cleanly presented. The maps are nicely done as are the illustrations, and the whole layout matches that you would expect of title from Goodman Games, feeling very much as it does for Dungeon Crawl Classics or Mutant Crawl Classics.
Overall, Death Ziggurat in Zero-G is a solid starting scenario. It has plenty of scope for the Player Characters to explore a mini-apocalypse as well as its main plot, and is flexible enough place aboard the Starship Warden as intended, or else where.
Lost in the Fantasy World is a roleplaying game in which a group of children is magically transported to a fantasy world complete with magic and monsters. Once there, they are each given an amazing artefact by a mysterious Mentor, which enables them to come to the plight of the peoples—and they have many plights—and so become heroes. Yet, they still want to return, and ultimately, will have to choose between going home and the powers that the artefacts grant them. How the children get to the fantasy world—going on a strange ride in an amusement park, being sucked into a weird old book, going through a very small door in a scary abandoned house—suggests the inspirations behind Lost in the Fantasy World. Narnia, perhaps? The Dungeons & Dragons Animated Series? Well, definitely the latter, and that definitely comes down to nationality.
Lost in the Fantasy World is designed by Diogo Nogueira and Diogo Nogueira is Brazilian. Now where the Dungeons & Dragons Animated Series might not be held in the highest regard in the English-speaking hobby, it had more of an impact in Brazil where it was more popular. To the point the Renault launched an advertising campaign in Brazil for one of its vehicles based on the Dungeons & Dragons Animated Series and it was very well done. Published by Gallant Knight Games, Lost in the Fantasy World is not retroclone in the Dungeons & Dragons sense, but is definitely inspired by it.
A Player Character in Lost in the Fantasy World is simply defined. He has a name, concept, four traits, and an Artefact. The concept, such as ‘Brendan, the quiet D&D geek’ or ‘Emily, the bolshy cheerleader’, defines the Player Character, whilst traits can include a quality like ‘Athletic’ or ‘Good with his Hands’; an object such as notebook and pen, a football, or a torch; a companion like a pet rat or a baby unicorn; some training or knowledge, foe example, ‘Read up on all the myths’ or ‘Works in my dad’s garage’; or a relationship with another character, such as ‘David is my best friend’ or ‘I always have to keep an eye for Andrea’. At the beginning of the game each Player Character will receive an artefact and have some idea of what it can do from its name, but not exactly what. What, exactly, it can do, will be developed during play. For example, the Torch of Unending Light, the Pipes of Piercing, or the Buckler of Shielding.
Tristian the inquisitive musician
Fine singing voice (Trait), I must protect my sister, Monica (Trait), helps his grandmother with the garden (Trait), Catapult (Trait)
Artefact: Lyre of the Living
Mechanically, Lost in the Fantasy World is direct and simple. When the outcome of a situation is uncertain, both the player and the Mentor—as the Game Master is known—make a Resolution Roll. This is the roll of a six-sided die each to which the player can add a +1 Modifier for any pertinent Trait, the Expenditure of an Adversity Token, a great description of his character’s actions given by the player, as well as the situation itself, the later mostly provided by the Mentor. Whomever rolls highest, narrates the outcome of the situation or scene.
If the player’s roll is lower, then he earns an Adversity Token, which can later be used to gain a Modifier. A player can also Push the roll, which allows him to make the Resolution Roll a second time, but if it is failed, the Player Character temporarily loses a Trait. Use of a magical Artefact enables the player to make the Resolution Roll with two dice—or even three dice if used in a creative and exciting fashion—and the highest result used. Combat uses the same mechanics, the winner of the Resolution Roll narrating the outcome and the loser temporarily losing the use of a Traits. A lost Trait can be recovered in time, but a Player Character or a monster or NPC is ‘Taken Out’ if they lose all of their Traits. They are not dead, but cannot act decisively and are at the mercy of other Player Characters or even their opponents.
For the Mentor there are several suggested opponents and obstacles complete with Traits which she can bring into play and there is also some advice on running Lost in the Fantasy World. The role of the Mentor is actually twofold. First, she serves as the Referee, and second, she actually roleplays the Mentor as character in the game world, who guides the Player Characters to some extent, mysteriously presenting them with both opportunities for adventure and rumours and hints as to the way back to the Player Characters’ home world. Ideally, there should be a balance between the two, a pull and a push, the push to undertake more adventures and help others becoming stronger as the players narrate new and more interesting capabilities for their Artefacts. However, Lost in the Fantasy World does not fully support that notion. There is no mechanical means provided to model the balance between the Player Characters’ supposed desire to help and their desire to get home. Perhaps some kind of countdown or count-up which a player can roll against to determine which of the two desires that his character follows, such that ultimately the pull towards one or the other becomes too much.
Physically, Lost in the Fantasy World comes as a simple pamphlet which folds out to just a single sheet of paper. It is nicely, simply presented and the artwork has a certain charm, but the pamphlet does need another edit for all of its brevity.
Lost in the Fantasy World is a clever little concept which draws upon something often ill-regarded by Dungeons & Dragons fans and develops it into a simple narrative, storytelling game. It is easy to learn and quick to play, but ultimately does not quite follow through on its concept when there was very much room and scope to do so. Hopefully, Lost in the Fantasy World, Second Edition will do that.
Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the Jonstown Compendium is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Greg Stafford’s mythic universe of Glorantha. It enables creators to sell their own original content for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, 13th Age Glorantha, and HeroQuest Glorantha (Questworlds). This can include original scenarios, background material, cults, mythology, details of NPCs and monsters, and so on, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Glorantha Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Glorantha-set campaigns.
—oOo—Who do you play?
No specific character types are required to encounter Grungnak Fearless.
Something a little different today. I am interrupting my regularly scheduled Character Creation Challenge posts with a Kickstart Your Weekend style review.
The Kickstarter for SURVIVE THIS!! Dark Places & Demogorgons Class Compendium has begun and Bloat Games offered me a sneak peak. I am providing a review of their new book, and a link for their Kickstarter.
The Kickstarter
I am a huge fan of Dark Places & Demogorgons.
As of this writing the Kickstarter has made their initial goal. They are now heading to the next Stretch Goal of new art. After this more stretch goals will be announced. The lowest level to get in $6 and that gets you the PDF. Not a bad deal really.
The Book
The current version of the book is all complete with layout and art. Stretch goals will replace some of the art, but right now it looks great.
The book is digest sized, 210+ pages, color cover and black & white pages. If you are familiar with any SURVIVE THIS!! book you have a good idea of how it looks on the inside.
The book contains all the classes that have appeared in every Dark Places & Demogorns book, all in one place. The new classes include Archery Enthusiast, Badger Scout, Horror Connoisseur, Hot Shot, Snoop, The Source, Sweet Baby, Thespian, and new psionic classes, Animal Wrangler and The Forgotten. So 56 classes and 10 new classes for 66 in total. There are also new spells for the magic using classes.
Most classes cover two to three pages. Everything you need to know about each class, but no rules for play. You still need the core rules for that. I am reading through and the classes do look expanded. For example the Goth in the core Dark Places & Demogorgons book tops of, as all classes do in that book, at 5th level. The Goth in the Class Compendium advances to 10th level, and there are archetypes of the "Mopey Goth" and the "Supernatural Goth."
The new classes are fun with the Horror Connoisseur toping the list of my favorites. Though I knew a lot of "Sources" back in High School and they would also be a fun class to play. Though the Magic Classes are still my favorite. So I am quite pleased to get a bunch of new spells.
Skills are also updated. The game moved up and out from the core book so new skills need to be defined and there are revised skills as well.
There is even some space given to fighting threats from "The Otherside." I'll try not to take that one personally! ;)
Really is a fun book and a must have if you are playing Dark Places & Demogorgons. It should even work for We Die Young to be honest.
So yeah, this is a Kickstarter worth backing.
The Character
Again, I think I need to go with my Drosophila melanogaster of playtesting magic classes and see what my dear little witch Larina was doing in the 1980s (1984 to be exact). She was my big experiment in my Modern Occult Horror RPGs post a bit back, but let's have a look at her in detail. I am also including my NIGHT SHIFT character sheet as well.
Click to see larger.
I love how these two games work well with each other. Each providing me a a detail I did not have before.
The warning is well known throughout the area. There is a curse upon Thraxford Castle and all who enter its gates. A Curse of rotting flesh, of unlife as one of the undead, for all who die within its walls must rise again at dawn to play out a danse macabre of their lives the day before. It is a Curse lain upon the soldiers and occupants of Thraxford Castle by The Bastard King’s slaughter of his kin. None can leave and all who put a foot within a thousand paces of that accursed place will fall foul of the curse… Bastard King of Thraxford Castle is a macabre, gothic mini-location inspired by both British medieval history, Hammer horror films, and even British Dungeons & Dragons adventures drawn from the pages of White Dwarf magazine back in its heyday, such as ‘The Lichway’ by Albie Fiore (White Dwarf Issue No. 9, October/November 1979). Published by Leyline Press and like The Isle of Glaslyn and The God With No Name before it, Bastard King of Thraxford Castle manages to fit an adventure onto the equivalent of four pages and then present it on a pamphlet which folds down to roughly four-by-six inches. One the one side it provides all of the details of the descriptions of the outer and inner wards, whilst on the other there is a map of the whole of the castle, plus descriptions of the actual keep.
Bastard King of Thraxford Castle is designed for use with Old School Essentials Classic Fantasy and presents a location supposedly on the Isle of Kybaros . Here the Bastard King took his last stand against invading forces after he had risen up and defeated King Hardrada at the Battle of Ashing Hill, and was cursed for his hubris. One of the great scenes later in the scenario depicts this battle—taking place in the castle’s great hall—and if the Player Characters are not careful, they may actually get caught up in the nightly (knightly?) reenactment! The scenario is designed for Player Characters of low to medium Level, and a Cleric, although any party upon discovering the true nature of the situation in Thraxford Castle going full bore slaughtering the undead and attempting Turn Undead, will themselves in a for surprise—the dead rise the following morning, the undead rise again as more powerful creatures of death, and they themselves are trapped for the duration... can the Player Characters discover the secrets and a way to solve their predicament and that of the inhabitants of Thraxford Castle?Today's character could work with either my Victorian setting or Spirit of '76 for a lot of the same reasons.
I have always been a big fan of Bruce Lee. I first saw him on the old Batman series as Kato and then later in interviews. I am not sure what the first Bruce Lee movie I saw was, but likely it was "Enter the Dragon." Later I learned of his legacies of how Asian-American actors were treated in Hollywood, his invention of Jeet Kun Do, and his atheism. He was in every respect of the word, an icon and all-around good guy.
He was huge in the 1970s, especially after his death, and he was central, or at least he heavily influenced the TV series Kung-Fu. That gives him an "in" to both eras I am gaming with this month.
So in the tradition of the series(es) Kung-fu I have a character idea that would work for both times. This is an alternate world (NIGHT SHIFT) where Bruce Lee's "Jun Fan Gung Fu" (just Gung Fu from here on out) was a classical style (and totally missing the point of what Lee was trying to do I know...).
Victorian Era
Here a young British Lord and his Chinese wife had a son, Lee Jun-fan. But they were killed in the Taiping Rebellion. Their son, whom they feared would also be killed, was left with monks where he was raised to learn Gung Fu. Here he trains for his first 30 years of life. He returns to his father's home in England where he deals with the racism of 1880s Victorian England. He is protected by title and wealth, but still, things are not easy for him. He is also a master of Gung Fu and learns of the vast Occult Underground London has to offer.
Think of it as "Kung Fu by Gaslight."
Spirit of '76
In 1976, Lee Jun-fan's great-grandson, also named Lee Jun-fan, but going by "Lee Young" (yes, I know Lee was a family name) now lives in America, but his legacy will soon be tested.
Here he is (both versions use the same stats) for Night Shift. NIGHT SHIFT is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).
Fate Points: 1d8
Check Bonus (P/S/T): +4/+2/+1Melee bonus: +3 Ranged bonus: +3Saves: +2 to Constitution and Dexterity saving throwsSkills
Athletics, Steady Hands, Body Control, Insight
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In both campaigns, the emphasis for this character is he is close enough to the world he living in at the time, but still an outsider. But he is also an outsider with this amazing power.
In both cases, I would want to feature his sense of humor. Bruce Lee had a wicked sense of humor and my Lee Jun-fan would also. I also want a character who despite all the hardships and reversals he has faced wants to believe that people, in general, are good and they act how they do out of fear.
Want to see more of the #CharacterCreationChallenge? Stop by Tardis Captain's Blog and the #CharacterCreationChallenge on Twitter for more!
Going to a character today that was one of the first (though not the first) Spirit of '76 characters I came up with.
Megan O'Kelly came to me from a variety of sources, but the main one was the idea of this college girl wearing a Led Zeppelin U.S. Tour 1975 t-shirt, oversized sunglasses, old hiphugger bell-bottom jeans, and carrying a burlap messenger bag where she kept all her witch gear. She was a young, recent UC Berkely grad with a freshly minted degree in Psychology and she was going to change the world.
Until that is, she discovered the supernatural. Or more to the point, the supernatural discovered her.
"Megan" began as "Stephanie" in an older game back when "Spirit of '76" was "Summer of Love" and took place in 1968. I wanted to keep Stephanie where she was but I wanted to do the Summer of 1976 as well, so Megan was "born." Eliza Roberts, the actress to "play" her, was suggested to me by my NIGHT SHIFT co-creator Jason Vey. Megan would go on to have more adventures in other games, namely Chill (from last year) and the Buffy RPG.
Here she is for Night Shift. NIGHT SHIFT is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).
Fate Points: 1d6
Check Bonus (P/S/T): +3/+2/0Melee bonus: 0 Ranged bonus: +1Saves: +3 against spells and magical effectsSkills
Research, Insight, History, Science (Psychology)
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Megan is my gift to that younger version of me that discovered witches in pop psychology books and magazines and always had crushes on girls older than himself. She is the "psychic witch woman" of the 1970s. She has crystals, she always consults her horoscope, she has "feelings" about things, and she can be a lot more powerful than even she gives herself credit for.
She has more history in my games later on, but this is college grad Megan. This is young Megan. She is excited, and eager and wants to take on the world. Her future is so bright right now that she needs those knock-off Marlo Thomas sunglasses. Is it possible to love an NPC? Because I think Megan is great. I almost feel bad for all the shit she later goes through by the time the 80s roll around. Almost. Swords are forged in fire and magic is forged in pain. But that's not till 1979 at least and Megan here has a lot to do before then!
Want to see more of the #CharacterCreationChallenge? Stop by Tardis Captain's Blog and the #CharacterCreationChallenge on Twitter for more!
Sorry about the lack of posts in recent months, my computer went down and I had a devil of a time getting it fixed. That's past now. will have something to post again soon.
finally, after a really much too long time, I have a nice computer instead of an awful tablet that couldn't run the blogger app.
and so, something fun; a Vovelle for finding what stars are shining by month in Eldorath. clearly it isn't finished yet, but you get the idea. vovelles were a common astronomical item in old books.
Continuing my "Spirit of '76" mini-campaign I want to get some more details on who my "big bad" might be. I say might, because I am not 100% sure yet what I want to do with her save for being the mastermind behind the plot. I know I want to make what she wants to do sound reasonable and something that most people would want to support. That is if her plan didn't involve the death of millions.
Given the name of the series, I figure she would fit in fine as the first person of European descent born in the colonies. She is also the reason I have scrapped many of the ideas I had for Spirit of 76 (including other NPCs) in favor of newer ones. Still planning on four adventures, but I only have the first two figured out.
I spoke about Virginia Dare briefly before. She is the immortal enemy of Valerie Beaumont. Though their relationship is quite a complicated one. She wants to kill Valerie, but Val doesn't really want to kill her. I liken their relationship (as it is growing in my mind now) as similar to Holmes and Moriarty or The Doctor and the Master.
Here she is for Night Shift. NIGHT SHIFT is available from the Elf Lair Games website (hardcover) and from DriveThruRPG (PDF).
Fate Points: 1d10
Check Bonus (P/S/T): +6/+4/+2Melee bonus: 0 Ranged bonus: +1Saves: +5 to death saves. +2 to all others.Survivor Skills (8th level)
Skills
Research, Insight, History (x2)
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Virginia Dare has survived some of the worst times this country has seen. She is brilliant and her own special abilities to understand and charm others to get her into positions where she can leverage her intellect the best. She learns what people want and she finds a way to get it to them, for a price.
She prefers to work behind the scenes but she has amassed a powerbase that when she decides to play her hand it will have devastating effects.
I just need to figure out what that is. I have an idea, but not sure how to make it work just yet. Both in-game and for the game.
Want to see more of the #CharacterCreationChallenge? Stop by Tardis Captain's Blog and the #CharacterCreationChallenge on Twitter for more!