Classic SciFi TTRPG Roundup

 Thanks to Thomas for the great prompt.

I haven't got on the Starfield bandwagon. Honestly, I'm not even sure I have the hardware to run it. But it certainly has revitalized an interest in space opera and classic scifi pulp in the gaming world.

Personally, I've caught the same bug from playing No Man's Sky lately. I got it for my birthday in June, played the hell out of it for a bit, then went traveling in the Summer. To keep scratching the itch for space exploration NMS gave me, I created the Starfarer setting, and ran a pretty lengthy solo game using a combination of Mythic GM Emulator and RPG Pundit Presents #100: Star Adventurer 

Being able to blast off into space and enjoy some campy Sci-Fi action is definitely on the minds of myself, my gaming group, and a lot of my friends.

That in mind I'm going to talk about some of the classic science fiction role playing games out there if you're looking to scratch that itch and you're not interested in something as new school as Starfinder.

Sourcebook Review: Lowlife 2090 Alpha Supplement

Author: Stephen Grodzicki
Publisher: Pickpocket Press 
System: Lowlife 2090
Marketplace: DriveThruRPG 

 Lowlife 2090 Alpha Supplement is a free resource for my favorite cyberpunk and sorcery role-playing game. 

This sourcebook is extremely straightforward and focuses primarily on character generation options. When you create a character for Lowlife 2090, you roll randomly for starting contacts and implants for your character. As well as making a few choices for your gear loadout.

The bulk of the Alpha Supplement offers a much richer, more elaborate set of tables for determining who your character knows, what machinery they have implanted in their body, and what equipment they have on their persons. It expands the previous d8 tables into D12 and d20 tables.

Alpha Supplement also includes a sections put that few new firearms, augmentations, and to drones.

Game Review: Low Fantasy Gaming: Deluxe Edition

Author: Stephen Grodzicki
Publisher: Pickpocket Press
Engine: Low Fantasy Gaming (OSR-Compatible)
Marketplace: DrivethruRPG

One of my earliest reviews was of Steve Grod's Low Fantasy Gaming: a system I have used on a weekly basis as a player and frequently as a GM to boot. You can check out LFG for free, and it is definitely worth your time, as it remains in my top 5 OSR games consistently.

After enjoying LFG, and his Cyberpunk & Sorcery derivative Lowlife 2090, which he kindly sent me for review around its release, I decided I wanted to make sure to show my appreciation. I picked up the Low Fantasy Gaming: Deluxe Edition in hard copy when I had a little extra cash from sales of my adventure modules.

I have been meaning to review it for over a year now, and I feel that I have definitely gotten a solid handle on the merits of the system.

Low Fantasy Gaming: Deluxe Edition is an upgrade from the free edition in a lot of ways. Or contains several extra classes: the Artificer, Cultist, Monk, Ranger. It also includes rules for sea battles, mass combat, sample unique character abilities, special rules for black powder and tavern brawls, and information about the Midlands campaign setting. It's spell list is also revised from LFG.

It is designed as a premium product. the layout and art are redone to make a more pleasurable reading experience.

Quick & Dirty Gaming: Game as Personalized Act of Service

Monday Night marked the third week in a row that players had to skip out on my Lowlife 2090 game. I have players with chronic illnesses and extremely high demand jobs. This is never surprising, but it is frustrating. Especially as life getting in the way has shrunk my group down to a delicate three player balance. At three players, I hate to do anything if one of them sits out. And in a Cyberpunk & Sorcery game like Lowlife 2090 crews of two or less are actually pretty hard to make work... at least in many class combinations.

My home game has suffered due to my wife's busy schedule as well. it is harder and harder to get in the gaming I would like. Thus my sudden interest in Solo play. But for me, the biggest joy still comes from playing with others. What I need more than ever is faster play.

That is why I started playing OSR games again in the first place: I needed a rules-light system that was designed to play fast. More than that, I needed a rules-light system that was low on BS like performance reviews and player voting at the end of the session. Many story games like Fate and Dungeon World tend to add so much needless quasi-mechanical stuff to the game in sessions it slows them down. Fast and furious Old-School games like Knave, ICRPG, and The Black Hack, or going back to B/X D&D, for that matter, have sped things up a lot. But not enough for my current needs.

#RPGaDay2021 Catch Up

 I missed #RPGaDay2020 last year, although it seemed like a great way to get a lot of creativity out in a short time. This year my main man Stephen over at Stephen's Hobby Workshop is taking up the challenge, so I thought I would, too.

This is not going to replace my regular play reports and reviews, and I will probably take a quick-and-dirty approach to it, but I want to keep my hand in. It is also a great way to work on the four campaigns I am juggling as GM right now:

• Candlekeep Mysteries played in Lamentations of the Flame Princess for my podcast. 
• Cha'alt and it's two expansions for my podcast. 
• Lowlife 2090 for friends and family. 
• Troika! Numinous Edition for my son. 

So, to catch up here are four short entries for #RPGaDay2021: