Signal Boost: Being Open, Considerate, & a Good Ambassador

Signal boosting Aaron on this one (as if he needed it.)

Amen.

(Come shoot some more mutants with me, Aaron!) 

Adventure Review: Winds of Madness

Cover for "The Winds of Madness" 
Art by Inigoiio
©2021, Angus Bessai & Patrick Hoffman

Author: Angus Bessai and Patrick Hoffman 
Publisher: DM's Guild
System: Dungeons & Dragons 5e

I don't usually review material for 5th Edition Material, but the moment Angus Bessai explained the concept, I had to read it, and bring it to the attention of some of my fellow Grognards, because this is the kind of adventure that I wish we had seen for 5e at the start. 

Winds of Madness is a 90-page campaign that carries a party from levels 11-14 and features two phases. In the first, the PCs attempt to prevent a fimbulwinter by sealing an ancient planar gate that has been opened after centuries of dormancy. The second phase is an attempt to prevent an alien being from the Far Realm from infecting and mutating all life on the Material Plane and then harvesting it. 

This setting blends material from Planescape, Spelljammer, The Epic Level Handbook, Frostburn, and 3e Psionics. 

I I could swear that this module was specifically designed for me. It takes some of my favourite things from different editions of Dungeons & Dragons, often things I wish were included in the more recent additions, and put them all together in one package. It also borrows notes some of my favourite science fiction media, like the Parasite Eve novels and games and Final Fantasy 6. 

What I Loved 

Going Beyond the Set Lore, but Respecting It

The Winds of Madness borrows ideas from a lot of sources. It expands on material like the Far Plane, the Githyanki war machine, the Elder Evils  and Spelljamming and uses them in new ways. There is loving attention to detail about how the lore worked in various editions of Dungeons & Dragons. D&D Canon is treated with far greater respect than it is in Wizards of the Coast products. Where he takes ideas to new places, like exploring the Far Realm with spelljammer ships, he makes sure to do so in a way that fits perfectly well with existing lore.

B/X Class: Voidwarped

  My solo campaign set on The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence has taken a hell of a lot of twists and turns. It definitely isn't going in directions I would have expected, and that has made it far more enjoyable than I had expected. 

Recent events in my campaign have led to the fall, death, and surprising resurrection of one of the Clerics in my party. He has been exposed to a dimension of pure antimatter, and been in contact with entities that lurk there. 

After what happened to him and how, I don't feel like he and his Goddess are likely to be on great terms. I think he has come back drastically changed. To create something that not just would make sense, but fit the gonzo aesthetic of The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence, I decided to take the idea of a Cthulhu cultists and crank it up to 11.

So here is a custom class made for B/X Dungeons & Dragons that is ideal for a gonzo character who was warped by the Elder gods, magical radiation, or the Far Plane. 

Voidwarped

Prime Requisite: Wisdom
Experience Bonus: 5% for Wis 13-15, 10% for Wisdom 16-18
Hit Dice: 1d6 per level up to 9th level
Armor: Any, Shields Allowed
Weapons: Any
Attacks as: Cleric

Transformed by exposure to the void between worlds, the Voidwarped are a conduit for alien powers that bend reality itself. They come at a cost, however, as these powers corrupt from within causing Hideous mutations. 

No two Voidwarped are the same; they sport unique combinations of powers, mutations, and abilities. They can be found with any alignment as some revel in what they have seen while others want to shield Humanity from what they have suffered. What is true is that the longer they weild these eldritch powers, the more horrible toll it takes. 

Update to Temple of Elemental Evil

Recent changes to Google's security protocols have forced me to change the link to my Temple of Elemental Evil 5e conversion. The file is now available here.

Game Review: Alone Among the Stars

Cover, Alone Among the Stars, 
©2019 Takuma Okada

Author: Takuma Okada
Publisher: Self-published 
Engine: Custom d3/ card table-based game
Marketplace: Itch.io

I wanted to do a quick review of Alone Among the Stars by Takuma Okada When I came across this game, it was marketed as a science fiction solo rpg. And has a one-on-one variant called Together Among the Stars but I thought my wife might enjoy as a casual play option.

I also was impressed with some of Takuma Okada's ideas expressed on Twitter. 

I think this one is worth looking into as an example of the most extremely stripped-down expression of the solo role-playing game.

Alone Among the Stars uses a d6 (really a d3) roll, plus a drawn card to represent what your character discovers as they travel from planet to planet on a lonely exploration mission. The d6 determines the method of discovery, the suit it's nature, and the value of the card a detail.

Players are encouraged to write journals from the perspective of their character about their discoveries.

The manual, four pages long including , essentially includes the tables, an introduction on how to Play. It also comes with a sample of play, a document twice as long as they manual, with an example of journal entries inspired by play.

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.

Separate Solo Game Blog

I have created a separate blog for chronicling my solo Dungeons & Dragons campaign set on The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence. That way, those of my readers who are uninterested can opt out.

Given the themes of the campaign setting, and that I like my content a little racy and a little dark, I'm putting a Content Warning on it. Unless there becomes a sudden, overwhelming demand for written erotica by Yours Truly, - - which I doubt - - it will remain Rated R.

I'm way behind on my play reports, and still figuring out format, but my report for session two up. It is entitled Swordplay, Singularities, and Seduction.