Kessel Spice and Everything Nice

In the early days of the Star Wars Artists Guild (SWAG) I came across the work of a regular contributor who went by the username of 'Reverend Strone'. In real life, Reverend Strone is none other then Daniel Falconer, a New Zealander who has worked as a concept artist and designer for some of the top projects by WETA Workshop, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Narina film series. 

Daniel and I chatted online a few times, the most common subject discussed being a Star Wars D6 RPG campaign he was part of from which most of his fan art originated. I don't recall if he was a player or the GM but the idea behind the game was awesome to me. It took place solely on Tatooine and the PCs rarely left the desert world. The campaign focused on these people living on a world in the Outer Rim who ran a ranch (I forget if they were Nerf or Bantha Herders) and had to deal with rustlers, gangsters, sand people raids, family drama, and the limited resources of Tatooine. 

Imotta the Hutt getting a massage.

A small time crimelord operating a smuggling ring and a legitimate restaurant, 

Imotta is a nephew of Jabba the Hutt.

 

Art by Daniel 'Reverend Strone' Falconer.

If The Mandalorian is a Star Wars 'Space Western' version of the Rifleman, then this campaign was a Star Wars version of Bonanza.

This sounded so cool to me for a variety of reasons but the main one, the element I want to focus on for this post, is the idea of a campaign where you 'live in the Star Wars universe'. The idea of a Star Wars Sandbox without galaxy threatening stakes sparks my creativity in a way that's hard to explain. A story about people just trying to make a living on a frontier planet puts me in a cozy, warm, and very inspired state of mind. I want to sit down, grab a cup of hot blue milk, and jot down ideas for what might be out there to challenge the PCs. 

This concept, common in Anime/Manga and Japanese TRPGs, is what the Japanese call kuki-kei (Airy-Themed Systen) or nichijo-kei (Daily System or Everyday Life System). The genre centers around [relatively] normal people going about their [relatively] normal lives. In Anime and Manga the characters are usually young girls (of course) and a common phrase for the genre is 'Cute Girls doing Cute Things'. This has greatly expanded in recent years, with series that focus on male and female characters trying to exist peacefully in a setting that is often strange and dangerous. 

I've probably mentioned this before but I am absolutely fascinated by the juxtaposition of the strange with the mundane. What is it like to be professional Pet Walker on Coruscant? What does a middle management Imperial Officer do all day?

Imagine being a Jawa Droid Mechanic who has a regular customer on the outskirts of Mos Taika on Tatooine. He combs the Dune Sea and bordering areas for Astromechs of all kinds and knows that this Human will buy them. Problem is, there hasn't been anything decent in weeks. The Jawa pulls up the ol' Sandcrawler to Power Station to trade for some provisions.

The PCs work at the Power Station (picture it like a 1950s Gas Station mixed with the Tatooine aesthetic) and know this Jawa. He seems down and desparate and the gang offers to help. Maybe one of them knows about a starship wreckage kinda far to the South that might have some droids. Closing shop early to the dismay of some locals and a guy with a podracer, the team heads out to the shipwreck. Perhaps they find some vehicle parts they can use in the garage as well. 

What will they run into? Competing group of Jawas? The Pirates who downed the ship looking for salvage? A Stormtrooper who survived and has been living in the destroyed vessel for months? Who knows! The point is that the planet isn't at stake, the galaxy isn't doomed, and the Sith Warlord isn't your father. You are just a person who lives on Tatooine (or wherever) doing a local acquaintence a solid. Reward? Hopefully you'll find some good gear and your Jawa buddy will owe you one. 

The Japanese TRPG Mamono Scramble is all about this, which is one of the reasons I'm so interested in it. Like Ryuutama for Star Wars, ya know? More Star Wars: Outlaws and less Star Wars: The Acolyte. 

And anything that's less Star Wars: The Acolyte is OK by me. 

May The Force Be With You,

AD

Barking Alien

While I know this is a Star Wars post, I'd like to take this moment to wish everyone a Happy Star Trek Day! Here's to 58 years of exploring The Final Frontier. 

Wild Blue Yonder

Inspired by a comment on my previous post by the illustrious Lord Blacksteel, I am not only adjusting and further expanding my Smurfs RPG setting but also changing the original scenario I was planning to what amounts to a prequel to itself. The result would make an excellent catalyst to a full campaign but that's me getting ahead of myself. 

Smurf this out...

A feature of the Smurfs RPG is that each PC gets points towards building and customizing their very own Smurf House.

The in-game universe explanation for this is pretty brilliant; while normally hidden from Humanity by enchantments, Gargamel occasionally finds the Smurf Village through magic, trickery, or whathaveyou. He did this recently, sometime prior to your first session, and ended up destroying several Smurf Houses including yours. Now you get the chance to rebuild. 

But...

At the start of my adventure, Papa Smurf will inform the Village that they are out of the unique mushrooms that Smurfs use to make houses. Fret not my little Smurfs! According to an ancient tome on Smurf Herbology there are said to be mushroom house mushrooms to the East across the River to the Sea in The Hidden Valley.

All that is needed is for a group of brave Smurfs to travel to the Hidden Valley and see if it can spare the resources they require. Luckily, our Smurf PCs are perfectly suited for this expedition. 

Lookout Smurf has a ship to sail across The River to the Sea and can use his Spyglass to search for the valley.

SCIENCE! Smurf should be able to determine which species of fungi is the correct one they're looking for.

Sir Smurfsalot has sworn to protect his friends! There may also be a connection between the Hidden Valley and his personal quest (more on that soon enough).

Spacey Smurf (NPC) is an explorer by nature and just so happens to be one of the Smurfs most familiar with 'Outer Space'. Lookout Smurf is another.

Outer Space being any areas of the Cursed Lands outside the Smurf Village.

Now, the crux of my idea is that once the Smurf PCs find The Hidden Valley (assuming they can) they will discover a long lost secret of the Smurfs. What they do with this knowledge will give direction to the game's narrative going forward (if indeed it does go beyond this first scenario). 

Between leaving the Smurf Village and hopefully locating the Hidden Valley our intrepid Smurfs will face numerous challenges, not the least of which is The River to the Sea itself! There's also the Weather, Beasts, and perhaps even a certain desperate dark magician and his cat...

What do you think? 

AD

Barking Alien

Blue Sky Thinking

As I mentioned not long ago, Maestro Media is coming out with an official Smurfs Tabletop Roleplaying Game and I don't think I've been this excited about a game in a very long time.

I've been so inspired by the announcement and my reading of the rules in the Quickstart Guide that I've asked one of my gaming groups if I could run them through a scenario and for some insane reason they said yes. 

I immediately started putting together an adventure, some setting material, and generating some illustrations for the occasion. I will definitely be reusing and/or repurposing some concepts I came up with back in 2011 for my first Smurfs campaign [which I ran using a homebrew system]. I have expanded upon that earlier work a bit but not overly so as I only intend to run this one adventure (probably two or three sessions tops) for the time being. If I were to run a full on campaign I'd definitely go through both the old and new ideas more thoroughly. 

For now...

The Smurf Player Characters

I noticed that each of the pre-generated Smurfs in the Quickstart has a set of Attributes - Quick, Brawn, Mind, and Heart - that total 24 points. Based on this, I allowed the three players to arrange their 24 points of stats as they liked and used the the Smurfs in the Guide as templates to determine the other aspects of a PC (along with the rule mechanics provided). 

The end result is three original Smurf characters with rather odd Motivations and Specialties that fit perfectly with what I have in mind. The strange combination of Medieval Fantasy and humorous anachronism should provide for a very entertaining adventure. In addition to the three PCs, I recreated my assisting NPC 'Spacey Smurf' from my the previous game to help them get accustomed to the game world. 

The Cursed Lands and Smurf Village Setting

The official Map of The Smurf Village by Peyo and his studio

from the book 'The World of The Smurfs', 2011.

English Translation from French and minor modifications by me.

For the game's setting, I am beginning with the classic, official depiction of the Smurf Village and it's surrounding area, originally called 'The Cursed Lands' from its earliest appearances in Peyo's comic series, 'Johan and Peewit'. Added to this are some canon inconsistences between that comic and the later Smurfs comics and cartoons that I've reconciled to my personal tastes and the requirements of the adventure.

From there I expanded and detailed the region based on the notes I wrote up for my original Smurfs campaign that include and flesh out the milieu, inspired by the folklore of Belgium and France combined with the comic book, cartoon, and other related materials. The end result is this map:

Scale is not really a concern so much as direction and placement of the different important locations. It was necessary to place larger waterways and how they might feasibly connect in order to work in one of the characters having a nautical theme. That and two of my favorite old Smurf stories involve our little blue heroes traveling by river.

Curiously, another favorite tale had a river (a stream really) running through the center of the village when nearly all other comics featuring the Smurfs show the nearest body of water to be river going around the wooded area where the Mushroom Village is located. I have included both ideas in my interpretation to allow greater versatility to the Smurf House building aspect of the game. I am also toying with the idea (as has been suggested in more recent Smurf media) that this may be 'a' Smurf Village and not 'the' Smurf Village. I'd like to imply that but keep confirmation of it vague for now. 

My design for an updated, post-Gargamel's Rampage Smurf Village. 

Do other Fee or Fairie beings dwell in the Enchanted Woods? Are there really Giants in the Northern Mountains? Has any Smurf reached the Sea at the end of the River that goes there?

I really like the idea of exploring beyond the Enchanted Woods and Forbidden Forest we generally see in the Smurf stories to discover what else might be out there. 

That's it for now. I should have a write-up of our first sessions later this week. 

Any comments or questions are greatly appreciated. 

AD

Barking Smurf? Smurfing Alien? This is a tough one...

I'm So Embarrassed! My Uncle is a Bullet Train! Chapter 2

Welcome to the second half of my recap of the Ghostbusters: Tokyo Ghost Research adventure I created and my friend Yasa ran for his gaming group in Japan.

I recommend reading my description of the game itself and my idea of crossing it with Ghostbusters. It isn't necessary but I think it will give you a clearer context in regards to the adventure. 

I definitely suggest you read Chapter 1.

OK? You good? Cool. Let's continue...

Part 1 Summary: A Ghostbusters: Tokyo Ghost Research team consisting of Isamu, Kei, Sachiko, and Ryōsuke, and overseen by Kimiko back at the main office, were sent to Osaka to investigate strange activities on one of the Bullet Train lines. After a road trip and some investigation at Shin-Osaka Station, the group encountered a young woman named Kiko Sato. Miss Sato was seen on security footage regularly visiting the station for a few weeks, eating her lunch in the afternoon and just sitting in the evening, never once boarding or getting off a train. 

When the GB:TGR group confronted the woman, in a friendly fashion of course, the started asking her questions and she revealed that her uncle had passed away recently and he was an absolute fanatic about trains. She had become aware of the Bullet Train incidents and came to the realization that her late uncle, Yukito Sato, was haunting the Bullet Train(s). Seconds after this declaration, Ryōsuke's Psychic Spirit Perception went off and he turned towards the tracks to see a Bullet Train coming in. A Bullet Train POSSESSED!

Part 2 and How it went:

Phase II - Main Part: Kei swung her Ghost Light towards the train and its eerie pale beam revealed glowing blue streams of ectoplasm/spirit steam*. A ghostly blue vaguely humanoid shape hovered above the front windshield. It turned to look towards the Ghostbusters and faded as passed downward into the driver's cabin.

"It's him. That's her Uncle. My Psychic Abilities confirm it", said Ryōsuke.

The train doors opened and people got off but at the late hour few got on. Sachiko broke into a mad dash for the doors and the group was taken aback. Kei rushed to follow her. Ryōsuke took Kiko Sato's left hand and gingerly motioned for her to stand up and follow him. She looked to him, blushed a bit, and then they both looked to the right to see Isamu doing the exact same thing with her other hand. Isamu gave an embarrassed smile as Sachiko, now on the train, saw him holding Sato's hand and turned red, starring daggers at him. Just then, the doors closed and the train took off at greater than normal speed.

"What the--? To the Ecto-K!", exclaimed Isamu with a devilish smile. He and Ryōsuke took off towards their vehicle at 'Naruto Run' speed, with Kiko Sato holding on to both their hands for dear life as she trailed behind them.

They rounded the K-Truck, got in and as Isamu started the engine, Ryōsuke activated a roof mounted PKE Sensor. Between this device and Ryōsuke's Distant Impressions ability (thanks to touching the Uncle's book on trains earlier - See Part 1), there was no way they'd lose track (pun intended) of the haunted Bullet Train. Isamu drove like a wild man to travel to the next stop ahead of the Bullet Train and get there before of it did. Unfortunately, Bullet Trains go FREAKIN' FAST, so Isamu had to cut across areas other than the expressway..

"Areas other than the expressway? What does he mean by that?", asked Ryōsuke.

"Buckle up and hold on to something. We're going off-road!", chuckled Isamu as he jumped the K-Truck over a barricade. 

Ryōsuke called Kimiko and gave her the 411 on what they're learned so far and the team's current status. He asked her to please compile any information she could on previous Projects involving haunted vehicles in general and trains in particular. She said OK but was rather busy on the other line; speaking with the Japanese transit authority client, various emergency services, and her contacts within the police, Kimiko was attempting to coordinate a response should things go...well...off the rails as it were. 

At this point Kimiko and her player enter a kind of 'mini-game' in which she has to convince those who control the three key resources - the Trains, the Emergency Services (Fire, Paramedics, etc.), and the Police - to work together and supply the Ghostbusters: Tokyo Ghost Research with assistance. A key component was 'The Budget'. Inspired by the bureacracy and politics troubles depicted in Japanese media (such as modern Godzilla films for example), Yasa managed to give Kimiko a social interaction/resource management task tailor made for her player and the character's role as a General Affairs Employee. 

These scenes were intercut between the scenes featuring the other characters. Sounds awesome for the theme of Tokyo Ghost Research.  .

Meanwhile on the train...

Kei grabs and shakes Sachiko, scolding her for being so brash. Sachiko apologized, letting out a sigh. She asks Kei if she saw Isamu flirting with Kiko and how unprofessional it was. Kei looks at Sachiko dumbfounded and tells her that yes, that would be unprofessional but that didn't seem to be what he was doing. 

"Do you...like Isamu?" asked Kei in a low, even voice.

Sachiko become flushed and lightly pushed Kei away. "No! That's not...we're...it's...nevermind."

Suddenly the two ladies heard screams from the next car foward and immediately took ready stances, charging up their Proton Packs. Kei stuck a Pocky in her mouth, looked at Sachiko and the two nodded at each other and began to take aim at...whatever may come. 

They didn't have long to wait. Blue and violet sparks erupted from the door and through them crawled...this crazy b****.

That my friends is a Teke Teke; a Japanese urban legend [with some yokai folklore ancestry] describing a young woman [usually] whose legs, or sometimes their entire lower torso, were severed after being hit by a train. As in the legend this vengeful spirit, armed with a curved knife, asked the Ghostbusters, "Have you seen my legs?"

When Kei responded with a 'Huh?' the Teke Teke charged her, somehow bouncing into the air and swinging her blade downward, nicking Kei's cheek and knocking off her glasses. Sachiko shouted, "Hey! I know where your legs are!" The Teke Teke landed on a seat and spun to look at her, totally focused on Sachiko and seemingly desperate for the info. "Right here!", Sachiko growled as she blasted the Teke Teke at close range with a Particle Stream. 

The Teke Teke hit the wall and window, richocetted off into the aisle and then went at Sachiko in a berserk rage. "Everyone - Move away from the center aisle and towards the windows!", shouted Kei as she stood up and pointed her Neutrona Wand straight ahead of her. Together the two ladies in grey fired their weapons, sending the Teke Teke hurdling backward down the middle of the car. The passengers cheered and a few had their cellphones out, taking video of the two GB: TGR Agents. 

The Teke Teke, clearly injured, rushed Kei and Sachiko again, and flipping about to avoid their blasts. Sachiko got stabbed in the shoulder as Kei lassoed the yokai with a Capture Stream. Sachiko, nursing her shoulder wound, tossed a Ghost Trap under the Teke Teke and activated it. The Teke Teke struggled against both the Stream and the Trap, slashing and thrashing about. Sachiko played to the crowd to boost her side and intimidate the yokai, then fired her own lasso Stream. After a few tense moments, the Teke Teke was sucked into the Ghost Trap.

"Yatta!", the pair cheered as they high-fived each other to the applause of the passengers. The train then began to slow down and the two woman prepared to run further ahead towards the driver's car. 

Back to the boys...

Both Isamu and Ryōsuke took some Physical and Environmental Damage as the Ecto-K sped, swerved, and 'stunt showed ' to get to the next station before the paranormally possessed train arrived. Both guys took turns making sure Miss Sato was alright in the back seat, though Ryōsuke Moreno since Isamu was driving.

They pulled in to a parking area near their target station and then the three of them hoof it to the train platform as fast they can. Reaching their destination, Sato points towards the second car and says, "Excuse me but...aren't those your co-workers?", as the fellas see Sachiko and Kei running into the middle door. After exchanging quick glances at each other, the three of them put everything they've got into it and manage to get on the train just as the doors are closing. The whole team plus Sato assembled once more, collectively taking a moment to catch their breaths. 

Kei's phone rings and Kimiko informs her that back-up and support is on the way or already in place. Kei lets the rest of the team know and Kimiko blushes and smiles as the others thank her for efforts. Sachiko mentions the capture of the Teke Teke and Kimiko confirms she'll add that to her research for the Project. She'll also charge the client extra. 

Stay tuned for Chapter 3 and the big finale!

AD

Barking Alien